Text 5711
Talks Between the Lord and Rāmānanda Rāya
111
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe —Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said;  paḍa —just recite;  śloka —a verse from the revealed scriptures;  sādhyera —of the aim of life;  nirṇaya —an ascertainment;  rāya kahe —Rāmānanda Rāya replied;  sva-dharma-ācaraṇe —by executing one's occupational duty;  viṣṇu-bhakti —devotional service to Lord Visnu;  haya —there is.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered Rāmānanda Rāya to recite a verse from the revealed scriptures concerning the ultimate goal of life. Rāmānanda replied that if one executes the prescribed duties of his social position, he awakens his original Krṣṇa consciousness.
PURPORT
In this connection, Śrī Rāmānujācārya stated in the  Vedārtha-saṁgraha  that devotional service is naturally very dear to the living entity. Indeed, it is life's goal. This devotional service is supreme knowledge, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and it brings detachment from all material activity. In the transcendental position, a living being can perfectly acknowledge the superiority of serving the Supreme Lord. The devotees attain the Supreme Lord only by devotional service. Having such knowledge, one engages in his occupational duty, and that is called  bhakti-yoga . By performing  bhakti-yoga , one can rise to the platform of pure devotional service.
A great saint, the father of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, Parāśara Muni, has specifically mentioned that devotional service to the Lord can ultimately be awakened in human society by the discharge of duties in accordance with the  varṇāśrama . The Supreme Personality of Godhead instituted  varṇāśrama-dharma  to give human beings a chance to return home, back to Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is known in  Bhagavad-gītā  as Puruṣottama—the greatest of all personalities—personally came and declared that the institution of  varṇāśrama-dharma  was founded by Him. As stated in  Bhagavad-gītā  (4.13):
cāturvarṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ 
guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ 
tasya kartāram api māṁ 
viddhy akartāram avyayam
Elsewhere in  Bhagavad-gitā  (18.45-46) the Lord says: