CC Adi 5.35
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 35
kāmād dveṣād bhayāt snehād
yathā bhaktyeśvare manaḥ
āveśya tad aghaṁ hitvā
bahavas tad gatiṁ gatāḥ
SYNONYMS
kāmāt—influenced by lusty desire; dveṣāt—by envy; bhayāt—by fear; snehāt—or by affection; yathā—as; bhaktyā—by devotion; īśvare—in the Supreme Personality of Godhead; manaḥ—the mind; āveśya—fully absorbing; tat—that; agham—sinful activity; hitvā—giving up; bahavaḥ—many; tat—that; gatim—destination; gatāḥ—achieved.
TRANSLATION
“As through devotion to the Lord one can attain His abode, many have attained that goal by abandoning their sinful activities and absorbing their minds in the Lord through lust, envy, fear or affection.”
PURPORT
As the powerful sun, by its glowing rays, can purify all kinds of impurities, so the all-spiritual Personality of Godhead can purify all material qualities in a person He attracts. Even if one is attracted by Godhead in the mode of material lust, such attraction is converted into spiritual love of Godhead by His grace. Similarly, if one is related to the Lord in fear and animosity, he also becomes purified by the spiritual attraction of the Lord. Although God is great and the living entity small, they are spiritual individuals, and therefore as soon as there is a reciprocal exchange by the living entity’s free will, at once the great spiritual being attracts the small living entity, thus freeing him from all material bondage. This is a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (SB 7.1.30).