Shloka 39
सत्यं पुष्पफलं विद्यादात्मवृक्षस्य गीयते । वृक्षेऽजीवति तन्न स्यादनृतं मूलमात्मन: ॥ ३९ ॥
satyaṁ puṣpa-phalaṁ vidyād ātma-vṛkṣasya gīyate vṛkṣe ’jīvati tan na syād anṛtaṁ mūlam ātmanaḥ
The Vedas declare that the true outcome of the tree of the body is its good flowers and fruits. Yet if the tree itself does not exist, there can be no real flowers or fruits. Even if the body’s root is said to rest on untruth, without the bodily tree there can be no factual fruit.
This śloka explains that in relation to the material body even the factual truth cannot exist without a touch of untruth. The Māyāvādīs say, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: “The spirit soul is truth, and the external energy is untruth.” The Vaiṣṇava philosophers, however, do not agree with the Māyāvāda philosophy. Even if for the sake of argument the material world is accepted as untruth, the living entity entangled in the illusory energy cannot come out of it without the help of the body. Without the help of the body, one cannot follow a system of religion, nor can one speculate on philosophical perfection. Therefore, the flower and fruit ( puṣpa-phalam ) have to be obtained as a result of the body. Without the help of the body, that fruit cannot be gained. The Vaiṣṇava philosophy therefore recommends yukta-vairāgya. It is not that all attention should be diverted for the maintenance of the body, but at the same time one’s bodily maintenance should not be neglected. As long as the body exists one can thoroughly study the Vedic instructions, and thus at the end of life one can achieve perfection. This is explained in Bhagavad-gītā: yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram. Everything is examined at the time of death. Therefore, although the body is temporary, not eternal, one can take from it the best service and make one’s life perfect.
FAQs
This verse states that truthfulness is like the flower and fruit of the living “tree” of the self—an essential sign of inner spiritual vitality.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī speaks this instruction while narrating the Bhagavatam to Mahārāja Parīkṣit.
Cultivate truthful speech and integrity as daily sādhanā—avoid convenient lies, align words with reality, and let honesty become a natural expression of a spiritually “living” heart.