As individual life time is brief and the things to be learnt inexhaustible, scriptures reiterate that one should be selective in choosing to learn only what is really worthwhile and meaningful. Just as the swan sifts the milk from water, and the bees target only the honey from flowers, the wise seek what is most beneficial, the highest truth, pointed out Asuri Sri Madhavachariar in a discourse.
There are sastras that oppose the Vedas and these have to be ignored. Again, the Karma Kanda section in the Vedas dealing with yagas and yagnas as means for the accomplishment of worldly desires or for attainment of swarga loka, etc, can be ignored. These are impermanent and short lived. But sastras also say that for a jivatma, to be aware of God and to worship Him is a grace that is derived from one’s past good deeds or samskaras. Each one’s desire and outlook of life is under the influence of inbuilt impressions or vasanas in association with the gunas and the impact of individual karma. Prompted by these forces, the jivatma seeks the help of God or other divinities as shown in the scriptures.
In the Gita, the Lord classifies the jivatmas who propitiate Him on the basis of their desires, worldly and spiritual. Some seek him for wealth, some for relief from the sufferings of samsara, some wish to attain jnana while only a very few desire moksha. Even when some seek other deities with faith for fulfilment of their specific desires, the Lord who is the indweller and prime force in those deities grants their desires. The Lord says He grants even such prayers that seek only fleeting joy and satisfaction only to strengthen the jivatma’s faith in sastras. Perhaps with time the jivatma would realise the worthlessness of worldly goals and seek the highest Purushartha, moksha, which He alone can grant.
