238
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 2, Ch. 5]
TRANSLATION
The Vedic literatures are made by and are meant for the Supreme Lord, the demigods are also meant for serving the Lord as parts of the body, the different planets are also meant for the sake of the Lord, and different sacrifices are performed just to please Him.
PURPORT
According to the  Vedānta-sūtras  ( śāstra-yonitvāt ), the Supreme Lord is the author of all revealed scriptures, and all revealed scriptures are for knowing the Supreme Lord.  Vedas  means knowledge that leads to the Lord. The  Vedas  are made just to revive the forgotten consciousness of the conditioned souls, and any literature which is not meant for reviving God consciousness is rejected at once by the  Nārāyaṇa-para  devotees. Such deluding books of knowledge, not having  Nārāyaṇa  as their aim, are not at all knowledge but are the playgrounds for crows who are interested in the rejected refuse of the world. Any book of knowledge (science or art) must lead to the knowledge of  Nārāyaṇa ; otherwise it must be rejected. That is the way of advancement of knowledge. The Supreme worshipable Deity is  Nārāyaṇa . The demigods are recommended secondarily for worship in relation to  Nārāyaṇa  because the demigods are assisting hands in the management of the universal affairs. As the officers of a kingdom are respected due to their relation to the king, similarly the demigods are worshiped due to their relation to the Lord. Without the Lord's relation, worship of the demigods is unauthorized ( avidhi-pūrvakam ), just as it is improper to water the leaves and branches of a tree without watering its root. Therefore the demigods are also dependent on  Nārāyaṇa . The  lokas , or different planets, are attractive because there are different varieties of life and bliss partially representing the  sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha . Everyone wants the eternal life of bliss and knowledge. In the material world such eternal life of bliss and knowledge is progressively realized in the upper planets, but after reaching there one is inclined to achieve further progress along the path back to Godhead. Duration of life, with a proportionate quantity of bliss and knowledge, may be increased from one planet to another. One can increase the duration of life to thousands and hundreds of thousands of years in different planets, but nowhere is there eternal life. But one who can reach the highest planet of Brahmā can aspire to reach the planets in the spiritual sky where life is eternal. Therefore, the progres-