The word “end” has two meanings: conclusion and purpose. “To what end are you doing all this?” means, “For what purpose are you doing this?” “When will this journey end?” refers to the second meaning of “conclusion.” 

These two meanings combine in the understanding that in our quest for knowledge, the endless end is God, Krishna. Curiosity is, at one level, innate to us because we are conscious beings, and to be conscious is to be curious. Depending on the kind of desires that occupy and drive our consciousness, we will be curious about various things. Whatever it is that attracts our curiosity, its attractiveness comes from Krishna, as the Bhagavad-gita (10.41) states. When we strive to connect with Krishna and know him, then we gradually understand that he is the end of all knowledge, for he is the embodiment and fulfillment of everything that we longed for (07.19) — indeed, he is the end of all knowledge (15.15).

Simultaneously it’s important to understand that Krishna is unlimited. Therefore, knowing him is a never-ending, ever-joyful quest. The Gita calls as enlightened those who know Krishna to be the source and sustainer of everything. And yet the next verse states that such enlightened souls keep sharing their realizations about Krishna with each other, and therein relish ever-increasing fulfillment. Because Krishna is unlimited, we can keep knowing him forever and each of us can know him from different perspectives. Though we can never know him fully, we can know him enough to direct all our heart’s love to him. And yet there’s always more to know about him and thus the journey toward knowing him goes on forever. 

One-sentence summary: 

Thus, Krishna is the endless end of all knowledge — he is both the purpose and conclusion of all knowledge. 

Think it over:

  • How is Krishna the end (purpose) of all knowledge?
  • How is Krishna the end (conclusion) of all knowledge?
  • How is Krishna the endless end of all knowledge?

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10.09: The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me.