su-duḥṣaham imaṠmanya
Ätmany asad-atikramam
viduá¹£Äm api viÅ›vÄtman
prakṛtir hi balīyasī
á¹›te tvad-dharma-niratÄn
Å›ÄntÄá¹s te caraṇÄlayÄn
su-duḥsaham - most difficult to tolerate; imam - this; manye - I consider; Ätmani - upon oneself; asat - by ignorant people; atikramam - the attacks; viduá¹£Äm - for those who are learned; api - even; viÅ›va-Ätman - O soul of the universe; praká¹›tiḥ - one's conditioned personality; hi - certainly; balÄ«yasÄ« - very strong; á¹›te - except for; tvat-dharma - in Your devotional service; niratÄn - those who are fixed; Å›ÄntÄn - peaceful; te - Your; caraṇa-ÄlayÄn - who reside at the lotus feet.
O soul of the universe, the conditioning of one’s personality in material life is very strong, and therefore it is very difficult even for learned men to tolerate the offenses committed against them by ignorant people. Only Your devotees, who are fixed in Your loving service and who have achieved peace by residing at Your lotus feet, are able to tolerate such offenses.
Unless one becomes advanced in the process of hearing and chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord, theoretical learning cannot make one actually saintly. One’s conditioned personality, the result of long material association, is very difficult to overcome. Therefore we should humbly take shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, who has so wonderfully explained to Śrī Uddhava the real meaning of knowledge.
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupÄda to the Eleventh Canto, Twenty-second Chapter, of the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, entitled “Enumeration of the Elements of Material Creation.â€
