Text 37
bhaktāya citrā bhagavān hi sampado
rājyaṁ vibhūtīr na samarthayaty ajaḥ
adīrgha-bodhāya vicakṣaṇaḥ svayaṁ
paśyan nipātaṁ dhanināṁ madodbhavam
bhaktāya — to His devotee; citrāḥ — wonderful; bhagavān — the Supreme Lord; hi — indeed; sampadaḥ — opulences; rājyam — kingdom; vibhūtīḥ — material assets; na samarthayati — does not bestow; ajaḥ — unborn; adīrgha — short; bodhāya — whose understanding; vicakṣanaḥ — wise; svayam — Himself; paśyan — seeing; nipātam — the downfall; dhaninām — of the wealthy; mada — of the intoxication of pride; udbhavam — the rise.
To a devotee who lacks spiritual insight, the Supreme Lord will not grant the wonderful opulences of this world — kingly power and material assets. Indeed, in His infinite wisdom the unborn Lord well knows how the intoxication of pride can cause the downfall of the wealthy.
As explained by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, the humble brāhmaṇa Sudāmā considered himself unworthy of the Supreme Lord’s most rare and valuable benediction, pure devotional service. He reasoned that if he had any true devotion, the Lord would have granted him perfect, unflinching devotion rather than the material riches and servants he had received. Lord Kṛṣṇa would have protected a more serious devotee by denying him such distractions. The Lord will give a sincere but less intelligent devotee not as much material wealth as he desires, but only what will promote his devotional progress. Sudāmā thought, “A great saint like Prahlāda Mahārāja can avoid becoming contaminated by immeasurable wealth, power and fame, but I must always be wary of temptation in my new situation.”
We may understand that this humble attitude assured Sudāmā Vipra final success in his execution of bhakti-yoga by the standard process of hearing and repeating the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa.