Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 6.1.11
Mukti· LiberationReal Atonement Means Understanding Kṛṣṇa
“Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the son of Vedavyāsa, answered: My dear King, since acts meant to neutralize impious actions are also fruitive, they will not release one from the tendency to act fruitively. Persons who subject themselves to the rules and regulations of atonement are not at all intelligent. Indeed, they are in the mode of darkness. Unless one is freed from the mode of ignorance, trying to counteract one action through another is useless because this will not uproot one’s desires. Thus even though one may superficially seem pious, he will undoubtedly be prone to act impiously. Therefore real atonement is enlightenment in perfect knowledge, Vedānta, by which one understands the Supreme Absolute Truth.”
What the purport teaches
- Trying to counteract one fruitive action with another does not uproot sinful desires. Without freedom from ignorance, a person may appear pious yet remain prone to sinful acts.
- Real atonement is enlightenment in perfect knowledge. The purpose of Vedic study is to understand Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Speculative knowledge alone is incomplete if it does not lead to understanding the Supreme Lord. Real knowledge leads one to understand Kṛṣṇa and surrender unto Him.
Try this today
Reread the purport’s explanation of the purpose of Vedic study, and write one sentence about how it directs you toward Kṛṣṇa.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking only to undo wrong actions, or also to understand and change the desires behind them?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.