अर्चादावर्चयेत्तावदीश्वरं मां स्वकर्मकृत् ।
यावन्न वेद स्वहृदि सर्वभूतेष्ववस्थितम् ॥
arcādāv arcayet tāvad īśvaraṁ māṁ sva-karma-kṛt |
yāvan na veda sva-hṛdi sarva-bhūteṣv avasthitam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.29.25)
“Being a performer of one’s own duty (karma), one should worship [me, Īśvara] in a deity or elsewhere so long as one does not know in one’s own heart me, Īśvara, to be present in all beings [and once one does, then one should continue to worship a deity of myself, but purely as my bhakta rather than as a follower of the path of karma].”
Commentary
tad evam īśvara-jñānābhāvād bhaktāv aśraddadhānasya doṣa uktaḥ | atha tac-chraddhā-hetu-taj-jñānasya sva-dharma-saṁyuktaṁ tad-arcanam eva kāraṇam upadiśan tādṛśārcanasyāpy avyarthatām aṅgīkaroti—arcādāv iti | tāvad eva sva-karma-kṛt san arcādāv arcayet yāvat sarva-bhūteṣv avasthitam īśvaraṁ māṁ na veda na jānāti | atra sva-karma-sahāyatvam ajāta-śraddhasya śuddha-bhaktāv anadhikārāt | tat pratipādayiṣyate ‘jāta-śraddho mat-kathāsu’ ity-ādinā | ato bhagavaj-jñānād ūrdhvaṁ jāta-śraddhas tu sva-karma-kṛt san nārcayet, kintu śuddham arcādikam eva kurvītety apy āyātam | tac ca pratipādayiṣyate ‘tāvat karmāṇi kurvīta’ ity-ādinā, na tv arcāṁ parityajed ity arthaḥ ‘pratiṣṭhitārcā na tyājyā yāvaj-jīvaṁ samarcayet | varaṁ prāṇa-parityāgaḥ śiraso vāpi kartanam ||’ iti śrī-hayaśīrṣa-pañcarātra-virodhāt |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā; excerpt from Bhakti Sandarbha: 106)
“Thus, in this way, on the part of one devoid of śraddhā in bhakti as a result of an absence of knowledge of Īśvara, a fault has been stated [in SB 3.29.21–24, i.e., one who worships of deity of Īśvara but disrespects his presence in all living beings by showing disrespect to those living beings is said to be at fault in the sense that their worship does not bear fruit, they do not have any peace of mind, and Bhagavān does not become pleased with them]. Then, teaching specifically worship (arcana) of him [viz., Īśvara] combined with svadharma [i.e., teaching the twofold practice of engaging in ritual worship of a deity of Īśvara and observing the duties of one’s varṇa and āśrama] to be the cause of knowledge of him, which [in turn] is the cause of śraddhā in him, Kapiladeva accepts the non-futility even of such worship (arcana) [i.e., even of the worship performed in ignorance mentioned in SB 3.29.21–24 that was compared to merely making oblations into ashes]: arcādāu … [i.e., he speaks SB 3.29.25]. Being a performer of one’s own duty (karma), one should worship [me, Īśvara] in a deity or elsewhere only so long as one does not know (veda) me to be present in all beings. In this regard, one’s duty’s (karma’s) being an assistant is [mentioned in this verse] because of the absence of eligibility (adhikāra) for pure bhakti on the part someone in whom śraddhā has not manifested. This will be taught [later] in [SB 11.20.27] jāta-śraddho mat-kathāsu … [i.e., later in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa explains that one who has śraddhā in bhakti to him becomes disinterested in all the duties of one’s varṇa and āśrama, and thus it can be understood that the verse under discussion, wherein performance of those duties is enjoined, is not directed towards those who already have śraddhā in the path of bhakti and rather is directed towards those who lack such śraddhā]. Thus, it also follows [as a conclusion in this regard] that one in whom śraddhā [in bhakti] has manifested as a result of [acquiring] knowledge of Bhagavān should thereafter [i.e., after acquiring śraddhā] not worship [Bhagavān in a deity] while being ‘a performer of one’s own duty’ (sva-karma-kṛt) [as is advised in the verse under discussion], but rather one should perform only pure worship and so forth [i.e., one should only engage in the practice of bhakti rather than the practice of bhakti combined with karma as in enjoined in the verse under discussion]. This [principle] too will be taught [later] in [SB 11.20.9] tāvat karmāṇi kurvīta … [i.e., later in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa also explains that one should observe one’s duties (karma) only until one acquires śraddhā in bhakti and that after one acquires śraddhā in bhakti it becomes a fault to remain engaged in the duties enjoined for those on the path of karma]. That one should not, however, abandon the deity is the meaning because of contradiction of [the following statement in] Śrī Hayaśīrṣa Pañcarātra [if one were to abandon the deity one worshiped while one was still following the path of karma], ‘An installed deity is not to be abandoned. One should worship [it] as long as one lives. Better abandoning one’s life or even cutting off one’s head [i.e., it is better to give up one’s life than abandon the worship of the deity].”
śuddha-bhaktimatāṁ svata eva śuddhāntaḥkaraṇatvāt prāṇi-mātrāvajñā prāyo na sambhavet | karma-miśra-bhaktimatāṁ tu sā sambhaved eva yāvad antaḥkaraṇasyāśuddhiḥ, tasya śuddhau satyāṁ tu sā na tiṣṭhet, tena karmāpi na kartavyam ity āha—arcādāv iti | sva-karma-kṛt karma-miśrāṁ sāttvikīṁ bhaktiṁ kurvāṇaḥ | yāvad iti sarva-bhūtātma-darśitva-daśāyām udbhūtāyāṁ satyāṁ karmānadhikārāt na sva-karma-kṛt, kintu jñāna-miśrāṁ bhaktiṁ kurvāṇaḥ sann arcāyāṁ mām arcayed ity arthaḥ |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“Because of those possessed of pure bhakti’s being of pure psyche (antaḥkaraṇa) entirely of their own accord, [their] disrespecting any living being is generally not possible. For those possessed of bhakti mixed with karma, however, this [i.e., disrespecting others] is certainly possible as long as impurity of the psyche remains. When it becomes pure, however, this [i.e., disrespecting others] shall not remain. Then, duty (karma) too is not necessary to perform [since the purpose of performing it, namely, purification of the psyche, has already been accomplished at that point]. Thus, he says arcādau … [i.e., he speaks SB 3.29.25]. ‘As long as’ (yāvat) means once the state of being a seer of the Self in all beings has been produced, one should not remain a performer of one’s own duty (karma) because of [one’s] ineligibility (anadhikāra) for duty (karma) [once one has reached the state of being such a seer], and rather, being a performer of bhakti mixed with jñāna, one should worship me in a deity.”