naiá¹£karmyam apy acyuta-bhÄva-varjitaá¹
na Å›obhate jñÄnam alaá¹ nirañjanam
kutaḥ punaḥ śaśvad abhadram īśvare
na cÄrpitaá¹ karma yad apy akÄraṇam
naiá¹£karmyam - which does not produce enjoyment of the resultant action; api - although; acyuta-bhÄva - of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; varjitam - devoid; na - not; Å›obhate - looks beautiful; jñÄnam - speculative knowledge; alam - exceedingly; nirañjanam - which is without material contamination; kutaḥ - how much less; punaḥ - again; Å›aÅ›vat - always (at the time of practicing and at the time of achieving the goal); abhadram - inauspicious; Ä«Å›vare - to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; na - not; ca - also; arpitam - dedicated; karma - activities; yat - which; api - although; akÄraṇam - causeless.
“ ‘When pure knowledge is beyond all material affinity but is not dedicated to the Supreme Personality of Godhead [Kṛṣṇa], it does not appear very beautiful, although it is knowledge without a material tinge. What, then, is the use of fruitive activities — which are naturally painful from the beginning and transient by nature — if they are not utilized for the devotional service of the Lord? How can they be very attractive?’
This is a quotation from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (1.5.12). Even after writing many Vedic literatures, VyÄsadeva felt very morose. Therefore his spiritual master, NÄradadeva, told him that he could be happy by writing about the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Up to that time, ÅšrÄ«la VyÄsadeva had written the karma-kÄṇá¸a and jñÄna-kÄṇá¸a sections of the Vedas, but he had not written about upÄsanÄ-kÄṇá¸a, or bhakti. Thus his spiritual master, NÄrada, chastised him and advised him to write about the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore VyÄsadeva began writing ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam.
