Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.14.4
Mukti· LiberationLoving Service Is the Goal of Knowledge
“My dear Lord, devotional service unto You is the best path for self-realization. If someone gives up that path and engages in the cultivation of speculative knowledge, he will simply undergo a troublesome process and will not achieve his desired result. As a person who beats an empty husk of wheat cannot get grain, one who simply speculates cannot achieve self-realization. His only gain is trouble.”
What the purport teaches
- Loving service to the Supreme Person is every living entity’s natural and eternal function. Devotional service to Kṛṣṇa is therefore the best path for self-realization.
- Seeking knowledge without surrendering to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is like beating an empty husk for grain. The Lord Himself is the substance and goal of knowledge.
- Prestige, wealth, mystic powers and even impersonal liberation do not establish one in loving service to the Lord. He is easily attained through devotional offerings, but one must humbly accept His service.
Try this today
Offer Kṛṣṇa a little water today with a humble desire to serve Him.
Ask yourself
Is your pursuit of knowledge helping you become more willing to serve Kṛṣṇa?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.