The Yoga of Devotion

अद्वेष्टा nonhater? सर्वभूतानाम् of (to) all creatures? मैत्रः friendly? करुणः compassionate? एव even? च and? निर्ममः without mineness? निरहङ्कारः without egoism? समदुःखसुखः balanced in pleasure and pain? क्षमी forgiving.Commentary Lord Krishna gives a description of the nature of a Bhagavata or a sage in the following eight verses. These eight verses are called Amritashtakam.The devotee who is established in God bears illwill to none. He looks on all with love and great compassion. He regards all beings as himself. He does not hate even a single being? not even the creature which gives him intense pain. He who entertains mercy towards suffering people and tries to relieve their sufferings is a man of Karuna. He puts himself in the position of the sufferer and feels the pain himself. Mercy is a divine attribute. God is allmerciful. If you wish to hold communion with the Lord? and if you desire to attain Godhead? you must also become allmerciful.The perfect devotee offers full security of life (Abhayadana) to all beings. He is a Paramahamsa Sannyasi. The devotee only can really understand the mysterious ways of the Lord. He beholds the Lord everywhere. He sees the Lord in all creatures. That is the reason why he has eal vision. He is like the sun or the river. The sun sheds its light eally on a palace or a cottage. Anyone can drink the water of a river. A river enches the thirst of cows as well as tigers and lions. The idea of mineness and Iness never arises in the devotees mind. He has no sense of mine and thine. He is indifferent to pleasure and pain. He is not attached to pleasant objects. He does not hate the objects that give him pain. He is as forgiving as the earth. He is not affected a bit when anybody insults? abuses or beats him.