Study a Verse

• Even in the midst of great distress, a self-realized sage does not lose control of himself, nor is his spiritual knowledge lost.
• A pure devotee, having taken shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet, possesses great spiritual power, and therefore he cannot be surpassed or overwhelmed.
• Thus, a saintly person is understood to be, like the ocean, pleasing, unfathomable, grave, unsurpassable, unlimited and unshakable.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Grief and dependence → Detachment. The temporary world becomes a source of spiritual instruction.

Chapters 7–9 of Canto 11: The avadhuta's twenty-four teachers. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 8: The Story of Piṅgalā

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The instruction the avadhūta brāhmaṇa received from the ocean is that the mind of the sage who is devoted to the Personality of Godhead appears very clear and grave, just like the still ocean waters. The ocean does not overflow during the rainy season, when all the flooded rivers discharge their waters into it, nor does it dry up during the hot season, when the rivers fail to supply it.