Text 4
śrutasya puṁsāṁ sucira-śramasya
nanv añjasā sūribhir īḍito ’rthaḥ
tat-tad-guṇānuśravaṇaṁ mukunda-
pādāravindaṁ hṛdayeṣu yeṣām
śrutasya — of persons who are in the process of hearing; puṁsām — of such persons; sucira — for a long time; śramasya — laboring very hard; nanu — certainly; añjasā — elaborately; sūribhiḥ — by pure devotees; īḍitaḥ — explained by; arthaḥ — statements; tat — that; tat — that; guṇa — transcendental qualities; anuśravaṇam — thinking; mukunda — the Personality of Godhead, who awards liberation; pāda-aravindam — the lotus feet; hṛdayeṣu — within the heart; yeṣām — of them.
Persons who hear from a spiritual master with great labor and for a long time must hear from the mouths of pure devotees about the character and activities of pure devotees. Pure devotees always think within their hearts of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead, who awards His devotees liberation.
Transcendental students are those who undergo great penance in being trained by hearing the Vedas from a bona fide spiritual master. Not only must they hear about the activities of the Lord, but they must also hear about the transcendental qualities of the devotees who are constantly thinking of the lotus feet of the Lord within their hearts. A pure devotee of the Lord cannot be separated from the lotus feet of the Lord for even a moment. Undoubtedly the Lord is always within the hearts of all living creatures, but they hardly know about it because they are deluded by the illusory material energy. The devotees, however, realize the presence of the Lord, and therefore they can always see the lotus feet of the Lord within their hearts. Such pure devotees of the Lord are as glorious as the Lord; they are, in fact, recommended by the Lord as more worshipable than He Himself. Worship of the devotee is more potent than worship of the Lord. It is therefore the duty of the transcendental students to hear of pure devotees, as explained by similar devotees of the Lord, because one cannot explain about the Lord or His devotee unless one happens to be a pure devotee himself.