evaá¹ gurÅ«pÄsanayaika-bhaktyÄ
vidyÄ-kuá¹hÄreṇa Å›itena dhÄ«raḥ
vivṛścya jÄ«vÄÅ›ayam apramattaḥ
sampadya cÄtmÄnam atha tyajÄstram
evam - thus (with the knowledge I have given you); guru - of the spiritual master; upÄsanayÄ - developed by worship; eka - unalloyed; bhaktyÄ - by loving devotional service; vidyÄ - of knowledge; kuá¹hÄreṇa - by the ax; Å›itena - sharp; dhÄ«raḥ - one who is steady by knowledge; vivṛścya - cutting down; jÄ«va - of the living entity; ÄÅ›ayam - the subtle body (filled with designations created by the three modes of material nature); apramattaḥ - being very careful in spiritual life; sampadya - achieving; ca - and; ÄtmÄnam - the Supreme Personality of Godhead; atha - then; tyaja - you should give up; astram - the means by which you achieved perfection.
Because Uddhava had achieved the perfection of personal association with Lord Kṛṣṇa, there was no need for him to maintain the mentality of a conditioned soul, and thus, as described here by the words sampadya cÄtmÄnam, Uddhava could personally serve the lotus feet of the Lord in the spiritual world. Indeed, Uddhava requested this opportunity at the beginning of this great conversation. As stated here, gurÅ«pÄsanayaika-bhaktyÄ: one can achieve pure devotional service by worshiping a bona fide spiritual master. It is not recommended here that one give up pure devotional service or one’s spiritual master. Rather, it is clearly stated by the words vidyÄ-kuá¹hÄreṇa that one should cultivate knowledge of the material world as described by Lord Kṛṣṇa in this chapter. One should fully understand that each and every aspect of the material creation is the expansion of the illusory potency of the Lord. Such knowledge works as a sharpened ax to cut down the roots of material existence. In this way, even the stubborn subtle body, created by the three modes of nature, is cut to pieces, and one becomes apramatta, or sane and cautious in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Lord Kṛṣṇa has clearly explained in this chapter that the cowherd damsels of Vá¹›ndÄvana were not interested in an analytical approach to life. They simply loved Lord Kṛṣṇa and could not think of anything else. Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu taught that all His devotees should follow in the footsteps of the cowherd damsels of Vraja in order to develop the highest intensity of selfless love of Godhead. Lord Kṛṣṇa has elaborately analyzed the nature of the material world so that the conditioned souls, who are trying to enjoy it, can cut down the tree of material existence with this knowledge. The words sampadya cÄtmÄnam indicate that a person with such knowledge has no further material existence, because he has already achieved the Personality of Godhead. Such a person should not loiter in the kingdom of mÄyÄ, perpetually refining his understanding of the illusory creation. One who has accepted Lord Kṛṣṇa as everything may enjoy eternal bliss in the Lord’s service. Yet even though he remains in this world, he has no more business with it and gives up the analytical procedures for negating it. Lord Kṛṣṇa therefore tells Uddhava, tyajÄstram: “Give up the ax of analytic knowledge by which you have cut down your sense of proprietorship and residence in the material world.â€
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupÄda to the Eleventh Canto, Twelfth Chapter, of the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, entitled “Beyond Renunciation and Knowledge.â€