प्रत्युद्गमप्रश्रयणाभिवादनं
विधीयते साधु मिथः सुमध्यमे ।
प्राज्ञैः परस्मै पुरुषाय चेतसा
गुहाशयायैव न देहमानिने ॥२२॥

pratyudgama-praÅ›rayaṇÄbhivÄdanaá¹
vidhÄ«yate sÄdhu mithaḥ sumadhyame
prÄjñaiḥ parasmai puruá¹£Äya cetasÄ
guhÄ-Å›ayÄyaiva na deha-mÄnine

 pratyudgama - standing up from one's seat; praÅ›rayaṇa - welcoming; abhivÄdanam - obeisances; vidhÄ«yate - are intended; sÄdhu - proper; mithaḥ - mutually; su-madhyame - my dear young wife; prÄjñaiḥ - by the wise; parasmai - unto the Supreme; puruá¹£Äya - unto the Supersoul; cetasÄ - with the intelligence; guhÄ-Å›ayÄya - sitting within the body; eva - certainly; na - not; deha-mÄnine - to the person identifying with the body.


Text

My dear young wife, certainly friends and relatives offer mutual greetings by standing up, welcoming one another and offering obeisances. But those who are elevated to the transcendental platform, being intelligent, offer such respects to the Supersoul, who is sitting within the body, not to the person who identifies with the body.

Purport

It may be argued that since Daká¹£a was the father-in-law of Lord Åšiva, it was certainly the duty of Lord Åšiva to offer him respect. In answer to that argument it is explained here that when a learned person stands up or offers obeisances in welcome, he offers respect to the Supersoul, who is sitting within everyone’s heart. Among Vaiṣṇavas, therefore, it is seen that even when a disciple offers obeisances to his spiritual master, the spiritual master immediately returns the obeisances because they are mutually offered not to the body but to the Supersoul. Therefore the spiritual master also offers respect to the Supersoul situated in the body of the disciple. The Lord says in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam that offering respect to His devotee is more valuable than offering respect to Him. Devotees do not identify with the body, so offering respect to a Vaiṣṇava means offering respect to Viṣṇu. It is stated also that, as a matter of etiquette, as soon as one sees a Vaiṣṇava one must immediately offer him respect, indicating the Supersoul sitting within. A Vaiṣṇava sees the body as a temple of Viṣṇu. Since Lord Åšiva had already offered respect to the Supersoul in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, offering respect to Daká¹£a, who identified with his body, was already performed. There was no need to offer respect to his body, for that is not directed by any Vedic injunction.