SB 11.7.6
tvam tu sarvam parityajya
sneham sva-jana-bandhusu
mayy avesya manah samyak
sama-drg vicarasva gam
Translation:
Now you should completely give up all attachment to your personal friends and relatives and fix your mind on Me. Thus being always conscious of Me, you should observe all things with equal vision and wander throughout the earth.
Purport:
Srimad Viraraghava Acarya has explained the concept of equal vision as follows: sama-drk sarvasya brahmatmakatvanusandhana-rupa-sama-drstiman. “One who is on the path of self-realization should always endeavor to see the ultimate spiritual nature of all existence.” The word mayi in this verse means paramatmani. One should fix one’s mind on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the source of everything. Thus as one passes one’s life on the earth, using up one’s allotted time, one should practice seeing all things and all people as part and parcel of the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. Since all living entities are part and parcel of Krsna, ultimately they all have the same spiritual status. The material nature, also being an emanation of Krsna, has a similar spiritual status, but although matter and spirit are both emanations from the Personality of Godhead, they do not exist exactly on the same level. In Bhagavad-gita it is said that the spirit soul is the superior energy of the Lord, whereas the material nature is His inferior energy. However, since Lord Krsna is equally present in all things, the word sama-drk in this verse indicates that one must ultimately see Krsna within everything and everything within Krsna. Thus equal vision is compatible with mature knowledge of the varieties present within this world.
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura comments as follows on this verse. “At the end of His manifest pastimes on the earth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, thought as follows within His mind: ‘During My pastimes on the earth, I have satisfied the desires of all those devotees who anxiously desired to see Me. I have duly married many thousands of queens, headed by Rukmini, whom I personally kidnapped, and I have killed innumerable demons in various places and by various means. I have attended meetings, reunions and ceremonies with many friends, relatives and well-wishers in cities such as Vrndavana, Mathura, Dvaraka, Hastinapura and Mithila, and thus I have kept constantly busy coming and going in the performance of pastimes.
“‘I further arranged to give My personal association to great devotees who are situated below the earthly planet. In order to please My mother Devaki and return her six deceased sons who were killed by Kamsa, I descended to the planet Sutala and blessed My great devotee Bali Maharaja. In order to return the dead son of My spiritual master, Sandipani Muni, I personally went to the court of Ravinandana, or Yamaraja, and thus he was able to see Me face to face. I even blessed the residents of heaven, such as mother Aditi and Kasyapa Muni, with My personal association when I traveled there to steal the parijata flower for My wife Satyabhama. And in order to please the inhabitants of Maha-Visnu’s abode, such as Nanda, Sunanda and Sudarsana, I traveled to Maha-Vaikunthaloka to recover the deceased children of a frustrated brahmana. Thus, innumerable devotees who ardently desired to see Me have received the object of their prayers.
“‘Unfortunately Nara-Narayana Rsi and the great paramahamsa sages who live with Him in Badarikasrama, although most enthusiastic to see Me, never had their desire fulfilled. I have been on the earth for 125 years, and the scheduled time is now up. Being busily engaged in My pastimes, I did not have time to give My blessings to these great sages. Nevertheless, Uddhava is practically the same as Me. He is a great devotee and shares My own transcendental opulences. Thus, he is the right person for Me to send to Badarikasrama. I shall give Uddhava complete transcendental knowledge by which one becomes detached from the material world, and he in turn can deliver this knowledge, the science of transcending the kingdom of illusion, to the worthy sages at Badarikasrama. In this way he can teach them the method of rendering loving devotional service to My lotus feet. Such loving devotional service rendered to Me is the most valuable treasure, and by hearing such knowledge the desires of the great sages such as Nara-Narayana will be completely fulfilled.
“‘Those great souls who have surrendered unto Me are always equipped with transcendental knowledge and detachment from the material world. Sometimes, being busy in their devotional service, they may appear to forget Me. However, a pure devotee who has achieved the platform of love for Me will always be protected by such sincere devotion. Even if such a devotee should suddenly give up his life while neglecting to fix his mind intensely on Me, such a devotee’s loving feelings are so powerful that they afford him all protection. Even if there is a temporary moment of forgetfulness, such devotion will bring the devotee to My lotus feet, which are beyond the vision of ordinary, materialistic persons. Uddhava is My pure devotee. Knowledge of Me and detachment from this world have again been aroused in him because he can never give up My association.’”
The sincere servants of Caitanya Mahaprabhu are vigorously endeavoring to spread this Krsna consciousness movement for the pleasure of their spiritual master and Lord Krsna. At the present time thousands of devotees in the Krsna consciousness movement, in all parts of the world, are working long hours under difficult conditions to distribute transcendental literature and thus enlighten the general populace. In this effort the devotees have no personal motivation but are simply desirous of pleasing their spiritual master by distributing his books. The people who receive this literature usually have no previous experience of Krsna consciousness, yet they are so impressed by the purity of the devotees they meet that they eagerly purchase the books and magazines. In order to execute the tremendous task of spreading Krsna consciousness, the devotees are tirelessly laboring day and night because they are on the platform of loving devotion. Although superficially such busy devotees may occasionally not think directly of the lotus feet of Krsna, such loving devotion will undoubtedly take them back to Krsna’s lotus feet, and being pleased by their service, the Lord Himself will again arouse their unflinching meditation upon His personal form. This is the beauty of bhakti-yoga, which depends wholly and solely on the mercy of the all-merciful Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. This is the only totally safe means of uprooting the deep desires for material enjoyment, attaining pure love for Krsna and going beyond the material universe to the kingdom of God. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (2.40):
nehabhikrama-naso ’sti
pratyavayo na vidyate
sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya
trayate mahato bhayat
Lord Krsna also advised Uddhava in this verse to give up the illusory attachment to so-called friends and family within this material world. One may not be able to physically give up association with family and friends, but one should understand that everyone and everything is part and parcel of God and is meant for the pleasure of God. As soon as one thinks, “This is my personal family,” immediately one will see the material world as no more than a place for enjoying family life. As soon as one is attached to one’s so-called family, false prestige and material possessiveness arise. Actually, everyone is part and parcel of God and therefore, on the spiritual platform, related to all other entities. This is called krsna-sambandha, or the constitutional relationship with Krsna. It is not possible to advance to the highest stage of spiritual awareness and at the same time maintain a petty material concept of society, friendship and love. One should experience all relationships on the higher, spiritual platform of krsna-sambandha, which means seeing everything in relation to Lord Krsna, the Personality of Godhead.
One who is situated in his constitutional relationship with Krsna can see all things in relation to Krsna. He thus gives up the mundane urges of the body, mind and speech and travels throughout the earth as a devotee of the Lord. Such a highly elevated personality is called gosvami, or the master of the senses. This stage is described in Bhagavad-gita (18.54) by the words brahma-bhutah prasannatma: on the spiritual platform one attains complete satisfaction.