Text 17

tesam jnani nitya-yukta
eka-bhaktir visisyate
priyo hi jnanino ’tyartham
aham sa ca mama priyah

Translation

Of these, the one who is in full knowledge and who is always engaged in pure devotional service is the best. For I am very dear to him, and he is dear to Me.

Commentary by Srila Prabhupada

Free from all contaminations of material desires, the distressed, the inquisitive, the penniless and the seeker after supreme knowledge can all become pure devotees. But out of them, he who is in knowledge of the Absolute Truth and free from all material desires becomes a really pure devotee of the Lord. And of the four orders, the devotee who is in full knowledge and is at the same time engaged in devotional service is, the Lord says, the best. By searching after knowledge one realizes that his self is different from his material body, and when further advanced he comes to the knowledge of impersonal Brahman and Paramatma. When one is fully purified, he realizes that his constitutional position is to be the eternal servant of God. So by association with pure devotees the inquisitive, the distressed, the seeker after material amelioration and the man in knowledge all become themselves pure. But in the preparatory stage, the man who is in full knowledge of the Supreme Lord and is at the same time executing devotional service is very dear to the Lord. He who is situated in pure knowledge of the transcendence of the Supreme Personality of God is so protected in devotional service that material contamination cannot touch him.

Commentary by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur

Among these four types who are qualified with bhakti, who is the best? Among them the jnanl is the best. He is absorbed in me constantly (nitya yukta). This means that because his consciousness has been brought under control by practice of jnana, he has full concentration in the mind. The other three types do not have this quality.

"But does the jnani just worship you out of fear that his jnana will be ineffective without bhakti?"

No, he has bhakti predominantly (eka bhaktih), not like other jnanis who have a predominance of jnana or he has great attachment to the process of bhakti alone, and is a jnani in name only. I, in the form of  Syamasundara,  am exceedingly (atyartham) dear to such a jnani. He cannot give me up either in the stage of sadhana or perfection. I also hold him very dear. This is according to the reasoning that  in proportion of surrender to me, I respond to them.