Text 5
tasmāj jñānena sahitaṁ
jñātvā svātmānam uddhava
jñāna-vijñāna-sampanno
bhaja māṁ bhakti-bhāvataḥ
tasmāt — therefore; jñānena — knowledge; sahitam — with; jñātvā — knowing; sva-ātmānam — your own self; uddhava — My dear Uddhava; jñāna — in Vedic knowledge; vijñāna — and clear realization; sampannaḥ — accomplished; bhaja — worship; mām — Me; bhakti — of loving devotion; bhāvataḥ — in the mood.
Therefore, My dear Uddhava, through knowledge you should understand your actual self. Then, advancing by clear realization of Vedic knowledge, you should worship Me in the mood of loving devotion.
The word vijñāna indicates realized knowledge of one’s original, spiritual form. Every living entity has an eternal spiritual form, which lies dormant until one arouses one’s original Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Without knowledge of one’s own spiritual personality it is not possible to cultivate love of the Supreme Personality, Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, the words jñātvā svātmānam are significant here, indicating that every living entity can realize his full potential as an individual person only in the kingdom of God.