Shloka 23
मदाश्रया: कथा मृष्टा:शृण्वन्ति कथयन्ति च । तपन्ति विविधास्तापा नैतान्मद्गतचेतस: ॥ २३ ॥
mad-āśrayāḥ kathā mṛṣṭāḥ śṛṇvanti kathayanti ca tapanti vividhās tāpā naitān mad-gata-cetasaḥ
Taking shelter of Me, the sādhus continually hear and speak My sweet narrations. Their minds absorbed in My līlās, they are not scorched by the many miseries of material existence.
There are multifarious miseries in material existence — those pertaining to the body and the mind, those imposed by other living entities and those imposed by natural disturbances. But a sādhu is not disturbed by such miserable conditions because his mind is always filled with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and thus he does not like to talk about anything but the activities of the Lord. Mahārāja Ambarīṣa did not speak of anything but the pastimes of the Lord. Vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane ( Bhāg. 9.4.18). He engaged his words only in glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sādhus are always interested in hearing about the activities of the Lord or His devotees. Since they are filled with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are forgetful of the material miseries. Ordinary conditioned souls, being forgetful of the activities of the Lord, are always full of anxieties and material tribulations. On the other hand, since the devotees always engage in the topics of the Lord, they are forgetful of the miseries of material existence.
FAQs
This verse says devotees who take shelter of the Lord constantly hear and speak His pleasing narrations, which strengthens devotion and fixes the mind in Him.
Kapila is teaching Devahuti the nature of pure bhakti: even when hardships arise, they do not shake one whose consciousness is absorbed in the Lord.
Regularly hear and share the Lord’s teachings (scripture, kirtana, satsanga) so the mind stays anchored in Him; then stress and setbacks lose their power to unsettle you.