Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11 Chapter 14 Verse 20

Canto 11: General History | Chapter 14: Lord Kṛṣṇa Explains the Yoga System to Śrī Uddhava

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.14.20

na sādhayati māḿ yogo

na sāńkhyaḿ dharma uddhava

na svādhyāyas tapas tyāgo

yathā bhaktir mamorjitā

SYNONYMS

na — not; sādhayati — brings under control; mām — Me; yogaḥ — the yoga system; na — nor; sāńkhyam — the system of Sāńkhya philosophy; dharmaḥ — pious activities within the varṇāśrama system; uddhava — My dear Uddhava; na — not; svādhyāyaḥ — Vedic study; tapaḥ — austerity; tyāgaḥ — renunciation; yathā — as; bhaktiḥ — devotional service; mama — unto Me; ūrjitā — strongly developed.

TRANSLATION

My dear Uddhava, the unalloyed devotional service rendered to Me by My devotees brings Me under their control. I cannot be thus controlled by those engaged in mystic yoga, Sāńkhya philosophy, pious work, Vedic study, austerity or renunciation.

PURPORT

One may make Kṛṣṇa the goal of mystic yoga, Sāńkhya philosophy, etc.; yet such activities do not please the Lord as much as direct loving service, which one practices by hearing and chanting about the Lord and executing His mission. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī states, jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam: [Madhya 19.167] a devotee should simply depend on Kṛṣṇa and should not unnecessarily complicate his loving service with tendencies toward fruitive work or mental speculation. The residents of Vṛndāvana simply depend on Lord Kṛṣṇa. When the great serpent Aghāsura appeared in the precincts of Vraja, the cowherd boys, completely confident in their friendship with Lord Kṛṣṇa, fearlessly marched into the serpent's gigantic mouth. Such pure love for Kṛṣṇa brings the Lord under the control of the devotee.

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