Why do scriptures mention salvation to be the goal of life?

[An online spiritual discussion was conducted on November 28, 2020, in which several devotees participated. Some of the questions of devotees answered by Swāmi are given below.]

[Śrī Anil Antony asked: Why do scriptures mention salvation to be the goal of life? Why do they not state the sacrifice of the fruit of work (karma-phala-tyāgam) as the goal, so that nobody will aspire for salvation? That way, devotees can remain free from any selfish aspiration, including the aspiration for their own salvation.]

Swāmi replied: Salvation means the liberation from worldly bonds. This liberation is expected to be an indirect measure of the person’s attachment to God. The scale that measures the depth of the water in a river can be taken as an example. Let us say that the total height of the scale is 100 ft. Let us say that 40 ft of the scale is exposed outside from the level of the water. This means that the depth of the water is 60 ft. The detachment from the worldly bonds is 40 ft, which is visible to us. The depth of the attachment to God, is 60 ft, which is hidden in the heart of the devotee. Seeing the exposed length of the scale above the water, we can calculate the hidden length of the scale under the water. Similarly, seeing the extent of the devotee’s salvation from worldly bonds, we can calculate the devotee’s inner attachment to God. But the detachment from the world need not always indicate the attachment to God. A person on the wrong path of duṣpravṛtti may be fascinated by a prostitute, as a result of which, he might be detached from his legitimate worldly bonds of pravṛtti like his wife and children. A 100 ft scale might be buried in the soil up to a depth of 60 ft. So, seeing the exposed 40 ft, we cannot say that the water is 60 ft. We can only say that the level of duṣpravṛtti is 60 ft. Duṣpravṛtti is not nivṛtti at all!

The attachment to God should be real love. It must not just be theoretical love, but there should also be some practical love. Real practical love is proved by sacrifice. The devotee should sacrifice his work (service) to God (karma saṃnyāsa) and he should also sacrifice the fruit of his work (karma phala tyāga) to God. If the devotee is a householder, he is expected to do both. His sacrifice of the fruit of his work should always be accompanied by the sacrifice of work too. A saint cannot sacrifice the fruit of his work (sacrifice of wealth) and can only sacrifice his work (service). Hence, if the sacrifice of the fruit of work alone is mentioned, the sacrifice of work also automatically follows. If the sacrifice of work alone is mentioned, the sacrifice of the fruit of work need not always follow, as in the case of a saint. Hence, in the Gītā, it is said that knowledge is better than blindly performing a traditional ritual without analysis (abhyāsa). Then it is told that devotion is better than knowledge and further, it is told that the sacrifice of the fruit of one’s work is better than devotion. Here, the term ‘sacrifice of the fruit of work’ includes the sacrifice of work (service) also. The term actually refers to karma yoga as a whole and karma yoga includes both the sacrifice of work and the sacrifice of the fruit of work (śreyo hi jñānamabhyāsāt…—Gītā). The essence of this is that karma yoga or practical devotion must always be performed. Karma yoga is the proof of theoretical devotion, which includes spiritual knowledge and devotion. The theoretical devotion (asambhūti upāsanā) is the mother of practical devotion (sambhūti upāsanā). The Veda says that both must exist together to achieve the divine fruit (Sa siddhimāpnoti…—Veda).

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