karmibhyaḥ parito hareḥ priyatayÄ vyaktiá¹ yayur jñÄninas
tebhyo jñÄna-vimukta-bhakti-paramÄḥ premaika-niṣṭhÄs tataḥ
tebhyas tÄḥ paÅ›u-pÄla-paá¹…kaja-dṛśas tÄbhyo 'pi sÄ rÄdhikÄ
preṣṭhÄ tadvad iyaá¹ tadÄ«ya-sarasÄ« tÄá¹ nÄÅ›rayet kaḥ ká¹›tÄ«

 karmibhyaḥ - than all fruitive workers; paritaḥ - in all respects; hareḥ - by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; priyatayÄ - because of being favored; vyaktim yayuḥ - it is said in the Å›Ästra; jñÄninaḥ - those advanced in knowledge; tebhyaḥ - superior to them; jñÄna-vimukta - liberated by knowledge; bhakti-paramÄḥ - those engaged in devotional service; prema-eka-niṣṭhÄḥ - those who have attained pure love of God; tataḥ - superior to them; tebhyaḥ - better than them; tÄḥ - they; paÅ›u-pÄla-paá¹…kaja-dṛśaḥ - the gopÄ«s who are always dependent on Kṛṣṇa, the cowherd boy; tÄbhyaḥ - above all of them; api - certainly;  - She; rÄdhikÄ - ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhikÄ; preṣṭhÄ - very dear; tadvat - similarly; iyam - this; tadÄ«ya-sarasÄ« - Her lake, ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a; tÄm - RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a; na - not; ÄÅ›rayet - would take shelter of; kaḥ - who; ká¹›tÄ« - most fortunate.


Text

In the Å›Ästra it is said that of all types of fruitive workers, he who is advanced in knowledge of the higher values of life is favored by the Supreme Lord Hari. Out of many such people who are advanced in knowledge [jñÄnÄ«s], one who is practically liberated by virtue of his knowledge may take to devotional service. He is superior to the others. However, one who has actually attained prema, pure love of Kṛṣṇa, is superior to him. The gopÄ«s are exalted above all the advanced devotees because they are always totally dependent upon ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, the transcendental cowherd boy. Among the gopÄ«s, ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī is the most dear to Kṛṣṇa. Her kuṇá¸a [lake] is as profoundly dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa as this most beloved of the gopÄ«s. Who, then, will not reside at RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a and, in a spiritual body surcharged with ecstatic devotional feelings [aprÄká¹›ta-bhÄva], render loving service to the Divine Couple ÅšrÄ« ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ-Govinda, who perform Their aṣṭa-kÄlÄ«ya-lÄ«lÄ, Their eternal eightfold daily pastimes. Indeed, those who execute devotional service on the banks of RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a are the most fortunate people in the universe.

Purport

At the present moment almost everyone is engaged in some kind of fruitive activity. Those who are desirous of gaining material proï¬ts by working are called karmÄ«s, or fruitive workers. All living entities within this material world have come under the spell of mÄyÄ. This is described in the Viṣṇu PurÄṇa (6.7.61):

viṣṇu-Å›aktiḥ parÄ proktÄ
ká¹£etrajñÄkhyÄ tathÄ parÄ
avidyÄ-karma-saá¹jñÄnyÄ
tá¹›tÄ«yÄ Å›aktir iá¹£yate

Sages have divided the energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead into three categories – namely, the spiritual energy, marginal energy and material energy. The material energy is considered to be the third-class energy (tá¹›tÄ«yÄ Å›aktiḥ). Those living beings within the jurisdiction of the material energy sometimes engage themselves like dogs and hogs in working very hard simply for sense gratiï¬cation. However, in this life, or, after executing pious activities, in the next life, some karmÄ«s become strongly attracted to performing various kinds of sacriï¬ces mentioned in the Vedas. Thus on the strength of their pious merit, they are elevated to heavenly planets. Actually those who perform sacriï¬ces strictly according to Vedic injunctions are elevated to the moon and planets above the moon. As mentioned in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (9.21), kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaá¹ viÅ›anti: after exhausting the results of their so-called pious activities, they again return to the earth, which is called martya-loka, the place of death. Although such persons may be elevated to the heavenly planets by their pious activities and although they may enjoy life there for many thousands of years, they nonetheless must return to this planet when the results of their pious activities are exhausted.

This is the position of all karmÄ«s, including those who act piously and those who act impiously. On this planet we ï¬nd many businessmen, politicians and others who are simply interested in material happiness. They attempt to earn money by all means, not considering whether such means are pious or impious. Such people are called karmÄ«s, or gross materialists. Among the karmÄ«s are some vikarmÄ«s, people who act without the guidance of Vedic knowledge. Those who act on the basis of Vedic knowledge perform sacriï¬ces for the satisfaction of Lord Viṣṇu and to receive benedictions from Him. In this way they are elevated to higher planetary systems. Such karmÄ«s are superior to the vikarmÄ«s, for they are faithful to the directions of the Vedas and are certainly dear to Kṛṣṇa. In Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (4.11), Kṛṣṇa says: ye yathÄ mÄá¹ prapadyante tÄá¹s tathaiva bhajÄmy aham. “In whatever way one surrenders unto Me, I reward him accordingly.†Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He fulï¬lls the desires of the karmÄ«s and jñÄnÄ«s, not to speak of the bhaktas. Although the karmÄ«s are sometimes elevated to higher planetary systems, as long as they remain attached to fruitive activities they must accept new material bodies after death. If one acts piously, he can attain a new body among the demigods in the higher planetary systems, or he may attain some other position in which he can enjoy a higher standard of material happiness. On the other hand, those who are engaged in impious activities are degraded and take birth as animals, trees and plants. Thus those fruitive actors who do not care for the Vedic directions (vikarmÄ«s) are not appreciated by learned saintly persons. As stated in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (5.5.4):

nūnaṠpramattaḥ kurute vikarma
yad indriya-prÄ«taya Äpṛṇoti
na sÄdhu manye yata Ätmano ’yam
asann api kleÅ›ada Äsa dehaḥ

“Materialists who work hard like dogs and hogs simply for sense gratiï¬cation are actually mad. They simply perform all kinds of abominable activities simply for sense gratiï¬cation. Materialistic activities are not at all worthy of an intelligent man, for as a result of such activities, one gets a material body, which is full of misery.†The purpose of human life is to get out of the threefold miserable conditions, which are concomitant with material existence. Unfortunately, fruitive workers are mad to earn money and acquire temporary material comforts by all means; therefore they risk being degraded to lower species of life. Materialists foolishly make many plans to become happy in this material world. They do not stop to consider that they will live only for a certain number of years, out of which they must spend the major portion acquiring money for sense gratiï¬cation. Ultimately such activities end in death. Materialists do not consider that after giving up the body they may become embodied as lower animals, plants or trees. Thus all their activities simply defeat the purpose of life. Not only are they born ignorant, but they act on the platform of ignorance, thinking that they are getting material beneï¬ts in the shape of skyscraper buildings, big cars, honorable positions and so on. The materialists do not know that in the next life they will be degraded and that all their activities simply serve as parÄbhava, their defeat. This is the verdict of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (5.5.5): parÄbhavas tÄvad abodha jÄtaḥ.

One should therefore be eager to understand the science of the soul (Ätma-tattva). Unless one comes to the platform of Ätma-tattva, by which one understands that the soul and not the body is oneself, one remains on the platform of ignorance. Out of thousands and even millions of ignorant people who are wasting their time simply gratifying their senses, one may come to the platform of knowledge and understand higher values of life. Such a person is called a jñÄnÄ«. The jñÄnÄ« knows that fruitive activities will bind him to material existence and cause him to transmigrate from one kind of body to another. As indicated in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam by the term Å›arÄ«ra-bandha (bound to bodily existence), as long as one maintains any conception of sense enjoyment, his mind will be absorbed in karma, fruitive activity, and this will oblige him to transmigrate from one body to another.

Thus a jñÄnÄ« is considered superior to a karmÄ« because he at least refrains from the blind activities of sense enjoyment. This is the verdict of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. However, although a jñÄnÄ« may be liberated from the ignorance of the karmÄ«s, unless he comes to the platform of devotional service he is still considered to be in ignorance (avidyÄ). Although one may be accepted as a jñÄnÄ«, or one advanced in knowledge, his knowledge is considered impure because he has no information of devotional service and thus neglects the direct worship of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

When a jñÄnÄ« takes to devotional service, he rapidly becomes superior to an ordinary jñÄnÄ«. Such an advanced person is described as jñÄna-vimukta-bhakti-parama. How a jñÄnÄ« takes to devotional service is mentioned in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (7.19), wherein Kṛṣṇa says:

bahÅ«nÄá¹ janmanÄm ante
jñÄnavÄn mÄá¹ prapadyate
vÄsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahÄtmÄ sudurlabhaḥ

“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.†Actually a person is wise when he surrenders unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, but such a mahÄtmÄ, great soul, is very rare.

After taking to devotional service under the regulative principles, a person may come to the platform of spontaneous love of Godhead, following in the footsteps of great devotees like NÄrada and Sanaka and SanÄtana. The Supreme Personality of Godhead then recognizes him to be superior. The devotees who have developed love of Godhead are certainly in an exalted position.

Of all these devotees, the gopÄ«s are recognized as superior because they do not know anything other than satisfying Kṛṣṇa. Nor do the gopÄ«s expect any return from Kṛṣṇa. Indeed, sometimes Kṛṣṇa puts them into extreme suffering by separating Himself from them. Nonetheless, they cannot forget Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa left Vá¹›ndÄvana for MathurÄ, the gopÄ«s became most dejected and spent the rest of their lives simply crying in separation from Kṛṣṇa. This means that in one sense they were never actually separated from Kṛṣṇa. There is no difference between thinking of Kṛṣṇa and associating with Him. Rather, vipralambha-sevÄ, thinking of Kṛṣṇa in separation, as ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu did, is far better than serving Kṛṣṇa directly. Thus of all the devotees who have developed unalloyed devotional love for Kṛṣṇa, the gopÄ«s are most exalted, and out of all these exalted gopÄ«s, ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī is the highest. No one can excel the devotional service of ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī. Indeed, even Kṛṣṇa cannot understand the attitude of ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī; therefore He took Her position and appeared as ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, just to understand Her transcendental feelings.

In this way ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« gradually concludes that ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī is the most exalted devotee of Kṛṣṇa and that Her kuṇá¸a (lake), ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a, is the most exalted place. This is veriï¬ed in a quotation from Laghu-bhÄgavatÄmá¹›ta (Uttara-khaṇá¸a 45), as quoted in Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta:

yathÄ rÄdhÄ priyÄ viṣṇos
tasyÄḥ kuṇá¸aá¹ priyaá¹ tathÄ
sarva-gopÄ«á¹£u saivaikÄ
viṣṇor atyanta-vallabhÄ

“Just as ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī is dear to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa [Viṣṇu], so Her bathing place [RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a] is equally dear to Kṛṣṇa. Among all the gopÄ«s, She alone stands supreme as the Lord’s most beloved.â€

Therefore everyone interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness should ultimately take shelter of RÄdhÄ-kuṇá¸a and execute devotional service there throughout one’s life. This is the conclusion of RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« in the tenth verse of UpadeÅ›Ämá¹›ta.Â