17.78
kvaham daridrah papiyan
kva krsnah sri-niketanah
brahma-bandhur iti smaham
bahubhyam parirambhitah
SYNONYMS
kva—whereas; aham—I (am); daridrah—very poor; papiyan—sinful; kva—whereas; krsnah—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sri-niketanah—the shelter of the goddess of fortune; brahma-bandhuh—a caste brahmana without brahminical qualifications; iti—thus; sma—certainly; aham—I (am); bahubhyam—by the arms; parirambhitah—embraced “ ’Since I am but a poor, sinful brahma-bandhu, not brahminically qualified although born in a brahmana family, and You, Lord Krsna, are the shelter of the goddess of fortune, it is simply wonderful, my dear Lord Krsna, that You have embraced me with Your arms.’ ”
PURPORT
This is a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.81.16) spoken by Sudama Vipra in the presence of Lord Sri Krsna.
This and the previous verse quoted from Srimad-Bhagavatam clearly indicate that although Krsna is so great that it is not possible for anyone to satisfy Him, He exhibits His greatness by being personally satisfied even with one who is disqualified from so many angles of vision.
Sudama Vipra was born in a family of brahmanas, and he was a learned scholar and a class friend of Krsna’s, yet he considered himself unfit to be strictly called a brahmana.
He called himself a brahma-bandhu, meaning “one born in a brahmana family but not brahminically qualified.” Because of His great respect for brahmanas, however, Krsna embraced Sudama Vipra, although he was not a regular brahmana but a brahma-bandhu, or friend of a brahmana family.
Murari Gupta could not be called even a brahma-bandhu because he was born of a vaidya family and according to the social structure was therefore considered a sudra.
But Krsna bestowed special mercy upon Murari Gupta because he was a beloved devotee of the Lord, as stated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
The purport of Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s elaborate discussion of this subject is that no qualification in this material world can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, yet everything becomes successful simply through development of devotional service to the Lord.
The members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness cannot even call themselves brahma-bandhus.
Therefore our only means for satisfying Krsna is to pursue the injunctions of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who says:
yare dekha, tare kaha ’krsna’-upadesa
amara ajnaya guru hana tara’ ei desa “Whomever you meet, instruct him on the teachings of Krsna.
In this way, on My order, become a spiritual master and deliver the people of this country.” (Cc.Madhya 7.128) Simply trying to follow the orders of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, we speak to the people of the world about Bhagavad-gita As It Is.
This will make us qualified to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna.