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A brahmacari, from the very beginning of his life, he is trained to act only for guru. That is brahmacari. It is enjoined that a brahmacari live at the shelter, at the care of guru just like a menial servant

Expressions researched:
"A brahmacārī, from the very beginning of his life, he is trained to act only for guru. That is brahmacārī. It is enjoined that a brahmacārī live at the shelter, at the care of guru just like a menial servant"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

A brahmacārī, from the very beginning of his life, he is trained to act only for guru. That is brahmacārī. It is enjoined that a brahmacārī live at the shelter, at the care of guru just like a menial servant. Kṛṣṇa also, although He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, when He was living as brahmacārī at His guru's house, Sāndīpani Muni, He was collecting wood, fuel, from the jungle. He was going daily. It is not that because He was Personality of Godhead, therefore He should not go.


Lecture on BG 4.16 -- Bombay, April 5, 1974:

cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). Everything is being spoken on that basis. Now, everyone has to work. Kṛṣṇa never says to Arjuna that, "You haven't got to work. I am your friend. I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You simply sleep, and I shall do everything for you." He never said like that. He could say that. Just like modern, rascal incarnation of Gods, they say to their devotees that, "You simply think of me. I shall do everything for you." But Kṛṣṇa never said that. Kṛṣṇa said that man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65), but never said that, "You sit down idly." Never said that. Kṛṣṇa, rather, said that, "You better do akarma than sit down idly. Even you do something mischievous, that is also good than to sit down idly." He never said. Karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadā . . . simply He said that, "You work. You have got the right to work according to your capacity, according to your position." That position is brāhmaṇa position, kṣatriya position, vaiśya position, śūdra position. In any position, you work, but the result should be given to Kṛṣṇa. That is wanted.

That is tyāga. Tyāga means to give up the result to Kṛṣṇa. That is sannyāsa. Sat-nyāsa. Sat means the Supreme. And anyone who renounces everything for Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme, he is sannyāsī. That will be explained in the Fifth Chapter. Kāryaṁ karma karoti yaḥ. Anāśritaḥ karma-phalaṁ kāryaṁ karma karoti yaḥ, sa sannyāsī (BG 6.1). Kāryam, "It is my duty." Just like we have got in our institution specified duties for each and every member, and they are doing, and if . . . they take it seriously, every one of them, that it is the order and duty, "My Guru Mahārāja has specified this duty upon me. So it is my duty." Kāryam. Kāryam means "It is my duty. I must do it." So anāśritaḥ karma-phalaṁ kāryaṁ karma karoti . . . that he is trained up. According to varṇāśrama-dharma, that is trained up.

A brahmacārī, from the very beginning of his life, he is trained to act only for guru. That is brahmacārī. It is enjoined that a brahmacārī live at the shelter, at the care of guru just like a menial servant. Kṛṣṇa also, although He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, when He was living as brahmacārī at His guru's house, Sāndīpani Muni, He was collecting wood, fuel, from the jungle. He was going daily. It is not that because He was Personality of Godhead, therefore He should not go. No. You will find in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Kṛṣṇa Book, that when Sudāmā Vipra met Him, he was talking with Him about His childhood stories. Kṛṣṇa reminded him, "Sudāmā, do you remember that one day we went to collect fuel for our Guru Mahārāja, and there was storm and rain, and we could not get out of the forest? We had to live overnight there. Then on the morning Guru Mahārāja came with other disciples and they recovered us from the jungle. Do you remember?" So Kṛṣṇa had to do this. This is training.

A brahmacārī is trained up from the very beginning how to become a sannyāsī at the end of life. How he is trained up? He is trained up to collect for guru alms. Everywhere the brahmacārī would go to householder, and they ask, "Mother, give us some alms for my Guru Mahārāja." And the ladies would give him. Because everyone's son goes to the gurukula. So there was no hesitation. And the brahmacārī would collect and bring it in the āśrama, and then he should live just like a menial servant. He may be a king's son or a very learned brāhmaṇa's son, but when he lives at gurukula, he has to work. It is said in the śāstra . . . in Bhagavad-gītā, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam you will find the duty of brahmacārī, the duty of gṛhastha, the duty of vānaprastha, the duty of sannyāsa. Everything is there.

So a brahmacārī is trained in such a way that although he has collected everything, but he does not claim anything. He does not keep anything with him. Even though he has to eat in the āśrama, but that he will eat upon the calling by the guru, "My dear such and such, please come and take your prasādam." It is said if the guru forgets to call him one day, he will not take his food. This is called brahmacārī, means strictly following. And they used to call every woman from the beginning of life "Mother." This is training. Mātṛvat para-dāreṣu (Cāṇakya Paṇḍita). From the very beginning of life, all women they are treated as mother. That is the system, Vedic system. Everyone will call a woman as "Mother," never mind whether she is younger or older. It doesn't matter. Woman has to be addressed as "Mother." That is Cāṇakya Paṇḍita's instruction. Who is learned scholar? Who has got three qualification, he is learned scholar. What is that? Mātṛvat para-dāreṣu, "To treat all women as mother." Nowadays it has been introduced in India, "Bahinjī." No. This is not the etiquette. The etiquette is to address every woman, never mind whether she is young or old, as "Mother."

This is brahmacārī.

Page Title:A brahmacari, from the very beginning of his life, he is trained to act only for guru. That is brahmacari. It is enjoined that a brahmacari live at the shelter, at the care of guru just like a menial servant
Compiler:Krsnadas
Created:22 of Oct, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1