Canto & Chapters
The Status Quo (33 Chapters)
Chapter 130v
Chapter 1
Chapter 230v
Chapter 2
Chapter 330v
Chapter 3
Chapter 430v
Chapter 4
Chapter 530v
Chapter 5
Chapter 630v
Chapter 6
Chapter 730v
Chapter 7
Chapter 830v
Chapter 8
Chapter 930v
Chapter 9
Chapter 1030v
Chapter 10
Chapter 1130v
Chapter 11
Chapter 1230v
Chapter 12
Chapter 1330v
Chapter 13
Chapter 1430v
Chapter 14
Chapter 1530v
Chapter 15
Chapter 1630v
Chapter 16
Chapter 1730v
Chapter 17
Chapter 1830v
Chapter 18
Chapter 1930v
Chapter 19
Chapter 2030v
Chapter 20
Chapter 2130v
Chapter 21
Chapter 2230v
Chapter 22
Chapter 2330v
Chapter 23
Chapter 2430v
Chapter 24
Chapter 2530v
Chapter 25
Chapter 2630v
Chapter 26
Chapter 2730v
Chapter 27
Chapter 2830v
Chapter 28
Chapter 2930v
Chapter 29
Chapter 3030v
Chapter 30
Chapter 3130v
Chapter 31
Chapter 3230v
Chapter 32
Chapter 3330v
Chapter 33
Canto 3, Chapter 26
Chapter 26
Verse 2 (SB 3.26.2)
SB 3.26.2 • मूल श्लोक
ज्ञानं नि:श्रेयसार्थाय पुरुषस्यात्मदर्शनम् । यदाहुर्वर्णये तत्ते हृदयग्रन्थिभेदनम् ॥ २ ॥
Transliteration
jñānaṁ niḥśreyasārthāya puruṣasyātma-darśanam yad āhur varṇaye tat te hṛdaya-granthi-bhedanam
Synonyms (Word-for-Word)
jñānam — knowledge; niḥśreyasa-arthāya — for the ultimate perfection; puruṣasya — of a man; ātma-darśanam — self-realization; yat — which; āhuḥ — they said; varṇaye — I shall explain; tat — that; te — to you; hṛdaya — in the heart; granthi — the knots; bhedanam — cuts.
Translation
“Knowledge is the ultimate perfection of self-realization. I shall explain that knowledge unto you by which the knots of attachment to the material world are cut.”
Bhaktivedanta Purport
By Śrīla PrabhupādaIt is said that by proper understanding of the pure self, or by self-realization, one can be freed from material attachment. Knowledge leads one to attain the ultimate perfection of life and to see oneself as he is. The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (3.8) also confirms this. Tam eva viditvāti-mṛtyum eti: simply by understanding one’s spiritual position, or by seeing oneself as he is, one can be freed from material entanglement. In various ways, the seeing of oneself is described in the Vedic literatures, and it is confirmed in the Bhāgavatam (puruṣasya ātma-darśanam) that one has to see oneself and know what he is. As Kapiladeva explains to His mother, this “seeing” can be done by hearing from the proper authoritative source. Kapiladeva is the greatest authority because He is the Personality of Godhead, and if someone accepts whatever is explained as it is, without interpretation, then he can see himself.
Lord Caitanya explained to Sanātana Gosvāmī the real constitutional position of the individual. He said directly that each and every individual soul is eternally a servitor of Kṛṣṇa. Jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’: every individual soul is eternally a servitor. When one is fixed in the understanding that he is part and parcel of the Supreme Soul and that his eternal position is to serve in association with the Supreme Lord, he becomes self-realized. This position of rightly understanding oneself cuts the knot of material attraction (hṛdaya-granthi-bhedanam). Due to false ego, or false identification of oneself with the body and the material world, one is entrapped by māyā, but as soon as one understands that he is qualitatively the same substance as the Supreme Lord because he belongs to the same category of spirit soul, and that his perpetual position is to serve, one attains ātma-darśanam and hṛdaya-granthi-bhedanam, self-realization. When one can cut the knot of attachment to the material world, his understanding is called knowledge. Ātma-darśanam means to see oneself by knowledge; therefore, when one is freed from the false ego by the cultivation of real knowledge, he sees himself, and that is the ultimate necessity of human life. The soul is thus isolated from the entanglement of the twenty-four categories of material nature. Pursuit of the systematic philosophic process called Sāṅkhya is called knowledge and self-revelation.