The philosophy of the Bhagavata is intensely practical and affects all aspects of life says Swami Tyagisananda in his masterly essay on the philosophy of the Bhagavata.
A thorough understanding of this philosophy can be had only by
a study of the lives of the great philosophers presented in it. They come from
all walks and stages of life, from all classes of society, from both sexes, and
from all age-groups. But the greatest amongst them all is Sri Krishna, who,
according to Swami Vivekananda, is the first great teacher in the history of
the world to discover and proclaim the grand truths of love for love’s sake and
duty for duty’s sake. Born in a prison, brought up by cowherds, subjected to
all kinds of tyranny by the most despotic monarchy of the day, and derided by
the orthodox, Sri Krishna still rose to be the greatest saint, philosopher, and
reformer of his age.
All the greatest sages and the most immaculate saints of his
time pay him divine honors; they consider him the best and most perfect among
the spiritual men of the age, and with one voice acclaim him as divinity
manifest on earth, looking up to him for light and guidance. To them, he is not
only a vibhuti (an especial divine manifestation), vyuha (the fourfold expression
of Purushottama), bhaga vattama or avatara, but also the personal God and even
absolute Reality. In him we find the ideal householder and the ideal sannyasin,
the hero of a thousand battles who knew no defeat, the terror of despots,
sycophants, hypocrites, sophists, and pretenders, the master statesman, the
uncrowned monarch, the king-maker who had no ambition for himself. He was a
friend of the poor, the weak, the distressed, the champion of the rights of women
and of the social and spiritual enfranchisement of the Shudra and even of the
untouchables, and the perfect ideal of detachment. In him, again, we find the
perfect harmony of jnana, bhakti, and karma — of head, heart, and hand.