Shloka 47
क्लेशभूर्यल्पसाराणि कर्माणि विफलानि वा । देहिनां विषयार्तानां न तथैवार्पितं त्वयि ॥ ४७ ॥
kleśa-bhūry-alpa-sārāṇi karmāṇi viphalāni vā dehināṁ viṣayārtānāṁ na tathaivārpitaṁ tvayi
The works of karmīs, distressed by craving for sense objects, bring much hardship, little essence, and sometimes only frustration. But for devotees who have offered their lives to the Lord’s service it is not so: without excessive labor they attain great results, beyond expectation.
We can practically see how the devotees who have dedicated their lives for the service of the Lord in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are getting immense opportunities for the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead without working very hard. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement actually started with only forty rupees, but now it has more than forty crores worth of property, and all this opulence has been achieved within eight or ten years. No karmī can expect to improve his business so swiftly, and besides that, whatever a karmī acquires is temporary and sometimes frustrating. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, everything is encouraging and improving. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not very popular with the karmīs because this movement recommends that one refrain from illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication. These are restrictions that karmīs very much dislike. Nonetheless, in the presence of so many enemies, this movement is progressing, going forward without impediments. If the devotees continue to spread this movement, dedicating life and soul to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, no one will be able to check it. The movement will go forward without limits. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa!
FAQs
This verse says that actions driven by attachment to sense-objects are full of distress, lacking real essence, and often end in failure; they become transformed when offered to the Lord.
Facing crisis and seeking divine shelter, the demigods acknowledge that worldly, sense-driven effort cannot truly succeed, and they therefore turn to Vishnu, offering their actions and dependence to Him.
Do your duties, but shift the intention: dedicate your work, results, and abilities to God—reducing anxiety over outcomes and turning ordinary effort into a devotional offering.