One can come to the spiritual perfectional stage, or come to the spiritual platform, by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master. The, this is Vedic version: yasya deve parā bhaktiḥ. One who has got unflinching faith... Deve. Deve means the Supreme Lord. Parā bhakti: transcendental devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Yathā deve tathā gurau. And as he has got unflinching faith in Kṛṣṇa, similarly he has got unflinching faith to the spiritual master. Tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ: all these Vedic literatures and their purport and their meaning will be revealed to him. Tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante. It becomes revealed. Prakāśante mahātmanaḥ.
So that is the secret, not that erudite scholarship. One must be very much sincere. Then Kṛṣṇa will give you dictation. He is within. Guru-kṛṣṇa... First of all, if I am sincere and if I want to serve the Supreme Lord... The Supreme Lord is within you. He'll give you direction: "All right. You do this. You do this. You just go to this man, and he'll give you good counsel." He'll give you direction. Therefore first mercy is of Kṛṣṇa, and then the spiritual master is considered as the mercy-representation of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa helps us from within and without. From within He's helping us as the Supersoul, and from without, He's helping us as the spiritual master. So Kṛṣṇa is ready to help us in all, always, in all perfectional stage, if we are simply sincere. Parā bhakti. Yasya deve parā bhaktiḥ. If you have got transcendental devotional mood, then everything will come. It does not depend on this linguistic, I mean to say, advancement or academically... Simply we have to develop our transcendental love and devotional service to the Supreme Lord, and then gradually He'll give me direction. He'll give me right direction. Everything will be all right.
So Nārada Muni is advising that "You do something which will be accepted." Śṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanti sādhavaḥ. "Do something for the saintly persons, transcendentalists. What you have done this, literature for the crowlike persons. Do something for the swanlike persons." Na śobhate jñānam alaṁ nirañjanam.
- naiṣkarmyam apy acyuta-bhāva-varjitaṁ
- na śobhate jñānam alaṁ nirañjanam
- kutaḥ punaḥ śaśvad abhadram īśvare
- na cārpitaṁ karma yad apy akāraṇam
So our problem is that we may not make any more cause for our next material birth. That is called akāraṇam. Akāraṇam. Just like I have got this body. The cause is my previous activities, in my past life's activities. Similarly, if I continue my materialistic way of life, then I am causing another material body. This is called kāraṇam. If I have got a doggish mentality, then I am causing myself to get a dog's body. Akāraṇam.
So if we want to stop these causal activities, then, as it is stated: yāvān na prītir mayi vāsudeve. Unless you develop your love of Godhead, there is no other way to stop this causal, cause and effect. The cause is this and the effect is this. Cause and effect. The whole material world is going on, cause and effect. People do not consider that why there are so many, 8,400,000 species of life. There must be something. Some of them foolishly think that once one gets this human form of life he does not glide down. Is it not? He remains in the human form of life. No. There are many instances. Just like Bharata Mahārāja, he got the body of a deer. There are so many instances.
So it is not a permanent settlement that once we have got this human form of body we cannot glide down. We can glide down. Bhagavad-gītā says: yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran loke tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6). At the time of death the mental position will give you another body of the same type as you are mentally absorbed at that time. So therefore we have to prepare, we have to prepare ourselves so that at the time of death we may... Ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ (SB 2.1.6). At the time of death we can once think of Kṛṣṇa. Then our life is successful. It is said in Bengali that bhajana kara sādhana kara matijanle haya.(?) What is that? That whatever spiritual advancement you are doing, that's all right. The test will be at the time of your death. Examination. That is the point of examination. What is the mental state at that time. Difficult job.
Therefore we have to practice: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. In this way, unconsciously or consciously, if we simply can remember Hare Kṛṣṇa, then our life is successful. This is a most scientific method. Simply if we can remember... It doesn't require how far we are educated, how far we are scholar, no. Ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ (SB 2.1.6). Etāvaj janma-sāphalyam. Then there is... So Parīkṣit Mahārāja was to die within seven days. Therefore he called for... Not called for. Śukadeva Gosvāmī, out of his own accord, came, because he knew Parīkṣit Mahārāja was a great king, and great devotee. He's, from his childhood... It is described... Just like this child is playing with Deity, Parīkṣit Mahārāja used to play with Deities. We had also the opportunity from our father to play with Deities. So these are great opportunities, to get ideas, good ideas, and training, training. Really, this is the training, this association. Simply by associating, associating with these members, this chanting, regulative chanting, dancing, and taking prasādam, he's being educated. Highly educated. Tan manye adhītam uttamam. One who has learned about the devotional service, then he's to be understood highly educated. That is the recommendation by Prahlāda Mahārāja.
So actually we don't require any other education. This association will give anyone who will come, either child or old man. That doesn't matter. He'll be highly educated. But because we are in this material world, therefore we have to give some education. But that is secondary. Real education this. Just like you are doing, all rising early in the morning, maṅgala-ārātrika, kīrtana, and then... These regulative principles, this is real education. It does not require any academic education. It is simply practice. Tan manye adhītam uttamam. That is Prahlāda Mahārāja's recommendation.
So Nārada Muni is inducing his disciple, Vyāsadeva, to write Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, will be, which will be heard and, śṛṇvanti, will be accepted, and gṛṇanti, and śṛṇvanti gāyanti, and chanted. So those who are actually in the transcen..., they accept Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam... Śrīmad-bhāgavatam amalaṁ purāṇam, yasmin pāramahaṁsyaṁ gīyate. Paramahaṁsa-saṁhitā. This is paramahaṁsa-saṁhitā. This Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is meant for the topmost transcendentalists. It is not for ordinary... Not for the impersonalists, or for the yogis. The topmost transcendentalist means devotees. Because Kṛṣṇa says... Who is transcendentalist? Who wants to know God, he is transcendentalist. Not ordinary person. No, no, who is topmost transcendentalist? The devotees. Why? Why not the yogis, and the jñānīs, impersonalists, and the, the meditators about...? Why they are not? Because Kṛṣṇa says that bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55), "Only through devotional service one can understand Me."
So transcendental life means to understand the Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth can be understood perfectly only through devotional service. There is no other way. There is no other way. In every scripture, Vedic scripture, this is announced. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also, the same thing confirmed: evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ (SB 1.2.20). When, by discharging devotional service, one will be prasanna-manasaḥ, very jolly mood, always jolly... Bhagavat-tattva-vijñānaṁ mukta-saṅgasya jāyate... Unless one is freed from material anxiety, unless one is spiritually joyful, he cannot understand what is the science of Kṛṣṇa. It is not possible. So therefore we have to cultivate this devotional service. Then our ultimate goal of life, to understand the Absolute Truth, our relationship with Him, that will be perfectly done.