SB 1.2.16 (1962)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT No. 16
Shushrusoh shraddhanasya Vasudeva katha ruchih, Sat mahatsevaya viprah punyatirtha nesevanat.
ENGLISH SYNONYMS
Sushrusoh—one who is engaged in hearing, Shraddhadhnasya—with care and attention, Vasudeva—in respect of Vasudeva, Katha—message, Ruchi—affinity, Sat—is made possible, Mahatsevaya—by service rendered to pure devotees, Vipra—oh the twice born, Punyatirtha—those who are cleansed of all vice, Nesevanat—by service.
TRANSLATION
Oh the twice born sages, by serving those devotees who are completely freed from all ranges of vice, a standard of great service is done. And as the result of such great service affinity in the messages of Vasudeva is made possible.
PURPORT
The conditioned life of a living being is set up by the revolting attitude against the Lord. There are classes of men called by the name Devata or godly living being and the Ashuras or the demoniac living beings who are against the authority of the Supreme Lord. In the Bhagwat Geeta (BG 16) a vivid description of the Ashuras is given in which the Ashuras are said to be put into greater and greater state of ignorance life after life like the lower animals in which there is no information of the Absolute Truth the Personality of Godhead. These Ashuras are gradually rectified into God-consciousness by the mercy of the Lord's liberated servitors in different countries and climate according to the Supreme Will. Such devotees of God are very confidential associates of the Lord and when they come to save the human society from the dangers of Godlessness, they are known somewhere as the powerful incarnation of the Lord, the Son of the Lord, the Servant of the Lord, the associate of the Lord but none of them declare falsely that they are themselves God. This blasphemy is declared by the Ashuras and the demoniac followers of such Ashuras also accept a pretender as God or His incarnation.
In the revealed scriptures there is definite information of these incarnations of God and no body can be accepted as God or incarnation of God without reference to the above mentioned revealed scriptures.
These servants of God are to be respected as God by the devotees who actually want to go back to Godhead. Such servants of God are called Mahatmas or the Tirthas and they make various propaganda according to the particular time and space. The standard quality of the Servants of God is that they canvass people to become devotees of the Lord and never tolerate the blasphemy of being called as God. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was God Himself according to the authoritative indications of the revealed scriptures but He played the part of a devotee. Anywhere any person who knew Him to be God Himself addressed Him as God. He used to block His ears with the hands murmuring with the Name of Lord Vishnu. He strongly protested against being called as God although undoutedly He was God Himself. This behaviour of the Lord is just to warn unscrupulous men who take false pleasure in the matter of being addressed as God.
These servants of God come with a mission of life to propagate God-consciousness in the human society and intelligent persons should co-operate with them in every respect. By serving the servant of God, one can please God more than directly serving the Lord. The Lord is more pleased when He sees that His servants are properly respected because such servants of God who risk everything for the service of the Lord are very very dear to the Lord. The Lord declares in the Bhagwat Geeta that no body is dearer to Him than those who risk everything for the preaching work of God's glory. (BG 18.69) By serving the servants of the Lord gradually one gets the quality of such servants and this particular qualification of serving the servant of God makes one qualified with the urge for hearing the glorification of God. This eagerness for hearing about God is the first qualification of a devotee eligible for entering into the kingdom of God.