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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 4, Ch. 22]
assert that both the Supreme Lord and ourselves are of the same quality.  Tat tvam asi, ayam ātmā brahma.  Both the Supreme Lord and the living entity are spirit. Understanding this is self-realization. The human form of life is meant for understanding the Supreme Lord and oneself by spiritual cultivation of knowledge. One should not waste valuable life simply engaged in economic development and sense gratification.
In this verse the word  kṣetra-vit  is also important. This word is explained in  Bhagavad-gītā :  idam śarīram kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate  (Bg.13.2). This body is called  kṣetra , or the field of activities, and the proprietors of the body, the individual soul and the Supersoul sitting within the body, are both called  kṣetra-vit . But there is a difference between the two kinds of  kṣetra-vit . One  kṣetra-vit , or knower of the body, namely the Paramātmā or the Supersoul, is directing the individual soul. When we rightly take the direction of the Supersoul, our life becomes successful. He is directing from within and from without. From within He is directing as  caitya-guru , or the spiritual master sitting within the heart. Indirectly He is also helping the living entity by manifesting Himself as the spiritual master outside. In both ways the Lord is giving directions to the living entity so that he may finish up his material activities and come back home, back to Godhead. The presence of the Supreme Soul and the individual soul within the body can be perceived by anyone by the fact that as long as the individual soul and the Supersoul are both living within the body, the body is always shining and fresh. But as soon as the Supersoul and the individual soul give up possession of the gross body, it immediately decomposes. One who is spiritually advanced can thus understand the real difference between a dead body and a living body. In conclusion, one should not waste his time by so-called economic development and sense gratification but should cultivate spiritual knowledge to understand the Supersoul and the individual soul and their relationship. In this way, by advancement of knowledge, one can achieve liberation and the ultimate goal of life. It is said that if one takes to the path of liberation, even rejecting his so-called duties in the material world, he is not a loser at all. But a person who does not take to the path of liberation yet carefully executes economic development and sense gratification, loses everything. Nārada's statement before Vyāsadeva is appropriate in this connection:
tyaktvā sva-dharmam caraṇāmbujam harer bhajann apakvo'tha patet tato yadi yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kim ko vārtha āpto'bhajatām sva-dharmataḥ (Bhāg. 1.5.17)