Canto 3: The Status QuoChapter 25: The Glories of Devotional Service

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.25.13

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

yoga ādhyātmikaḥ puḿsāḿ

mato niḥśreyasāya me

atyantoparatir yatra

duḥkhasya ca sukhasya ca

SYNONYMS

śrī-bhagavān uvāca — the Personality of Godhead said; yogaḥ — the yoga system; ādhyātmikaḥ — relating to the soul; puḿsām — of living entities; mataḥ — is approved; niḥśreyasāya — for the ultimate benefit; me — by Me; atyanta — complete; uparatiḥ — detachment; yatra — where; duḥkhasya — from distress; ca — and; sukhasya — from happiness; ca — and.

TRANSLATION

The Personality of Godhead answered: The yoga system which relates to the Lord and the individual soul, which is meant for the ultimate benefit of the living entity, and which causes detachment from all happiness and distress in the material world, is the highest yoga system.

PURPORT

In the material world, everyone is trying to get some material happiness, but as soon as we get some material happiness, there is also material distress. In the material world one cannot have unadulterated happiness. Any kind of happiness one has is contaminated by distress also. For example, if we want to drink milk then we have to bother to maintain a cow and keep her fit to supply milk. Drinking milk is very nice; it is also pleasure. But for the sake of drinking milk one has to accept so much trouble. The yoga system, as here stated by the Lord, is meant to end all material happiness and material distress. The best yoga, as taught in Bhagavad-gītā by Kṛṣṇa, is bhakti-yoga. It is also mentioned in the Gītā that one should try to be tolerant and not be disturbed by material happiness or distress. Of course, one may say that he is not disturbed by material happiness, but he does not know that just after one enjoys so-called material happiness, material distress will follow. This is the law of the material world. Lord Kapila states that the yoga system is the science of the spirit. One practices yoga in order to attain perfection on the spiritual platform. There is no question of material happiness or distress. It is transcendental. Lord Kapila will eventually explain how it is transcendental, but the preliminary introduction is given here.

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