Study a Verse

• Jñāna here refers to a clear understanding of the Lord’s supreme dominion over all that be, and this realized knowledge is nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
• One may perform penances or visit holy places with a proud mentality or material motivation; similarly, one may chant prayers to God, give charity or perform other externally pious activities with many bizarre, hypocritical or even demoniac motivations.
• Realized knowledge of the supremacy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, however, is a solid connection with the spiritual world, and if one pursues this holy understanding one is gradually promoted to the highest level of conscious existence, called Vaikuṇṭha, or the kingdom of God.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Uncertainty → Clarity. The coming separation makes the instruction personally urgent.

Chapters 10–20 of Canto 11: Kṛṣṇa's teachings on self, yoga and wisdom. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 19: The Perfection of Spiritual Knowledge

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Transcendental knowledge is greater than such ordinary pious activities as chanting of mantras, but pure devotional service is greater than even knowledge.” After this, Lord Kṛṣṇa, requested by Śrī Uddhava to describe in full detail pure transcendental knowledge and devotional service, related the same instructions that the greatest of Vaiṣṇavas, Bhīṣmadeva, gave on these topics to Śrī Yudhiṣṭhira on the occasion of the battle at Kurukṣetra.