Lecture given at Bhaktivan, Kansas on April 24, 2022

Brahma-stuti, Verse 4: The Uselessness of Jñana Without Bhakti

ŚB 10.14.4

श्रेय:सृतिं भक्तिमुदस्य ते विभो

क्लिश्यन्ति ये केवलबोधलब्धये ।

तेषामसौ क्लेशल एव शिष्यते

नान्यद् यथा स्थूलतुषावघातिनाम् ॥ ४ ॥

śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibho

kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye

teṣām asau kleśala eva śiṣyate

nānyad yathā sthūla-tuṣāvaghātinām

Translation

My dear Lord, devotional service unto You is the best path for self-realization. If someone gives up that path and engages in the cultivation of speculative knowledge, he will simply undergo a troublesome process and will not achieve his desired result. As a person who beats an empty husk of wheat cannot get grain, one who simply speculates cannot achieve self-realization. His only gain is trouble.