Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 12 - Chapter 1 - Verse 53

Sanskrit:

नैष्कर्म्यमप्यच्युतभाववर्जितंन शोभते ज्ञानमलं निरञ्जनम् ।कुत: पुन: शश्वदभद्रमीश्वरेन ह्यर्पितं कर्म यदप्यनुत्तमम् ॥ ५३ ॥

ITRANS:

naiṣkarmyam apy acyuta-bhāva-varjitaṁna śobhate jñānam alaṁ nirañjanamkutaḥ punaḥ śaśvad abhadram īśvarena hy arpitaṁ karma yad apy anuttamam

Translation:

Knowledge of self-realization, even though free from all material affinity, does not look well if devoid of a conception of the Infallible [God]. What, then, is the use of even the most properly performed fruitive activities, which are naturally painful from the very beginning and transient by nature, if they are not utilized for the devotional service of the Lord?

Purport:

This and the previous two verses are found in a slightly different form in the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.10-12). The translations are based on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s.