पुमान्लभेतानतिवेलमात्मनः
प्रसीदतोऽत्यन्तशमं स्वतः स्वयम् ।
यन्नित्यसम्बन्धनिषेवया ततः
परं किमत्रास्ति मुखं हविर्भुजाम् ॥४०॥

pumÄn labhetÄnativelam Ätmanaḥ
prasīdato 'tyanta-śamaṠsvataḥ svayam
yan-nitya-sambandha-niá¹£evayÄ tataḥ
paraá¹ kim atrÄsti mukhaá¹ havir-bhujÄm

 pumÄn - a person; labheta - can achieve; anati-velam - without delay; Ätmanaḥ - of his soul; prasÄ«dataḥ - being satisfied; atyanta - the greatest; Å›amam - peace; svataḥ - automatically; svayam - personally; yat - whose; nitya - regular; sambandha - relationship; niá¹£evayÄ - by dint of service; tataḥ - after that; param - superior; kim - what; atra - here; asti - there is; mukham - happiness; haviḥ - clarified butter; bhujÄm - those who drink.


Text

By regular service to the brÄhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas, one can clear the dirt from his heart and thus enjoy supreme peace and liberation from material attachment and be satisfied. In this world there is no fruitive activity superior to serving the brÄhmaṇa class, for this can bring pleasure to the demigods, for whom the many sacrifices are recommended.

Purport

In Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (2.65) it is said, prasÄde sarva-duḥkhÄnÄá¹ hÄnir asyopajÄyate. Unless one is self-satisfied, he cannot be free from the miserable conditions of material existence. Therefore it is essential to render service to the brÄhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas to achieve the perfection of self-satisfaction. ÅšrÄ«la Narottama dÄsa ṬhÄkura therefore says:

tÄá¹…dera caraṇa sevi bhakta-sane vÄsa
 janame janame haya, ei abhilÄá¹£a

“Birth after birth I desire to serve the lotus feet of the ÄcÄryas and live in a society of devotees.†A spiritual atmosphere can be maintained only by living in a society of devotees and by serving the orders of the ÄcÄryas. The spiritual master is the best brÄhmaṇa. At present, in the Age of Kali, it is very difficult to render service to the brÄhmaṇa-kula, or the brÄhmaṇa class. The difficulty, according to the VarÄha PurÄṇa, is that demons, taking advantage of Kali-yuga, have taken birth in brÄhmaṇa families. RÄká¹£asÄḥ kalim ÄÅ›ritya jÄyante brahma-yoniá¹£u (VarÄha PurÄṇa). In other words, in this age there are many so-called caste brÄhmaṇas and caste gosvÄmÄ«s who, taking advantage of the Å›Ästra and of the innocence of people in general, claim to be brÄhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas by hereditary right. One will not derive any benefit by rendering service to such false brÄhmaṇa-kulas. One must therefore take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and his associates and should also render service to them, for such activity will greatly help the neophyte in attaining full satisfaction. This has been very clearly explained by ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« ṬhÄkura in his explanation of the verse vyavasÄyÄtmikÄ buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana (Bg. 2.41). By actually following the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga as recommended by ÅšrÄ«la Narottama dÄsa ṬhÄkura, one can very quickly come to the transcendental platform of liberation, as explained in this verse (atyanta-Å›amam).

The particular use of the word anativelam, “without delay,†is very significant because simply by serving brÄhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas one can get liberation. There is no need to undergo severe penances and austerities. The vivid example of this is NÄrada Muni himself. In his previous birth, he was simply a maidservant’s son, but he got the opportunity to serve exalted brÄhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas, and thus in his next life he not only became liberated, but became famous as the supreme spiritual master of the entire Vaiṣṇava disciplic succession. According to the Vedic system, therefore, it is customarily recommended that after performing a ritualistic ceremony one should feed the brÄhmaṇas.