Text 11] Gajendra’s Prayers of Surrender 85

namah kaivalya-nathaya
nirvana-sukha-samwide

sattvena—by pure devotional service; prati-labhydya—unto the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is achieved by such devotional ac-
tivities; naiskarmyena—by transcendental activities; vipascita—by per-
sons who are sufficiently learned; namah—I offer my respectful obei-
sances; kaivalya-nathaya—unto the master of the transcendental world;
nirvana—for one completely freed from material activities; sukha—of
happiness; sarivide—who is the bestower.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is realized by pure devo-
tees who act in the transcendental existence of bhakti-yoga. He is
the bestower of uncontaminated happiness and is the master of the
transcendental world. Therefore I offer my respect unto Him.

PURPORT

As stated in Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Personality of Godhead can
be understood only by devotional service. Bhaktyé mam abhijanati
yavan yas cdsmi tattvatah. If one wants to know the Supreme Per-
sonality of Godhead in truth, one must take to the activities of devotional
service. These activities are called sattva or suddha-sattva. In the ma-
terial world, activities of goodness, which are symptomatic of a pure
brahmana, are appreciated. But the activities of devotional service are
Suddha-sattva; in other words, they are on the transcendental platform.
Only by devotional service can one understand the Supreme.

Devotional service is called naiskarmya. Mere negation of material ac-
tivity will not endure. Naiskarmyam apy acyuta-bhava-varjitam. Unless
one performs activities with reference to Krsna consciousness, cessation
of material activities will not be helpful. In hopes of achieving
naiskarmya, freedom from material action, many highly elevated san-
nydsis stopped their activities, yet they failed and returned to the ma-
terial platform to act as materialistic persons. But once one is engaged in
the spiritual activities of bhakti-yoga, one does not fall down. Our Krsna
consciousness movement is therefore an attempt to engage everyone al-
ways in spiritual activity, by which one becomes transcendental to
