yatas tadÄ«yÄḥ
yataḥ - because; tadÄ«yÄḥ - His.
Here NÄrada explains why one should avoid caste-conscious prejudice toward devotees of Kṛṣṇa: because devotees are all one class—they are all His own. And because they belong to the Supreme Lord (tadÄ«yÄḥ), the devotees are worshipable:
ÄrÄdhanÄnÄá¹ sarveá¹£Äá¹ viṣṇor ÄrÄdhanaá¹ param
tasmÄt parataraá¹ devi tadÄ«yÄnÄá¹ samarcanam
"Of all types of worship, worship of Lord Viṣṇu is best, and better than the worship of Lord Viṣṇu is the worship of His devotee, the Vaiṣṇava" (Padma PurÄṇa).
TadÄ«ya means "in relation to Him." The devotees are intimately related to the Lord because they are under the shelter of His internal energy. Thus they always accompany Him and serve Him as His carrier Garuá¸a, His couch Ananta Åšeá¹£a, His cows, His gopas and gopÄ«s, and so on.
In a general sense, all living entities are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa—"My eternal fragmental parts," Kṛṣṇa saysand that is another reason why one should not judge someone higher or lower by material standards. But although all jÄ«vas are dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, He is dear only to His devotees, and therefore they receive His special attention. As He says in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (9.29),
samo 'haṠsarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo 'sti na priyaḥ
ye bhajanti tu mÄá¹ bhaktyÄ mayi te teá¹£u cÄpy aham
"I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend—is in Me—and I am also a friend to him."
During a conversation with SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« and HaridÄsa ṬhÄkura in JagannÄtha PurÄ«, Lord Caitanya once elaborately explained the same truth expressed in this sÅ«tra. SanÄtana had contracted a skin disease that produced oozing sores. Out of humility he considered his body useless for devotional service, and he decided to commit suicide under the wheel of Lord JagannÄtha's chariot. But Lord Caitanya read his mind and forbade him to do so, telling him that he had already surrendered his body to the Lord for service. Lord Caitanya used to embrace SanÄtana, and this made SanÄtana feel mortified because his oozing sores touched the Lord's body. And so SanÄtana decided to leave JagannÄtha PurÄ«. But Lord Caitanya explained that He was not offended by SanÄtana's body; rather, He felt great bliss while embracing SanÄtana because He saw his body as transcendental. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu quoted the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (5.18):
vidyÄ-vinaya-sampanne brÄhmaṇe gavi hastini
Å›uni caiva Å›va-pÄke ca paṇá¸itÄḥ sama-darÅ›inaḥ
"The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brÄhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater [outcaste]."
On hearing this quote, HaridÄsa said, "What You have spoken deals with external formalities." Lord Caitanya then revealed His inner thoughts regarding His love for His devotees:
My dear HaridÄsa and SanÄtana, I think of you as My little boys, to be maintained by Me. The maintainer never takes seriously any faults of the maintained....When a child passes stool and urine that touch the body of the mother, the mother never hates the child. On the contrary, she takes much pleasure in cleaning him. The stool and urine of the child appear like sandalwood pulp to the mother. Similarly, when the foul moisture oozing from the sores of SanÄtana touches My body, I have no hatred for him. [Cc. Antya 4.184-7]
Lord Caitanya then further explained the glories of devotional service and how it transforms a devotee's body into spiritual existence.
In conclusion, the body of a pure devotee is never material. Even if it appears so, Kṛṣṇa still accepts the devotee as dear and embraces him as His own. By the Lord's mercy, the devotee is spiritualized, and in his transcendental body he renders service to the Lord's lotus feet.