So here it is description is given that we are recommended to make association with mahat-sevā just to get liberation. Mahat-sevā. And who is mahātmā? That is being described. In the first... Mahāntas te. They are mahātmā. What is the symptom? In the śāstra we'll find not by one symptom, that one has got saffron cloth or big beard, then he is mahātmā. No. There are other symptoms. Just like brāhmaṇa. In the Kali-yuga brāhmaṇa means one two-paisa thread, that's all. But that is not brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa means śamo damo titikṣva. These are the symptoms. Similarly, mahātmā does not mean a dress. But people have taken advantage of this dress, veśopajivibhiḥ (?). In India still, although poverty-stricken, if a person, simply by dressing in saffron cloth goes to a village, he has no problem. Everyone will call him, invite him, give him shelter, give him food. Still, (Hindi: "Sir, come here. Take prasada.") Everyone will ask. Poor people have taken advantage of it. Without any education, without any..., they take it for solving economic problems. Here also in Vṛndāvana you'll find so many people have come here because there are many chatras. You can get free capati, dahl. You'll find in the morning so many wretched class. They have come to Vṛndāvana just for this bread and dahl. And they collect and they exchange. They purchase bidi.
So everything, in Kali-yuga, everything is being misused. But śāstra has given us direction who is brāhmaṇa, who is mahātmā. So here one type of mahātmā is given: mahāntas te sama-cittāḥ. They are equal. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. That is mahātmā. He has realized, Brahman realized, so he has no discrimination, either man to man or man to animal. Even a...
- vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
- brāhmaṇe gave hastini
- śuni caiva śvapāke ca
- paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
- (BG 5.18)
Paṇḍita does not mean one who has got degree. Paṇḍita means sama-cittāḥ. That is sama-cittāḥ. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita has also said that,
- mātṛ-vat para-dāreṣu
- para-dravyeṣu loṣṭra-vat
- ātma-vat sarva-bhūteṣu
- yaḥ paśyati sa paṇḍitaḥ
He is paṇḍita. Otherwise a rascal. Mātṛ-vat para-dāreṣu. As soon as you see one woman except your married wife, you immediately address her "mother." This is paṇḍita. This is paṇḍita. Not that talking phish-phish with other's woman. He's a rascal. So mātṛ-vat para-dāreṣu para-dravyeṣu loṣṭra-vat: not to touch other's property. Garbage nobody touches. But people are so unfortunate. I have seen in Hong Kong, they are picking out some food frome the garbage like dogs. I have seen. Somebody throws away some foodstuff and that is collecting. People are so unfortunate. So garbage nobody touches. But in Kali-yuga one has to pick out some papers, some pieces of cloth, to make some business in the garbage. Garbage is untouchable, but in the Kali-yuga the people are so unfortunate that they pick out from garbage also something valuable.
So anyway, mahāntas, these are the symptoms. Sama-cittāḥ: they have no such thing, "Oh, here is Hindu, here is Muslim, here is rich man, here is poor man." No. He's kind to everyone. That is godly qualification. Kṛṣṇa says, māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ (BG 9.32). Sama-cittāḥ. This is explanation. Anyone who takes shelter of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, he is te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim. He's eligible to go back home, back to Godhead. So Kṛṣṇa gives this liberty, open to everyone. Now who will act it? Who will induce people, even though he's born in low-grade family... Māṁ hi pārtha..., ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yoni. Pāpa-yoni means one who is born in pāpa-yoni, in low-grade family. They say caṇḍāla yavana mleccha in the, there... But Kṛṣṇa is giving liberty to everyone. Ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ. Ye 'nye ca pāpa, Śukadeva Gosvāmī said. Then who will do it? You are a big sādhu, very learned sādhu, and if you sit down, "No, no. I shall not go out of India. As soon as I cross the sea, immediately I'll become fallen." Then who will do this business? Kṛṣṇa wants that te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim, ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ. Then who will deliver these pāpa-yoni? If "I am a big sannyāsī and big devotee, I do not go out side Vṛndāvana, I do not go outside India. I am jagat-guru..." "Have you seen jagat?" "No. I'm self-made jagat-guru." This is going on. Cheating. This cheating is going on. What is mahātmā they do not know; still, they are posing themselves mahātmā. Mahātmāji he (Hindi).
So they are not mahātmā. Mahat, the first qualification is sama-cittāḥ. Everyone must be delivered. Not "I am... I am undergoing severe austerities. I shall become brahmalina and my business is finished." No. Others should be. That is sama-cittāḥ. Others. Just as Prahlāda Mahārāja said, "I do not wish to go alone to Vaikuṇṭha unless I take all these rascals with me." That is Vaiṣṇava. Māya sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān (SB 7.9.43). "These vimūḍhān who are so much entangled in this material world and trying to adjust things for peace and happiness, unnecessarily they do not know. So I want to take them." That is Vaiṣṇava. "Alone I don't want to go." Just like Nārada Muni. Nārada Muni is traveling all over the universe. He's going to hell, heaven, everywhere, and trying to make disciples who can become Kṛṣṇa's devotee. He does not stay anywhere for more than three minutes, like that. He's traveling always. This is sama-cittāḥ: always going everywhere: "You become devotee, you become Kṛṣṇa conscious so that your life will be successful." Preaching, that is wanted. Sama-cittāḥ. As soon as there is some facility, one should approach the fallen souls. People are suffering. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā (SB 1.1.10). They are so unfortunate, they are suffering in this material world. Give them the information at least that "Why you are suffering? You take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and be happy." That is wanted. That is sama-cittāḥ.
Prasannātmā. Praśāntā. Prakistho rūpeṇa santaḥ. Preaching is not very, I mean to say, pleasant. They have to meet so many difficulties. Still they are peaceful, not disturbed. Praśāntā. Not that... Just like Nityānanda Prabhu went to preach amongst Jagāi-Mādhāi. And Jagāi-Mādhāi injured. "Why, You rascal, You have come here to disturb us?" And threw the piece of earthen pot, and Nityānanda Prabhu was injured. Still praśāntā. This is sādhu. Yes. "My dear Jagāi-Mādhāi, you have injured Me. It doesn't matter. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa please." This is praśāntā. He's not disturbed: "Oh, you have injured Me. I shall go to the police." No. Peaceful. "All right, never mind. You do not know how to behave; you have injured Me. It doesn't matter. Please chant." When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard it, He immediately came, and He was so angry, that "I shall kill these two men immediately. Bring My cakra." Nityānanda Prabhu said, "My Lord, You have promised not to take weapon in this incarnation, so kindly be merciful upon them." "No! They have insulted Vaiṣṇava!" This is another example. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is teaching this humbleness: tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā. But when Nityānanda Prabhu was injured, did He stop punishing them? No. At that time He became fire: "I shall kill them!" Tṛṇād api sunīcena does not mean that if a Vaiṣṇava is insulted or Viṣṇu is defamed, you remain silent, "I am tṛṇād api sunīcena." No. At that time you should become fire. That is the teaching of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Just like Hanumānjī, he's Vaiṣṇava. But when there was need for the service of Lord Rāmacandra, he set fire in the Lanka. So when there is viṣṇu-vaiṣṇava-ninda, defamation, you should not remain tṛṇād api sunīcena. You should take steps. This is the instruction. Anyway, Vaiṣṇava is never angry, but that does not mean that you tolerate insult to Viṣṇu and Vaiṣṇava. No.
So praśāntā. Praśāntā vimanyavaḥ. Without any anger. Vimanyavaḥ. Suhṛdaḥ. These are the examples. Just see. Suhṛdaḥ. Su-hṛda means one who is actually wanting your welfare. That is called suhṛt. Just like father, mother. In spite of so many faults on the part of the son, still they are willing always, "How my sons will be happy." These are the examples of suhṛdaḥ. He's not ordinary friend. Ordinary friend, that is reciprocation: "If you do me, then I shall do to you. Otherwise not." But suhṛdaḥ means the other side does not do anything benefit, but one side is always willing. That is called suhṛdaḥ. Similarly, a mahātmā, he is not well received. He is criticized, insulted, sometimes injured. Still, he wants Just like Lord Jesus Christ. He was so badly treated and still he was thinking, "Father, they do not know what they are doing. Please excuse." This is suhṛdaḥ. He is praying to God This is sādhu, mahātmā. Suhṛdaḥ praśāntā. Not that... In India there are examples like Haridasa Ṭhākura, Prahlāda Mahārāja. And the Western countries also, Lord Jesus Christ, he is śaktyāveśa-avatāra, God's son. And he tolerated so much. These are the examples of mahātmā. Don't misunderstand that we are preaching that mahātmās are only in India. No. By the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead there are mahātmās even amongst the birds, even amongst the beasts, even amongst the lower than animals. Because this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is going on in different places, in different circumstances. That is God's desire. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham (BG 4.7). So Kṛṣṇa wants this. Just like in your country there is welfare activities by the government. The welfare department is seeing that nobody is unhappy for want of money. Similarly, mahātmās, they are also in the welfare department of Kṛṣṇa. They are sent to different countries, different places, different species of life, so that the living entity may take advantage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.