Shloka 3
स कथं सेवया तस्य कालेन जरसं गत: । पृष्टो वार्तां प्रतिब्रूयाद्भर्तु: पादावनुस्मरन् ॥ ३ ॥
sa kathaṁ sevayā tasya kālena jarasaṁ gataḥ pṛṣṭo vārtāṁ pratibrūyād bhartuḥ pādāv anusmaran
Thus Uddhava served the Lord unceasingly from childhood, and even in old age that spirit of service never waned. When asked about the Lord’s message, he at once remembered his Master’s lotus feet and became absorbed in that remembrance.
Transcendental service to the Lord is not mundane. The service attitude of the devotee gradually increases and never becomes slackened. Generally, in old age a person is allowed retirement from mundane service. But in the transcendental service of the Lord there is no retirement at all; on the contrary, the service attitude increases more and more with the progress of age. In the transcendental service there is no satiation, and therefore there is no retirement. Materially, when a man becomes tired by rendering service in his physical body, he is allowed retirement, but in the transcendental service there is no feeling of fatigue because it is spiritual service and is not on the bodily plane. Service on the bodily plane dwindles as the body grows older, but the spirit is never old, and therefore on the spiritual plane the service is never tiresome.
FAQs
This verse portrays constant remembrance of the Lord’s feet as so absorbing that even ordinary conversation becomes difficult—showing the depth of bhakti rooted in loving service.
Because he was overwhelmed by devotion and separation, continuously meditating on his Lord’s lotus feet, making worldly speech secondary to inner remembrance.
Keep daily practices that anchor the mind in Krishna—japa, hearing Bhagavatam, and mindful service—so remembrance gradually becomes natural even amid duties.