Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.19.4

tapas tīrthaḿ japo dānaḿ

pavitrāṇītarāṇi ca

nālaḿ kurvanti tāḿ siddhiḿ

yā jñāna-kalayā kṛtā

SYNONYMS

tapaḥ — austerity; tīrtham — visiting holy places; japaḥ — offering silent prayers; dānam — charity; pavitrāṇi — pious activities; itarāṇi — other; ca — also; na — not; alam — up to the same standard; kurvanti — they award; tām — this; siddhim — perfection; yā — which; jñāna — of spiritual knowledge; kalayā — by a fraction; kṛtā — is awarded.

TRANSLATION

That perfection which is produced by a small fraction of spiritual knowledge cannot be duplicated by performing austerities, visiting holy places, chanting silent prayers, giving in charity or engaging in other pious activities.

PURPORT

Jñāna here refers to a clear understanding of the Lord's supreme dominion over all that be, and this realized knowledge is nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That the Lord is supreme is confirmed in the previous verse by the words padam śreṣṭhaḿ vidur mama. One may perform penances or visit holy places with a proud menta!ity or material motivation; similarly, one may chant prayers to God, give charity or perform other externally pious activities with many bizarre, hypocritical or even demoniac motivations. Realized knowledge of the supremacy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, however, is a solid connection with the spiritual world, and if one pursues this holy understanding one is gradually promoted to the highest level of conscious existence, called Vaikuṇṭha, or the kingdom of God.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari