278
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 6, Ch. 5]
To attain freedom from material life, one must take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Otherwise, if one very busily engages in the so-called advancement of science, what benefit will he derive? If one is carried away by the waves of nature, what is the meaning of being a great scientist or philosopher? Mundane science and philosophy are also material creations. One must understand how  māyā  works and how one can be released from the tossing waves of the river of nescience. That is one's first duty.
TEXT 17
पञ्चविंशतितत्त्वानां पुरुषोऽद्भुतदर्पणः । अध्यात्ममबुधस्येह किमसत्कर्मभिर्भवेत् ॥१७॥
pañca-viṁśati-tattvānāṁ puruṣo 'dbhuta-darpaṇaḥ adhyātmam abudhasyeha kim asat-karmabhir bhavet
pañca-viṁśati—twenty-five; tattvānāṁ—of the elements; puruṣaḥ—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; adbhuta-darpaṇaḥ—the wonderful manifester; adhyātmam—the overseer of all causes and effects; abudhasya—of one who does not know; iha—in this world; kim asat-karmabhiḥ bhavet—what can be the benefit of engaging in temporary fruitive activities.
TRANSLATION
[Nārada Muni had said that there is a house made of twenty-five elements. The Haryaśvas understood this analogy.] The Supreme Lord is the reservoir of the twenty-five elements, and as the Supreme Being, the conductor of cause and effect, He causes their manifestation. If one engages in temporary fruitive activities, not knowing that Supreme Person, what benefit will he derive?
PURPORT
Philosophers and scientists conduct scholarly research to find the original cause, but they should do so scientifically, not whimsically or