Sri Isopanisad - Mantra 10

Mantra Ten of The Sri Isopanisadanyad evahur vidyaya
nyad ahur avidyaya
iti susruma dhiranam
ye nas tad vicacaksire
 Srila Prabhupada’s Translation
 The wise have explained that one result is derived from the culture of knowledge and that a different result is obtained from the culture of nescience.

My Notes

• “(18) One should become a scientist or philosopher and conduct research into spiritual knowledge, recognizing that spiritual knowledge is permenent whereas material knowledge ends with the death of the body.”
• “Such foolish people draw up various plans to render national demarcations perfectly, a task that is totally immpossible.”

In the beginning of Srila Prabhupada’s Purport he quotes from Bhagavad-gita (13.8-12), listing 18 rules for the culturing of knowledge. I listed this one specifically to show that, although Srila Prabhupada dispised the fake knowledge taught in modern day schools, he was approving of the use of scienceand philosophy to study spiritual knowledge.
It is true that so much of modern life is governed by political discisions and wars that, as Srila Prabhupada says here in the second note, are pointless. As said earlier on in the purport: “(16) One should become an unnalloyed devotee of the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, and serve Him with rapt attention.” In this way we should turn our interest away from the impossible task of drawing up national borders and turn towords Sri Krishna, serving him with unalloyed devotion.

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