विप्राद् द्विषड्गुणयुतादरविन्दनाभ-पादारविन्दविमुखात् श्वपचं वरिष्ठम् ।
Viprād dvi-ṣhaḍ-guṇa-yutād aravinda-nābha-pādāravinda-vimukhāt śvapacaṁ variṣṭham.- Shreemad Bhagwatam: 7.9.10
In the Bhagwatam, Prahlād ji is quoted as saying that a high-born Brahmin with all the great religious virtues is not as dear to Shri Krishna as a very low-born person who may be looked down upon by the society who has devotion to Shri Krishna’s lotus feet in his heart. Shri Krishna considers that so-called lowly person to be even higher than that great Brahmin.
Bhagwan Ram told the citizens of Ayodhya:
भगति हीन बिरंचि किन होई। सब जीवहु सम प्रिय मोहि सोई।।
Bhakti heen biranchi kin hoī. Sab jeevaahi sam priya mohi soī.
“Even if Biranchi, Brahmā, is bereft of devotion to Me, he is no more dear to me than any average soul.”
भगतिवंत अति नीचहु प्रानी। मोहि प्रानप्रिय असि मम बानी।।
Bhagativant ati nichahu prānī. Mohi prānapriya asi mam bānī.
“But if even the most lowly of all beings cherishes devotion to Me in his heart, then I consider him to be more dear than My own soul, more dear than My own life.”
Then what do we have to worry about? All we have to do is become innocent, love Him faithfully. He will take care of the rest! Shri Krishna Himself says, “If you take one step towards Me, I'll run sixty steps towards you!” So we have the inspiration. How do we follow up on this now? How do we put it into practice? As I mentioned yesterday, it requires correct knowledge, what Shri Mahara Ji calls ‘tattva-gyān’. Spiritual knowledge or spiritual understanding forms the basis for devotion and for understanding how to integrate devotion into our busy lives.
What do we have to understand? I would say it could all be summed up like this. We have to make Radha-Krishna a part of our family. Whether you're a one-person family or whether you have five or six or ten or twenty in your family, we have to make Radha-Krishna truly a part of our family. In our heart, we have to feel like that. Then we will find a way to integrate devotion into our lives.
