Text
kanyā-dāna-pātra āmi nā ha-i tomāra
kṛṣṇa-prītye kari tomāra sevā-vyavahāra
Synonyms
kanya-dāna-patra—a bridegroom suitable for one’s daughter; ami—I; na—not; ha-i—am; tomara—of you; krsna-prītye—only for satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa; kari—I do; tomara—of you; seva—of service; vyavahāra—activities. ¶
Translation
“Sir, I am not a suitable bridegroom for your daughter. I render service to you only for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. ¶
Purport
Both brāhmaṇas were pure Vaiṣṇavas. The younger man took special care of the older one simply to please Kṛṣṇa. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.19.21) Kṛṣṇa says, mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā: “It is better to render service to My devotee.” Thus, according to the Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇava philosophy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, it is better to be a servant of the servant of God. One should not try to serve Kṛṣṇa directly. A pure Vaiṣṇava serves a servant of Kṛṣṇa and identifies himself as a servant of a servant of Kṛṣṇa. This is pleasing to Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura confirms this philosophy: chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra pāyeche kebā. Unless one serves a liberated Vaiṣṇava, he cannot attain liberation by directly serving Kṛṣṇa. He must serve the servant of Kṛṣṇa. ¶