Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11, Chapter 20, Text 03

SB 11.20.3

guna-dosa-bhida-drstim
 antarena vacas tava
nihsreyasam katham nrnam
 nisedha-vidhi-laksanam
 
Translation: 
 
Without seeing the difference between piety and sin, how can one understand Your own instructions in the form of Vedic literatures, which order one to act piously and forbid one to act sinfully? Furthermore, without such authorized Vedic literatures, which ultimately award liberation, how can human beings achieve the perfection of life?
 
Purport: 
 
If one does not accept the necessity of performing pious activities and avoiding sinful activities, it becomes very difficult to understand authorized religious scriptures; and without such scriptures, how can human beings attain salvation? This is the essence of Sri Uddhava’s question.
Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11, Chapter 20, Text 02
Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11, Chapter 20, Text 04