Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 2
Nondual Vision Beyond Praise and Blame
Dvandva-nivṛtti and Ātma-viveka
परस्वभावकर्माणि य: प्रशंसति निन्दति । स आशु भ्रश्यते स्वार्थादसत्यभिनिवेशत: ॥ २ ॥
para-svabhāva-karmāṇi yaḥ praśaṁsati nindati sa āśu bhraśyate svārthād asaty abhiniveśataḥ
凡沉溺于称赞或指责他人品性与行止者，由于执著于虚妄的二元对待，必迅速偏离自身的真实利益。
A conditioned soul desires to lord it over material nature and thus criticizes another conditioned soul whom he considers inferior. Similarly, one praises a superior materialist because one aspires to that superior position, in which one may dominate others. Praising and criticizing other materialistic people are thus directly or indirectly based on envy of other living entities and cause one to fall down from sva-artha, one’s real self-interest, Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
FAQs
In 11.28.2, Kṛṣṇa says that praising or condemning others’ nature and actions makes one quickly deviate from one’s true spiritual welfare, because it fixes the mind in the unreal.
Kṛṣṇa is training Uddhava in renunciation and steady spiritual intelligence—warning that judgmental fixation on others distracts the mind from आत्म-कल्याण (one’s real good) and from devotion to the Absolute.
Reduce reactive praise/blame, observe others without obsession, and redirect attention to sādhana—japa, hearing Bhāgavatam, and self-correction—so the mind stays anchored in what is real and beneficial.