Hare Krsna,
It is amazing to see the similarities between Lord Narayana’s instructions to Lord Brahma and Lord Kapila’s instructions to Mother Devahuti. In the last Catuh-sloki verse, Lord Narayana said, “A person who is searching after the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, must certainly search for it up to this, in all circumstances, in all space and time, and both directly and indirectly.” (SB 2.9.36). And here Lord Kapila says, “either by devotional service directly or by philosophical research, one has to find the same destination, which is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (SB 3.32.32) This proves the eternality of the Supreme Lord and His message to the living entities. The Lord is eternal, the living entities are eternal, and the instructions of the Lord are also eternal. From time immemorial, living entities are bound up in this material energy, and the Lord appears again and again to send the same instruction. In BG 4.1 and 4.3, Lord Krsna tells Arjuna, “I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Iksvaku. That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend; therefore you can understand the transcendental mystery of this science.”
Human life is meant for cultivation of spiritual knowledge, in eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Supreme Lord imparts His instructions through various processes. And of all the processes enunciated by Him, the best process is the devotional service unto Him. In the purport to SB 2.9.36 (the last Catuh sloki verse), Srila Prabhupada beautifully summarizes that the principles of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service to the Lord, are apt in all circumstances, i.e., bhakti-yoga is recommended in all the revealed scriptures, it is performed by all authorities, it is important in all places, it is useful in all causes and effects, etc.
Devotional service is ahaituki apratihata (unmotivated and uninterrupted). Devotional service is recommended not only for human beings but also for non-human beings.
“Even the worms, birds and beasts are assured of elevation to the highest perfectional life if they are completely surrendered to the transcendental loving service of the Lord, so what to speak of the philosophers amongst the human beings?” (Garuda Purana)
In this chapter also Lord Kapila stresses that ultimately the Supreme Person is the destination of all different processes. Whether one follows karma-yoga, sankhya-yoga, jnana-yoga, dhyana-yoga, astanga-yoga, or bhakti-yogi, the end goal is the Supreme Person. Otherwise, it is all useless endeavor (srama eva hi kevalam). If one wants to understand the Absolute Truth in perfection, he must take to devotional service (Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti). An apt analogy is that most of us have a day job. Some of us work in a company, some run businesses or some are self-employed to earn our livelihood. If at the end of the day we do not get paid, all our efforts are useless. We have labored for nothing. Similarly, if the human life is not used for Krsna consciousness, our lives are wasted. Bhakti is the basic principle of all processes. Without bhakti, neither jnāna-yoga nor aṣṭāṅga-yoga can be successful, and unless one approaches Kṛṣṇa, the principles of self-realization have no ultimate destination.
The essence of Lord Kapiladeva instructions is that bhakti-yoga has two important limbs – attachment for the Supreme Lord and detachment from all material affinities. With the execution of devotional service, real knowledge develops, and one becomes detached from all material activities. In no other activity but devotional service is there such detachment from matter and attachment for the Supreme.
One can increase attachment to the Supreme Lord by nine different processes – hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, serving the Lord, making friendship, praying, offering everything and serving the lotus feet of the Lord. Similarly, one can increase one’s detachments from material objects through the various instructions imparted by Lord Kapila in the previous chapters.
By following the instructions of the bona fide spiritual master in conjunction with the principles of revealed scriptures, we will rise to the plane of complete knowledge and full detachment from the world of sense gratification.
SB 1.2.7: By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.
I also admired verses 34-36. It answers what are the various spiritual practices by which the Lord can be perceived?
SB 3.32.34-36: By performing fruitive activities and sacrifices, by distributing charity, by performing austerities, by studying various literatures, by conducting philosophical research, by controlling the mind, by subduing the senses, by accepting the renounced order of life, by performing the prescribed duties of one’s social order, by performing the different divisions of yoga practice, by performing devotional service, by exhibiting the process of devotional service containing the symptoms of both attachment and detachment, by understanding the science of self-realization, and by developing a strong sense of detachment, one who is expert in understanding the different processes of self-realization realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He is represented in the material world as well as in transcendence.
This, in essence, summarizes Lord Kapiladeva’s instructions.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 