# SB 6.1.12 ## Text > nāśnataḥ pathyam evānnaṁ > vyādhayo 'bhibhavanti hi > evaṁ niyamakṛd rājan > śanaiḥ kṣemāya kalpate ## Synonyms *na*—not; *aśnataḥ*—those who eat; *pathyam*—suitable; *eva*—indeed; *annam*—food; *vyādhayaḥ*—different types of disease; *abhibhavanti*—overcome; *hi*—indeed; *evam*—similarly; *niyama*-*kṛt*—one following regulative principles; *rājan*—O King; *śanaiḥ*—gradually; *kṣemāya*—for well-being; *kalpate*—becomes fit. ## Translation **My dear King, if a diseased person eats the pure, uncontaminated food prescribed by a physician, he is gradually cured, and the infection of disease can no longer touch him. Similarly, if one follows the regulative principles of knowledge, he gradually progresses toward liberation from material contamination.** ## Purport One is gradually purified if one cultivates knowledge, even through mental speculation, and strictly follows the regulative principles enjoined in the *śāstras* and explained in the next verse. Therefore the platform of *jñāna,* speculative knowledge, is better than the platform of *karma,* fruitive action. There is every chance of falling from the platform of *karma* to hellish conditions, but on the platform of *jñāna* one is saved from hellish life, although one is still not completely free from infection. The difficulty is that on the platform of *jñāna* one thinks that he has been liberated and has become Nārāyaṇa, or Bhagavān. This is another phase of ignorance. > ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas > tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ > āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ > patanty adho 'nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ > [[sb/10/2/32|(SB 10.2.32)]] Because of ignorance, one speculatively thinks himself liberated from material contamination although actually he is not. Therefore even if one rises to *brahma jñāna,* understanding of Brahman, one nevertheless falls down because of not taking shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Nonetheless, *jñānīs* at least know what is sinful and what is pious, and they very cautiously act according to the injunctions of the *śāstras.*