Srimad Bhagavatam — Tritiya Skandha, Shloka 27
Kapila on Liberation: Detachment, Devotional Discipline, and the Soul’s Aloofness from the Guṇas
यदैवमध्यात्मरत: कालेन बहुजन्मना । सर्वत्र जातवैराग्य आब्रह्मभुवनान्मुनि: ॥ २७ ॥
yadaivam adhyātma-rataḥ kālena bahu-janmanā sarvatra jāta-vairāgya ābrahma-bhuvanān muniḥ
এইদৰে বহু জন্ম আৰু বহু কাল আত্মসাধনা আৰু ভক্তিত ৰত থাকিলে, সেই মুনিৰ ব্রহ্মলোকলৈকে সকলো লোকৰ ভোগৰ প্ৰতি সম্পূৰ্ণ বৈৰাগ্য জন্মে আৰু চেতনা পৰিপক্ব হয়।
Anyone engaged in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as a devotee, but there is a distinction between pure devotees and mixed devotees. A mixed devotee engages in devotional service for the spiritual benefit of being eternally engaged in the transcendental abode of the Lord in full bliss and knowledge. In material existence, when a devotee is not completely purified, he expects material benefit from the Lord in the form of relief from material miseries, or he wants material gain, advancement in knowledge of the relationship between the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entity, or knowledge as to the real nature of the Supreme Lord. When a person is transcendental to these conditions, he is called a pure devotee. He does not engage himself in the service of the Lord for any material benefit or for understanding of the Supreme Lord. His one interest is that he loves the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he spontaneously engages in satisfying Him.
FAQs
This verse teaches that sustained absorption in spiritual realization gradually produces detachment everywhere—even from the highest material destination, Brahmā’s world.
Kapila explains the natural maturation of bhakti and self-realization: over time and continued practice across lifetimes, the heart becomes free from attachment to all material realms.
Prioritize daily inner practice (hearing, chanting, meditation, self-inquiry) and measure progress by reduced craving for status, pleasure, and achievement—seeing them as temporary compared to spiritual growth.