Translation by Srila Prabhupada: The wood of the fire is a transformation of the earth, but better than wood is smoke. Fire is even better, because through fire (Vedic sacrifices) we can obtain the benefits of superior knowledge. Similarly, rajo-guna is better than tamo-guna, but sattva-guna is the best, because through sattva-guna one can realize the Supreme Truth.
Purport: As stated earlier, only by devotional service to Sri Bhagavan can one be released from conditioned life in this material world. Next, it is stated here that one has to rise to the position of sattva-guna so that one may become eligible for devotional service to Sri Bhagavan.
However, if there are obstacles in the way of progress, one can gradually rise from the position of tamas to the position of sattva-guna under the guidance of a capable guru. Therefore, devoted persons should go to a bona fide competent spiritual master for progress, who can take them from any stage of tamas, rajas or sattva to the stage of liberation.
Therefore, it is a mistake to think that worshiping any of the modes or any of the aspects of the Supreme Personality of Godhead will be equally beneficial. Besides Lord Sri Vishnu, all the various aspects are manifested under the influence of material energy, and therefore the various forms of material energy do not help the living entity to rise to that stage of sattva. Only the state of sattva is capable of liberating man from material bondage.
The uncivilized stage of life or the lower animal life is controlled by the mode of ignorance. The civilized state of man, in which he desires various kinds of benefits, is the Rajoguni state. In this state, only a little bit of realization of Shri Bhagwan can be had, which manifests itself in the form of culture consisting of philosophy, art and character and moral principles, but Sattvagu is a higher physical state than this, which actually helps in realizing the Supreme Truth. In other words, there is a qualitative difference in the different methods of worship of the presiding deities named Shri Brahma, Shri Vishnu and Har and the fruits obtained from them.
The conclusion that can be drawn from this verse of the Srimad Bhagavatam is that Sattva is the best, and we can have a vision of Sri Bhagavan only after rising to Sattva. Here, Srila Prabhupada is explaining, for example, that wood is a transformation of earth, i.e. wood is obtained from earth, but its smoke is even better than wood, and fire is even better than smoke, because with fire we can perform many types of Vedic sacrifices and gain great knowledge.
Similarly, Rajoguna is superior to Tamoguna, but Sattva is the best, only by reaching Sattva can we attain Sri Bhagavan's company, and then we can get liberation from this material world. To become eligible for devotion to the Lord, we have to rise to Sattva, without rising to Sattva we cannot worship the Lord. If there are obstacles in the progress of our devotion, we should seek the shelter of a bona fide Guru (i.e. a Guru who is connected with some tradition) and under the guidance of such a Guru, we can gradually rise above the Tamas and Rajas states and easily reach the Sattva state and then attain liberation from this material life.
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