SB 4.23.12

Srimad-Bhagavatam - Fourth Canto - Chapter 23: Mahārāja Pṛthu's Going Back Home

SB 4.23.11 - SB 4.23.13

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

TEXT 12

chinnānya-dhīr adhigatātma-gatir nirīhas

tat tatyaje 'cchinad idaṁ vayunena yena

tāvan na yoga-gatibhir yatir apramatto

yāvad gadāgraja-kathāsu ratiṁ na kuryāt

SYNONYMS

chinna — being separated; anya-dhīḥ — all other concepts of life (the bodily concept of life); adhigata — being firmly convinced; ātma-gatiḥ — the ultimate goal of spiritual life; nirīhaḥ — desireless; tat — that; tatyaje — gave up; acchinat — he had cut; idam — this; vayunena — with the knowledge; yena — by which; tāvat — so long; na — never; yoga-gatibhiḥ — the practice of the mystic yoga system; yatiḥ — the practicer; apramattaḥ — without any illusion; yāvat — so long; gadāgraja — of Kṛṣṇa; kathāsu — words; ratim — attraction; na — never; kuryāt — do it.

TRANSLATION

When he became completely free from the conception of bodily life, Mahārāja Pṛthu realized Lord Kṛṣṇa sitting in everyone's heart as the Paramātmā. Being thus able to get all instructions from Him, he gave up all other practices of yoga and jñāna. He was not even interested in the perfection of the yoga and jñāna systems, for he thoroughly realized that devotional service to Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate goal of life and that unless the yogīs and jñānīs become attracted to kṛṣṇa-kathā [narrations about Kṛṣṇa], their illusions concerning existence can never be dispelled.

PURPORT

As long as one is too much absorbed in the bodily conception of life, he becomes interested in many different processes of self-realization, such as the mystic yoga system or the system utilizing the speculative empiric methods. However, when one understands that the ultimate goal of life is to approach Kṛṣṇa, he realizes Kṛṣṇa within everyone's heart and therefore helps everyone who is interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Actually the perfection of life depends on one's inclination to hear about Kṛṣṇa. It is therefore mentioned in this verse: yāvad gadāgraja-kathāsu ratiṁ na kuryāt. Unless one becomes interested in Kṛṣṇa, in His pastimes and activities, there is no question of liberation by means of yoga practice or speculative knowledge.

Having attained to the stage of devotion, Mahārāja Pṛthu became uninterested in the practices of jñāna and yoga and abandoned them. This is the stage of pure devotional life as described by Rūpa Gosvāmī:

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ

jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam

ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-

śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

(CC Madhya 19.167)

Real jñāna means understanding that the living entity is the eternal servant of the Lord. This knowledge is attained after many, many births, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 7.19): bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate. In the paramahaṁsa stage of life, one fully realizes Kṛṣṇa as everything: vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. When one understands fully that Kṛṣṇa is everything and that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest perfection of life, he becomes a paramahaṁsa, or mahātmā. Such a mahātmā or paramahaṁsa is very rare to find. A paramahaṁsa, or pure devotee, is never attracted by haṭha-yoga or speculative knowledge. He is simply interested in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord. Sometimes one who was formerly addicted to these processes tries to perform devotional service and the jñāna and yoga practices at the same time, but as soon as one comes to the unalloyed stage of devotional service, he is able to give up all other methods of self-realization. In other words, when one firmly realizes Kṛṣṇa as the supreme goal, he is no longer attracted by mystic yoga practice or the speculative empirical methods of knowledge.

SB 4.23.11 - SB 4.23.13