Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 6.16.58

labdhveha mānuṣīḿ yoniḿ

jñāna-vijñāna-sambhavām

ātmānaḿ yo na buddhyeta

na kvacit kṣemam āpnuyāt

SYNONYMS

labdhvā — achieving; iha — in this material world (especially in this pious land of Bhārata-varṣa, India); mānuṣīm — the human; yonim — species; jñāna — of knowledge through Vedic scriptures; vijñāna — and practical application of that knowledge in life; sambhavām — wherein there is a possibility; ātmānam — one's real identity; yaḥ — anyone who; na — not; buddhyeta — understands; na — never; kvacit — at any time; kṣemam — success in life; āpnuyāt — can obtain.

TRANSLATION

A human being can attain perfection in life by self-realization through the Vedic literature and its practical application. This is possible especially for a human being born in India, the land of piety. A man who obtains birth in such a convenient position but does not understand his self is unable to achieve the highest perfection, even if he is exalted to life in the higher planetary systems.

PURPORT

This statement is confirmed in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 9.41). Lord Caitanya said:

bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra

janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra

Everyone born in India, especially as a human being, can achieve the supreme success through the Vedic literature and its practical application in life. When one is perfect, he can render a service for the self-realization of the entire human society. This is the best way to perform humanitarian work.

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