CC Adi 7.146 (1975)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 146
- sambandha, abhidheya, prayojana nāma
- ei tina artha sarva-sūtre paryavasāna
SYNONYMS
sambandha—relationship; abhidheya—functional duties; prayojana—the goal of life; nāma—name; ei—there; tina—three; artha—purport; sarva—all; sūtre—in the aphorisms of the Vedānta; paryavasāna—culmination.
TRANSLATION
"One's relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, activities in terms of that relationship, and the ultimate goal of life [to develop love of God]-these three subjects are explained in every aphorism of the Vedānta-sūtra, for they form the culmination of the entire Vedānta philosophy."
PURPORT
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (SB 5.5.5) it is said:
- parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto
- yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam
"A human being is defeated in all his activities as long as he does not know the goal of life, which can be understood when one is inquisitive about Brahman." It is such inquiry that begins the Vedānta-sūtra: athāto brahma-jijñāsā. A human being should be inquisitive to know who he is, what the universe is, what God is, and what the relationship is between himself, God and the material world. Such questions cannot be asked by cats and dogs, but they must arise in the heart of a real human being. Knowledge of these four items-namely, oneself, the universe, God, and their internal relationship-is called sambandha-jñāna, or the knowledge of one's relationship. When one's relationship with the Supreme Lord is established, the next program is to act in that relationship. This is called abhidheya, or activity in relationship with the Lord. After executing such prescribed duties, when one attains the highest goal of life, love of Godhead, he achieves prayojana-siddhi, or the fulfillment of his human mission. In the Brahma-sūtra, or Vedānta-sūtra, these subjects are very carefully explained. Therefore one who does not understand the Vedānta-sūtra in terms of these principles is simply wasting his time. This is the version of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (SB 1.2.8):
- dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
- viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
- notpādayed yadi ratiṁ
- śrama eva hi kevalam
One may be a very learned scholar and execute his prescribed duty very nicely, but if he does not ultimately become inquisitive about the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is indifferent to śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam (hearing and chanting), all that he has done is but a waste of time. Māyāvādī philosophers who do not understand the relationship between themselves, the cosmic manifestation and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are simply wasting their time, and their philosophical speculation has no value.