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Krṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
activities or prescribed duties and that such activities will lead one to the highest perfection. But this is contradicted in the Ninth Chapter of  Bhagavad-gītā , where Lord Krṣṇa says that by pious activities one may be elevated to the heavenly planets, but as soon as one's accumulation of pious activities is used up, one has to leave the enjoyment of a higher standard of material prosperity in the heavenly planets and immediately come down again to these lower planets, where the duration of life is very short and where the standard of material happiness is of a lower grade. The exact words used in the  Gītā  are  kṣṇe puṇye martya-lokam viśanti . Therefore the conclusion of the Mīmāmsaka philosophers, that pious activities will lead one to the Absolute Truth, is not valid. Although a pure devotee is by nature inclined to pious activities, no one can attain the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by pious activities alone. Pious activities may purify one of the contamination caused by ignorance and passion, but this is automatically attained by a devotee who is constantly engaged in hearing the transcendental message of Godhead in the form of the  Bhagavad-gītā ,  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  or similar scriptures. From the  Bhagavad-gītā  we understand that even a person who is not up to the standard of pious activities but who is absolutely engaged in devotional service is to be considered well situated on the path of spiritual perfection. It is also said in the  Bhagavad-gītā  that a person who is engaged in devotional service with love and faith is guided from within by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord Himself as Paramātmā, or the spiritual master sitting within one's heart, gives the devotee exact direction by which he can gradually go back to Godhead. The conclusion of the Mīmāmsaka philosophers is not actually the truth which can lead one to real understanding.
Similarly, there are Sāṅkhya philosophers, metaphysicians or material scientists who study this cosmic manifestation by their invented scientific method and who do not recognize the supreme authority of God as the creator of the cosmic manifestation. Rather, they wrongly conclude that the reaction of material elements is the original cause of creation. The  Bhagavad-gītā , however, does not accept this theory. It is clearly said therein that behind the cosmic activities is the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This fact is corroborated by the Vedic injunction  asad vā idam agra āsīt , which means that the origin of the creation existed before the cosmic manifestation. Therefore, the material elements cannot be the cause of material creation. Although the material elements are accepted as material causes, the ultimate cause is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. The  Bhagavad-gītā  says, therefore, that material nature works under the direction of Krṣṇa.