कर्मणा कर्मनिर्हारो न ह्यात्यन्तिक इष्यते ।
अविद्वदधिकारित्वात्प्रायश्चित्तं विमर्शनम् ॥११॥
Å›rÄ«-bÄdarÄyaṇir uvÄca
karmaá¹‡Ä karma-nirhÄro
na hy Ätyantika iá¹£yate
avidvad-adhikÄritvÄt
prÄyaÅ›cittaá¹ vimarÅ›anam
4 times this text was mentioned in purports to other texts: LSB(4)
Å›rÄ«-bÄdarÄyaṇiḥ uvÄca - Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ«, the son of VyÄsadeva, replied; karmaá¹‡Ä - by fruitive activities; karma-nirhÄraḥ - counteraction of fruitive activities; na - not; hi - indeed; Ätyantikaḥ - final; iá¹£yate - becomes possible; avidvat-adhikÄritvÄt - from being without knowledge; prÄyaÅ›cittam - real atonement; vimarÅ›anam - full knowledge of VedÄnta.
Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ«, the son of VedavyÄsa, answered: My dear King, since acts meant to neutralize impious actions are also fruitive, they will not release one from the tendency to act fruitively. Persons who subject themselves to the rules and regulations of atonement are not at all intelligent. Indeed, they are in the mode of darkness. Unless one is freed from the mode of ignorance, trying to counteract one action through another is useless because this will not uproot one’s desires. Thus even though one may superficially seem pious, he will undoubtedly be prone to act impiously. Therefore real atonement is enlightenment in perfect knowledge, VedÄnta, by which one understands the Supreme Absolute Truth.
The guru, Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ«, has examined ParÄ«ká¹£it MahÄrÄja, and it appears that the King has passed one phase of the examination by rejecting the process of atonement because it involves fruitive activities. Now Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« is suggesting the platform of speculative knowledge. Progressing from karma-kÄṇá¸a to jñÄna-kÄṇá¸a, he is proposing, prÄyaÅ›cittaá¹ vimarÅ›anam: “Real atonement is full knowledge.†VimarÅ›ana refers to the cultivation of speculative knowledge. In Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ, karmÄ«s, who are lacking in knowledge, are compared to asses. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (7.15):
na mÄá¹ duá¹£ká¹›tino mÅ«á¸hÄḥ
prapadyante narÄdhamÄḥ
mÄyayÄpahá¹›ta-jñÄnÄ
Äsuraá¹ bhÄvam ÄÅ›ritÄḥ
“Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me.†Thus karmÄ«s who engage in sinful acts and who do not know the true objective of life are called mÅ«á¸has, asses. VimarÅ›ana, however, is also explained in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (15.15), where Kṛṣṇa says, vedaiÅ› ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: the purpose of Vedic study is to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one studies VedÄnta but merely advances somewhat in speculative knowledge and does not understand the Supreme Lord, one remains the same mÅ«á¸ha. As stated in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (7.19), one attains real knowledge when he understands Kṛṣṇa and surrenders unto Him (bahÅ«nÄá¹ janmanÄm ante jñÄnavÄn mÄá¹ prapadyate). To become learned and free from material contamination, therefore, one should try to understand Kṛṣṇa, for thus one is immediately liberated from all pious and impious activities and their reactions.
