Text 3
athāta ānanda-dughaṁ padāmbujaṁ
haṁsāḥ śrayerann aravinda-locana
sukhaṁ nu viśveśvara yoga-karmabhis
tvan-māyayāmī vihatā na māninaḥ
atha — now; ataḥ — therefore; ānanda-dugham — the source of all ecstasy; pada-ambujam — Your lotus feet; haṁsāḥ — the swanlike men; śrayeran — take shelter of; aravinda-locana — O lotus-eyed; sukham — happily; nu — indeed; viśva-īśvara — Lord of the universe; yoga-karmabhiḥ — because of their practice of mysticism and fruitive work; tvat-māyayā — by Your material energy; amī — these; vihatāḥ — defeated; na — do not (take shelter); māninaḥ — those who are falsely proud.
Therefore, O lotus-eyed Lord of the universe, swanlike men happily take shelter of Your lotus feet, the source of all transcendental ecstasy. But those who take pride in their accomplishments in yoga and karma fail to take shelter of You and are defeated by Your illusory energy.
Śrī Uddhava emphasizes here that one can achieve spiritual perfection simply by taking shelter of the Personality of Godhead. Those who do so are called haṁsāḥ, the most discriminating human beings, since they are able to locate the actual source of spiritual happiness, the Lord’s lotus feet. The word yoga-karmabhiḥ indicates that those who are attracted to or proud of achievements in the field of mystic yoga or ordinary material endeavor cannot appreciate the great advantage of obediently surrendering to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Generally the yogīs and fruitive workers are proud of their so-called achievements and are more attracted to their own endeavor than to the Lord Himself. By humbly taking shelter of Lord Kṛṣṇa, one can advance easily and quickly on the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and go back home, back to Godhead.