mahat-kášpÄ vinÄ kona karme 'bhakti' naya
kášášŁáša-bhakti dĹŤre rahu, saášsÄra nahe kᚣaya
mahat-kášpÄ - the mercy of great devotees; vinÄ - without; kona karme - by some other activity; bhakti naya - there is not devotional service; kášášŁáša-bhakti - love of KášášŁáša or devotional service to KášášŁáša; dĹŤre rahu - leaving aside; saášsÄra - the bondage of material existence; nahe - there is not; kᚣaya - destruction.
Pious activities bring about material opulence, but one cannot acquire devotional service by any amount of material pious activity â not by giving charity, opening big hospitals and schools or working philanthropically. Devotional service can be attained only by the mercy of a pure devotee. Without a pure devoteeâs mercy, one cannot even escape the bondage of material existence. The word mahat in this verse means âa pure devotee,â as Lord KášášŁáša confirms in the Bhagavad-gÄŤtÄ (9.13):
mahÄtmÄnas tu mÄáš pÄrtha daivÄŤáš prakáštim ÄĹritÄḼ
bhajanty ananya-manaso jĂąÄtvÄ bhĹŤtÄdim avyayam
âO son of PášthÄ, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.â
One has to associate with such a mahÄtmÄ, who has accepted KášášŁáša as the supreme source of the entire creation. Without being a mahÄtmÄ, one cannot understand KášášŁášaâs absolute position. A mahÄtmÄ is rare and transcendental, and he is a pure devotee of Lord KášášŁáša. Foolish people consider KášášŁáša a human being, and they consider Lord KášášŁášaâs pure devotee an ordinary human being also. Whatever one may be, one must take shelter at the lotus feet of a devotee mahÄtmÄ and treat him as the most exalted well-wisher of all human society. We should take shelter of such a mahÄtmÄ and ask for his causeless mercy. Only by his benediction can one be relieved from attachment to the materialistic way of life. When one is thus relieved, he can engage in the Lordâs transcendental loving service through the mercy of the mahÄtmÄ.