तà¥à¤¯à¤œà¤¨à¥à¤¤à¥ बानà¥à¤§à¤µà¤¾à¤ƒ सरà¥à¤µà¥‡
निनà¥à¤¦à¤¨à¥à¤¤à¥ गà¥à¤°à¤µà¥‹ जनाः |
तथापि परमाननà¥à¤¦à¥‹
गोविनà¥à¤¦à¥‹ मम जीवनमॠ॥ ३९ ॥

tyajantu bÄndhavÄḥ sarve
nindantu guravo janÄḥ
tathÄpi paramÄnando
govindo mama jīvanam

 tyajantu - may they reject me; bÄndhavÄḥ - relatives; sarve - all; nindantu - may they condemn; guravaḥ - superior; janÄḥ - persons; tathÄ api - nonetheless; parama - supreme; Änandaḥ - the embodiment of bliss; govindaḥ - Lord Govinda; mama - my; jÄ«vanam - very life.


Text

Let my relatives all abandon me and my superiors condemn me. Still, the supremely blissful Govinda remains my life and soul.

Purport

Ordinary people may condemn the Lord's devotees as ignorant fools, but the truly learned never do so. As PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja states, "One who has dedicated his life to Kṛṣṇa through the nine methods of bhakti should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge" (SB 7.5.24). But in the Kali-yuga, out of ignorance people mock the saintly devotees and praise demonic leaders in government, entertainment, and sports. Taking courage from the examples of saints like King KulaÅ›ekhara and others, the devotees should not be ashamed when ordinary people disrespect them. They should be very concerned, however, that the Vaiṣṇavas and the Supreme Lord are pleased with their behavior.

Even the sage NÄrada was condemned for his devotional activities: Daká¹£a cursed him because he taught renunciation to Daká¹£a's sons. NÄrada remained tolerant, however, and continued traveling and preaching. The aim of NÄrada and the devotees who follow his example is not to disrupt people's lives, but if their work is misunderstood, they must not abandon their duty but must continue their mission on behalf of the Lord. ÅšrÄ«la PrabhupÄda writes, "Because NÄrada Muni and the members of his disciplic succession disrupt friendships and family life, they are sometimes accused of being sauhá¹›da-ghna, creators of enmity between relatives. Actually such devotees are friends of every living entity (suhá¹›daá¹ sarva-bhÅ«tÄnÄm [Bg. 5.29]), but they are misunderstood to be enemies. Preaching can be a difficult, thankless task, but a preacher must follow the orders of the Supreme Lord and be unafraid of materialistic persons" (SB 6.5.39, purport). Conclusion: A devotee should remain happy executing his duty and not develop a "persecution complex."

The sentiment King KulaÅ›ekhara expresses here is echoed by MÄdhavendra PurÄ« in one of his verses: "Let the sharp moralist accuse me of being illusioned; I do not mind. Experts in Vedic activities may slander me as being misled, friends and relatives may call me frustrated, my brothers may call me a fool, the wealthy mammonites may point me out as mad, and the learned philosophers may assert that I am much too proud. Still my mind does not budge an inch from the determination to serve the lotus feet of Govinda, though I am unable to do so."