Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 53
Dakṣa’s Sacrifice Restored: Śiva’s Mercy and Nārāyaṇa’s Appearance
यथा पुमान्न स्वाङ्गेषु शिर:पाण्यादिषु क्वचित् । पारक्यबुद्धिं कुरुते एवं भूतेषु मत्पर: ॥ ५३ ॥
yathā pumān na svāṅgeṣu śiraḥ-pāṇy-ādiṣu kvacit pārakya-buddhiṁ kurute evaṁ bhūteṣu mat-paraḥ
जसा मनुष्य आपल्या शरीरातील डोके, हात इत्यादी अवयवांना कधी परके मानत नाही, तसा माझ्यात परायण भक्त सर्व प्राण्यांत भेद पाहत नाही.
Whenever there is disease in any part of the body, the whole body takes care of the ailing part. Similarly, a devotee’s oneness is manifested in His compassion for all conditioned souls. Bhagavad-gītā (5.18) says, paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ: those who are learned see everyone’s conditional life equally. Devotees are compassionate to every conditioned soul, and therefore they are known as apārakya-buddhi. Because devotees are learned and know that every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, they preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness to everyone so that everyone may be happy. If a particular part of the body is diseased, the whole attention of the body goes to that part. Similarly, devotees care for any person who is forgetful of Kṛṣṇa and therefore in material consciousness. The equal vision of the devotee is that he works to get all living entities back home, back to Godhead.
FAQs
This verse says that a devotee who is fixed in the Supreme does not see any living being as чужд or separate—just as one never considers one’s own limbs to belong to someone else.
In the aftermath of Daksha’s sacrifice and the conflict surrounding it, Shiva teaches the deeper vision of devotion—transcending bodily identification and hostility by seeing all beings in relation to the Supreme.
Practice reducing “us vs. them” thinking: treat others with the care you naturally give your own body, and let devotion translate into compassion, restraint, and respect for all life.