प्रीतोऽहं वः सुरश्रेष्ठा मदुपस्थानविद्यया ।
आत्मैश्वर्यस्मृतिः पुंसां भक्तिश्चैव यया मयि ॥४७॥
Å›rÄ«-bhagavÄn uvÄca
prÄ«to 'haá¹ vaḥ sura-Å›reá¹£á¹hÄ
mad-upasthÄna-vidyayÄ
ÄtmaiÅ›varya-smá¹›tiḥ puá¹sÄá¹
bhaktiÅ› caiva yayÄ mayi
Å›rÄ«-bhagavÄn uvÄca - the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; prÄ«taḥ - pleased; aham - I; vaḥ - of you; sura-Å›reá¹£á¹hÄḥ - O best of the demigods; mat-upasthÄna-vidyayÄ - by the highly advanced knowledge and prayers offered unto Me; Ätma-aiÅ›varya-smá¹›tiḥ - remembrance of the exalted transcendental position of Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; puá¹sÄm - of men; bhaktiḥ - devotional service; ca - and; eva - certainly; yayÄ - by which; mayi - unto Me.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O beloved demigods, you have offered your prayers to Me with great knowledge, and I am certainly most pleased with you. A person is liberated by such knowledge, and thus he remembers My exalted position, which is above the conditions of material life. Such a devotee is fully purified by offering prayers in full knowledge. This is the source of devotional service to Me.
Another name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is UttamaÅ›loka, which means that He is offered prayers with selected verses. Bhakti means Å›ravaṇaá¹ kÄ«rtanaá¹ viṣṇoḥ, chanting and hearing about Lord Viṣṇu. Impersonalists cannot be purified, for they do not offer personal prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even though they sometimes offer prayers, the prayers are not directed toward the Supreme Person. Impersonalists sometimes show their incomplete knowledge by addressing the Lord as being nameless. They always offer prayers indirectly, saying, “You are this, You are that,†but they do not know to whom they are praying. A devotee, however, always offers personal prayers. A devotee says, govindam Ädi-puruá¹£aá¹ tam ahaá¹ bhajÄmi: “I offer my respectful obeisances unto Govinda, unto Kṛṣṇa.†That is the way to offer prayers. If one continues to offer such personal prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is eligible to become a pure devotee and return home, back to Godhead.
