8.57
prabhu kahe,--“pada sloka sadhyera nirnaya”
raya kahe,--“sva-dharmacarane visnu-bhakti haya”
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe—Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said; pada—just recite; sloka—a verse from the revealed scriptures; sadhyera—of the aim of life; nirnaya—an ascertainment; raya kahe—Ramananda Raya replied; sva-dharma-acarane—by executing one’s occupational duty; visnu-bhakti—devotional service to Lord Visnu; haya—there is.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu ordered Ramananda Raya to recite a verse from the revealed scriptures concerning the ultimate goal of life.
Ramananda replied that if one executes the prescribed duties of his social position, he awakens his original Krsna consciousness.
PURPORT
In this connection, Sri Ramanujacarya stated in the Vedartha-sangraha that devotional service is naturally very dear to the living entity.
Indeed, it is life’s goal.
This devotional service is supreme knowledge, or Krsna consciousness, and it brings detachment from all material activity.
In the transcendental position, a living being can perfectly acknowledge the superiority of serving the Supreme Lord.
The devotees attain the Supreme Lord only by devotional service.
Having such knowledge, one engages in his occupational duty, and that is called bhakti-yoga.
By performing bhakti-yoga, one can rise to the platform of pure devotional service.
A great saint, the father of Srila Vyasadeva, Parasara Muni, has specifically mentioned that devotional service to the Lord can ultimately be awakened in human society by the discharge of duties in accordance with the varnasrama system.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead instituted varnasrama-dharma to give human beings a chance to return home, back to Godhead.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna, who is known in the Bhagavad-gita as Purusottama-the greatest of all personalities-personally came and declared that the institution of varnasrama-dharma was founded by Him.
As stated in the Bhagavad-gita (4.13):
catur-varnyam maya srstam
guna-karma-vibhagasah
tasya kartaram api mam
viddhy akartaram avyayam Elsewhere in the Bhagavad-gita (18.45-46) the Lord says:
sve sve karmany abhiratah
samsiddhim labhate narah
sva-karma-niratah siddhim
yatha vindati tac chrnu
yatah pravrttir bhutanam
yena sarvam idam tatam
sva-karmana tam abhyarcya
siddhim vindati manavah Human society should be divided into four divisions-brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra-and everyone should always engage in his occupational duty.
The Lord says that those engaged in their occupational duty can attain perfection simply by rendering loving devotional service to the Lord while executing their particular duty.
Actually the modern ideal of a classless society can be introduced only by Krsna consciousness.
Let men perform their occupational duty, and let them give their profits to the service of the Lord.
In other words, one can attain the perfection of life by discharging one’s occupational duty and employing the results in the service of the Lord.
This method is confirmed by great personalities like Bodhayana, Tanka, Dramida, Guhadeva, Kapardi and Bharuci.
It is also confirmed by the Vedanta-sutra.