Text 32
paraṁ padaṁ vaiṣṇavam āmananti tad
yan neti netīty atad-utsisṛkṣavaḥ
visṛjya daurātmyam ananya-sauhṛdā
hṛdopaguhyāvasitaṁ samāhitaiḥ
param — the supreme; padam — situation; vaiṣṇavam — of Lord Viṣṇu; āmananti — they designate; tat — that; yat — which; na iti na iti — “not this, not this”; iti — thus analyzing; atat — everything extraneous; utsisṛkṣavaḥ — those who are desirous of giving up; visṛjya — rejecting; daurātmyam — petty materialism; ananya — placing nowhere else; sauhṛdāḥ — their affection; hṛdā — within their hearts; upaguhya — embracing Him; avasitam — who is captured; samāhitaiḥ — by those who meditate upon Him in trance.
Those who desire to give up all that is not essentially real move systematically, by negative discrimination of the extraneous, to the supreme position of Lord Viṣṇu. Giving up petty materialism, they offer their love exclusively to the Absolute Truth within their hearts and embrace that highest truth in fixed meditation.
The words yan neti netīty atad-utsisṛkṣavaḥ indicate the process of negative discrimination, by which one engaged in the search for essential and absolute truth systematically rejects all that is superfluous, superficial and relative. Throughout the world people have gradually rejected the ultimate validity of political, social and even religious truths, but because they lack Kṛṣṇa consciousness they remain bewildered and cynical. However, as clearly stated here, paraṁ padaṁ vaiṣṇavam āmananti tat. Those who actually desire perfect knowledge must not only reject the nonessential but must also ultimately understand the essential spiritual reality called paraṁ padaṁ vaiṣṇavam: the supreme destination, the abode of Lord Viṣṇu. Padam indicates both the status and the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which can be understood only by those who give up petty materialism and adopt the position of ananya-sauhṛdam, exclusive love for the Lord. Such exclusive love is not narrow-minded or sectarian, because all living entities, being within the Lord, are automatically served when one directly serves the supreme entity. This process of rendering the highest service to the Lord and to all living entities constitutes the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is taught throughout Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.