हरिर्देहभृतामात्मा स्वयं प्रकृतिरीश्वरः ।
तत्पादमूलं शरणं यतः क्षेमो नृणामिह ॥५०॥

harir deha-bhá¹›tÄm ÄtmÄ
svayaṠprakṛtir īśvaraḥ
tat-pÄda-mÅ«laá¹ Å›araṇaá¹
yataḥ ká¹£emo nṛṇÄm iha

 hariḥ - ÅšrÄ« Hari; deha-bhá¹›tÄm - of living entities who have accepted material bodies; ÄtmÄ - the Supersoul; svayam - Himself; praká¹›tiḥ - material nature; Ä«Å›varaḥ - the controller; tat - His; pÄda-mÅ«lam - feet; Å›araṇam - shelter; yataḥ - from which; ká¹£emaḥ - good fortune; nṛṇÄm - of men; iha - in this world.


Text

Śrī Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the Supersoul and guide of all living entities who have accepted material bodies within this world. He is the supreme controller of all material activities in material nature. He is also our best friend, and everyone should take shelter at His lotus feet. In doing so, one’s life will be auspicious.

Purport

In Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (18.61) it is said, Ä«Å›varaḥ sarva-bhÅ«tÄnÄá¹ há¹›d-deÅ›e ’rjuna tiṣṭhati: “The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna.†The living entity is within the body, and the Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is also there. He is called antaryÄmÄ« and caitya-guru. As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (15.15), He is controlling everything:

sarvasya cÄhaá¹ há¹›di sanniviṣṭo
 mattaḥ smá¹›tir jñÄnam apohanaá¹ ca

“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.â€

Everything is being directed by the Supersoul within the body; therefore the better part of valor is to take His direction and be happy. To take His directions, one needs to be a devotee, and this is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (10.10):

teá¹£Äá¹ satata-yuktÄnÄá¹
 bhajatÄá¹ prÄ«ti-pÅ«rvakam
dadÄmi buddhi-yogaá¹ taá¹
 yena mÄm upayÄnti te

“To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.â€

Although the Supersoul is in everyone’s heart (Ä«Å›varaḥ sarva-bhÅ«tÄnÄá¹ há¹›d-deÅ›e ’rjuna tiṣṭhati), He talks only to the pure devotees who constantly engage in His service. In Caitanya-bhÄgavata (Antya 3.45) it is said:

tÄhÄre se bali vidyÄ, mantra, adhyayana
 kṛṣṇa-pÄda-padme ye karaye sthira mana

“One who has fixed his mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa is to be understood as having the best education and as having studied all the Vedas.†There are also other appropriate quotes in Caitanya-bhÄgavata:

sei se vidyÄra phala jÄniha niÅ›caya
 kṛṣṇa-pÄda-padme yadi citta-vá¹›tti raya

“The perfect result of an education is the fixing of one’s mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.†(Ādi 13.178)

‘dig-vijaya kariba,’ — vidyÄra kÄrya nahe
 Ä«Å›vare bhajile, sei vidyÄ ‘satya’ kahe

“Conquering the world by means of material education is not desirable. If one engages himself in devotional service, his education is perfected.†(Ādi 13.173)

paá¸e kene loka — kṛṣṇa-bhakti jÄnibÄre
 se yadi nahila, tabe vidyÄya ki kare

“The purpose of education is to understand Kṛṣṇa and His devotional service. If one does not do so, then education is false.†(Ādi 12.49)

tÄhÄre se bali dharma, karma sadÄcÄra
 Ä«Å›vare se prÄ«ti janme sammata sabÄra

“Being cultured, educated, very active and religious means developing natural love for Kṛṣṇa.†(Antya 3.44) Everyone has dormant love for Kṛṣṇa, and by culture and education that has to be awakened. That is the purpose of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Once Lord Caitanya asked ÅšrÄ« RÄmÄnanda RÄya what the best part of education was, and RÄmÄnanda RÄya replied that the best part of education is advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.