8 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 9, Ch. 9

Therefore, people in general must always respectfully honor saintly per-
sons. It is ordered that as soon as one sees a Vaisnava, or even a sannydsi,
one should immediately offer respects to such a holy man. If one forgets
to show respect in this way, one must observe a fast for that day. This is a
Vedic injunction. One must be extremely careful to refrain from commit-
ting offenses at the lotus feet of a devotee or saintly person.

There are methods of prdyascitta, or atonement, but they are inade-
quate to cleanse one of sinful reactions. One can be cleansed of sinful
reactions only by devotional service, as stated in regard to the history of
Ajamila:

kecit kevalaya bhaktya
vasudeva-parayanah
agham dhunvanti kdrtsnyena

nihaéram iva bhaskarah

“Only a rare person who has adopted complete, unalloyed devotional ser-
vice to Krsna can uproot the weeds of sinful actions with no possibility
that they will revive. He can do this simply by discharging devotional
service, just as the sun can immediately dissipate fog by its rays.”
(Bhag. 6.1.15) If one is under the protection of a devotee and sincerely
renders service unto him, by this process of bhakti-yoga one is certainly
able to counteract all sinful reactions.

TEXT 7
TET F Ie VATA TANT |
ahataae ad Ra ata way I 9 Il

dharayisyati te vegam
rudras tv atma Saririnadm

yasminn otam idam protam
visvam Sativa tantusu

dharayisyati—will sustain; te—your; vegam—force of the waves;
rudrah—Lord Siva; tu—indeed; @tma—the Supersoul; saririnam—of
all embodied souls; yasmin—in whom; ofam—is situated in its
