So if we want to stop this anartha, misconception of life, then we have to take to bhakti-yoga. It is explained in the next verse. But for the time being we are misled. The maya, or the material nature, is misleading us. We are trying to adjust things according to the dictation of maya, that we shall be able to stop our struggle for existence in this way and that way. That is not possible. Daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya [Bg. 7.14]. If you make some plan... You can make plan, but that plan will never be successful. This is the... By false understanding we may make hundreds and thousands of plan to be happy in this material world. That is not possible. This is therefore called sammohito, bewildered. Yaya sammohito jiva atmanam tri-gunatmakam. Atmanam, himself, he is thinking that he is a material product. Tri-guna. Sattva, rajas, tamo-guna. Somebody is thinking, "I am very good man. I am very honest man. I am very qualified man." That is also false identification. And somebody is thinking, "I can do this. I can do that. I am so powerful. Who is equal to me?" Passion. That is also maya's dictation. And somebody is lazy, sleeping, does not understand anythingtamo-guna. That is also tri-gunatmakam, within this tri-dhama. So within this material world, either the good man or the passionate man or the ignorant man, there may be some differences, gunogata(?), but actually every one of them is entangled by maya.

So to come to the spiritual platform, as it is said in the next verse, anarthopasamam saksad bhakti-yogam adhoksaje [SB 1.7.6], then you have to take bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga means directly contact the Supreme Lord, adhoksaja. And that has been described in many places, the process how to be in contact with the Adhoksaja. That is called dharma. In every country, in every human society there is a conception of dharma, or religion. So what is the purpose? The purpose is to contact the supreme authority, Adhoksaja. We cannot see Adhoksaja. Adhoksaja means beyond our sense perception. Aksaja. Aksa means eyes, and aksa means atukya(?). So our knowledge, our experience, experimental knowledge, everything will fail to understand the supreme controller. Therefore His name is Adhoksaja. Still you have to understand that. So that is recommended here:

Our life is meant for understanding God. This is human life: athato brahma jijnasa. Human life is meant for this purpose. The animals, they are jijnasa. Their jijnasa, 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 lokasyajanata, 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 maya. Therefore in the Bhagavata it is said,

So that has been explained by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, what is that aim: prema pum-artho mahan. That is wanted. That is wanted. You have to develop your natural love for God, Krsna. Then it is perfect. That, therefore, anarthopasamam. As soon as we come to the stage how to love Krsna, then our all anarthas, misgivings, are finished. Anarthopasamam saksad bhakti-yogam adhoksaje [SB 1.7.6]. So the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, lokasya. They are rascals, fools, ajanata. They do not know. Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum [SB 7.5.31]. Everyone is trying to adjust things materially, but that is not possible. Materially, whatever you do, maya is so strong that it will break everything.

So this Srimad-Bhagavatam is meant for persons who want to finish this life of anartha, meaningless life. For them is Srimad-Bhagavatam. Vyasadeva 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 acaryas. Acaryavan puruso veda. One who is following the footsteps of the acarya, he knows. He knows everything. So that is explained everywhere. Evam parampara-praptam [Bg. 4.2], by the acaryas. We don't create any meaning. Acaryavan. One has to accept a bona fide spiritual master and take knowledge from him. Vidvan. Vidvan means who is following vidvan. 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, acaryavan puruso veda. Anyone who is following acarya, whatever he says it is correct. Because he does not manufacture. He says what he has heard from the acaryas 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 acarya. Acaryavan puruso veda. Acaryopasanam. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said acaryopasanam. So Vyasadeva is our acarya, therefore we offer vyasa-puja. On the birthday of guru we offer vyasa-puja. Actually, it is not directly Vyasa, but because the bona fide guru represents Vyasadeva, his puja is also vyasa-puja. Mad-bhakta-puja abhyadhika. To worship Vyasadeva, worship the bona fide spiritual master and worship the Lord, they are the same. Rather, Krsna 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 acaryas. Therefore Vyasadeva is the original acarya. Lokasyajanato vidvams cakre satvata... He's vidvan. So we have explained many times how to become vidvan. Vidvan does not mean one has to become a big grammarian, logician. No. Vidvan means one who follows the previous acarya who is representative of Krsna. He is vidvan.

Thank you very much. (end)