śreyaḥ-sṛtiṠbhaktim udasya te vibho
kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye
teá¹£Äm asau kleÅ›ala eva Å›iá¹£yate
nÄnyad yathÄ sthÅ«la-tuá¹£ÄvaghÄtinÄm

 Å›reyaḥ-sá¹›tim - the auspicious path of liberation; bhaktim - devotional service; udasya - giving up; te - of You; vibho - O my Lord; kliÅ›yanti - accept increased difficulties; ye - all those persons who; kevala - only; bodha-labdhaye - for obtaining knowledge; teá¹£Äm - for them; asau - that; kleÅ›alaḥ - trouble; eva - only; Å›iá¹£yate - remains; na - not; anyat - anything else; yathÄ - as much as; sthÅ«la - bulky; tuá¹£a - husks of rice; avaghÄtinÄm - of those beating.


Text

“ ‘My dear Lord, devotional service unto You is the only auspicious path. If one gives it up simply for speculative knowledge or the understanding that these living beings are spirit souls and the material world is false, he undergoes a great deal of trouble. He only gains troublesome and inauspicious activities. His actions are like beating a husk that is already devoid of rice. His labor becomes fruitless.’

Purport

This is a quotation from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (10.14.4).