SB 1.2.8 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

धर्म: स्वनुष्ठित: पुंसां विष्वक्सेनकथासु य: । नोत्पादयेद्यदि रतिं श्रम एव हि केवलम् ॥ ८ ॥

Verse text

dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ notpādayed yadi ratiṁ śrama eva hi kevalam

Synonyms

dharmaḥ — occupation ; svanuṣṭhitaḥ — executed in terms of one’s own position ; puṁsām — of humankind ; viṣvaksena — the Personality of Godhead (plenary portion) ; kathāsu — in the message of ; yaḥ — what is ; na — not ; utpādayet — does produce ; yadi — if ; ratim — attraction ; śramaḥ — useless labor ; eva — only ; hi — certainly ; kevalam — entirely .

Translation

The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Varṇāśrama-dharma of the human being, which does not produce attraction for topics of the Lord, is only wasted effort.

Purport

There are different occupational activities in terms of man’s different conceptions of life. To the gross materialist who cannot see anything beyond the gross material body, there is nothing beyond the senses. Therefore his occupational activities are limited to concentrated and extended selfishness. Concentrated selfishness centers around the personal body — this is generally seen amongst the lower animals. Extended selfishness is manifested in human society and centers around the family, society, community, nation and world with a view to gross bodily comfort. Above these gross materialists are the mental speculators who hover aloft in the mental spheres, and their occupational duties involve making poetry and philosophy or propagating some ism with the same aim of selfishness limited to the body and the mind. But above the body and mind is the dormant spirit soul whose absence from the body makes the whole range of bodily and mental selfishness completely null and void. But less intelligent people have no information of the needs of the spirit soul. Because foolish people have no information of the soul and how it is beyond the purview of the body and mind, they are not satisfied in the performance of their occupational duties. The question of the satisfaction of the self is raised herein. The self is beyond the gross body and subtle mind. He is the potent active principle of the body and mind. Without knowing the need of the dormant soul, one cannot be happy simply with emolument of the body and mind. The body and the mind are but superfluous outer coverings of the spirit soul. The spirit soul’s needs must be fulfilled. Simply by cleansing the cage of the bird, one does not satisfy the bird. One must actually know the needs of the bird himself. The need of the spirit soul is that he wants to get out of the limited sphere of material bondage and fulfill his desire for complete freedom. He wants to get out of the covered walls of the greater universe. He wants to see the free light and the spirit. That complete freedom is achieved when he meets the complete spirit, the Personality of Godhead. There is a dormant affection for God within everyone; spiritual existence is manifested through the gross body and mind in the form of perverted affection for gross and subtle matter. Therefore we have to engage ourselves in occupational engagements that will evoke our divine consciousness. This is possible only by hearing and chanting the divine activities of the Supreme Lord, and any occupational activity which does not help one to achieve attachment for hearing and chanting the transcendental message of Godhead is said herein to be simply a waste of time. This is because other occupational duties (whatever ism they may belong to) cannot give liberation to the soul. Even the activities of the salvationists are considered to be useless because of their failure to pick up the fountainhead of all liberties. The gross materialist can practically see that his material gain is limited only to time and space, either in this world or in the other. Even if he goes up to the Svargaloka, he will find no permanent abode for his hankering soul. The hankering soul must be satisfied by the perfect scientific process of perfect devotional service.

Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Why is dharma in the form of varṇāśrama not considered to be paro dharma? This verse answers. That dharma undertaken by men—brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras which does not produce attraction for talks about the Supreme Lord is completely useless. The śruti says karmaṇā pirtṛ-loke: by performance of varṇāśrama duties one goes to Pitṛ-loka in the material world. (Bṛhad Āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.5) Performance of varṇāśrama duties does not produce attraction for the Lord. This is clear from Nārada’s statements in the Fourth Canto: kiṁ janmabhis tribhir veha śaukra-sāvitra-yājṣikaiḥ karmabhir vā trayī-proktaiḥ puṁso ’pi vibudhāyuṣā Without that service what is the use of taking three births by semen, upanayanam and initiation. What is the use of ritual acts mentioned in the Vedas? What is the use of the lifespan of a devatā for a human? SB 4.31.10 kiṁ vā yogena sāṅkhyena nyāsa-svādhyāyayor api kiṁ vā śreyobhir anyaiś ca na yatrātma-prado hariḥ What is the use of yoga, sāṅkhya, sannyāsa, study of the Vedas, other auspicious acts, in which the Lord does not give realization of himself? SB 4.31.12 Because it does not produce attraction for topics about the Lord it is merely useless endeavor. Because of the temporary nature of the results of performing varṇāśrama duties such as attainment of Pitṛ-loka, one should give up those duties (sva-dharma) and perform the paro dharma mentioned in the previous verse consisting of hearing and chanting about the Lord. However it is also said: asmiḹ loke vartamānaḥ sva-dharma-stho ’naghaḥ śuciḥ | jṣānaṁ viśuddham āpnoti mad-bhaktiṁ ca yadṛcchayā || One who is situated in his prescribed duty, free from sinful activities and cleansed of material contamination, in this very life obtains transcendental knowledge or, by fortune, devotional service unto Me. SB 11.20.11 The Lord himself says that karma is the cause of bhakti. How can you say that bhakti is without cause? That is true. It can be explained in that statement that karma gives rise to jṣāna, but does not directly produce bhakti. That is understood from the use of the word yadṛcchayā (by itself) in the verse. Pure bhakti is independent (yadṛcchayā), indifferent to other processes. If by good fortune it happens to appear in a person, then he attains attraction for the Lord’s topics. The meaning of yadṛcchayā is “by itself.” By explaining the verse in another way, the self-manifesting nature of bhakti would be lost. Therefore such meanings are rejected. Thus even niṣkāma-karma is not the cause of bhakti. That is said in the present verse. Paro dharma is understood from verse 1.2.6 (sa vai puṁsām paro dharmaḥ). All dharmas other than that, undertaken as one’s duties (svanuṣṭhitaḥ), even if they are niṣkāma, and which do not produce affection (ratim) for topics about the Lord, are only useless labor. The word yadi here indicates disgust generated from the wasted labor. Medinī says yadi indicates disgust or doubt. Or yadi can be used to express doubt where no doubt exists as in the example yadi vedāḥ pramāṇam: if the Vedas are proof. Or in the sentence dhatte padam tvam avitā yadi vighna-mūrdhni: You, the protector, place your foot on the head of obstacles, yadi expresses certainty. This is how Śrīdhara Svāmī explains yadi. Another meaning is as follows. It is said that from this varṇāśrama sometimes attraction for topics of the Lord does arise. That is true. Because one cannot attain the results of dharma without such affection for the Lord’s topics, that affection is present but that is an appearance only, not genuine. If activities of varṇāśrama-dharma, whether kāmya (for fulfilling personal desires) or nitya (daily obligations), do not produce affection for the Lord’s topics, they are a waste of labor (for no material results will come). For farmers, agriculture must generate affection for the king; otherwise they cannot attain its results. Intelligent people, seeing that there will be no results without attraction for those topics, perform dharma that produces affection for the topics of the Lord. If the foolish perform the duties without producing affection for topics of the Lord, they labor for nothing. Just as it is wasted labor if one cannot attain the results of farming because of lack of loyalty to the king, it is wasted labor if one cannot get the results of Svarga and knowledge because of lack of devotion to the Lord. naiṣkarmyam apy acyuta-bhāva-varjitaṁ na śobhate jṣānam alaṁ niraṣjanam kutaḥ punaḥ śaśvad abhadram īśvara na cārpitaṁ karma yad apy akāraṇam Knowledge of self-realization, even though free from all material affinity, does not look well if devoid of a conception of the Infallible [God]. What, then, is the use of fruitive activities, which are naturally painful from the very beginning and transient by nature, if they are not utilized for the devotional service of the Lord? SB 1.5.12 Just as affection for the king arises only because of attachment to agriculture, so attraction to topics of the Lord arises only because of attachment to varṇāśrama- dharma and its material results. Therefore that attachment to the topics of the Lord is not genuine. Prahlāda has expressed a pure relationship: ahaṁ tv akāmas tvad-bhaktas tvaṁ ca svāmy anapāśrayaḥ nānyathehāvayor artho rāja-sevakayor iva I am your servant, not desiring benefits, and you are my master, without dependence on service. Our relationship should not be anything else--like that of king and servant. . SB 7.10.6