SB 05.05.17 kas tam svayam tad-abhijno vipascid... cited

Expressions researched:
"avidyayam antare vartamanam" |"drstva punas tam saghrnah kubuddhim" |"kas tam svayam tad-abhijno vipascid" |"prayojayed utpathagam yathandham"

SB Canto 5

SB 5.5.17, Translation:

If someone is ignorant and addicted to the path of saṁsāra, how can one who is actually learned, merciful and advanced in spiritual knowledge engage him in fruitive activity and thus further entangle him in material existence? If a blind man is walking down the wrong path, how can a gentleman allow him to continue on his way to danger? How can he approve this method? No wise or kind man can allow this.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 5.5.17 -- Vrndavana, November 5, 1976:

Pradyumna: "If someone is ignorant and addicted to the path of saṁsāra, how can one who is actually learned, merciful and advanced in spiritual knowledge engage him in fruitive activity and thus further entangle him in material existence? If a blind man is walking down the wrong path, how can a gentleman allow him to continue on his way to danger? How can he approve this method? No wise or kind man can allow this."

Prabhupāda:

kas taṁ svayaṁ tad-abhijño vipaścid

avidyāyām antare vartamānam

dṛṣṭvā punas taṁ saghṛṇaḥ kubuddhiṁ

prayojayed utpathagaṁ yathāndham

(SB 5.5.17)

So one person is utpathagam yathāndham, another person is vipaścid tad-abhijñaḥ. Two classes of men generally: one who knows the things as they are and one who does not know what is the value of life, how to make progress. So one does not know and one knows. So naturally there must be two classes of men to make real social progress or any, anything. Actually we see that there are a class of men in the school, colleges, universities, who can teach, and class of men who are taught. So without these two classes of men, how society can make progress? But the modern theory is "classless society." Modern rascal theory is classless society: "There is no need of teacher, or there is no need of higher class, or there is no need of... One class." Therefore they fall down. Even in socialistic country like Russia, first of all they wanted to make classless society. Later on they have made a manager class and worker class, because this is not possible.

Lecture on SB 5.5.17 -- Vrndavana, November 5, 1976:

So therefore it is our little attempt that to train some boys to become first-class character. Śamo damo titikṣa. That is required in the society. Simply all fourth-class, fifth-class men, how the society will improve? That is not possible. And therefore, kas taṁ svayaṁ tad-abhijño vipaścid avidyāyām antare vartamānam. And one who is actually educated in the Vedic knowledge, how he can say that "You are all right"? He cannot say. He gives chance for being trained to be free from the avidyā. Avidyāyām antare. Śarīra avidyā-jāl. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung, śarīra avidyā-jāl. This material body is a network of avidyā, ignorance. Śarīra avidyā-jāl, jaḍendriya tāhe kāl. On account of this body of avidyā, ignorance, the blunt senses are simply... They have been described sometimes as kāla-sarpa. Kāla-sarpa indriya-paṭalī durdānta-indriya-kāla-sarpa paṭalī. So therefore yoga system is recommended to control this kāla-sarpa, the indriyas. Yoga indriya-saṁyamaḥ. Real yoga, ordinary yoga Nobody is getting that yoga-siddhi, aṣṭa-siddhi. Generally the so-called yogis, they show some āsana, dhyāna, dhāraṇā, praṇāyāma, but that is meant for controlling the senses. Yoga indriya-saṁyamaḥ. Without sense control nobody can make any progress in human life. Tapasya. That is called tapasya. The yoga is also another tapasya. Tapo. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa (SB 6.1.13).

Lecture on SB 5.5.17 -- Vrndavana, November 5, 1976:

So Sanātana Gosvāmī recommends, tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena dvijatvaṁ jāyate nṛṇām. Tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena. If dīkṣā-vidhāna, initiation process, is done nicely from the right person There are so many śāstric ref... Śuddhyanti yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ, kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ, ye 'nye ca pāpā yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ śuddhyanti (SB 2.4.18). These things are there. So by the disciplic succession, by the instruction of the Gosvāmīs, everyone can be purified because they will properly train up. Avidyāyām antare vartamānam. They will not misguide. Dṛṣṭvā punas taṁ saghṛṇaḥ kubuddhim. Merciful: "Never mind." But there is no disqualification because one is low born and high born. Everyone can take. But he must follow the direction of the proper guide. Just like we say, "No meat-eating, no intoxication, no illicit sex." If he follows the rules and regulation and chants Hare Kṛṣṇa under the guidance of proper spiritual master, then everything will be all right. He is no more śūdra or caṇḍāla. He will become... Caṇḍālo 'pi dvija-śreṣṭha hari-bhakti-parāyanaḥ. By advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness he can be raised to the highest plat... So it is the duty of the guide not to engage him in lower class of occupation. Therefore there must be a class of men first-class who can teach the society how to advance in human civilization.

Lecture on SB 5.5.18 -- Vrndavana, November 6, 1976:

So in the previous verse it has been described that kas taṁ svayaṁ tad-abhijño vipaścid. The guardian should be abhijñaḥ, and vipaścit, very learned. The government, the father, the guru, the teacher, or even husband of... Because we are guided, everyone is guided by somebody else. That is society. Not cats and dogs. Just like the cats and dogs, they give birth to the children and then they have no responsibility. The dogs are loitering in the street; nobody takes care. But human society should not be like that. There must be responsible guardians. The some of the responsible guardians are described here. First of all, guru. Either you take ordinary teacher in the school or colleges, they are also called guru, and the sublime guru is the spiritual master. Not only the spiritual master, but anyone who has taken the post of becoming guru to teach others, he must be very learned, very responsible, vipaścit, abhijñaḥ. Abhijñātaḥ, it is the qualification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As it is said in the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, abhijñaḥ. Janmādy asya yataḥ 'nvayād itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ (SB 1.1.1). The controller must be abhijñaḥ. The same thing is here. Of course, we cannot be as abhijñaḥ as God—that is not possible—but little quantity of that abhijñātaḥ must be there. Otherwise what is the use of becoming...?

First of all, it is said about guru, anyone who takes care of his subordinate, he is guru. The first charge is that you should not become a guru unless you are completely in awareness how to save your dependent from the path of birth and death. That is the first question. Not that "I am your guru. I can cure some colic pain in your belly." They go to guru also for that purpose. People generally go to guru, rascals go to guru, to another rascal. What is that? "Sir, I have got some pain. Give me some ashirvad so that my pain may be cured." "But why you have come here, rascal, here for curing your pain? In the village you can go to some doctor, or you can take some tablet. Is it the purpose of coming to visit guru?" But generally they come to guru and ask for blessing for some material benefit. They are rascals, and therefore Kṛṣṇa also gives them a rascal guru. They want to be cheated. They do not know what is the purpose of going to guru. They do not know. They do not know what is the problem of my life and why shall I go to guru. They do not know. And the so-called gurus also take advantage of this ignorance of the public, and they become a guru. This is going on. The guru does not know what is his responsibility, and the rascal public, they do not know what for one should go to guru. This is the difficulty.