Science can give external knowledge, but spirituality is internal. Only through scriptures can we know about the soul. Empiric scientists only understand material consciousness and the mind, but they cannot figure out the self or soul. Material elements cannot touch it. The soul can influence the body, but the body cannot influence the soul. When consciousness is turned inside, the soul becomes aware of itself.
Emphasis on character improvement
Babaji stressed that knowledge is very important because a person’s action and behavior depend on his or her knowledge. In India the emphasis has always been on improving a person’s character which depends upon having proper understanding of the principles of life. Merely possessing knowledge without using it as the basis for one’s actions is only a burden.
If you really understand Bhagavatam, you will become free from all of this nonsense that is making you suffer – all this envy, jealousy, hatred. All of these ideas will become completely smashed here. You have to hear it properly and then assimilate it. To purify your heart – this is Bhagavatam. And to understand Bhagavatam – this is the Sandarbhas.
