Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.12.24
Mukti· LiberationKnowledge Serves the Goal of Pure Devotion
“With steady intelligence you should develop unalloyed devotional service by careful worship of the spiritual master, and with the sharpened ax of transcendental knowledge you should cut off the subtle material covering of the soul. Upon realizing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you should then give up that ax of analytic knowledge.”
What the purport teaches
- By carefully worshiping a bona fide spiritual master with steady intelligence, one can develop pure devotional service. The instruction to give something up does not mean abandoning devotional service or the spiritual master.
- One should understand that every aspect of material creation is an expansion of the Lord’s illusory potency. This knowledge acts like a sharpened ax, cutting the roots of material existence and even the subtle material covering of the soul.
- Upon realizing Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one should give up the ax of analytic knowledge rather than endlessly study the illusory creation. The goal is selfless love and eternal bliss in the Lord’s service.
Try this today
Today, pause over one thing you think of as “mine.” Reflect that it belongs to the Lord’s material creation, and turn your attention toward how you can serve Kṛṣṇa.
Ask yourself
Is my study helping me loosen my sense of ownership in this world and deepen my desire 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.