Text 6] Divinity and Divine Service 91

PURPORT

In this statement, Sri Sita Gosvami answers the first question of the
sages of Naimisaranya. The sages asked him to summarize the whole range
of revealed scriptures and present the most essential part so that fallen
people or the people in general might easily take it up. The Vedas
prescribe two different types of occupation for the human being. One is
called the praurtti-marga, or the path of sense enjoyment, and the other
is called the nivrtti-marga or the path of renunciation. The path of
enjoyment is inferior, but the path of sacrifice for the supreme cause is
superior. The material existence of the living being is a diseased condition
of actual life. Actual life is spiritual existence, or brahma-bhita existence
where life is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge. Material existence
is temporary, illusory and full of miseries. There is no happiness at all.
There is just the futile attempt to get rid of the miseries, and temporary
cessation of misery is falsely called happiness. Therefore, the path of
progressive material enjoyment, which is temporary, miserable and illusory,
is inferior. But devotional service of the Supreme Lord, which leads one to
eternal, blissful and all-cognizant life, is called the superior quality of
occupation. This is sometimes polluted when mixed with the inferior
quality. For example, adoption of devotional service for material gain is
certainly an obstruction to the progressive path of renunciation. Renuncia-
tion or abnegation for ultimate good is certainly a better occupation than
enjoyment in the diseased condition of life. Such enjoyment only aggravates
the symptoms of disease and increases its duration. Therefore devotional
service of the Lord must be pure in quality, i.e., without the least desire
for material enjoyment. One should, therefore, accept the superior quality
of occupation in the form of devotional service of the Lord without any
tinge of unnecessary desire, fruitive action and philosophical speculation.
This alone can lead one to perpetual solace in His service.

We have purposely denoted dharma as occupation because the root
meaning of the word dharma is “that which sustains one’s existence.” A
living being’s sustenance of existence is to coordinate his activities with
his eternal relation with the Supreme Lord Krsna. Krsna is the central pivot
of living beings, and He is the all-attractive living entity or eternal form
amongst all other living beings or eternal forms. Each and every living
being has his eternal form in the spiritual existence, and Krsna is the eternal
attraction for all of them. Krsna is the complete whole, and everything
else is His part and parcel. The relation is one of the servant and the
served, and it is transcendental and is completely distinguished from our
