Shloka 22
Divinity and Divine Service
Bhagavān and Bhakti as the Supreme Dharma
अतो वै कवयो नित्यं भक्तिं परमया मुदा । वासुदेवे भगवति कुर्वन्त्यात्मप्रसादनीम् ॥ २२ ॥
ato vai kavayo nityaṁ bhaktiṁ paramayā mudā vāsudeve bhagavati kurvanty ātma-prasādanīm
Therefore, from time without beginning, all transcendental sages have joyfully rendered supreme bhakti to Vāsudeva, Bhagavān, for such devotion enlivens and delights the self.
The speciality of devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is specifically mentioned herein. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the svayaṁ-rūpa Personality of Godhead, and all other forms of Godhead, beginning from Śrī Baladeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Vāsudeva, Aniruddha, Pradyumna and Nārāyaṇa and extending to the puruṣa-avatāras, guṇa-avatāras, līlā-avatāras, yugāvatāras and many other thousands of manifestations of the Personality of Godhead, are Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s plenary portions and integrated parts. The living entities are separated parts and parcels of the Personality of Godhead. Therefore Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original form of Godhead, and He is the last word in the Transcendence. Thus He is more attractive to the higher transcendentalists who participate in the eternal pastimes of the Lord. In forms of the Personality of Godhead other than Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva, there is no facility for intimate personal contact as in the transcendental pastimes of the Lord at Vrajabhūmi. The transcendental pastimes of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa are not newly accepted, as argued by some less intelligent persons; His pastimes are eternal and are manifested in due course once in a day of Brahmājī, as the sun rises on the eastern horizon at the end of every twenty-four hours.
FAQs
This verse says that the truly wise constantly engage in bhakti to Bhagavān Vāsudeva, because such devotion brings supreme joy and fully satisfies the soul.
In Canto 1 Chapter 2, Suta explains the essence of dharma for the age: devotion to the Supreme Lord. He highlights that bhakti is the natural, soul-pleasing conclusion reached by realized sages.
Make daily time for hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa (Vāsudeva), offer your work as service, and choose practices that increase inner clarity and devotion rather than mere external achievement.