अथ भागवता यूयं प्रियाः स्थ भगवान्यथा ।
न मद्भागवतानां च प्रेयानन्योऽस्ति कर्हिचित् ॥३०॥

atha bhÄgavatÄ yÅ«yaá¹
priyÄḥ stha bhagavÄn yathÄ
na mad bhÄgavatÄnÄá¹ ca
preyÄn anyo 'sti karhicit

1 times this text was mentioned in purports to other texts: SB(1)

 atha - therefore; bhÄgavatÄḥ - devotees; yÅ«yam - all of you; priyÄḥ - very dear to me; stha - you are; bhagavÄn - the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yathÄ - as; na - neither; mat - than me; bhÄgavatÄnÄm - of the devotees; ca - also; preyÄn - very dear; anyaḥ - others; asti - there is; karhicit - at any time.


Text

You are all devotees of the Lord, and as such I appreciate that you are as respectable as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. I know in this way that the devotees also respect me and that I am dear to them. Thus no one can be as dear to the devotees as I am.

Purport

It is said, vaiṣṇavÄnÄá¹ yathÄ Å›ambhuḥ: Lord Åšiva is the best of all devotees. Therefore all devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa are also devotees of Lord Åšiva. In Vá¹›ndÄvana there is Lord Åšiva’s temple called GopÄ«Å›vara. The gopÄ«s used to worship not only Lord Åšiva but KÄtyÄyanÄ«, or DurgÄ, as well, but their aim was to attain the favor of Lord Kṛṣṇa. A devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa does not disrespect Lord Åšiva, but worships Lord Åšiva as the most exalted devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Consequently whenever a devotee worships Lord Åšiva, he prays to Lord Åšiva to achieve the favor of Kṛṣṇa, and he does not request material profit. In Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (7.20) it is said that generally people worship demigods for some material profit (kÄmais tais tair há¹›ta-jñÄnÄḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatÄḥ). Driven by material lust, they worship demigods. But a devotee never does so, for he is never driven by material lust. That is the difference between a devotee’s respect for Lord Åšiva and an asura’s respect for him. The asura worships Lord Åšiva, takes some benediction from him, misuses the benediction, and ultimately is killed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who awards him liberation.

Because Lord Åšiva is a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he loves all the devotees of the Supreme Lord. Lord Åšiva told the PracetÄs that because they were devotees of the Lord, he loved them very much. Lord Åšiva was not kind and merciful only to the PracetÄs; anyone who is a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very dear to Lord Åšiva. Not only are the devotees dear to Lord Åšiva, but he respects them as much as he respects the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, devotees of the Supreme Lord also worship Lord Åšiva as the most dear devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. They do not worship him as a separate Personality of Godhead. It is stated in the list of nÄma-aparÄdhas that it is an offense to think that the chanting of the name of Hari and the chanting of Hara, or Åšiva, are the same. The devotees must always know that Lord Viṣṇu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that Lord Åšiva is His devotee. A devotee should be offered respect on the level of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and sometimes even more respect. Indeed, Lord RÄma, the Personality of Godhead Himself, sometimes worshiped Lord Åšiva. If a devotee is worshiped by the Lord, why should a devotee not be worshiped by other devotees on the same level with the Lord? This is the conclusion. From this verse it appears that Lord Åšiva blesses the asuras simply for the sake of formality. Actually he loves one who is devoted to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.