Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmrita Madhya 20.139

ataeva 'bhakti' — krishna-prāptyera upāya

'abhidheya' bali' tāre sarva-śāstre gāya

SYNONYMS

ataeva — therefore; bhakti — devotional service; krishna-prāptyera — of achieving the lotus feet of Krishna; upāya — the only means; abhidheya — abhidheya; bali' — calling; tāre — this system; sarva-śāstre — in all revealed scriptures; gāya — is described.

TRANSLATION

"The conclusion is that devotional service is the only means for approaching the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This system is therefore called abhidheya. This is the verdict of all revealed scriptures.

PURPORT

As Lord Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.55).

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvatah

tato mām tattvato jñātvā viśate tad-anantaram

"One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God."

The aim of life is to get rid of the material conditioning and enter into spiritual existence. Although the śāstras prescribe different methods for different men, the Supreme Personality of Godhead says that one ultimately must accept the path of devotional service as the assured path of spiritual advancement. Devotional service to the Lord is the only process actually confirmed by the Lord. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam śaranam vraja (Bg. 18.66). One must become a devotee if one wants to return home, back to Godhead, and become eternally blissful.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness