Text 57] Talks Between the Lord and Ramananda Raya 111

SYNONYMS

prabhu kahe—Lord $ri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said; pada—just recite; sloka—a
verse from the revealed scriptures; sadhyera—of the aim of life; nirmaya—an
ascertainment; raya kahe—Ramananda Raya replied; sva-dharma-dcarane—by
executing one’s occupational duty; visnu-bhakti—devotional service to Lord
Visnu; haya—there is.

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu ordered Ramananda Raya to recite a verse from
the revealed scriptures concerning the ultimate goal of life. Ramananda
replied that if one executes the prescribed duties of his social position, he
awakens his original Krsna consciousness.

PURPORT

In this connection, Sri Ramanujacdrya stated in the Vedartha-samgraha that
devotional service is naturally very dear to the living entity. Indeed, it is life’s goal.
This devotional service is supreme knowledge, or Krsna consciousness, and it
brings detachment from all material activity. In the transcendental position, a liv-
ing being can perfectly acknowledge the superiority of serving the Supreme Lord.
The devotees attain the Supreme Lord only by devotional service. Having such
knowledge, one engages in his occupational duty, and that is called bhakti-yoga.
By performing bhakti-yoga, one can rise to the platform of pure devotional ser-
vice.

A great saint, the father of Srila Vyasadeva, Paragara Muni, has specifically men-
tioned that devotional service to the Lord can ultimately be awakened in human
society by the discharge of duties in accordance with the varnasrama. The
Supreme Personality of Godhead instituted varnasrama-dharma to give human
beings a chance to return home, back to Godhead. The Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Lord $ri Krsna, who is known in Bhagavad-gita as Purusottama—the
greatest of all personalities —personally came and declared that the institution of
varnasrama-dharma was founded by Him. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (4.13):

caturvarnyam maya srstam
guna-karma-vibhagasah

tasya kartaram api mar
viddhy akartaram avyayam

Elsewhere in Bhagavad-gita (18.45-46) the Lord says:

sve sve karmany abhiratah
samsiddhim labhate narah
