भजन्ति ये यथा देवान् देवा अपि तथैव तान् ।
छायेव कर्मसचिवा: साधवो दीनवत्सला: ॥
bhajanti ye yathā devān devā api tathaiva tān |
chāyeva karma-sacivāḥ sādhavo dīna-vatsalāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.6; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.209; Bhakti Sandarbha: 183)
“As they [i.e., living beings] honor the devas, so too the devas, ministers of karma, honor them like a shadow [i.e., the devas merely reciprocate the worship they receive from living beings in a fixed corresponding manner]. The sādhus [on the contrary] are affectionate to the distressed [i.e., the sādhus can favor living beings independent of one’s karmic circumstances].”