People do not know it, how to become transcendental to this material conception of life and how to contact the supreme controller, Adhokṣaja. That is the only way. It is recommended . . . Not recommended; it is the fact. Bhakti-yogam: only by bhakti-yoga. There is no other way. So in the Bhagavad-gītā also it is stated, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). If you want to know Adhokṣaja, that is the real purpose of religion. Religion is not a type of ritualistic ceremonies. That is external. Real fact is how to contact the adhokṣaja, who is beyond our material conception. But bhakti-yoga . . . If you take to bhakti-yoga, then it is possible. Anarthopaśamam. Then anartha will be cleansed—things which are not wanted.
Our life is meant for understanding God. This is human life: athāto brahma jijñāsā. Human life is meant for this purpose. The animals, they are jijñāsā. Their jijñāsā, inquiry . . . There are many, many inquiries. And answers also. Just like we see in the newspaper so many news, unlimited number of news. But there is no news of how to understand God. There is no news. This is anartha. So lokasyājānata, they have no information. Because they are animals . . . The animal has no information, neither he has got capacity to understand what he is, what is his relationship with God, what he has to do. Sambandha, abhidheya, prayojana. The whole Vedic principles are based on these three principles. Sambandha. Sambandha means relationship. Everyone says there is God, but what is God and what is our relationship with God, that is to be understood. Sambandha. Then as soon as relationship is understood, then our real activity begins. That real activities is called bhakti, and the material activities, which is not bhakti, that is māyā. Therefore in the Bhāgavata it is said,
- dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
- viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
- notpādayed ratiṁ yadi
- śrama eva hi kevalam
- (SB 1.2.8)
You may be very religious person, executing the ritualistic ceremonies very nicely, very expertly, but if you do not know Adhokṣaja, Viṣvaksena . . . Viṣvaksena is another name of Kṛṣṇa. If you do not become anxious to understand athāto brahma jijñāsā, then all these ritualistic ceremony of religion, of different types of religion, śrama eva hi kevalam—simply waste of time. The jñānīs, they are simply trying to understand. No. You can go on understanding, but if you do not come to the understanding abhidheya . . . No. Abhidheya is acting actually. Sambandha is understanding. So if you do not come to the platform of acting, abhidheya, then simply understanding will not help you. And acting also with the aim to achieve.
So that has been explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, what is that aim: premā pum-artho mahān. That is wanted. That is wanted. You have to develop your natural love for God, Kṛṣṇa. Then it is perfect. That, therefore, anarthopaśamam. As soon as we come to the stage how to love Kṛṣṇa, then our all anarthas, misgivings, are finished. Anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje (SB 1.7.6). So the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā: lokasya. They are rascals, fools, ajānata. They do not know. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). Everyone is trying to adjust things materially, but that is not possible. Materially, whatever you do, māyā is so strong that it will break everything.
- prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
- guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
- ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
- kartāham iti manyate
- (BG 3.27)
He does not know. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā, those who are carried by the material egotism, they cannot understand. They are thinking that by material adjustment everything will be done nicely. No. That is not possible. Therefore lokasya ajānata. These foolish persons, they do not know it. Therefore vidvān. Vidvān. Vyāsadeva is the most vidvān. He is giving vid. Vetti veda vida jñāne. Vid means knowledge; vān means one possessing. Vidvān. That is Vyāsadeva. He knows actual knowledge. So lokasyājānato vidvāṁś cakre sātvata-saṁhitām (SB 1.7.6). Saṁhitām means Vedic knowledge, and sātvata means eternal, or for the devotees.
So this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is meant for persons who want to finish this life of anartha, meaningless life. For them is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Vyāsadeva has given us. We should study very carefully, and we have tried to give each and every word's meaning and the translation and the purport, consulting all the big, big ācāryas. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. One who is following the footsteps of the ācārya, he knows. He knows everything. So that is explained everywhere. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam (BG 4.2), by the ācāryas. We don't create any meaning. Ācāryavān. One has to accept a bona fide spiritual master and take knowledge from him. Vidvān. Vidvān means who is following vidvān. I have given this example many times, that I may be a fool, but if I have learned from a person that this is called microphone . . . So a child, if he says, "This is microphone," that is correct. Because the child is fool, when he says, "This is microphone," that is not foolish, because he has heard it from the authorities, from his father or from his teacher, that "This is called microphone." And if he says correctly that "This is microphone," that statement is correct, although he may be a child, a fool. Similarly, ācāryavān puruṣo veda. Anyone who is following ācārya, whatever he says, it is correct, because he does not manufacture. He says what he has heard from the ācārya, exactly like the child, what he has heard from his father, from the superior, he speaks.
So that is the position of guru. Guru is respected as good as God. Why? Only for this qualification, that he does not speak anything nonsense. He speaks only what he has heard from the ācārya. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.14.2). Ācāryopāsanam. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said ācāryopāsanam. So Vyāsadeva is our ācārya; therefore we offer vyāsa-pūjā. On the birthday of guru we offer vyāsa-pūjā. Actually, it is not directly Vyāsa, but because the bona fide guru represents Vyāsadeva, his pūjā is also vyāsa-pūjā. Mad-bhakta-pūjā abhyadhikā. To worship Vyāsadeva, worship the bona fide spiritual master and worship the Lord, they are the same. Rather, Kṛṣṇa says that if you worship His bona fide representative, that worship is better than directly worshiping. Directly it is not possible to worship the Supreme Lord. One has to go through the ācārya. Therefore Vyāsadeva is the original ācārya. Lokasyājānato vidvāṁś cakre sātvata . . . (SB 1.7.6). He's vidvān. So we have explained many times how to become vidvān. Vidvān does not mean one has to become a big grammarian, logician. No. Vidvān means one who follows the previous ācārya who is representative of Kṛṣṇa. He is vidvān.