Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 34
Karma, Jñāna, and Bhakti: Vedic Dharma, Piety and Sin, and the Boat of Human Life
न किञ्चित् साधवो धीरा भक्ता ह्येकान्तिनो मम । वाञ्छन्त्यपि मया दत्तं कैवल्यमपुनर्भवम् ॥ ३४ ॥
na kiñcit sādhavo dhīrā bhaktā hy ekāntino mama vāñchanty api mayā dattaṁ kaivalyam apunar-bhavam
إن عبادي المخلصين لي وحدي أهلُ صلاحٍ ورجاحةِ عقل؛ لا يرغبون في شيءٍ سواي. بل إنني لو عرضتُ عليهم الكيفليا—التحرر من الولادة والموت—لما قبلوها.
The words ekāntino mama indicate that the pure devotees of the Lord, being saintly and most intelligent, dedicate themselves exclusively to the devotional service of the Personality of Godhead. Even when the Lord offers them personal liberation from birth and death, the devotees will not accept it. A pure devotee automatically gains an eternal life of bliss and knowledge in the Lord’s personal abode and thus considers mere liberation without the loving service of the Lord to be most abominable. One who chants Lord Kṛṣṇa’s holy name or superficially serves the Lord with the motive of achieving impersonal liberation or material sense gratification cannot be considered a transcendental devotee of the Lord. As long as one desires mundane religiosity, economic development, sense gratification or liberation, one cannot achieve the platform of samādhi, or perfect self-realization. Every living entity is actually the eternal servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa and is constitutionally meant to engage in the loving service of the Lord without personal desire. This pure and supreme status of life is described in this verse by the Lord Himself.
FAQs
In this verse, Kṛṣṇa says His exclusive devotees desire nothing—not even kaivalya, liberation from rebirth—because their fulfillment is loving service to Him.
While teaching Uddhava, Kṛṣṇa highlights the supremacy of pure bhakti: one-pointed devotees value relationship and service to Bhagavān over any personal attainment, even liberation.
Practice devotion as an offering rather than a transaction—serve, chant, and remember God without bargaining for results, and let spiritual goals arise as grace rather than as demands.