यथा तरोर्मूलनिषेचनेन
तृप्यन्ति तत्स्कन्धभुजोपशाखाः ।
प्राणोपहाराच्च यथेन्द्रियाणां
तथैव सर्वार्हणमच्युतेज्या ॥१४॥

yathÄ taror mÅ«la-niá¹£ecanena
tá¹›pyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaÅ›ÄkhÄḥ
prÄṇopahÄrÄc ca yathendriyÄṇÄá¹
tathaiva sarvÄrhaṇam acyutejyÄ

30 times this text was mentioned in purports to other texts: BG(1) , CC(1) , LBG(10) , LSB(7) , SB(7) , TLC(1) , TLKS(3)

 yathÄ - as; taroḥ - of a tree; mÅ«la - the root; niá¹£ecanena - by watering; tá¹›pyanti - are satisfied; tat - its; skandha - trunk; bhuja - branches; upaÅ›ÄkhÄḥ - and twigs; prÄṇa - the life air; upahÄrÄt - by feeding; ca - and; yathÄ - as; indriyÄṇÄm - of the senses; tathÄ eva - similarly; sarva - of all demigods; arhaṇam - worship; acyuta - of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ijyÄ - worship.


Text

As pouring water on the root of a tree energizes the trunk, branches, twigs and everything else, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, simply worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead through devotional service automatically satisfies the demigods, who are parts of that Supreme Personality.

Purport

Sometimes people ask why this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement simply advocates worship of Kṛṣṇa to the exclusion of the demigods. The answer is given in this verse. The example of pouring water on the root of a tree is very appropriate. In Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (15.1) it is said, Å«rdhva-mÅ«lam adhaḥ-Å›Äkham: this cosmic manifestation has expanded downward, and the root is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the Lord confirms in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (10.8), ahaá¹ sarvasya prabhavaḥ: “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds.†Kṛṣṇa is the root of everything; therefore rendering service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇa-sevÄ), means automatically serving all the demigods. Sometimes it is argued that karma and jñÄna require a mixture of bhakti in order to be successfully executed, and sometimes it is argued that bhakti also requires karma and jñÄna for its successful termination. The fact is, however, that although karma and jñÄna cannot be successful without bhakti, bhakti does not require the help of karma and jñÄna. Actually, as described by ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«, anyÄbhilÄá¹£itÄ-śūnyaá¹ jñÄna-karmÄdy-anÄvá¹›tam: pure devotional service should not be contaminated by the touch of karma and jñÄna. Modern society is involved in various types of philanthropic works, humanitarian works and so on, but people do not know that these activities will never be successful unless Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is brought into the center. One may ask what harm there is in worshiping Kṛṣṇa and the different parts of His body, the demigods, and the answer is also given in this verse. The point is that by supplying food to the stomach, the indriyas, the senses, are automatically satisfied. If one tries to feed his eyes or ears independently, the result is only havoc. Simply by supplying food to the stomach, we satisfy all of the senses. It is neither necessary nor feasible to render separate service to the individual senses. The conclusion is that by serving Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇa-sevÄ), everything is complete. As confirmed in Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta (Madhya 22.62), kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma ká¹›ta haya: if one is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything is automatically accomplished.