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Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Madhya-līlā · 25 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Say the verse. Read the transliteration aloud, slowly.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each word and its meaning.
  3. 3Read the translation. Ask: what is happening here, and who is it about?
  4. 4Read the purport slowly. Read it twice. Don't rush.
  5. 5See Lord Caitanya as Kṛṣṇa. Remember who is acting in the pastime.
  6. 6Take one thing into your day. Note one point and one practice.
Read the full guide: how to read Caitanya Caritamrta ›
Madhya-līlā · Chapter 24: The Sixty-One Explanations of the Ātmārāma Verse
Madhya 24.108Madhya 24.110

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.109

ভক্তি বিনা কেবল জ্ঞানে ‘মুক্তি’ নাহি হয় ।

ভক্তি সাধন করে যেই ‘প্রাপ্ত-ব্রহ্মলয়’ ॥ ১০৯ ॥

bhakti vinā kevala jñāne ‘mukti’ nāhi haya

bhakti sādhana kare yei ‘prāpta-brahma-laya’

Translation

“One cannot attain liberation simply through philosophical speculation devoid of devotional service. However, if one renders devotional service, he is automatically on the Brahman platform.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Is Essential for Liberation

  1. 1

    Philosophical speculation alone cannot bring liberation.

  2. 2

    Without devotional service, philosophical speculation remains insufficient for attaining liberation.

  3. 3

    One who renders devotional service is automatically on the Brahman platform.

Connected verses· 1

Quoted in the purport ofSB 4.31.12

In Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 24.109) it is said: Impersonalists do not take to devotional service, but take to other practices, such as the analytical study of the material elements, the discrimination between matter and spirit, and the mystic yoga system.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Intellectual wonder humbled. Many explanations converge on the attractiveness of devotion; a hunter’s heart is transformed.

The mood of Madhya 24 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 24: The Sixty-One Explanations of the Ātmārāma Verse

From Śrīla Prabhupāda's chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

He explained this verse in sixty-one different ways. He analyzed all the words and described each word with its different connotations.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 24
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. bhaktidevotional service
  2. vināwithout
  3. kevalaonly
  4. jñāneby philosophical speculation
  5. muktiliberation
  6. nāhi hayathere is not
  7. bhaktidevotional service
  8. sādhanapractice
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Sevā · Love translated into service

    Devotional service expressed through cleansing, caring, teaching, honoring others, and living as Kṛṣṇa’s servant. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “service”

Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Does my spiritual effort include devotional service, or only thinking and discussion?

Practice

Set aside one minute today to remember Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental qualities as an act of devotional service.

Live this todayDevotional Service Is Essential for LiberationThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

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