samuddharanti ye vipraḿ
sīdantaḿ mat-parāyaṇam
tān uddhariṣye na cirād
āpadbhyo naur ivārṇavāt
samuddharanti -- uplift; ye -- those who; vipram -- a brahmana or devotee; sidantam -- suffering (from poverty); mat-parayanam -- surrendered to Me; tan -- those who have uplifted; uddharishye -- I will uplift; na cirat -- in the near future; apadbhyah -- from all miseries; nauh -- a boat; iva -- like; arnavat -- from the ocean.
Just as a ship rescues those who have fallen into the ocean, similarly, I very quickly rescue from all calamities those persons who uplift brahmanas and devotees suffering in a poverty-stricken condition.
The Lord has described how brahmanas and devotees achieve the perfection of life, and now a similar perfection is offered to those who utilize their materialistic wealth to relieve the poverty-stricken condition of devotees and brahmanas. Although one may neglect the devotional service of the Lord to pursue a material life of sense gratification, one can rectify one's position by dedicating one's hard-earned money to the service of the Lord. Seeing the difficult austerities accepted by saintly persons, a pious person should make arrangements for their comfort. Just as a boat saves hopeless people who have fallen into the ocean, similarly, the Lord uplifts persons who have hopelessly fallen into the ocean of material attachment if they have been charitable to the brahmanas and devotees.
