Texts

yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ |
tato’dhanaṁ tyajanty asya svajanā duḥkha-duḥkhitam ||
sa yadā vitathodyogo nirviṇṇaḥ syād dhanehayā |
mat-paraiḥ kṛta-maitrasya kariṣye mad-anugraham ||
tad brahma paramaṁ sūkṣmaṁ cin-mātraṁ sad anantakam |
vijñāyātmatayā dhīraḥ saṁsārāt parimucyate |
ato māṁ sudurārādhyaṁ hitvānyān bhajate janaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.88.8–10)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Yudhiṣṭhira:] I will gradually take away the wealth of one whom I favor. Then, [when he is] devoid of wealth and troubled by troubles [one after another], his relatives reject him. When he will [in this way] become unsuccessful in his endeavors and disinterested in the pursuit of wealth, then, once he has formed friendships with those devoted to me, I will bestow my favor upon him. Then, after realizing in essence the Supreme Brahman [i.e., me], subtle, purely conscious, eternal, and endless, and becoming steadfast, one is fully liberated from saṁsāra. Thus [i.e., because of how I in this way favor my bhaktas by depriving them of worldly wealth and enjoyment], a person leaves me, who am most difficult to worship [because of how I favor my bhaktas], and worships others [i.e., other devatās, such as Bhagavān Śiva, who do not favor their bhaktas in this manner that I do].”

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