SB 11.28.42 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.28.42

न हि तत् कुशलाद‍ृत्यं तदायासो ह्यपार्थक: । अन्तवत्त्वाच्छरीरस्य फलस्येव वनस्पते: ॥ ४२ ॥

na hi tat kuśalādṛtyaṁ

[na hi tat kushalaadrityam]

tad-āyāso hy apārthakaḥ

[tad-aayaaso hy apaarthakah]

antavattvāc charīrasya

[antavattvaach chareerasya]

phalasyeva vanaspateḥ

[phalasyeva vanaspateh]

Word-for-word

na — not hi — indeed tat — that kuśala — by those expert in transcendental knowledge ādṛtyam — to be respected tat — of that āyāsaḥ — the endeavor hi — certainly apārthakaḥ — useless anta-vattvāt — because of being subject to destruction śarīrasya — on the part of the material body phalasya — of the fruit iva — just as vanaspateḥ — of a tree.

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

na hi tat kuśalādṛtyaṁ

not

indeed

tat

that

kuśala

by those expert in transcendental knowledge

ādṛtyam

to be respected

tad-āyāso hy apārthakaḥ

tat

of that

āyāsaḥ

the endeavor

certainly

apārthakaḥ

useless

antavattvāc charīrasya

anta-vattvāt

because of being subject to destruction

śarīrasya

on the part of the material body

phalasyeva vanaspateḥ

phalasya

of the fruit

iva

just as

vanaspateḥ

of a tree.

This mystic bodily perfection is not valued very highly by those expert in transcendental knowledge. Indeed, they consider endeavor for such perfection useless, since the soul, like a tree, is permanent, but the body, like a tree’s fruit, is subject to destruction.

Purport

The example given here is of a tree that seasonally bears fruit. The fruit exists for a very short time, whereas the tree may exist for thousands of years. Similarly, the spirit soul is eternal, whereas the material body, even when preserved as long as possible, is destroyed relatively quickly. The body should never be equated with the eternally existing spirit soul. Those who are actually intelligent, who actually have spiritual knowledge, are not interested in material mystic perfections.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

This mystic bodily perfection is not valued by the wise. They consider endeavor for such perfection useless, since the soul, like a tree, is permanent, but the body, like a tree’s fruit, is subject to destruction. But this procedure is not respected by the wise. The ātmā, like the tree, is permanent, but the body, like the fruit, is perishable.

Personal Guidance

Mystic bodily perfection is not valued by transcendentalists — soul is permanent like a tree, body like its fruit subject to destruction. Don't perfect the fruit; tend the tree.

Reflection Questions

Where do I tend fruit instead of tree?
What 'tree-tending' looks like today?

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io