kanyÄ-dÄna-pÄtra Ämi nÄ ha-i tomÄra
kṛṣṇa-prÄ«tye kari tomÄra sevÄ-vyavahÄra

 kanyÄ-dÄna-pÄtra - a bridegroom suitable for one's daughter; Ämi - I;  - not; ha-i - am; tomÄra - of you; kṛṣṇa-prÄ«tye - only for satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa; kari - I do; tomÄra - of you; sevÄ - of service; vyavahÄra - activities.


Text

“Sir, I am not a suitable bridegroom for your daughter. I render service to you only for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa.

Purport

Both brÄhmaṇas were pure Vaiṣṇavas. The younger man took special care of the older one simply to please Kṛṣṇa. In ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (11.19.21) Kṛṣṇa says, mad-bhakta-pÅ«jÄbhyadhikÄ: “It is better to render service to My devotee.†Thus, according to the Gauá¸Ä«ya-Vaiṣṇava philosophy of Caitanya MahÄprabhu, it is better to be a servant of the servant of God. One should not try to serve Kṛṣṇa directly. A pure Vaiṣṇava serves a servant of Kṛṣṇa and identifies himself as a servant of a servant of Kṛṣṇa. This is pleasing to Lord Kṛṣṇa. ÅšrÄ«la Narottama dÄsa ṬhÄkura confirms this philosophy: chÄá¸iyÄ vaiṣṇava-sevÄ nistÄra peyeche kebÄ. Unless one serves a liberated Vaiṣṇava, he cannot attain liberation by directly serving Kṛṣṇa. He must serve the servant of Kṛṣṇa.