Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 1 - Chapter 1 - Verse 16


Sanskrit:

पुनश्च भूयाद्भगवत्यनन्तेरति: प्रसङ्गश्च तदाश्रयेषु ।महत्सु यां यामुपयामि सृष्टिंमैत्र्यस्तु सर्वत्र नमो द्विजेभ्य: ॥ १६ ॥

ITRANS:

punaś ca bhūyād bhagavaty ananteratiḥ prasaṅgaś ca tad-āśrayeṣumahatsu yāṁ yām upayāmi sṛṣṭiṁmaitry astu sarvatra namo dvijebhyaḥ

Translation:

Again, offering obeisances unto all you brāhmaṇas, I pray that if I should again take my birth in the material world I will have complete attachment to the unlimited Lord Kṛṣṇa, association with His devotees and friendly relations with all living beings.

Purport:

That a devotee of the Lord is the only perfect living being is explained herein by Mahārāja Parīkṣit. A devotee of the Lord is no one’s enemy, although there may be many enemies of a devotee. A devotee of the Lord does not like to associate with nondevotees, although he has no enmity with them. He desires association with the devotees of the Lord. This is perfectly natural because birds of the same feather mix together. And the most important function of a devotee is to have complete attachment for Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the father of all living beings. As a good son of the father behaves in a friendly way with all his other brothers, so also the devotee of the Lord, being a good son of the supreme father, Lord Kṛṣṇa, sees all other living beings in relation with the supreme father. He tries to bring back the upstart sons of the father to a saner stage and to get them to accept the supreme fatherhood of God. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was certainly going back to Godhead, but even if he were not to go back, he prayed for a pattern of life which is the most perfect way in the material world. A pure devotee does not desire the company of a personality as great as Brahmā, but he prefers the association of a petty living being, provided he is a devotee of the Lord.