300 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 7, Ch. 10

yam hi na vyathayanty ete
purusam purusarsabha

sama-duhkha-sukham dhiram
so ’mrtatvaya kalpate

“‘O best among men [Arjuna], the person who is not disturbed by happi-
ness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation.”

duhkhesv anudvigna-manah
sukhesu vigata-sprhah

vita-raga-bhaya-krodhah
sthita-dhir munir ucyate

“One who is not disturbed in spite of the threefold miseries, who is not
elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear
and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.” A devotee should not be ag-
grieved in an awkward position, nor should he feel extraordinarily happy
in material opulence. This is the way of expert management of material
life. Because a devotee knows how to manage expertly, he is called jivan-
mukta. As Rapa Gosvami explains in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu:

iha yasya harer dasye
karmané manasé gira

nikhilasv apy avasthdsu
Jivan-muktah sa ucyate

‘‘A person acting in Krsna consciousness (or, in other words, in the ser-
vice of Krsna) with his body, mind, intelligence and words is a liberated
person even within this material world, although he may be engaged in
many so-called material activities.” Because of constantly engaging in
devotional service, in any condition of life, a devotee is free from all ma-
terial bondage.

bhaktih pundati man-nistha

Sva-pakan api sambhavat

“Even one born in a family of meat-eaters is purified if he engages in
devotional service.” (Bhag. 11.14.21) Srila Jiva Gosvami cites this verse
