Text 27] Prahlāda Instructs His Demoniac Schoolmates
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are not to be discounted; they are means of being promoted to the spiritual platform. But if one does not come to the spiritual platform, the Vedic ceremonies are simply a waste of time. This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.8):
dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ notpādayed yadi ratiṁ śrama eva hi kevalam
“Duties [ dharma ] executed by men, regardless of occupation, are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Supreme Lord.” If one very strictly performs the various duties of religion but does not ultimately come to the platform of surrendering to the Supreme Lord, his methods of attaining salvation or elevation are simply a waste of time and energy.
TEXT 27
ज्ञानं तदेतदमलं दुरवापमाह नारायणो नरसखः किल नारदाय । एकान्तिनां भगवतस्तदकिञ्चनानां पादारविन्दरजसाप्लुतदेहिनां स्यात् ॥२७॥
jñānaṁ tad etad amalaṁ duravāpam āha nārāyaṇo nara-sakhaḥ kila nāradāya ekāntināṁ bhagavatas tad akiñcanānāṁ pādāravinda-rajasāpluta-dehināṁ syāt
jñānam—knowledge; tat—that; etat—this; amalam—without material contamination; duravāpam—very difficult to understand (without the mercy of a devotee); āha—explained; nārāyaṇaḥ—Lord Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; nara-sakhaḥ—the friend of all living entities (especially human beings); kila—certainly; nāradāya—unto the great sage Nārada; ekāntinām—of those who have surrendered exclusively to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhagavataḥ—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tat—that (knowledge);