Devanagari
श्रेयसामिह सर्वेषां ज्ञानं नि:श्रेयसं परम् ।
सुखं तरति दुष्पारं ज्ञाननौर्व्यसनार्णवम् ॥ ७५ ॥
Verse text
śreyasām iha sarveṣāṁ
jṣānaṁ niḥśreyasaṁ param
sukhaṁ tarati duṣpāraṁ
jṣāna-naur vyasanārṇavam
Synonyms
śreyasām
—
of all benedictions
;
iha
—
in this world
;
sarveṣām
—
of every person
;
jṣānam
—
knowledge
;
niḥśreyasam
—
the supreme benefit
;
param
—
transcendental
;
sukham
—
happiness
;
tarati
—
crosses over
;
duṣpāram
—
insurmountable
;
jṣāna
—
knowledge
;
nauḥ
—
boat
;
vyasana
—
danger
;
arṇavam
—
the ocean .
Translation
In this material world there are different types of achievement, but of all of them the achievement of knowledge is considered to be the highest because one can cross the ocean of nescience only on the boat of knowledge. Otherwise the ocean is impassable.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Of all auspicious items in this world, knowledge is supremely auspicious. It is the supreme bliss. The boat of knowledge crosses the ocean of saṁsāra which is hard to cross.
Just to praise knowledge, he says that knowledge surpasses the bliss of the Lord’s form, qualities and powers and that knowledge is the boat suitable crossing saṁsāra. This is suitable for kaivalya. However, two verses show that knowledge gives more difficulties and is not suitable as the boat to cross saṁsāra.
kleśo ’dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām |
avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṁ dehavadbhir avāpyate ||
Those who are attached to the impersonal realization encounter extreme difficulties. The unmanifest goal brings suffering to those who have bodies. BG 12.5
kṛcchro mahān iha bhavārṇavam aplaveśāṁ
ṣaḍ-varga-nakram asukhena titīrṣanti
tat tvaṁ harer bhagavato bhajanīyam aṅghriṁ
kṛtvoḍupaṁ vyasanam uttara dustarārṇam
There is great suffering for those without the boat to cross the ocean of saṁsāra filled with the crocodiles of the six senses, since they desire to cross with difficulty but cannot. Therefore cross the ocean of saṁsāra, difficult to cross by making a boat out of the lotus feet of the Lord, worthy of worship. SB 4.22.40
Purport
Actually everyone is suffering within this material world due to ignorance. Every day we see that a person without knowledge commits some criminal act and is later arrested and punished, despite the fact that he actually may not have been conscious of his sinful activity. Such ignorance prevails throughout the world. People do not consider how they are risking their lives in an attempt to have illicit sex life, kill animals to satisfy their tongue, enjoy intoxication and gamble. It is very regrettable that the leaders of the world do not know of the effects of these sinful activities. They are instead taking things very easily and are succeeding in making the ocean of nescience wider and wider.
Opposed to such ignorance, full knowledge is the greatest achievement within this material world. We can practically see that one who has sufficient knowledge is saved from many dangerous pitfalls in life. As stated in
Bhagavad-gītā
(7.19)
,
bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jṣānavān māṁ prapadyate:
“When one actually becomes wise, he surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ:
“Such a great soul is very rarely to be found.”
This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is determined to open wide the eyes of the so-called leaders, who are full of ignorance, and thus save them from the many pitfalls and dangerous conditions of life. The greatest danger is the danger of getting a body lower than that of a human being. It was with great difficulty that we attained this human form of life just to take advantage of this body and reestablish our relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda. Lord Śiva advises, however, that those who take advantage of his prayers will very soon become devotees of Lord Vāsudeva and thus will be able to cross the ocean of nescience and make life perfect.