Text 35]
Nārada's Instructions on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
271
yadatra kriyate karma bhagavat-paritoṣaṇam jñānam yat tad adhīnam hi bhakti-yoga-samanvitam
yat—whatever; atra—in this life or world; kriyate—does perform; karma—work; bhagavat—unto the Personality of Godhead; paritoṣaṇam—satisfaction of; jñānam—knowledge; yat tat—what is so called; adhīnam—dependent; hi—certainly; bhakti-yoga—devotional; samanvitam—devoted with bhakti-yoga.
TRANSLATION
Whatever work is done here in this life for the satisfaction of the mission of the Lord is called bhakti-yoga, or transcendental loving service of the Lord, and what is called knowledge becomes a concomitant factor.
PURPORT
The general and popular notion is that by discharging fruitive work in terms of the direction of the scriptures one becomes perfectly able to acquire transcendental knowledge for spiritual realization.  Bhakti-yoga  is considered by some to be another form of  karma . But factually  bhakti-yoga  is above both  karma  and  jñāna .  Bhakti-yoga  is independent of  jñāna  or  karma ; on the other hand,  jñāna  and  karma  are dependent of  bhakti-yoga . This  kriyā-yoga  or  karma-yoga , as recommended by Śrī Nārada to Vyāsa, is specifically recommended because the principle is to satisfy the Lord. The Lord does not want His sons, the living beings, to suffer the threefold miseries of life. He desires that all of them come to Him and live with Him, but going back to Godhead means that one must purify himself from material infections. When work is, therefore, performed to satisfy the Lord, the performer becomes gradually purified from the material affection. This purification means attainment of spiritual knowledge. Therefore knowledge is dependent on such  karma  or work which is done on behalf of the Lord. Other knowledge, being devoid of  bhakti-yoga  or satisfaction of the Lord, cannot lead one back to the kingdom of God, which means that it cannot even offer salvation as is already explained in connection with the stanza,  naiṣkarmyam apy acyuta-bhāva-varjitam , etc. The conclusion is that a devotee engaged in the unalloyed service of the Lord, specifically in hearing and chanting of His transcendental glories,