īśvare tad-adhīneṣu
bÄliÅ›eá¹£u dviá¹£atsu ca
prema-maitrÄ«-ká¹›popeká¹£Ä
yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ
Ä«Å›vare - unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tat-adhÄ«neá¹£u - to persons who have taken fully to Kṛṣṇa consciousness; bÄliÅ›eá¹£u - unto the neophytes or the ignorant; dviá¹£atsu - to persons envious of Kṛṣṇa and the devotees of Kṛṣṇa; prema - love; maitrÄ« - friendship; ká¹›pÄ - mercy; upeká¹£Ä - negligence; yaḥ - anyone who; karoti - does; saḥ - he; madhyamaḥ - a second-class devotee.
“ ‘An intermediate, second-class devotee shows love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is friendly to all devotees and is very merciful to neophytes and ignorant people. The intermediate devotee neglects those who are envious of devotional service.
This is also a quotation from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (11.2.46). This statement was made by the great sage NÄrada while he was speaking to Vasudeva about devotional service. This subject was originally discussed between Nimi, the King of Videha, and the nine Yogendras.
