Verse 1.13.196

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.13.196:

ঈশ্বরের শুভ দৃষ্টি বিনা কিছু নহে অতএব ঈশ্বর-ভজন বেদে কহে ॥ ১৯৬ ॥

ईश्वरेर शुभ दृष्टि विना किछु नहे अतएव ईश्वर-भजन वेदे कहे ॥ १९६ ॥

īśvarera śubha dṛṣṭi vinā kichu nahe ataeva īśvara-bhajana vede kahe || 196 ||

isvarera subha drsti vina kichu nahe ataeva isvara-bhajana vede kahe (196)

English translation:

(196) Nothing is obtained without the Lord’s merciful glance, therefore the Vedas enjoin one to worship the Supreme Lord.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

Endeavors other than service to the Supreme Lord are prominent in persons who are full of anarthas due to ignorance. Only by the mercy of the Lord does a living entity become self-realized, and as a result, he understands that service to the Lord is his only duty. This has been

revealed by the Vedic literatures to their followers in the following verse from Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.23):

yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ

“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.”

And Śrī Madhvācārya quotes the following verse from the “Māṭhara”

śruti in his commentary on Vedānta-sūtra (3.3.53):

bhaktir evainaṃ nayati bhaktir evainaṃ darśayati bhakti-vaśaḥ puruṣo bhaktir eva bhūyasī

“Bhakti leads the living entity to the Lord, and enables him to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is controlled by bhakti.

Bhakti is best of all.”