Endeavoring persistently for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, one becomes detached from wife, children and home. He is not interested in wasting time. In this way one becomes self-realized. A person advanced in spiritual knowledge does not engage anyone in material activity. And one who cannot deliver another person by instructing him in devotional service should not become a spiritual master, father, mother, demigod or husband. Instructing His one hundred sons, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva advised them to accept their eldest brother, Bharata, as their guide and lord, and thereby serve him. Of all living entities, the brāhmaṇas are the best, and above the brāhmaṇas the Vaiṣṇavas are situated in an even better position. Serving a Vaiṣṇava means serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes the characteristics of Bharata Mahārāja and the sacrificial performance executed by Lord Ṛṣabhadeva for the instruction of the general populace.
Instruct (SB cantos 5 - 8)
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 5
In the Fourth Canto, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī explains that Nārada Muni perfectly instructed King Priyavrata about the mission of human life. The mission of human life is to realize one's self and then gradually to go back home, back to Godhead. Since Nārada Muni instructed the King fully on this subject, why did he again enter household life, which is the main cause of material bondage? Mahārāja Parīkṣit was greatly astonished that King Priyavrata remained in household life, especially since he was not only a self-realized soul but also a first-class devotee of the Lord. A devotee actually has no attraction for household life, but surprisingly, King Priyavrata enjoyed household life very much. One may argue, "Why is it wrong to enjoy household life?" The reply is that in household life one becomes bound by the results of fruitive activities.
Lord Brahmā, the father of Nārada Muni, is the supreme person within this universe. As soon as Nārada saw the great swan, he could understand that Lord Brahmā had arrived. Therefore he immediately stood up, along with Svāyambhuva Manu and his son Priyavrata, whom Nārada was instructing. Then they folded their hands and began to worship Lord Brahmā with great respect.
There is some controversy about this, however, because some say that since one receives a body according to the guṇa and karma of his past life, it is one's birth that determines his social status. Others say, however, that one's birth according to the guṇa and karma of his past life is not the essential consideration, since one can change his guṇa and karma even in this life. Thus they say that the four divisions of the social order—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra—should be arranged according to the guṇa and karma of this life. This version is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by Nārada Muni. While instructing Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira about the symptoms of guṇa and karma, Nārada Muni said that these symptoms must govern the division of society. In other words, if a person born in the family of a brāhmaṇa has the symptoms of a śūdra, he should be designated as a śūdra. Similarly, if a śūdra has brahminical qualities, he should be designated a brāhmaṇa.
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: After thus being fully instructed by Lord Brahmā, who is the spiritual master of the three worlds, Priyavrata, his own position being inferior, offered obeisances, accepted the order and carried it out with great respect.
Svāyambhuva Manu was practically hopeless because such a great personality as Nārada was instructing his son Priyavrata not to accept household life. Now he was very pleased that Lord Brahmā had interfered by inducing his son to accept the responsibility for ruling the government of the universe. From Bhagavad-gītā we get information that Vaivasvata Manu was the son of the sun-god and that his son, Mahārāja Ikṣvāku, ruled this planet earth. Svāyambhuva Manu, however, appears to have been in charge of the entire universe, and he entrusted to his son, Mahārāja Priyavrata, the responsibility for maintaining and protecting all the planetary systems. Dharā-maṇḍala means "planet." This earth, for instance, is called dharā-maṇḍala. Akhila, however, means "all" or "universal." It is therefore difficult to understand where Mahārāja Priyavrata was situated, but from this literature his position certainly appears greater than that of Vaivasvata Manu, for he was entrusted with all the planetary systems of the entire universe.
"O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service birth after birth." For one who desires to advance in spiritual life, attachment to material opulence and attachment to a beautiful wife are two great impediments. Such attachments are condemned even more than suicide. Therefore anyone desiring to cross beyond material nescience must, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, be freed from attachment to women and money. When Mahārāja Priyavrata became completely free from these attachments, he could again peacefully follow the principles instructed by the great sage Nārada.
The priests began to offer prayers to the Lord, saying: O most worshipable one, we are simply Your servants. Although You are full in Yourself, please, out of Your causeless mercy, accept a little service from us, Your eternal servants. We are not actually aware of Your transcendental form, but we can simply offer our respectful obeisances again and again, as instructed by the Vedic literatures and authorized ācāryas. Materialistic living entities are very much attracted to the modes of material nature, and therefore they are never perfect, but You are above the jurisdiction of all material conceptions. Your name, form and qualities are all transcendental and beyond the conception of experimental knowledge. Indeed, who can conceive of You? In the material world we can perceive only material names and qualities. We have no other power than to offer our respectful obeisances and prayers unto You, the transcendental person. The chanting of Your auspicious transcendental qualities will wipe out the sins of all mankind. That is the most auspicious activity for us, and we can thus partially understand Your supernatural position.
Although Lord Ṛṣabhadeva knew everything about confidential Vedic knowledge, which includes information about all types of occupational duties, He still maintained Himself as a kṣatriya and followed the instructions of the brāhmaṇas as they related to mind control, sense control, tolerance and so forth. Thus He ruled the people according to the system of varṇāśrama-dharma, which enjoins that the brāhmaṇas instruct the kṣatriyas and the kṣatriyas administer to the state through the vaiśyas and śūdras.
Once while touring the world, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva, the Supreme Lord, reached a place known as Brahmāvarta. There was a great conference of learned brāhmaṇas at that place, and all the King's sons attentively heard the instructions of the brāhmaṇas there. At that assembly, within the hearing of the citizens, Ṛṣabhadeva instructed His sons, although they were already very well behaved, devoted and qualified. He instructed them so that in the future they could rule the world very perfectly. Thus he spoke as follows.
If one is serious about going back home, back to Godhead, he must consider the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead the summum bonum and chief aim of life. If he is a father instructing his sons, a spiritual master instructing his disciples, or a king instructing his citizens, he must instruct them as I have advised. Without being angry, he should continue giving instructions, even if his disciple, son or citizen is sometimes unable to follow his order. Ignorant people who engage in pious and impious activities should be engaged in devotional service by all means. They should always avoid fruitive activity. If one puts into the bondage of karmic activity his disciple, son or citizen who is bereft of transcendental vision, how will one profit? It is like leading a blind man to a dark well and causing him to fall in.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thus the great well-wisher of everyone, the Supreme Lord Ṛṣabhadeva, instructed His own sons. Although they were perfectly educated and cultured, He instructed them just to set an example of how a father should instruct his sons before retiring from family life. Sannyāsīs, who are no longer bound by fruitive activity and who have taken to devotional service after all their material desires have been vanquished, also learn by these instructions. Lord Ṛṣabhadeva instructed His one hundred sons, of whom the eldest, Bharata, was a very advanced devotee and a follower of Vaiṣṇavas. In order to rule the whole world, the Lord enthroned His eldest son on the royal seat. Thereafter, although still at home, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva lived like a madman, naked and with disheveled hair. Then the Lord took the sacrificial fire within Himself, and He left Brahmāvarta to tour the whole world.
While instructing Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Śukadeva Gosvāmī thought it wise to encourage the King because the King might be thinking of the glorious position of various royal dynasties. Especially glorious is the dynasty of Priyavrata, in which the Supreme Lord Ṛṣabhadeva incarnated. Similarly, the family of Uttānapāda Mahārāja, the father of Mahārāja Dhruva, is also glorious due to King Pṛthu's taking birth in it. The dynasty of Mahārāja Raghu is glorified because Lord Rāmacandra appeared in that family. As far as the Yadu and Kuru dynasties are concerned, they existed simultaneously, but of the two, the Yadu dynasty was more glorious due to the appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Mahārāja Parīkṣit might have been thinking that the Kuru dynasty was not as fortunate as the others because the Supreme Lord did not appear in that family, neither as Kṛṣṇa, Lord Rāmacandra, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva or Mahārāja Pṛthu. Therefore Parīkṣit Mahārāja was encouraged by Śukadeva Gosvāmī in this particular verse.
The brāhmaṇa father's mind was always filled with affection for his son, Jaḍa Bharata (Bharata Mahārāja). Therefore he was always attached to Jaḍa Bharata. Because Jaḍa Bharata was unfit to enter the gṛhastha-āśrama, he simply executed the purificatory process up to the end of the brahmacarya-āśrama. Although Jaḍa Bharata was unwilling to accept his father's instructions, the brāhmaṇa nonetheless instructed him in how to keep clean and how to wash, thinking that the son should be taught by the father.
Jaḍa Bharata behaved before his father like a fool, despite his father's adequately instructing him in Vedic knowledge. He behaved in that way so that his father would know that he was unfit for instruction and would abandon the attempt to instruct him further. He would behave in a completely opposite way. Although instructed to wash his hands after evacuating, he would wash them before. Nonetheless, his father wanted to give him Vedic instructions during the spring and summer. He tried to teach him the Gāyatrī mantra along with oṁkāra and vyāhṛti, but after four months, his father still was not successful in instructing him.
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was instructing Rūpa Gosvāmī at the Daśāśvamedha-ghāṭa in Prayāga, He pointed out very clearly the seriousness of offending a Vaiṣṇava. He compared the vaiṣṇava-aparādha to hātī mātā, a mad elephant. When a mad elephant enters a garden, it spoils all the fruits and flowers. Similarly, if one offends a Vaiṣṇava, he spoils all his spiritual assets. Offending a brāhmaṇa is very dangerous, and this was known to Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa. He therefore frankly admitted his fault. There are many dangerous things—thunderbolts, fire, Yamarāja's punishment, the punishment of Lord Śiva's trident, and so forth—but none is considered as serious as offending a brāhmaṇa like Jaḍa Bharata. Therefore Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa immediately descended from his palanquin and fell flat before the lotus feet of the brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharata just to be excused.
Sometimes it is very risky to give great philosophical instructions to ordinary people, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, for the benefit of the fallen souls of Kali-yuga, has given us a very nice instrument, the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. The general mass of people, although śūdras and less, can be purified by chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Then they can understand the exalted philosophical statements of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has therefore adopted the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra for the general masses. When people gradually become purified, they are instructed in the lessons of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Materialistic people like strī, śūdra and dvija-bandhu cannot understand words of spiritual advancement, yet one can take to the shelter of a Vaiṣṇava, for he knows the art of enlightening even śūdras in the highly elevated subject matter spoken in Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
In this chapter the brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharata instructs Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa in detail. He tells the King: "You are not very experienced, yet you pose yourself as a learned person because you are very proud of your knowledge. Actually a person who is on the transcendental platform does not care for social behavior that sacrifices spiritual advancement. Social behavior comes within the jurisdiction of karma-kāṇḍa, material benefit. No one can spiritually advance by such activities. The conditioned soul is always overpowered by the modes of material nature, and consequently he is simply concerned with material benefits and auspicious and inauspicious material things. In other words, the mind, which is the leader of the senses, is absorbed in material activities life after life.
There is one easy weapon with which the mind can be conquered—neglect. The mind is always telling us to do this or that; therefore we should be very expert in disobeying the mind's orders. Gradually the mind should be trained to obey the orders of the soul. It is not that one should obey the orders of the mind. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura used to say that to control the mind one should beat it with shoes many times just after awakening and again before going to sleep. In this way one can control the mind. This is the instruction of all the śāstras. If one does not do so, one is doomed to follow the dictations of the mind. Another bona fide process is to abide strictly by the orders of the spiritual master and engage in the Lord's service. Then the mind will be automatically controlled. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has instructed Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī:
- brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
- guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
- (CC Madhya 19.151)
The Vedic literature instructs: tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21). An intelligent man must be very inquisitive to know the transcendental science deeply. Therefore one must approach a guru, a spiritual master. Although Jaḍa Bharata explained everything to Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa, it appears that his intelligence was not perfect enough to understand clearly. He therefore requested a further explanation. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.34): tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. The student must approach a spiritual master and surrender unto him fully (praṇipātena). He must also question him in order to understand his instructions (paripraśnena). One should not only surrender to the spiritual master but also render loving service unto him (sevayā) so that the spiritual master will be pleased with the student and explain the transcendental subject matter more clearly. A challenging spirit before the spiritual master should be avoided if one is at all interested in learning the Vedic instructions in depth.
If being able to manufacture gold is a criterion for becoming God, then why not accept Kṛṣṇa, the proprietor of the entire universe, wherein there are countless tons of gold? As mentioned before, the color of gold is compared to the will-o'-the-wisp or yellow stool; therefore one should not be allured by gold-manufacturing gurus but should sincerely approach a devotee like Jaḍa Bharata. Jaḍa Bharata instructed Rahūgaṇa Mahārāja so well that the King was relieved from the bodily conception. One cannot become happy by accepting a false guru. A guru should be accepted as advised in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.3.21). Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam: One should approach a bona fide guru to inquire about the highest benefit of life. Such a guru is described as follows: śābde pare ca niṣṇātam. Such a guru does not manufacture gold or juggle words. He is well versed in the conclusions of Vedic knowledge (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15)). He is freed from all material contamination and is fully engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service. If one is able to obtain the dust of the lotus feet of such a guru, his life becomes successful. Otherwise he is baffled both in this life and in the next.
Imitating the behavior of Sumati, they claim to be the descendants of Ṛṣabhadeva. Those who are Vaiṣṇavas carefully avoid their company because they are ignorant of the path of the Vedas. In Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) Kṛṣṇa says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: "The real purpose of the Vedas is to understand Me." This is the injunction of all Vedic literatures. One who does not know the greatness of Lord Kṛṣṇa cannot be accepted as an Āryan. Lord Buddha, an incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, adopted a particular means to propagate the philosophy of bhāgavata-dharma. He preached almost exclusively among atheists. Atheists do not want any God, and Lord Buddha therefore said that there is no God, but he adopted the means to instruct his followers for their benefit. Therefore he preached in a duplicitous way, saying that there is no God. Nonetheless, he himself was an incarnation of God.
Sometimes these unfortunate people want to be promoted to the heavenly planets to achieve fortunate positions, as described in this verse, but pure devotees of the Lord are not at all interested in such opulence. Indeed, devotees sometimes compare the color of gold to that of bright golden stool. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has instructed devotees not to be allured by golden ornaments and beautifully decorated women. Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīm: (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4) a devotee should not be allured by gold. beautiful women or the prestige of having many followers. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, therefore, confidentially prayed, mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi: "My Lord, please bless Me with Your devotional service. I do not want anything else." A devotee may pray to be delivered from this material world. That is his only aspiration.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has given us a very fine purport in this regard. Whenever one offers a prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one always requests some benediction from Him. Even pure (niṣkāma) devotees pray for some benediction, as instructed by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Śikṣāṣṭaka:
- ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ
- patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau
- kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-
- sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya
(Cc. Antya 20.32, Śikṣāṣṭaka 5)
"O son of Mahārāja Nanda (Kṛṣṇa), I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick Me up from the ocean of death and place Me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet."
When Devarṣi Nārada descended to instruct Sārvaṇi Manu, he described the opulence of Bhārata-varṣa, India. Sārvaṇi Manu and the inhabitants of Bhārata-varṣa engage in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the origin of creation, maintenance and annihilation and who is always worshiped by self-realized souls. In the planet known as Bhārata-varṣa there are many rivers and mountains, as there are in other tracts of land, yet Bhārata-varṣa has special significance because in this tract of land there exists the Vedic principle of varṇāśrama-dharma, which divides society into four varṇas and four āśramas. Furthermore, Nārada Muni's opinion is that even if there is some temporary disturbance in the execution of the varṇāśrama-dharma principles, they can be revived at any moment.
This is a warning to devotees. To teach this lesson to devotees and to human society in general, Lord Śrī Rāmacandra, although the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, underwent a series of tribulations because He accepted a wife, mother Sītā. Lord Rāmacandra underwent these austerities, of course, only to instruct us; actually He never has any reason to lament for anything.
Another aspect of the Lord's instructions is that one who accepts a wife must be a faithful husband and give her full protection. Human society is divided into two classes of men—those who strictly follow the religious principles and those who are devotees. By His personal example, Lord Rāmacandra wanted to instruct both of them how to fully adopt the discipline of the religious system and how to be a beloved and dutiful husband. Otherwise He had no reason to undergo apparent tribulations. One who strictly follows religious principles must not neglect to provide all facilities for the complete protection of his wife. There may be some suffering because of this, but one must nevertheless endure it.
In his own book, known as Nārada Pañcarātra, Bhagavān Nārada has very vividly described how to work to achieve the ultimate goal of life—devotion—through knowledge and through execution of the mystic yoga system. He has also described the glories of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The great sage Nārada instructed the tenets of this transcendental literature to Sāvarṇi Manu in order to teach those inhabitants of Bhārata-varṣa who strictly follow the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma how to achieve the devotional service of the Lord. Thus Nārada Muni, along with the other inhabitants of Bhārata-varṣa, always engages in the service of Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and he chants as follows.
My dear King Parīkṣit, O best of the descendants of Bharata Mahārāja, I have thus described to you, as I myself have been instructed, the island of Bhārata-varṣa and its adjoining islands. These are the islands that constitute Jambūdvīpa.
We worship the sun-god by chanting the Gāyatrī mantra (oṁ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ tat savitur vareṇyaṁ bhargo devasya dhīmahi). Sūrya is the life and soul of this universe, and there are innumerable universes for which a sun-god is the life and soul, just as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the life and soul of the entire creation. We have information that Vairāja, Hiraṇyagarbha, entered the great, dull, material globe called the sun. This indicates that the theory held by so-called scientists that no one lives there is wrong. Bhagavad-gītā also says that Kṛṣṇa first instructed Bhagavad-gītā to the sun-god (imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1)). Therefore the sun is not vacant. It is inhabited by living entities, and the predominating deity is Vairāja, or Vivasvān. The difference between the sun and earth is that the sun is a fiery planet, but everyone there has a suitable body and can live there without difficulty.
As a grain of wheat is divided into two parts and one can estimate the size of the upper part by knowing that of the lower, so, expert geographers instruct, one can understand the measurements of the upper part of the universe by knowing those of the lower part. The sky between the earthly sphere and heavenly sphere is called antarikṣa, or outer space. It adjoins the top of the sphere of earth and the bottom of that of heaven.
Alas, how pitiable it is for Indra, the King of heaven, that although he is very learned and powerful and although he chose Bṛhaspati as his prime minister to instruct him, he is completely ignorant concerning spiritual advancement. Bṛhaspati is also unintelligent because he did not properly instruct his disciple Indra. Lord Vāmanadeva was standing at Indra's door, but King Indra, instead of begging Him for an opportunity to render transcendental loving service, engaged Him in asking me for alms to gain the three worlds for his sense gratification. Sovereignty over the three worlds is very insignificant because whatever material opulence one may possess lasts only for an age of Manu, which is but a tiny fraction of endless time.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has instructed that an unalloyed devotee should consider himself a servant of the servant of the servant of the Supreme Lord (gopī-bhartuḥ pāda-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ (CC Madhya 13.80)). In Vaiṣṇava philosophy, one should not even become a direct servant. Prahlāda Mahārāja was offered all the blessings of an opulent position in the material world and even the liberation of merging into Brahman, but he refused all this. He simply wanted to engage in the service of the servant of the servant of the Lord. Therefore Bali Mahārāja said that because his grandfather Prahlāda Mahārāja had rejected the blessings of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in terms of material opulence and liberation from material bondage, he truly understood his self-interest.
In this chapter, Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes Ananta, the source of Lord Śiva. Lord Ananta, whose body is completely spiritual, resides at the root of the planet Pātāla. He always lives in the core of Lord Śiva's heart, and He helps him destroy the universe. Ananta instructs Lord Śiva how to destroy the cosmos, and thus He is sometimes called tāmasī, or "one who is in the mode of darkness." He is the original Deity of material consciousness, and because He attracts all living entities, He is sometimes known as Saṅkarṣaṇa. The entire material world is situated on the hoods of Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa. From His forehead He transmits to Lord Śiva the power to destroy this material world. Because Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa is an expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, many devotees offer Him prayers, and in the planetary system of Pātāla, all the suras, asuras, Gandharvas, Vidyādharas and learned sages offer Him their respectful obeisances.
SB Canto 6
Everyone engages in work with his hands, legs and other senses just to achieve a certain goal according to his concocted ideas. One tries to enjoy the five sense objects, namely form, sound, taste, aroma and touch, not knowing the actual goal of life, which is to satisfy the Supreme Lord. Because of disobeying the Supreme Lord, one is put into material conditions, and he then tries to improve his situation in a concocted way, not desiring to follow the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nevertheless, the Supreme Lord is so kind that He comes Himself to instruct the bewildered living entity how to act obediently and then gradually return home, back to Godhead, where he can attain an eternal, peaceful life of bliss and knowledge. The living entity has a body, which is a very complicated combination of the material elements, and with this body he struggles alone, as indicated in this verse by the words ekas tu. For example, if one is struggling in the ocean, he must swim through it alone. Although many other men and aquatics are swimming in the ocean, he must take care of himself because no one else will help him.
The Yamadūtas had considered only the external situation of Ajāmila. Since he was extremely sinful throughout his life, they thought he should be taken to Yamarāja and did not know that he had become free from the reactions of all his sins. The Viṣṇudūtas therefore instructed that because he had chanted the four syllables of the name Nārāyaṇa at the time of his death, he was freed from all sinful reactions. In this regard Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura quotes the following verses from the smṛti-śāstra:
- nāmno hi yāvatī śaktiḥ
- pāpa-nirharaṇe hareḥ
- tāvat kartuṁ na śaknoti
- pātakaṁ pātakī naraḥ
"Simply by chanting one holy name of Hari, a sinful man can counteract the reactions to more sins than he is able to commit.
(Nārada Muni had asked how one could ignorantly defy one's own father. The Haryaśvas understood the meaning of this question.) One must accept the original instructions of the śāstra. According to Vedic civilization, one is offered a sacred thread as a sign of second birth. One takes his second birth by dint of having received instructions in the śāstra from a bona fide spiritual master. Therefore, śāstra, scripture, is the real father. All the śāstras instruct that one should end his material way of life. If one does not know the purpose of the father's orders, the śāstras, he is ignorant. The words of a material father who endeavors to engage his son in material activities are not the real instructions of the father.
In every form of life, birth after birth, the living entity gets a father and mother. In human society, however, if one is satisfied with his material father and mother and their instructions and does not make further progress by accepting a spiritual master and being educated in the śāstras, he certainly remains in darkness. The material father and mother are important only if they are interested in educating their son to become free from the clutches of death. As instructed by Ṛṣabhadeva (SB 5.5.18): pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt/ na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum. One should not strive to become a mother or father if one cannot save one's dependent son from the impending danger of death. A parent who does not know how to save his son has no value because such fathers and mothers may be had in any form of life, even among the cats, dogs and so on. Only a father and mother who can elevate their son to the spiritual platform are bona fide parents. Therefore according to the Vedic system it is said, janmanā jāyate śūdraḥ: one is born of a material father and mother as a śūdra. The purpose of life, however, is to become a brāhmaṇa, a first-class man.
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching this higher knowledge of retiring from materialistic life to return to Godhead, but unfortunately many parents are not very satisfied with this movement. Aside from the parents of our students, many businessmen are also dissatisfied because we teach our students to abandon intoxication, meat-eating, illicit sex and gambling. If the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement spreads, the so-called businessmen will have to close their slaughterhouses, breweries and cigarette factories. Therefore they are also very much afraid. However, we have no alternative than to teach our disciples to free themselves from materialistic life. We must instruct them in the opposite of material life to save them from the repetition of birth and death.
From this verse we can understand the meaning of initiation and the duties of a disciple and spiritual master. The spiritual master never instructs his disciple, "Take a mantra from me, pay me some money, and by practicing this yoga system you will become very expert in materialistic life." This is not the duty of a spiritual master. Rather, the spiritual master teaches the disciple how to give up materialistic life, and the disciple's duty is to assimilate his instructions and ultimately follow the path back home, back to Godhead, from whence no one returns to this material world.
After hearing the instructions of Nārada Muni, the Haryaśvas, the sons of Prajāpati Dakṣa, decided not to be entangled in materialistic life by begetting hundreds of children and having to take care of them. This would have been unnecessarily entangling. The Haryaśvas did not consider pious and impious activities. Their materialistic father had instructed them to increase the population, but because of the words of Nārada Muni, they could not heed that instruction.
Generally the word nigama refers to the Vedas, but here nigama refers to the instructions contained in the Vedas. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says, nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalam: (SB 1.1.3) the Vedic instructions are like a tree, of which Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the ripened fruit. Nārada Muni is engaged in distributing this fruit, and therefore he instructed Vyāsadeva to write this Mahā-Purāṇa, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, for the benefit of ignorant human society.
- anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād
- bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje
- lokasyājānato vidvāṁś
- cakre sātvata-saṁhitām
"The material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service. But the mass of people do not know this, and therefore the learned Vyāsadeva compiled this Vedic literature, which is in relation to the Supreme Truth." (SB 1.7.6) People are suffering because of ignorance and are following a wrong path for happiness. This is called anartha. These material activities will never make them happy, and therefore Nārada instructed Vyāsadeva to record the instructions of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Vyāsadeva actually followed Nārada and did this. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the supreme instruction of the Vedas. Galitaṁ phalam: the ripened fruit of the Vedas is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura comments that Nārada Muni had delivered the entire family of Svāyambhuva Manu, beginning with Priyavrata and Uttānapāda. He had delivered Uttānapāda's son Dhruva and had even delivered Prācīnabarhi, who was engaged in fruitive activities. Nevertheless, he could not deliver Prajāpati Dakṣa. Prajāpati Dakṣa saw Nārada before him because Nārada had personally come to deliver him. Nārada Muni took the opportunity to approach Prajāpati Dakṣa in his bereavement because the time of bereavement is a suitable time for appreciating bhakti-yoga. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.16), four kinds of men—ārta (one who is distressed), arthārthī (one in need of money), jijñāsu (one who is inquisitive) and jñānī (a person in knowledge)—try to understand devotional service. Prajāpati Dakṣa was in great distress because of the loss of his sons, and therefore Nārada took the opportunity to instruct him regarding liberation from material bondage.
Prajāpati Dakṣa was certainly a sādhu because he had executed such great austerities that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, had appeared before him. Nevertheless, he had a fault-finding mentality. He improperly thought Nārada Muni to be asādhu, or nonsaintly, because Nārada had foiled his intentions. Desiring to train his sons to become gṛhasthas fully equipped with knowledge, Dakṣa had sent them to execute austerities by Nārāyaṇa-saras. Nārada Muni, however, taking advantage of their highly elevated position in austerity, instructed them to become Vaiṣṇavas in the renounced order. This is the duty of Nārada Muni and his followers. They must show everyone the path of renouncing this material world and returning home, back to Godhead. Prajāpati Dakṣa, however, could not see the exaltedness of the duties Nārada Muni performed in relation to his sons. Unable to appreciate Nārada Muni's behavior, Dakṣa accused Nārada of being asādhu.
Sometimes a saintly person is misunderstood by gṛhasthas, especially when he instructs their young sons to accept Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Generally a gṛhastha thinks that unless one enters gṛhastha life he cannot properly enter the renounced order. If a young man immediately adopts the path of the renounced order in accordance with the instructions of Nārada or a member of his disciplic succession, his parents become very angry. This same phenomenon is occurring in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement because we are instructing all the young boys in the Western countries to follow the path of renunciation.
Everyone is indebted to the demigods, to living entities in general, to his family, to the pitās and so on, but if one fully surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, Mukunda, who can give one liberation, even if one performs no yajñas, one is freed from all debts. Even if one does not repay his debts, he is freed from all debts if he renounces the material world for the sake of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose lotus feet are the shelter of everyone. This is the verdict of the śāstra. Therefore Nārada Muni was completely right in instructing the sons of Prajāpati Dakṣa to renounce this material world immediately and take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unfortunately, Prajāpati Dakṣa, the father of the Haryaśvas and Savalāśvas, did not understand the great service rendered by Nārada Muni. Dakṣa therefore addressed him as pāpa (the personality of sinful activities) and asādhu (a nonsaintly person). Since Nārada Muni was a great saint and Vaiṣṇava, he tolerated all such accusations from Prajāpati Dakṣa. He merely performed his duty as a Vaiṣṇava by delivering all the sons of Prajāpati Dakṣa, enabling them to return home, back to Godhead.
After the incidents concerning the loss of his many sons, Dakṣa repented his misunderstanding with Nārada Muni. Lord Brahmā then saw Dakṣa and instructed him to beget children again. This time Dakṣa was very cautious to beget female children instead of male children so that Nārada Muni would not disturb them by urging them to accept the renounced order. Females are not meant for the renounced order of life; they should be faithful to their good husbands, for if a husband is competent for liberation, his wife will also achieve liberation with him. As stated in the śāstra, the results of a husband's pious activities are shared by his wife. Therefore a woman's duty is to be very chaste and faithful to her husband. Then without separate endeavor she will share in all the profit the husband earns.
O demigods, I instruct you to approach Viśvarūpa, the son of Tvaṣṭā, and accept him as your guru. He is a pure and very powerful brāhmaṇa undergoing austerity and penances. Pleased by your worship, he will fulfill your desires, provided that you tolerate his being inclined to side with the demons.
A pure devotee who is fully accomplished in the science of devotional service will never instruct a foolish person to engage in fruitive activities for material enjoyment, not to speak of helping him in such activities. Such a devotee is like an experienced physician, who never encourages a patient to eat food injurious to his health, even if the patient desires it.
Lord Viṣṇu, or Lord Kṛṣṇa, instructs a devotee who constantly engages in His service how to approach Him at the end of his material body. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9):
- janma karma ca me divyam
- evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
- tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
- naiti mām eti so 'rjuna
"One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities, does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna." This is the benediction of Lord Viṣṇu, Kṛṣṇa. After giving up his body, a devotee returns home, back to Godhead.
The great saint Dadhīci had perfect knowledge of how to perform fruitive activities, and he had advanced spiritual knowledge as well. Knowing this, the Aśvinī-kumāras once approached him and begged him to instruct them in spiritual science (brahma-vidyā). Dadhīci Muni replied, "I am now engaged in arranging sacrifices for fruitive activities. Come back some time later." When the Aśvinī-kumāras left, Indra, the King of heaven, approached Dadhīci and said, "My dear Muni, the Aśvinī-kumāras are only physicians. Please do not instruct them in spiritual science. If you impart the spiritual science to them despite my warning, I shall punish you by cutting off your head." After warning Dadhīci in this way, Indra returned to heaven. The Aśvinī-kumāras, who understood Indra's desires, returned and begged Dadhīci for brahma-vidyā. When the great saint Dadhīci informed them of Indra's threat, the Aśvinī-kumāras replied, "Let us first cut off your head and replace it with the head of a horse. You can instruct brahma-vidyā through the horse's head, and when Indra returns and cuts off that head, we shall reward you and restore your original head." Since Dadhīci had promised to impart brahma-vidyā to the Aśvinī-kumāras, he agreed to their proposal. Therefore, because Dadhīci imparted brahma-vidyā through the mouth of a horse, this brahma-vidyā is also known as Aśvaśira.
At the end of Satya-yuga and the beginning of Tretā-yuga, a great fight took place between the demigods and the asuras. Unable to tolerate the effulgence of the demigods, the asuras fled the battle. leaving Vṛtrāsura, their commander in chief, to fight for himself. Vṛtrāsura, however, seeing the demons fleeing, instructed them in the importance of fighting and dying in the battlefield. One who is victorious in battle gains material possessions, and one who dies in the battlefield attains a residence at once in the celestial heavens. In either way, the fighter benefits.
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: After instructing Indra in this way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, the cause of the cosmic manifestation, then and there disappeared from the presence of the onlooking demigods.
After Vṛtrāsura finished speaking, he released his trident against King Indra with great anger, but Indra, using his thunderbolt, which was many times more powerful than the trident, broke the trident to pieces and cut off one of Vṛtrāsura's arms. Nevertheless, Vṛtrāsura used his remaining arm to strike Indra with an iron mace, making the thunderbolt fall from Indra's hand. Indra, being very ashamed of this, did not pick up the thunderbolt from the ground, but Vṛtrāsura encouraged King Indra to pick it up and fight. Vṛtrāsura then spoke to King Indra as follows, instructing him very well.
In this chapter, Aṅgirā Ṛṣi, along with Nārada, consoles Citraketu as far as possible. Aṅgirā and Nārada Ṛṣi came to relieve the King from excessive lamentation by instructing him about the spiritual significance of life.
The great saints Aṅgirā and Nārada explained that the relationship between father and son is not factual; it is simply a representation of the illusory energy. The relationship did not exist before, nor will it stay in the future. By the arrangement of time, the relationship exists only in the present. One should not lament for temporary relationships. The entire cosmic manifestation is temporary; although not unreal, it is not factual. By the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything created in the material world is transient. By a temporary arrangement, a father begets a child, or a living entity becomes the child of a so-called father. This temporary arrangement is made by the Supreme Lord. Neither the father nor the son exists independently.
As the King listened to the great sages, he was relieved from his false lamentation, and then he inquired about their identity. The great sages presented who they were and instructed that all sufferings are due to the bodily conception of life. When one understands his spiritual identity and surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme spiritual person, one becomes actually happy. When one searches for happiness in matter, one must certainly lament for bodily relationships. Self-realization means spiritual realization of one's relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Such realization ends one's miserable material life.
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: While King Citraketu, overcome by lamentation, lay like a dead body at the side of the dead body of his son, the two great sages Nārada and Aṅgirā instructed him about spiritual consciousness as follows.
O great souls, I have heard that among the great and perfect persons wandering the surface of the earth to instruct knowledge to people covered by ignorance are Sanat-kumāra, Nārada, Ṛbhu, Aṅgirā, Devala, Asita, Apāntaratamā (Vyāsadeva), Mārkaṇḍeya, Gautama, Vasiṣṭha, Bhagavān Paraśurāma, Kapila, Śukadeva, Durvāsā, Yājñavalkya, Jātukarṇa and Aruṇi. Others are Romaśa, Cyavana, Dattātreya, Āsuri, Patañjali, the great sage Dhaumya who is like the head of the Vedas, the sage Pañcaśikha, Hiraṇyanābha, Kauśalya, Śrutadeva and Ṛtadhvaja. You must certainly be among them.
In the Fifth Canto (5.5.4), while instructing his sons, Ṛṣabhadeva said, asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ: the body, although temporary, is the cause of all the miseries of material existence. As already discussed in the previous verse, the entire material creation is based on mental concoction. The mind sometimes induces us to think that if we purchase an automobile we can enjoy the physical elements, such as earth, water, air and fire, combined in forms of iron, plastic, petrol and so on. Working with the five material elements (pañca-bhūtas), as well as with our five knowledge-gathering senses like the eyes, ears and tongue and our five active senses like the hands and legs, we become involved in the material condition.
After hearing instructions from their dead child, Citraketu and his wife could understand that all relationships in this material world are causes of misery. The queens who had administered poison to the son of Kṛtadyuti were very much ashamed. They atoned for the sinful act of killing a child and gave up their aspiration to have sons. Thereafter. Nārada Muni chanted prayers to Nārāyaṇa, who exists as catur-vyūha, and instructed Citraketu about the Supreme Lord, who creates, maintains and annihilates everything and who is the master of the material nature. After instructing King Citraketu in this way, he returned to Brahmaloka. These instructions about the Absolute Truth are called the mahā-vidyā. After being initiated by Nārada Muni, King Citraketu chanted the mahā-vidyā, and after one week he attained the presence of Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa, who was surrounded by the four Kumāras. The Lord was nicely dressed in bluish garments, with a helmet and ornaments of gold. His face appeared very happy. In the presence of Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa, Citraketu offered his obeisances and began to offer prayers.
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Nārada, having become the spiritual master of Citraketu, instructed him fully in this prayer because Citraketu was fully surrendered. O King Parīkṣit, Nārada then left with the great sage Aṅgirā for the topmost planet, known as Brahmaloka.
When Aṅgirā had first come to visit King Citraketu, he did not bring Nārada with him. However, after the death of Citraketu's son, Aṅgirā brought Nārada to instruct King Citraketu about bhakti-yoga. The difference was that in the beginning Citraketu was not in a temperament of renunciation, but after the death of his son, when he was overwhelmed by his great plight, he was awakened to the platform of renunciation by instructions regarding the falsity of this material world and material possessions. It is only at this stage that bhakti-yoga can be instructed. As long as one is attached to material enjoyment, bhakti-yoga cannot be understood. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (2.44):
- bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṁ
- tayāpahṛta-cetasām
- vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ
- samādhau na vidhīyate
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is progressing successfully in the Western countries at the present moment because the youth in the West have reached the stage of vairāgya, or renunciation. They are practically disgusted with material pleasure from material sources, and this has resulted in a population of hippies throughout the Western countries. Now if these young people are instructed about bhakti-yoga, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the instructions will certainly be effective.
As soon as Citraketu understood the philosophy of vairāgya-vidyā, the knowledge of renunciation, he could understand the process of bhakti-yoga. In this regard Śrīla Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya has said, vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga (CC Madhya 6.254). Vairāgya-vidyā and bhakti-yoga are parallel lines. One is essential for understanding the other. It is also said, bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra ca (SB 11.2.42). Advancement in devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is characterized by increasing renunciation of material enjoyment. Nārada Muni is the father of devotional service, and therefore, just to bestow causeless mercy upon King Citraketu, Aṅgirā brought Nārada Muni to instruct the King. These instructions were extremely effective. Anyone who follows in the footsteps of Nārada Muni is certainly a pure devotee.
This is also called bhāgavata-dharma. Without material aspirations, one should simply serve Kṛṣṇa, as advised in Bhagavad-gītā, Nārada Pañcarātra and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhāgavata-dharma is the process of religion enunciated by pure devotees, direct representatives of the Supreme Personality of Godhead like Nārada, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and their humble servants in the disciplic succession. By understanding bhāgavata-dharma, one immediately becomes free from material contamination. Living entities, who are part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are loitering in this material world suffering. When they are instructed by the Lord Himself about bhāgavata-dharma and they adopt it, that is victory for the Lord, for He then reclaims these fallen souls. A devotee following the principles of bhāgavata-dharma feels very much obligated to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He can understand the difference between life without bhāgavata-dharma and life with bhāgavata-dharma and thus he ever remains obliged to the Lord. Taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and bringing fallen souls to Kṛṣṇa consciousness is victory for Lord Kṛṣṇa.
My dear Lord, one's occupational duty is instructed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā according to Your point of view, which never deviates from the highest goal of life. Those who follow their occupational duties under Your supervision, being equal to all living entities, moving and nonmoving, and not considering high and low, are called Āryans. Such Āryans worship You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Prahlāda Mahārāja preached bhāgavata-dharma among his classmates as soon as an opportunity was afforded by the absence of his teachers from the classroom. He said that from the very beginning of life, from the age of five, children should be instructed about bhāgavata-dharma because the human form of life, which is very rarely obtained, is meant for understanding this subject.
The science of devotional service has been instructed by Nārada and Aṅgirā to Citraketu. Now, because of Citraketu's devotional service, he has seen the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By performing devotional service, one advances step by step, and when one is on the platform of love of Godhead (premā pumartho mahān) he sees the Supreme Lord at every moment. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, when one engages in devotional service twenty-four hours a day (teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam (BG 10.10)) in accordance with the instructions of the spiritual master, his devotional service becomes more and more pleasing. Then the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is within the core of everyone's heart, speaks to the devotee (dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te). Citraketu Mahārāja was first instructed by his gurus, Aṅgirā and Nārada, and now, having followed their instructions, he has come to the stage of seeing the Supreme Lord face to face. Therefore the Lord is now instructing him in the essence of knowledge.
"The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is, and what inaction is." One must learn of these directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who, as Anantadeva, is instructing King Citraketu because of the advanced stage of devotional service he achieved by following the instructions of Nārada and Aṅgirā.
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: After thus instructing Citraketu and assuring him of perfection in this way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the supreme spiritual master, the supreme soul, Saṅkarṣaṇa, disappeared from that place as Citraketu looked on.
One should be very careful not to commit offenses at the lotus feet of Vaiṣṇavas, of whom Lord Śiva is the best. While instructing Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu described an offense at the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava as hātī mātā, a mad elephant. When a mad elephant enters a nice garden, it spoils the entire garden. Similarly, if one becomes like a mad elephant and commits offenses at the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava, his entire spiritual career is halted. One should therefore be very careful not to commit offenses at the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava.
Thus Kaśyapa Muni tried to transform his wife into a Vaiṣṇavī so that she might give up the idea of killing Indra. He wanted both her and her sons to be purified so that they would be fit to become pure Vaiṣṇavas. Of course, sometimes a practitioner deviates from the Vaiṣṇava principles, and there is a chance that he may fall down, but Kaśyapa Muni thought that even if one falls while practicing the Vaiṣṇava principles, he is still not a loser. Even a fallen Vaiṣṇava is eligible for better results, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt: even practicing the Vaiṣṇava principles to a small extent can save one from the greatest danger of material existence. Thus Kaśyapa Muni planned to instruct his wife Diti to become a Vaiṣṇava because he wanted to save the life of Indra.
As stated above, a woman is generally inclined to serve her own purposes. Kaśyapa Muni proposed to train Diti to fulfill her desires within one year, and since she was eager to kill Indra, she immediately agreed, saying, "Please let me know what the vow is and how I have to follow it. I promise that I shall do the needful and not break the vow." This is another side of a woman's psychology. Even though a woman is very fond of fulfilling her own plans, when someone instructs her, especially her husband, she innocently follows, and thus she can be trained for better purposes. By nature a woman wants to be a follower of a man; therefore if the man is good the woman can be trained for a good purpose.
Generally the goddess Kālī is offered food containing meat and fish, and therefore Kaśyapa Muni strictly forbade his wife to take the remnants of such food. Actually a Vaiṣṇava is not allowed to take any food offered to the demigods. A Vaiṣṇava is always fixed in accepting prasāda offered to Lord Viṣṇu. Through all these instructions, Kaśyapa Muni, in a negative way, instructed his wife Diti how to become a Vaiṣṇavī.
SB Canto 7
Since Lord Nārāyaṇa is absolute, His transcendental qualities are described as one. Thus His punishments and His offerings of favor are both of the same value. Essentially, His inimical actions are not displays of enmity toward His so-called enemies, but in the material field one thinks that Kṛṣṇa is favorable to devotees and unfavorable to nondevotees. When Kṛṣṇa finally instructs in Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), this is meant not only for Arjuna but for every living entity within this universe.
"To those who are constantly devoted and who worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me." This is very practical. A teacher instructs the student if the student is capable of taking more and more instructions. Otherwise, in spite of being instructed by the teacher, the student cannot make strides in his understanding. This has nothing to do with partiality. When Kṛṣṇa says teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam/ dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ tam, this indicates that Kṛṣṇa is prepared to give bhakti-yoga to everyone, but one must be capable of receiving it. That is the secret. Thus when a person exhibits wonderful devotional activities, a thoughtful man understands that Kṛṣṇa has been more favorable to this devotee.
As described in this chapter, after the annihilation of Hiraṇyākṣa, Hiraṇyākṣa's sons and his brother Hiraṇyakaśipu were very much aggrieved. Hiraṇyakaśipu reacted very sinfully by trying to diminish the religious activities of people in general. However, he instructed his nephews about a history just to diminish their aggrievement.
The living being has attachment for the present body and does not want to enter another, and thus in the interim he remains a ghost. If a living being who has already left his body has been pious, Yamarāja, just to give him relief, will give him another body. Since the living being in the body of the King had some attachment to his body, he was hovering as a ghost, and therefore Yamarāja, as a special consideration, approached the lamenting relatives to instruct them personally. Yamarāja approached them as a child because a child is not restricted but is granted admittance anywhere, even to the palace of a king. Besides this, the child was speaking philosophy. People are very much interested in hearing philosophy when it is spoken by a child.
Hiraṇyakaśipu said: While Yamarāja, in the form of a small boy, was instructing all the relatives surrounding the dead body of Suyajña, everyone was struck with wonder by his philosophical words. They could understand that everything material is temporary, not continuing to exist.
After instructing all the foolish relatives of Suyajña, Yamarāja, in the form of a boy, disappeared from their vision. Then the relatives of King Suyajña performed the ritualistic funeral ceremonies.
In this verse it is clearly indicated that the original source of everything is life. Brahmā was instructed by the supreme life, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme living entity (nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13)), and Brahmā is also a living entity, but the original source of Brahmā is Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.7), mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: "O Arjuna, there is no truth superior to Me." Kṛṣṇa is the original source of Brahmā, who is the original source of this universe. Brahmā is a representative of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore all the qualities and activities of Kṛṣṇa are also present in Lord Brahmā.
Hiraṇyakaśipu advised his assistants: My dear demons, give complete protection to this boy at the guru-kula where he is instructed, so that his intelligence will not be further influenced by Vaiṣṇavas who may go there in disguise.
Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, the priests of the demons, were eager to know from Prahlāda Mahārāja who the Vaiṣṇavas were that came to instruct him in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Their purpose was to discover the names of these Vaiṣṇavas. In the beginning they did not threaten the boy because when threatened he might not identify the real culprits. Therefore they very mildly and peacefully inquired as follows.
In this verse, Hiraṇyakaśipu inquires from his son what he has learned from his guru. Prahlāda Mahārāja's gurus were of two kinds—Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, the sons of Śukrācārya in the seminal disciplic succession, were the gurus appointed by his father, but his other guru was the exalted Nārada Muni, who had instructed Prahlāda when Prahlāda was within the womb of his mother. Prahlāda Mahārāja responded to the inquiry of his father with the instructions he had received from his spiritual master, Nārada. Thus there was again a difference of opinion because Prahlāda Mahārāja wanted to relate the best thing he had learned from his spiritual master, whereas Hiraṇyakaśipu expected to hear about the politics and diplomacy Prahlāda had learned from Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka. Now the dissension between the father and son became increasingly intense as Prahlāda Mahārāja began to say what he had learned from his guru Nārada Muni.
The offenses are described as follows: (a) to blaspheme a devotee, especially a devotee engaged in broadcasting the glories of the holy name, (b) to consider the name of Lord Śiva or any other demigod to be equally as powerful as the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (no one is equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, nor is anyone superior to Him), (c) to disobey the instructions of the spiritual master, (d) to blaspheme the Vedic literatures and literatures compiled in pursuance of the Vedic literatures, (e) to comment that the glories of the holy name of the Lord are exaggerated, (f) to interpret the holy name in a deviant way, (g) to commit sinful activities on the strength of chanting the holy name, (h) to compare the chanting of the holy name to pious activities, (i) to instruct the glories of the holy name to a person who has no understanding of the chanting of the holy name, (j) not to awaken in transcendental attachment for the chanting of the holy name, even after hearing all these scriptural injunctions.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has instructed all devotees of the Lord to be humbler than the grass and more tolerant than trees; otherwise there will always be disturbances to their execution of devotional service. Here is a vivid example of how a devotee is disturbed by a nondevotee, even though the nondevotee is an affectionate father. The material world is such that a nondevotee father becomes an enemy of a devotee son. Having determined to kill even his son, Hiraṇyakaśipu gave the example of amputating a part of one's body that has become septic and therefore injurious to the rest of the body. The same example, of course, may also be applied to nondevotees.
After hearing these instructions of Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, the sons of his spiritual master, Hiraṇyakaśipu agreed and requested them to instruct Prahlāda in that system of occupational duty which is followed by royal householder families.
The teachers Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka instructed Prahlāda Mahārāja in the three kinds of material advancement called religion, economic development and sense gratification. Prahlāda, however, being situated above such instructions, did not like them, for such instructions are based on the duality of worldly affairs, which involve one in a materialistic way of life marked by birth, death, old age and disease.
Prahlāda Mahārāja, who was truly the supreme learned person, then addressed his class friends in very sweet language. Smiling, he began to teach them about the uselessness of the materialistic way of life. Being very kind to them, he instructed them as follows.
My dear King Yudhiṣṭhira, all the children were very much affectionate and respectful to Prahlāda Mahārāja, and because of their tender age they were not so polluted by the instructions and actions of their teachers, who were attached to condemned duality and bodily comfort. Thus the boys surrounded Prahlāda Mahārāja, giving up their playthings, and sat down to hear him. Their hearts and eyes being fixed upon him, they looked at him with great earnestness. Prahlāda Mahārāja, although born in a demon family, was an exalted devotee, and he desired their welfare. Thus he began instructing them about the futility of materialistic life.
The words bālā adūṣita-dhiyaḥ indicate that the children, being of a tender age, were not as polluted by materialistic life as their fathers. Prahlāda Mahārāja, therefore, taking advantage of the innocence of his class friends, began teaching them about the importance of spiritual life and the insignificance of materialistic life. Although the teachers Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka were instructing all the boys in the materialistic life of religion, economic development and sense gratification, the boys were not much polluted. Therefore, with great attention they wanted to hear from Prahlāda Mahārāja about Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, the guru-kula plays an extremely important part in our activities because right from childhood the boys at the guru-kula are instructed about Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Thus they become steady within the cores of their hearts, and there is very little possibility that they will be conquered by the modes of material nature when they are older.
The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55), bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ: "One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service." Prahlāda Mahārāja ultimately instructed his class friends, the sons of the demons, to accept the process of devotional service by preaching the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness to everyone. Preaching is the best service to the Lord. The Lord will immediately be extremely satisfied with one who engages in this service of preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (18.69). Na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ: "There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear." If one sincerely tries his best to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness by preaching the glories of the Lord and His supremacy, even if he is imperfectly educated, he becomes the dearmost servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
In this chapter, to dissipate the doubts of his class friends, the sons of the demons, Prahlāda Mahārāja states how, within the womb of his mother, he had heard from the mouth of Nārada Muni, who had instructed him in bhāgavata-dharma.
When Hiraṇyakaśipu left his kingdom and went to the mountain known as Mandarācala to execute severe austerities, all the demons scattered. Hiraṇyakaśipu's wife, Kayādhu, was pregnant at that time, and the demigods, mistakenly thinking that she carried another demon in her womb, arrested her. Their plan was that as soon as the child took birth they would kill him. While they were taking Kayādhu to the heavenly planets, they met Nārada Muni, who stopped them from taking her away and took her to his āśrama until Hiraṇyakaśipu's return.
This kind of difficulty always exists when a devotee preaches Kṛṣṇa consciousness to persons like Hiraṇyakaśipu, who are interested in money and women. (The word hiraṇya means "gold," and kaśipu refers to cushions or good bedding.) Moreover, a father does not like to be instructed by his son, especially if the father is a demon. Prahlāda Mahārāja's Vaiṣṇava preaching to his demoniac father was indirectly effective, for because of Hiraṇyakaśipu's excessive jealousy of Kṛṣṇa and His devotee, he was inviting Nṛsiṁha-deva to kill him very quickly. Thus he was expediting his being killed by the Lord Himself. Although Hiraṇyakaśipu was a demon, he is described here by the added word śrī. Why? The answer is that fortunately he had such a great devotee son as Prahlāda Mahārāja. Thus although he was a demon, he would attain salvation and return home, back to Godhead.
All the saintly persons present offered their prayers in this way: O Lord, O supreme maintainer of those sheltered at Your lotus feet, O original Personality of Godhead, the process of austerity and penance, in which You instructed us before, is the spiritual power of Your very self. It is by austerity that You create the material world, which lies dormant within You. This austerity was almost stopped by the activities of this demon, but now, by Yourself appearing in the form of Nṛsiṁha-deva, which is meant just to give us protection, and by killing this demon, You have again approved the process of austerity.
The Manus are sometimes incarnations of the Supreme Lord and sometimes empowered living entities. Formerly, many long years ago, Lord Kṛṣṇa instructed the sun-god. The Manus are generally sons of the sun-god. Therefore, while speaking to Arjuna about the importance of Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa said, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam vivasvān manave prāha: (BG 4.1) "This instruction was given to Vivasvān, the sun-god, who in turn instructed his son Manu." Manu gave the law known as Manu-saṁhitā, which is full of directions based on varṇa and āśrama concerning how to live as a human being. These are very scientific ways of life, but under the rule of demons like Hiraṇyakaśipu, human society breaks all these systems of law and order and gradually becomes lower and lower. Thus there is no peace in the world. The conclusion is that if we want real peace and order in the human society, we must follow the principles laid down by the Manu-saṁhitā and confirmed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.
Thus he considers himself unqualified, lower than the worms in stool, and more sinful than Jagāi and Mādhāi. A pure Vaiṣṇava actually thinks of himself in this way. Similarly, although Prahlāda Mahārāja was a pure, exalted Vaiṣṇava, he thought himself most unqualified to offer prayers to the Supreme Lord. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). Every pure Vaiṣṇava should think like this. One should not be falsely proud of his Vaiṣṇava qualifications. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has therefore instructed us:
- tṛṇād api sunīcena
- taror iva sahiṣṇunā
- amāninā mānadena
- kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
- (CC Adi 17.31)
Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja, representing all the other conditioned souls, admits that he was put into life among the asuras because of the results of his karma. The Lord is known as kṛpaṇa-vatsala because He is extremely kind to the conditioned souls. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, therefore, the Lord appears whenever there are discrepancies in the execution of religious principles (yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata. .. tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham (BG 4.7)). The Lord is extremely anxious to deliver the conditioned souls, and therefore He instructs all of us to return home, back to Godhead (sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66)). Thus Prahlāda Mahārāja expected that the Lord, by His kindness, would call him again to the shelter of His lotus feet. In other words, everyone should be eager to return home, back to Godhead, taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord and thus being fully trained in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
O great one, O Supreme Lord, because of combination with pleasing and displeasing circumstances and because of separation from them, one is placed in a most regrettable position, within heavenly or hellish planets, as if burning in a fire of lamentation. Although there are many remedies by which to get out of miserable life, any such remedies in the material world are more miserable than the miseries themselves. Therefore I think that the only remedy is to engage in Your service. Kindly instruct me in such service.
In other words, devotional service is so great that when it is offered even by those born in low families, the Lord accepts it as being more valuable than the service offered by the goddess of fortune. Lord Brahmā, King Indra and the other demigods living in the upper planetary systems are situated in a different spirit of consciousness, and therefore they are sometimes troubled by demons, but a devotee, even if situated in the lower planets, enjoys life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness under any circumstances. parataḥ svataḥ karmataḥ: as he acts himself, as he is instructed by others or as he performs his material activities, he enjoys life in every respect.
My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, because of my association with material desires, one after another, I was gradually falling into a blind well full of snakes, following the general populace. But Your servant Nārada Muni kindly accepted me as his disciple and instructed me how to achieve this transcendental position. Therefore, my first duty is to serve him. How could I leave his service?
Pure devotees like Prahlāda Mahārāja and Dhruva Mahārāja do not aspire for any material benefit at any stage of devotional service. When the Lord was present before Dhruva Mahārāja, Dhruva did not want to take any material benefit from the Lord: svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce (CC Madhya 22.42). As a pure devotee, he could not ask the Lord for any material benefit. In this regard, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed us:
- na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ
- kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye
- mama janmani janmanīśvare
- bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi
(Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4)
"O my Lord, Jagadīśa, I do not pray for benedictions by which to achieve material wealth, popularity or beauty. My only desire is to serve You. Kindly engage me in the service of the servant of Your servant."
In this regard, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that although Hiraṇyakaśipu was already purified, he had to take birth on a higher planetary system to become a devotee again. Prahlāda Mahārāja was advised to perform the ritualistic ceremony as a matter of etiquette, for the Supreme Personality of Godhead under no circumstances wants to stop the regulative principles. Madhva Muni also instructs:
- madhu-kaiṭabhau bhakty-abhāvā
- dūrau bhagavato mṛtau
- tama eva kramād āptau
- bhaktyā ced yo hariṁ yayau
When the demons Madhu and Kaiṭabha were killed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, their kinsmen also observed the ritualistic ceremonies so that these demons could return home, back to Godhead.
Nārada Muni continued: O King Yudhiṣṭhira, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is not visible to an ordinary human being, spoke in this way, instructing Lord Brahmā. Then, being worshiped by Brahmā, the Lord disappeared from that place.
Through the principles of religion, one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Brahman (the impersonal feature of the Supreme Lord) and Paramātmā (the localized aspect of the Lord). When one is well conversant with all these principles, he becomes a devotee and performs bhāgavata-dharma. Prahlāda Mahārāja, the spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession, advised that this bhāgavata-dharma be instructed to students from the very beginning of their education (kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha (SB 7.6.1)). To understand the science of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the real purpose of education. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ (SB 7.5.23). One must simply hear about and describe Lord Viṣṇu and His various incarnations. This narration concerning Prahlāda Mahārāja and Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva, therefore, has properly described spiritual, transcendental subjects.
There is always a difference of opinion about the Absolute Truth. One class of transcendentalists concludes that the Absolute Truth is impersonal, and another class concludes that the Absolute Truth is a person. In Bhagavad-gītā, the Absolute Truth is accepted as the Supreme Person. Indeed, that Supreme Person Himself, Lord Kṛṣṇa, instructs in Bhagavad-gītā, brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham (BG 14.27), mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7). "The impersonal Brahman is My partial manifestation, and there is no truth superior to Me." That same Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, acted as the supreme friend and relative of the Pāṇḍavas, and sometimes He even acted as their servant by carrying a letter from the Pāṇḍavas to Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana. Because Kṛṣṇa was the well-wisher of the Pāṇḍavas, He also acted as guru by becoming the spiritual master of Arjuna. Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as his spiritual master (śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam (BG 2.7)), and Kṛṣṇa sometimes chastised him.
To learn about religious principles and the perfection of life, one must take instruction from the disciplic succession of Nārada Muni. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is directly in the line of the Brahma-sampradāya. Nārada Muni received instructions from Lord Brahmā and in turn transmitted the instructions to Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva instructed his son Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who spoke Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is based on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā. Because Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was spoken by Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Bhagavad-gītā was spoken by Kṛṣṇa, there is no difference between them. If we strictly follow the principle of disciplic succession, we are certainly on the right path of spiritual liberation, or eternal engagement in devotional service.
The words bhaktyā kevalayā indicate that simply by executing devotional service one can become full of all knowledge. Kṛṣṇa is the master of all knowledge (aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47)). The Lord is situated in everyone's heart (īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61)), and when the Lord is pleased with a devotee, the Lord instructs him. Only to the devotees, however, does the Lord give instructions by which to advance further and further in devotional service. To others, the nondevotees, the Lord gives instructions according to the manner of their surrender. The pure devotee is described by the words bhaktyā kevalayā. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that bhaktyā kevalayā means jñāna-karmādy-amiśrayā, "unmixed with fruitive activities or speculative knowledge." Simply surrendering at the lotus feet is the cause of all a devotee's enlightenment and awareness.
A person who is actually a devotee of Kṛṣṇa does not care about so-called public opinion and Vedic or philosophical literatures. Prahlāda Mahārāja, who is such a devotee, always defied the false instructions of his father and the so-called teachers who were appointed to teach him. Instead, he simply followed the instructions of Nārada Muni, his guru, and thus he always remained a stalwart devotee. This is the nature of an intelligent devotee. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam instructs, yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ (SB 11.5.32). One who is actually very intelligent must join the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, realizing his own self as an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, and thus practice constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
We have repeatedly stressed that human culture does not begin unless one takes to the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma. Although gṛhastha life is a concession for the enjoyment of sex, one cannot enjoy sex without following the rules and regulations of householder life. Furthermore, as already instructed, a brahmacārī must live under the care of the guru: brahmacārī guru-kule vasan dānto guror hitam (SB 7.12.1). If a brahmacārī does not live under the care of the guru, if a vānaprastha engages in ordinary activities, or if a sannyāsī is greedy and eats meat, eggs and all kinds of nonsense for the satisfaction of his tongue, he is a cheater and should immediately be rejected as unimportant. Such persons should be shown compassion, and if one has sufficient strength one should teach them to stop them from following the wrong path in life. Otherwise one should reject them and pay them no attention.
The mind is always agitated by acceptance and rejection, which are compared to mental waves that are constantly tossing. The living entity is floating in the waves of material existence because of his forgetfulness. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has therefore sung in his Gītāvalī: miche māyāra vaśe, yāccha bhese', khāccha hābuḍubu, bhāi. "My dear mind, under the influence of māyā you are being carried away by the waves of rejection and acceptance. Simply take shelter of Kṛṣṇa." Jīva kṛṣṇa-dāsa, ei viśvāsa, karle ta' āra duḥkha nāi: if we simply regard the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa as our ultimate shelter, we shall be saved from all these waves of māyā, which are variously exhibited as mental and sensual activities and the agitation of rejection and acceptance. Kṛṣṇa instructs in Bhagavad-gītā (18.66):
- sarva-dharmān parityajya
- mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
- ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
- mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear." Therefore if we simply place ourselves at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa by taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and keeping always in touch with Him by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, we need not take much trouble in arranging to return to the spiritual world. By the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, this is very easy.
This instruction is given for men in all statuses of life. Generally society is divided into brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras, brahmacārīs, vānaprasthas, sannyāsīs and gṛhasthas. Everyone must act according to his position and try to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for that will make one's life successful. This was instructed in Naimiṣāraṇya:
- ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā
- varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ
- svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya
- saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam
"O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve, by discharging his prescribed duties (dharma) according to caste divisions and order of life, is to please the Lord Hari." (SB 1.2.13) Everyone should act according to his occupational duties just to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then everyone will be happy.
"Now, hear, O son of Pṛthā (Arjuna), how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt." Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself teaches how one can understand Him perfectly well, without a doubt. Not only the Pāṇḍavas but everyone who sincerely accepts the instructions of Kṛṣṇa can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He is. After instructing Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, Nārada Muni prays for the Lord's blessings that He be pleased with everyone and that everyone become perfect in God consciousness and return home, back to Godhead.
SB Canto 8
The second Manu, whose name was Svārociṣa, was the son of Agni, and His sons were headed by Dyumat, Suṣeṇa and Rociṣmat. In the age of this Manu, Rocana became Indra, the ruler of the heavenly planets, and there were many demigods, headed by Tuṣita. There were also many saintly persons, such as Ūrja and Stambha. Among them was Vedaśirā, whose wife, Tuṣitā, gave birth to Vibhu. Vibhu instructed eighty-eight thousand dṛḍha-vratas, or saintly persons, on self-control and austerity.
"I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku." Svāyambhuva Manu and Vaivasvata Manu have similar duties. Vaivasvata Manu was born of the sun-god, Vivasvān, and his son was Ikṣvāku, the King of the earth. Since Manu is understood to be the original father of humanity, human society should follow his instructions.
Svāyambhuva Manu instructs that whatever exists, not only in the spiritual world but even within this material world, is the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present everywhere as the Superconsciousness. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (13.3), kṣetra-jñam cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata: in every field—in other words, in every body—the Supreme Lord is existing as the Supersoul.
This understanding will lead to perfect communism. Communists think in terms of their own nations, but the spiritual communism instructed here is not only nationwide but universal. Nothing belongs to any nation or any individual person; everything belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the meaning of this verse. Ātmāvāsyam idaṁ viśvam: whatever exists within this universe is the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The modern communistic theory, and also the idea of the United Nations, can be reformed—indeed, rectified—by the understanding that everything belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is not a creation of our intelligence; rather, He has created us. Ātmāvāsyam idaṁ viśvam. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). This universal communism can solve all the problems of the world.
Following Kṛṣṇa's instructions is possible when one is a devotee, for Kṛṣṇa instructs that one should become a devotee. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru: "Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me." (BG 18.65) Always thinking of Kṛṣṇa means chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, but unless one is an initiated devotee he cannot do this. As soon as one becomes a devotee, he engages in Deity worship (mad-yājī). A devotee's business is to offer obeisances to the Lord and the spiritual master constantly. This principle is the recognized way to come to the platform of bhakti. As soon as one comes to this platform, he gradually understands the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa one is liberated from material bondage.
Svāyambhuva Manu is the leader of mankind, and he has given a book called Manu-saṁhitā to guide human society. Herein he directs us to follow the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His different incarnations. These incarnations are described in Vedic literature, and Jayadeva Gosvāmī has described ten important incarnations in summary (keśava dhṛta-mīna-śarīra jaya jagad-īśa hare, keśava dhṛta-nara-hari-rūpa jaya jagad-īśa hare, keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagad-īśa hare, etc.). Svāyambhuva Manu instructs us to follow the instructions of God's incarnations, especially Kṛṣṇa's instructions of Bhagavad-gītā As It Is.
Appreciating bhakti-mārga as instructed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya thus depicted the activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:
- vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga-
- śikṣārtham ekaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ
- śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-śarīra-dhārī
- kṛpāmbudhir yas tam ahaṁ prapadye
- (CC Madhya 6.254)
"Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as they are given in Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land." (CC Madhya 7.128) The coherent purpose of Lord Rāmacandra, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is to teach human society how to be happy by following the instructions of the Supreme Lord.
One who is intelligent understands that there is a great and supreme authority above everything. That great authority appears in different incarnations to save the innocent from disturbances. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām: (BG 4.8) the Lord appears in His various incarnations for two purposes—to annihilate the duṣkṛtī, the sinful, and to protect His devotees. The King of the elephants decided to surrender unto Him. This is intelligent. One must know that great Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender unto Him. The Lord comes personally to instruct us how to be happy, and only fools and rascals do not see by intelligence this supreme authority, the Supreme Person.
Thus it is indicated that one can find the Supreme Lord within one's heart. There are many, many yogīs trying to find Him. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). Nonetheless, even great yogīs, demigods, saints and sages have been unable to understand the bodily features of that great artist, nor could they understand the meaning of His movements. What then is to be said of ordinary speculators like the so-called philosophers of this material world? For them He is impossible to understand. Therefore we must accept the statements given by the Supreme when He kindly incarnates to instruct us. We must simply accept the word of Lord Rāmacandra, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and follow in Their footsteps. Then it may be possible for us to know the purpose of Their incarnations.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, cannot be understood by the individual soul through mental, physical or intellectual exercises. It is by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that the individual soul is enlightened. Therefore, the Lord is described here as ātma-pradīpa. The Lord is like the sun, which illuminates everything and cannot be illuminated by anyone. Therefore, if one is serious about understanding the Supreme, one must receive enlightenment from Him, as instructed in Bhagavad-gītā. One cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by one's mental, physical or intellectual powers.
Chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is potent always, but it is especially potent in this age of Kali. Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī, while instructing Mahārāja Parīkṣit, stressed this chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
- kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann
- asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
- kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya
- mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet
"My dear King, although Kali-yuga is full of faults, there is still one good quality about this age. It is that simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom." (SB 12.3.51) Those who have accepted the task of spreading the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness should take this opportunity to deliver people very easily from the clutches of material existence. Our duty, therefore, is to follow the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and preach the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement all over the world very sincerely. This is the best welfare activity for the peace and prosperity of human society.
The only concern of such devotees is mokṣa, liberation. This mokṣa does not refer to becoming one with the Supreme like the Māyāvādī philosophers. Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained that real mokṣa means taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead. The Lord clearly explained this fact while instructing Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya wanted to correct the word mukti-pade in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but Caitanya Mahāprabhu informed him that there is no need to correct any word in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He explained that mukti-pade refers to the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, who offers mukti and is therefore called Mukunda. A pure devotee is not concerned with material things. He is not concerned with religiosity, economic development or sense gratification. He is interested only in serving the lotus feet of the Lord.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura remarks that Mohinī-mūrti dragged Lord Śiva to so many places, especially to where the great sages lived, to instruct the sages that their Lord Śiva had become mad for a beautiful woman. Thus although they were all great sages and saintly persons, they should not think themselves free, but should remain extremely cautious about beautiful women. No one should think himself liberated in the presence of a beautiful woman. The śāstras enjoin:
- mātrā svasrā duhitrā vā
- nāviviktāsano bhavet
- balavān indriya-grāmo
- vidvāṁsam api karṣati
"One should not stay in a solitary place with a woman, even if she be his mother, sister or daughter, for the senses are so uncontrollably powerful that in the presence of a woman one may become agitated, even if he is very learned and advanced." (SB 9.19.17)
"I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku." This is the process of disciplic succession. Following the same process, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching the principles of Bhagavad-gītā as it is, without deviation, all over the world. If the fortunate people of this time accept the instructions of Lord Kṛṣṇa, they will certainly be happy in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission. Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted everyone, at least in India, to become a preacher of this mission. In other words, one should become a guru and preach the Lord's instructions all over the world for the peace and prosperity of humanity.
After Aditi informed Kaśyapa Muni about the āśrama's well-being, she told him that she was lamenting for the absence of her sons. She then requested him to tell her how her sons could return and reoccupy their positions. She wanted all good fortune for her sons. Moved by Aditi's request, Kaśyapa Muni instructed her in the philosophy of self-realization, the difference between matter and spirit, and how to be unaffected by material loss. But when he saw that Aditi was not satisfied even after he had given these instructions, he advised her to worship Vāsudeva, Janārdana. He assured her that only Lord Vāsudeva could satisfy her and fulfill all her desires. When Aditi then expressed her desire to worship Lord Vāsudeva, Prajāpati Kaśyapa told her about a process of worship known as payo-vrata, which is executed in twelve days. Lord Brahmā had instructed him how to satisfy Lord Kṛṣṇa by this process, and thus he advised his wife to observe this vow and its regulative principles.
In other words, all living entities in this material world are more or less devoid of spiritual education. The Vedic civilization, however, is based on spiritual education, and spiritual education is the special basis on which Bhagavad-gītā was spoken to Arjuna. In the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa instructed Arjuna to understand that the spirit soul is different from the body.
- dehino 'smin yathā dehe
- kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
- tathā dehāntara-prāptir
- dhīras tatra na muhyati
"As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change." (BG 2.13) Unfortunately, this spiritual education is completely absent from modern human civilization. No one understands his real self-interest, which lies with the spirit soul, not with the material body.
O best of the brāhmaṇas, kindly instruct me in the perfect method of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead in devotional service, by which the Lord may very soon be pleased with me and save me, along with my sons, from this most dangerous condition.
Sometimes less intelligent men ask whether one has to approach a guru to be instructed in devotional service for spiritual advancement. The answer is given here—indeed, not only here, but also in Bhagavad-gītā, where Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as his guru (śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam (BG 2.7)). The Vedas also instruct, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa guruṁ evābhigacchet: (MU 1.2.12) one must accept a guru for proper direction if one is seriously inclined toward advancement in spiritual life. The Lord says that one must worship the ācārya, who is the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (ācāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyāt (SB 11.17.27)). One should definitely understand this. In Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that the guru is the manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, according to all the evidence given by the śāstra and by the practical behavior of devotees, one must accept a guru. Aditi accepted her husband as her guru, so that he would direct her how to advance in spiritual consciousness, devotional service, by worshiping the Supreme Lord.
Śrī Kaśyapa Muni said: When I desired offspring, I placed inquiries before Lord Brahmā, who is born from a lotus flower. Now I shall explain to you the same process Lord Brahmā instructed me, by which Keśava, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is satisfied.
Here the process of devotional service is further explained. Kaśyapa Muni wanted to instruct Aditi in the same process recommended to him by Brahmā for satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is valuable. The guru does not manufacture a new process to instruct the disciple. The disciple receives from the guru an authorized process received by the guru from his guru. This is called the system of disciplic succession (evaṁ paramparā-prāptaṁ imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2)). This is the bona fide Vedic system of receiving the process of devotional service, by which the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pleased. Therefore, to approach a bona fide guru, or spiritual master, is essential.
"One who rejects things without knowledge of their relationship to Kṛṣṇa is incomplete in his renunciation." (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.256) When the body is engaged in the service of the Lord, one should not consider the body material. Sometimes the spiritual body of the spiritual master is misunderstood. But Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī instructs, prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ. The body fully engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service should not be neglected as material. One who does neglect it is false in his renunciation. If the body is not properly maintained, it falls down and dries up like an uprooted tree, from which flowers and fruit can no longer be obtained.
After thus instructing the King, the Supreme Personality of Godhead immediately disappeared. Then King Satyavrata began to wait for that time of which the Lord had instructed.
Such gurus are accepted by those who are blind, not knowing the goal of life. Mahārāja Satyavrata, however, knew the goal of life. He knew the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore he accepted the Lord as his guru. Either the Supreme Lord or His representative can become guru. The Lord says, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te: (BG 7.14) "One can get relief from the clutches of māyā as soon as he surrenders unto Me." Therefore it is the guru's business to instruct his disciple to surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead if he wants relief from the material clutches. This is the symptom of the guru. This same principle was instructed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). In other words, one is advised not to accept a guru who does not follow the path of instruction given by Lord Kṛṣṇa.
A materialistic so-called guru instructs his materialistic disciples about economic development and sense gratification, and because of such instructions the foolish disciples continue in the materialistic existence of ignorance. But Your Lordship gives knowledge that is eternal, and the intelligent person receiving such knowledge is quickly situated in his original constitutional position.
So-called gurus instruct their disciples for the sake of material profit. Some guru advises that one meditate in such a way that his intelligence will increase in regard to keeping his body fit for sense gratification. Another guru advises that sex is the ultimate goal of life and that one should therefore engage in sex to the best of his ability. These are the instructions of foolish gurus. In other words, because of the instructions of a foolish guru one remains perpetually in material existence and suffers its tribulations. But if one is intelligent enough to take instructions from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as enunciated in Bhagavad-gītā or the Sāṅkhya philosophy of Kapiladeva, one can very soon attain liberation and be situated in his original position of spiritual life. The words nijaṁ padam are significant.
Herein the reason for foolishness is described. Because the conditioned soul in this material world is full of materialistic lusty desires, he cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although the Lord is situated in everyone's heart (īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61)). It is because of this foolishness that one cannot take instructions from the Lord, although the Lord is ready to instruct everyone both externally and internally. The Lord says, dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ tam yena mām upayānti te. In other words, the Lord can give instructions on devotional service by which one can return home, back to Godhead. Unfortunately, however, people do not take this devotional service. The Lord, being situated in everyone's heart, can give one complete instructions on going back to Godhead, but because of lusty desires one engages himself in materialistic activities and does not render service to the Lord.
"Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth." Lord Kṛṣṇa directly instructed Arjuna. Arjuna is therefore tattva-darśī or guru. Arjuna accepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead (paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12)). Similarly, following in the footsteps of Śrī Arjuna, who is a personal devotee of the Lord, one should accept the supremacy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, as supported by Vyāsa, Devala, Asita, Nārada and later by the ācāryas Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Nimbārka and Viṣṇu Svāmī and still later by the greatest ācārya, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Where, then, is the difficulty in finding a guru? If one is sincere he can find the guru and learn everything. One should take lessons from the guru and find out the goal of life.
| Page Title: | Instruct (SB cantos 5 - 8) |
| Compiler: | Mayapur |
| Created: | 26 of Oct, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=136, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 136 |