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TEXT 33 sreyan dravya-mayad yajnaj
SYNONYMS  sreyan--greater;
dravya-mayat--than the sacrifice of material possessions; yajnat--knowledge;
jnana-yajnah--sacrifice in knowledge; parantapa--O chastiser
of the enemy; sarvam--all; karma--activities; akhilam--in
totality; partha--O son of Prtha; jnane--in knowledge; parisamapyate--ends
in.
TRANSLATION O chastiser
of the enemy, the sacrifice of knowledge is greater than the sacrifice
of material possessions. O son of Prtha, after all, the sacrifice of work
culminates in transcendental knowledge.
PURPORT The purpose
of all sacrifices is to arrive at the status of complete knowledge, then
to gain release from material miseries, and, ultimately, to engage in loving
transcendental service to the Supreme Lord (Krsna consciousness). Nonetheless,
there is a mystery about all these different activities of sacrifice, and
one should know this mystery. Sacrifices sometimes take different forms
according to the particular faith of the performer. When one's faith reaches
the stage of transcendental knowledge, the performer of sacrifices should
be considered more advanced than those who simply sacrifice material possessions
without such knowledge, for without attainment of knowledge, sacrifices
remain on the material platform and bestow no spiritual benefit. Real knowledge
culminates in Krsna consciousness, the highest stage of transcendental
knowledge. Without the elevation of knowledge, sacrifices are simply material
activities. When, however, they are elevated to the level of transcendental
knowledge, all such activities enter onto the spiritual platform. Depending
on differences in consciousness, sacrificial activities are sometimes called
karma-kanda, fruitive activities, and sometimes jnana-kanda,
knowledge in the pursuit of truth. It is better when the end is knowledge.
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