| SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM--THE NATURAL COMMENTARY ON VEDANTA (ARTHO 'YAM BRAHMA-SUTRANAM) A STUDY GUIDE BASED UPON THE GOVINDA-BHASYA OF SRILA BALADEVA VIDYABHUSANA INTRODUCTION The word Veda means 'knowledge.' In the modern world, the term 'science' is used to identify the kind of authoritative knowledge upon which human progress is based. To the ancient people of Bharatavarsa, the word Veda had an even more profound import than the word science has for people today. That is because in those days scientific inquiry was not restricted to the world perceived by the physicial senses. And the definition of human progress was not restricted to massive technological exploitation of material nature. In Vedic times, the primary focus of science was the eternal, not the temporary; human progress meant the advancement of spiritual awareness yielding the soul's release from the entrapment of material nature, which is temporary and full of ignorance and suffering. |