Vyasadev
Praneetha
The Mad Bhagavatam
Chapter 13
The Behavior of a Saintly Person
This Thirteenth Chapter describes the regulative principles for sannyāsīs and also describes the history of an avadhūta. It concludes with a description of perfection for the student in spiritual advancement.
Śrī Nārada Muni has been describing the symptoms of various āśramas and varṇas. Now, in this chapter, he specifically describes the regulative principles to be followed by sannyāsīs. After retiring from family life, one should accept the status of vānaprastha, in which he must formally accept the body as his means of existence but gradually forget the bodily necessities of life. After vānaprastha life, having left home, one should travel to different places as a sannyāsī. Without bodily comforts and free from dependence on anyone with respect to bodily necessities, one should travel everywhere, wearing almost nothing or actually walking naked. Without association with ordinary human society, one should beg alms and always be satisfied in himself. One should be a friend to every living entity and be very peaceful in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A sannyāsī should travel alone in this way, not caring for life or death, waiting for the time when he will leave his material body. He should not indulge in unnecessary books or adopt professions like astrology, nor should he try to become a great orator. He should also give up the path of unnecessary argument and should not depend on anyone under any circumstances. He should not try to allure people into becoming his disciples just so that the number of his disciples may increase. He should give up the habit of reading many books as a means of livelihood, and he should not attempt to increase the number of temples and maṭhas, or monasteries. When a sannyāsī thus becomes completely independent, peaceful and equipoised, he can select the destination he desires after death and follow the principles by which to reach that destination. Although fully learned, he should always remain silent, like a dumb person, and travel like a restless child.
In this regard, Nārada Muni described a meeting between Prahlāda and a saintly person who had adopted the mode of life of a python. In this way he described the symptoms of a paramahaḿsa. A person who has attained the paramahaḿsa stage knows very well the distinction between matter and spirit. He is not at all interested in gratifying the material senses, for he is always deriving pleasure from devotional service to the Lord. He is not very anxious to protect his material body. Being satisfied with whatever he attains by the grace of the Lord, he is completely independent of material happiness and distress, and thus he is transcendental to all regulative principles. Sometimes he accepts severe austerities, and sometimes he accepts material opulence. His only concern is to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, and for that purpose he can do anything and everything, without reference to the regulative principles. He is never to be equated with materialistic men, nor is he subject to the judgments of such men.
7.13.1
kalpas tv evaḿ parivrajya
deha-mātrāvaśeṣitaḥ
nirapekṣaś caren mahīm
(1) S'rî Nârada said: 'A person who because of his selfrealization is ready for what I before described, should wander the earth, and thereto, not wishing to keep more than his body, not depend on anything and stay in no village for more than a night [see also the story of King Rishabha 5.5: 28].
7.13.2
kaupīnācchādanaḿ param
(2) The renunciate [sannyâsî] should not wear more clothing but some covering for his private parts and, free from misfortune, in his forsaking not take to anything else but his rod [danda] and such.
7.13.3
ātmārāmo 'napāśrayaḥ
(3) Resorting to Nârâyana living on alms only and being fully satisfied within, he moves by himself alone, fully independent, wishing each living being the best in perfect peace.
7.13.4
paśyed ātmany ado viśvaḿ
(4) Such a one should see this universe of cause and effect as existing within the everlasting self in the beyond and see himself as [a part of] the Supreme Absolute everywhere pervading the world of cause and effect.
7.13.5
supti-prabodhayoḥ sandhāv
(5) Of the sleeping, waking and the dreaming in between one may be engaged in [see also 6.16: 53-54] should the one who actually sees the self understand that the states of being bound and being liberated in fact are nothing but illusory images.
7.13.6
bhūtānāḿ prabhavāpyayam
(6) One should not rejoice in the sure - or not sure either - of the death of this body and its lifespan, one should rather observe the Time Supreme which rules the manifestation and disappearance of the living beings.
The living entities in the material world, not only at the present but also in the past, have been involved in trying to solve the problem of birth and death. Some stress death and point to the illusory existence of everything material, whereas others stress life, trying to preserve it perpetually and enjoy it to the best of their ability. Both of them are fools and rascals. It is advised that one observe the eternal time factor, which is the cause of the material body's appearance and disappearance, and that one observe the living entity's entanglement in this time factor.
One should observe the activities of eternal time, which is the cause of birth and death. Before the creation of the present millennium, the living entities were under the influence of the time factor, and within the time factor the material world comes into existence and is again annihilated. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate. Being under the control of the time factor, the living entities appear and die, life after life. This time factor is the impersonal representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who gives the living entities conditioned by material nature a chance to emerge from this nature by surrendering to Him.
7.13.7
nāsac-chāstreṣu sajjeta
nopajīveta jīvikām
(7) One should not indulge in fixations on the untrue nor try to have a career in that; pointless arguing should be given up nor should one take shelter of factions [political parties].
A person desiring to advance in spiritual understanding should be extremely careful to avoid reading ordinary literature. The world is full of ordinary literature that creates unnecessary agitation in the mind. Such literature, including newspapers, dramas, novels and magazines, is factually not meant for advancement in spiritual knowledge. Indeed, it has been described as a place of enjoyment for crows (tad vāyasaḿ tīrtham). Anyone advancing in spiritual knowledge must reject such literature. Furthermore, one should not concern oneself with the conclusions of various logicians or philosophers. Of course, those who preach sometimes need to argue with the contentions of opponents, but as much as possible one should avoid an argumentative attitude.
"There is no need to take shelter of unnecessary literature or concern oneself with many so-called philosophers and thinkers who are useless for spiritual advancement. Nor should one accept a disciple for the sake of fashion or popularity. One should be callous to these so-called śāstras, neither opposing nor favoring them, and one should not earn one's livelihood by taking money for explaining śāstra. A sannyāsī must always be neutral and seek the means to advance in spiritual life, taking full shelter under the lotus feet of the Lord."
7.13.8
(8) No followers for the sake of this or that, nor certainly the reading and writing of many books, nor should one try to give discourses for one's livelihood or ever try to increase material opulences [like temples e.g.].
So-called svāmīs and yogīs generally make disciples by alluring them with material benefits. There are many so-called gurus who attract disciples by promising to cure their diseases or increase their material opulence by manufacturing gold. These are lucrative allurements for unintelligent men. A sannyāsī is prohibited from making disciples through such material allurements. Sannyāsīs sometimes indulge in material opulence by unnecessarily constructing many temples and monasteries, but actually such endeavors should be avoided. Temples and monasteries should be constructed for the preaching of spiritual consciousness or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, not to provide free hotels for persons who are useful for neither material nor spiritual purposes. Temples and monasteries should be strictly off limits to worthless clubs of crazy men. In the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we welcome everyone who agrees at least to follow the movement's regulative principles — no illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat-eating and no gambling. In the temples and monasteries, gatherings of unnecessary, rejected, lazy fellows should be strictly disallowed. The temples and monasteries should be used exclusively by devotees who are serious about spiritual advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains the word ārambhān as meaning maṭhādi-vyāpārān, which means "attempts to construct temples and monasteries." The first business of the sannyāsī is to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but if, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, facilities are available, then he may construct temples and monasteries to give shelter to the serious students of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Otherwise such temples and monasteries are not needed.
7.13.9
dharma-hetur mahātmanaḥ
(9) The one advanced who is of peace and an equal mind may, even though he as a renunciate never needs them, adopt the symbols of his spiritual position [his âs'rama*] or just as well give them up.
There are four stages of the renounced order of life — kuṭīcaka, bahūdaka, parivrājakācārya and paramahaḿsa. Herein, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam considers the paramahaḿsas among the sannyāsīs. The Māyāvādī impersonalist sannyāsīs cannot attain the paramahaḿsa stage. This is because of their impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate. The Absolute Truth is perceived in three stages, of which bhagavān, or realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is meant for the paramahaḿsas. Indeed, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam itself is meant for the paramahaḿsas (paramo nirmatsarāṇāḿ satām). Unless one is in the paramahaḿsa stage, he is not eligible to understand the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. For paramahaḿsas, or sannyāsīs in the Vaiṣṇava order, preaching is the first duty. To preach, such sannyāsīs may accept the symbols of sannyāsa, such as the daṇḍa and kamaṇḍalu, or sometimes they may not. Generally the Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs, being paramahaḿsas, are automatically called bābājīs, and they do not carry a kamaṇḍalu or daṇḍa. Such a sannyāsī is free to accept or reject the marks of sannyāsa. His only thought is "Where is there an opportunity to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness?" Sometimes the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement sends its representative sannyāsīs to foreign countries where the daṇḍa and kamaṇḍalu are not very much appreciated. We send our preachers in ordinary dress to introduce our books and philosophy. Our only concern is to attract people to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We may do this in the dress of sannyāsīs or in the regular dress of gentlemen. Our only concern is to spread interest in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
7.13.10
avyakta-lińgo vyaktārtho
kavir mūkavad ātmānaḿ
(10) Even though one externally might not directly recognize him as a renunciate, is his purpose clear; such a one being a saint may present himself in society like an excited boy or, having been a great orator, now be like a man unable to speak.
7.13.11
atrāpy udāharantīmam
muner ājagarasya ca
(11) The learned recite as an example of this hidden identity a very old historical incident of a conversation between Prahlâda and a saintly man who lived as a python.
7.13.12-13
rajas-valais tanū-deśair
nigūḍhāmala-tejasam
vṛto 'mātyaiḥ katipayaiḥ
(12-13) He saw the purest, most grave, spiritual power of that man at the bank of the Kâverî river on a ridge of the mountain Sahya, with him laying on the ground covered by dirt and dust all over his body. Prahlâda, the favorite of the Supreme Lord, met him when he in the company of a couple of his royal friends was traveling all the world in an effort to understand what it was that ruled the people.
7.13.14
karmaṇākṛtibhir vācā
lińgair varṇāśramādibhiḥ
(14) From what he did, how he looked, to what he said and to his age and occupation and other marks of identity could the people not make up whether or not that man was the same person they used to know
The inhabitants of that particular place on the bank of the Kāverī in the valley of the mountain known as Sahya were unable to understand whether that saint was the same man they had known. It is therefore said, vaiṣṇavera kriyā mudrā vijñe nā bhujhaya. A highly advanced Vaiṣṇava lives in such a way that no one can understand what he is or what he was. Nor should attempts be made to understand the past of a Vaiṣṇava. Without asking the saintly person about his previous life, Prahlāda Mahārāja immediately offered him respectful obeisances.
7.13.15
vivitsur idam aprākṣīn
(15) After paying his respects and honoring him according the rules by touching his lotus feet with his head, posed the great asura devotee of the Lord, eager to know him, the following question.
7.13.16-17
vittaḿ caivodyamavatāḿ
bhogo vittavatām iha
(16-17) 'I see you are maintaining quite a fat body like someone lusting after the money; people who always worry about an income are surely of sense gratification and those being so wealthy thus as the enjoyers of this world do, not doing anything else, in effect become as fat indeed as this body of yours.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura did not like his disciples to become very fat in the course of time. He would become very anxious upon seeing his fat disciples becoming bhogīs, or enjoyers of the senses. This attitude is herewith confirmed by Prahlāda Mahārāja, who was surprised to see a saintly person adopting ājagara-vṛtti and becoming very fat. In the material world also, we generally see that when a man who is poor and skinny gradually endeavors to earn money through business or some other means and he then gets the money, he enjoys the senses to his satisfaction. By enjoying the senses one becomes fat. Therefore in spiritual advancement becoming fat is not at all satisfactory.
7.13.18
(18) It is clear that you lying down doing nothing, o man of the spirit, have no money at all for enjoying your senses; how can, not being after the pleasure, your body be in this condition, o learned one, please tell us that if you excuse me for my impudence.
7.13.19
(19) Despite of your being so learned, skilled and intelligent, capable of speaking nicely and remaining equipoised do you, seeing how the people are engaged in fruitive labor, lie down!'
7.13.20
tad-vāg-amṛta-yantritaḥ
(20) S'rî Nârada said: 'This way showered by the words of the daitya king smiled the great muni at him and was he, captivated by the nectar of his words, willing to reply.
7.13.21
īhoparamayor nṝṇāḿ
(21) The honorable brahmin said: 'O best of the Asuras hailed by all âryans, from your transcendental vision you are well acquainted with indeed all the things that the people are inclined to or desist from according their different positions.
7.13.22
yasya nārāyaṇo devo
bhaktyā kevalayājñānaḿ
(22) He who has Nârâyana our God and Nârâyana our Lord always in his heart, can by his devotion alone uproot all the ignorance like the sun expells the darkness.
7.13.23
(23) Nevertheless I shall answer all your questions o King, in accord with the Vedas, as you indeed are, for someone who desires the purification of his self, are worthy the address.
A saintly person doesn't wish to speak to anyone and everyone, and he is therefore grave and silent. Generally a common man does not need to be advised. Unless one is prepared to take instructions, it is said that a saintly person should not address him, although sometimes, because of great kindness, a saintly person speaks to ordinary men. As for Prahlāda Mahārāja, however, since he was not a common, ordinary man, whatever questions he posed would have to be answered, even by a great and exalted personality. Therefore the saintly brāhmaṇa did not remain silent, but began to answer. These answers, however, were not concocted by him. This is indicated by the words yathā-śrutam, meaning "as I have heard from the authorities." In the paramparā system, when the questions are bona fide the answers are bona fide. No one should attempt to create or manufacture answers. One must refer to the śāstras and give answers according to Vedic understanding. The words yathā-śrutam refer to Vedic knowledge. The Vedas are known as śruti because this knowledge is received from authorities. The statements of the Vedas are known as śruti-pramāṇa. One should quote evidence from the śruti — the Vedas or Vedic literature — and then one's statements will be correct. Otherwise one's words will proceed from mental concoction.
7.13.24
(24) Because of material desires struggling for my existence was I, under a worldly sway catering to my lusty appetites and driven from one activity to the other, born in different forms of life.
"One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service." (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11)
7.13.25
svargāpavargayor dvāraḿ
(25) This human form, carried by the waves of the material ocean, achieved, because of his karma going here and there, the heaven's gate of liberation, the lower species of life and a human life again [see also B.G. 8: 16 and **].
All living entities within this material world are undergoing the cycle of birth and death according to the laws of nature. This struggle of birth and death in different species may be called the evolutionary process, but in the Western world it has been wrongly explained. Darwin's theory of evolution from animal to man is incomplete because the theory does not present the reverse condition, namely evolution from man to animal. In this verse, however, evolution has been very well explained on the strength of Vedic authority. Human life, which is obtained in the course of the evolutionary process, is a chance for elevation (svargāpavarga) or for degradation (tiraścām punar asya ca). If one uses this human form of life properly, he can elevate himself to the higher planetary systems, where material happiness is many thousands of times better than on this planet, or one may cultivate knowledge by which to become free from the evolutionary process and be reinstated in one's original spiritual life. This is called apavarga, or liberation.
Material life is called pavarga because here we are subject to five different states of suffering, represented by the letters pa, pha, ba, bha and ma. Pa means pariśrama, very hard labor. Pha means phena, or foam from the mouth. For example, sometimes we see a horse foaming at the mouth with heavy labor. Ba means byarthatā, disappointment. In spite of so much hard labor, at the end we find disappointment. Bha means bhaya, or fear. In material life, one is always in the blazing fire of fear, since no one knows what will happen next. Finally, ma means mṛtyu, or death. When one attempts to nullify these five different statuses of life — pa, pha, ba, bha and ma — one achieves apavarga, or liberation from the punishment of material existence.
The word tiraścām refers to degraded life. Human life, of course, provides an opportunity for the best living conditions. As Western people think, from the monkeys come the human beings, who are more comfortably situated. However, if one does not utilize his human life for svarga or apavarga, he falls again to the degraded life of animals like dogs and hogs. Therefore a sane human being must consider whether he will elevate himself to the higher planets, prepare to free himself from the evolutionary process, or travel again through the evolutionary process in higher and lower grades of life. If one works piously one may be elevated to the higher planetary systems or achieve liberation and return home, back to Godhead, but otherwise one may be degraded to a life as a dog, a hog and so on. As explained in Bhagavad-gītā (9.25), yānti deva-vratā devān. Those interested in being elevated to the higher planetary systems (Devaloka or Svargaloka) must prepare to do so. Similarly, if one wants liberation and wants to return home, back to Godhead, he should prepare himself for that purpose.
Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore the highest movement for the benediction of human society because this movement is teaching people how to go back home, back to Godhead. In Bhagavad-gītā (13.22) it is clearly stated that different forms of life are obtained by association with the three modes of material nature (kāraṇaḿ guṇa-sańgo 'sya sad-asad-yoni janmasu). According to one's association with the material qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance in this life, in one's next life one receives an appropriate body. Modern civilization does not know that because of varied association in material nature, the living entity, although eternal, is placed in different diseased conditions known as the many species of life. Modern civilization is unaware of the laws of nature.
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
ahańkāra-vimūḍhātmā
7.13.26
sukhāyānyāpanuttaye
nivṛtto 'smi viparyayam
(26) And in that life has one the union of man and woman for the sake of pleasure. But seeing, always engaged in fruitive activities, how one arrives at the opposite [of that pleasure], have I now ceased in order to escape from that misery.
As stated by Prahlāda Mahārāja, yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaḿ hi tuccham [SB 7.9.45]. Man and woman both seek sexual enjoyment, and when they are united by the ritualistic ceremony of marriage, they are happy for some time, but finally there is dissension, and thus there are so many cases of separation and divorce. Although every man and woman is actually eager to enjoy life through sexual unity, the result is disunity and distress. Marriage is recommended to give men and women a concession for restricted sex life, which is also recommended in Bhagavad-gītā by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo 'smi: sex life not against the principles of religion is Kṛṣṇa. Every living entity is always eager to enjoy sex life because materialistic life consists of eating, sleeping, sex and fear. In animal life, eating, sleeping, sexual enjoyment and fear cannot be regulated, but for human society the plan is that although men, like animals, must be allowed to eat, sleep, enjoy sex and take protection from fear, they must be regulated. The Vedic plan for eating recommends that one take yajña-śiṣṭa, or prasāda, food offered to Kṛṣṇa. Yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sama-kilbiṣaiḥ: "The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food that is offered first for sacrifice." (Bg. 3.13) In material life, one commits sinful activities, especially in eating, and because of sinful activities one is condemned by nature's laws to accept another body, which is imposed as punishment. Sex and eating are essential, and therefore they are offered to human society under Vedic restrictions so that according to the Vedic injunctions people may eat, sleep, enjoy sex, be protected from fearful life and gradually be elevated and liberated from the punishment of material existence. Thus the Vedic injunctions for marriage offer a concession to human society, the idea being that a man and woman united in a ritualistic marriage ceremony should help one another advance in spiritual life. Unfortunately, especially in this age, men and women unite for unrestricted sexual enjoyment. Thus they are victimized, being obliged to take rebirth in the forms of animals to fulfill their animalistic propensities. The Vedic injunctions therefore warn, nāyaḿ deho deha-bhājāḿ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate vid-bhujāḿ ye [SB 5.5.1]. One should not enjoy sex life like hogs, and eat everything, even to the limit of stool. A human being should eat prasāda offered to the Deity and should enjoy sex life according to the Vedic injunctions. He should engage himself in the business of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he should save himself from the fearful condition of material existence, and he should sleep only to recover from fatigue due to working hard.
The learned brāhmaṇa said that since everything is misused by fruitive workers, he had retired from all fruitive activities.
7.13.27
sarvehoparatis tanuḥ
(27) Happiness is the natural state of the living entity, and thus, definitely ceasing with all out here in having seen how the worldly demands are definitively linked to sense gratification, have I, contemplating these matters, entered silence.
The difference between the philosophy of the Māyāvādīs and that of the Vaiṣṇavas is explained herein. Both the Māyāvādīs and Vaiṣṇavas know that in materialistic activities there is no happiness. The Māyāvādī philosophers, therefore, adhering to the slogan brahma satyaḿ jagan mithyā, want to refrain from false, materialistic activities. They want to stop all activities and merge in the Supreme Brahman. According to the Vaiṣṇava philosophy, however, if one simply ceases from materialistic activity one cannot remain inactive for very long, and therefore everyone should engage himself in spiritual activities, which will solve the problem of suffering in this material world. It is said, therefore, that although the Māyāvādī philosophers strive to refrain from materialistic activities and merge in Brahman, and although they may actually merge in the Brahman existence, for want of activity they fall down again into materialistic activity (āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraḿ padaḿ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ [SB 10.2.32]). Thus the so-called renouncer, unable to remain in meditation upon Brahman, returns to materialistic activities by opening hospitals and schools and so on. Therefore, simply cultivating knowledge that materialistic activities cannot give one happiness, and that one should consequently cease from such activities, is insufficient. One should cease from materialistic activities and take up spiritual activities. Then the solution to the problem will be achieved. Spiritual activities are activities performed according to the order of Kṛṣṇa (ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam). If one does whatever Kṛṣṇa says, his activities are not material. For example, when Arjuna fought in response to the order of Kṛṣṇa, his activities were not material. Fighting for sense gratification is a materialistic activity, but fighting by the order of Kṛṣṇa is spiritual. By spiritual activities one becomes eligible to go back home, back to Godhead, and then enjoy blissful life eternally. Here, in the material world, everything is but a mental concoction that will never give us real happiness. The practical solution, therefore, is to cease from materialistic activities and engage in spiritual activities. Yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaḿ karma-bandhanaḥ [Bg. 3.9]). If one works for the sake of pleasing the Supreme Lord — Yajña, or Viṣṇu — one is in liberated life. If one fails to do so, however, he remains in a life of bondage.
7.13.28
ity etad ātmanaḥ svārthaḿ
(28) Situated in this world does someone, by the false attraction of that material world very fearfully being entangled in material affairs that are strange to himself, indeed forget the interest of the living entity within himself.
7.13.29
(29) Just like water that overgrown by grass is missed by a thirsty one who ignorantly looks for it elsewhere, is the same way someone in his material self-interest pursuing a mirage [of worldy happiness].
This is an accurate example depicting how the living entity, because of lack of knowledge, runs after happiness outside his own self. When one understands his real identity as a spiritual being, he can understand the supreme spiritual being, Kṛṣṇa, and the real happiness exchanged between Kṛṣṇa and one's self. It is very interesting to note how this verse points to the body's growth from the spirit soul. The modern materialistic scientist thinks that life grows from matter, but actually the fact is that matter grows from life. The life, or the spiritual soul, is compared herein to water, from which clumps of matter grow in the form of grass. One who is ignorant of scientific knowledge of the spirit soul does not look inside the body to find happiness in the soul; instead, he goes outside to search for happiness, just as a deer without knowledge of the water beneath the grass goes out to the desert to find water. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to remove the ignorance of misled human beings who are trying to find water outside the jurisdiction of life. Raso vai saḥ. Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya. The taste of water is Kṛṣṇa. To quench one's thirst, one must taste water by association with Kṛṣṇa. This is the Vedic injunction.
7.13.30
dehādibhir daiva-tantrair
duḥkhātyayaḿ cānīśasya
(30) Someone who with his body and everything is submitted to the superior control of matter, searches for the happiness belonging to the self in trying to diminish his misery and is, being fully conditioned, baffled over and over in his plans and actions.
The Lord is situated in everyone's heart, and as one desires, the Lord gives one various types of bodies, which are like machines. Riding on such a machine, the living entity wanders throughout the universe, under the control of material nature and its modes. Thus the living being is not at all free to act, but is fully under the control of material nature, which is fully under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
As soon as a living entity is victimized by material desires to lord it over material nature, he is subjected to the control of material nature, which is supervised by the Supreme Soul. The result is that one again and again makes plans and is baffled, but as foolish as he is he cannot see the cause of his bafflement. This cause is distinctly stated in Bhagavad-gītā: because one has not surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he must work under the control of material nature and its stringent laws (daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā). The only means of becoming free from this entanglement is to surrender to the Supreme Lord. In the human form of life, the living entity must accept this instruction from the Supreme Person, Kṛṣṇa: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaḿ śaraṇaḿ vraja [Bg. 18.66]. "Do not plan to achieve happiness and drive away distress. You will never be successful. Simply surrender unto Me." Unfortunately, however, the living entity does not accept the Supreme Lord's clearly stated instructions from Bhagavad-gītā, and thus he becomes a perpetual captive of the laws of material nature.
Yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaḿ karma-bandhanaḥ: [Bg. 3.9]) if one does not act for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, who is known as Viṣṇu or Yajña, he must be entangled in the reactions of fruitive activities. These reactions are called pāpa and puṇya — sinful and pious. By pious activities one is elevated to the higher planetary systems, and by impious activities one is degraded to lower species of life, in which he is punished by the laws of nature. In the lower species of life there is an evolutionary process, and when the term of the living entity's imprisonment or punishment in the lower species is finished, he is again offered a human form and given a chance to decide for himself which way he should plan. If he again misses the opportunity, he is again put into the cycle of birth and death, going sometimes higher and sometimes lower, turning on the saḿsāra-cakra, the wheel of material existence. As a wheel sometimes goes up and sometimes comes down, the stringent laws of material nature make the living entity in material existence sometimes happy and sometimes distressed. How he suffers in the cycle of happiness and distress is described in the next verse.
7.13.31
ādhyātmikādibhir duḥkhair
martyasya kṛcchropanatair
(31) By the threefold of the miseries created by oneself, by others and by nature, is the mortal person, sometimes being of some success in fighting the adverse consequences, still not free from them; what then is the value of such happiness, where do those desires lead to?
According to the materialistic way of life, if a poor man, after laboring very, very hard, gets some material profit at the end of his life, he is considered a success, even though he again dies while suffering the threefold miseries — adhyātmika, adhidaivika and adhibhautika. No one can escape the threefold miseries of materialistic life, namely miseries pertaining to the body and mind, miseries pertaining to the difficulties imposed by society, community, nation and other living entities, and miseries inflicted upon us by natural disturbances from earthquakes, famines, droughts, floods, epidemics, and so on. If one works very hard, suffering the threefold miseries, and then is successful in getting some small benefit, what is the value of this benefit? Besides that, even if a karmī is successful in accumulating some material wealth, he still cannot enjoy it, for he must die in bereavement. I have even seen a dying man begging a medical attendant to increase his life by four years so that he could complete his material plans. Of course, the medical man was unsuccessful in expanding the life of the man, who therefore died in great bereavement. Everyone must die in this way, and after one's mental condition is taken into account by the laws of material nature, he is given another chance to fulfill his desires in a different body. Material plans for material happiness have no value, but under the spell of the illusory energy we consider them extremely valuable. There were many politicians, social reformers and philosophers who died very miserably, without deriving any practical value from their material plans. Therefore, a sane and sensible man never desires to work hard under the conditions of threefold miseries, only to die in disappointment.
7.13.32
lubdhānām ajitātmanām
bhayād alabdha-nidrāṇāḿ
sarvato 'bhiviśańkinām
(32) Just consider the miseries of the rich and wealthy who are so very concerned about their possessions: as the victim of their senses have they afraid sleepless nights in which they see the danger coming from all sides.
As far as our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is concerned, we are getting money naturally, by the grace of God, by selling our literature. This literature is not sold for our sense gratification; to spread the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we need so many things, and Kṛṣṇa is therefore supplying us the requisite money to advance this mission. The mission of Kṛṣṇa is to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world, and for this purpose we naturally must have sufficient money. Therefore, according to the advice of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, we should not give up attachment to money that can spread the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.256):
prāpañcikatayā buddhyā
mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgo
"When persons eager to achieve liberation renounce things which are related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, though they are material, this is called incomplete renunciation." Money that can help in spreading the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a part of the material world, and we should not give it up, thinking that it is material. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī advises:anāsaktasya viṣayān
yathārham upayuñjataḥ
"When one is not attached to anything, but at the same time accepts everything in relation to Kṛṣṇa, one is rightly situated above possessiveness." (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.255) Money is undoubtedly coming in great quantities, but we should not be attached to this money for sense gratification; every cent should be spent for spreading the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, not for sense gratification. There is danger for a preacher when he receives great quantities of money, for as soon as he spends even a single cent of the collection for his personal sense gratification, he becomes a fallen victim. The preachers of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement should be extremely careful not to misuse the immense quantities of money needed to spread this movement. Let us not make this money the cause of our distress; it should be used for Kṛṣṇa, and that will cause our eternal happiness. Money is Lakṣmī, or the goddess of fortune, the companion of Nārāyaṇa. Lakṣmījī must always remain with Nārāyaṇa, and then there need be no fear of degradation.7.13.33
arthibhyaḥ kālataḥ svasmān
(33) Of the government, of thieves, of enemies, relatives, animals and birds, of beggars, of Time itself, as well as of himself, is the one living for the money always afraid.
The word svasmāt means "from one's self." Because of attachment for money, the richest person is even afraid of himself. He fears that he may have locked his money in an unsafe manner or might have committed some mistake. Aside from the government and its income tax and aside from thieves, even a rich man's own relatives are always thinking of how to take advantage of him and take away his money. Sometimes these relatives are described as sva janaka-dasyu, which means "rogues and thieves in the guise of relatives." Therefore, there is no need to accumulate wealth or unnecessarily endeavor for more and more money. The real business of life is to ask "Who am I?" and to understand one's self. world and understand how to return home, back to Godhead.
7.13.34
(34) What an intelligent person must give up is the original cause that leads to all the lamentation, illusion, fear, anger, attachment, poverty, toiling and so on of the human being: the desire for prestige and money [***].
Here is the difference between Vedic civilization and the modern demoniac civilization. Vedic civilization concerned itself with how to achieve self-realization, and for this purpose one was recommended to have a small income to maintain body and soul together. The society was divided into brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras, and the members of this society would limit their endeavors to meeting their minimum demands. The brāhmaṇas, in particular, would have no material desires. Because the kṣatriyas had to rule the people, it was necessary for them to have money and prestige. But the vaiśyas were satisfied with agricultural produce and milk from the cow, and if by chance there were excess, trade was allowed. The śūdras were also happy, for they would get food and shelter from the three higher classes. In the demoniac civilization of the present day, however, there is no question of brāhmaṇas or kṣatriyas; there are only so-called workers and a flourishing mercantile class who have no goal in life.
According to Vedic civilization, the ultimate perfection of life is to take sannyāsa, but at the present moment people do not know why sannyāsa is accepted. Because of misunderstanding, they think that one accepts sannyāsa to escape social responsibilities. But one does not accept sannyāsa to escape from responsibility to society. Generally one accepts sannyāsa at the fourth stage of spiritual life. One begins as a brahmacārī then becomes a gṛhastha, a vānaprastha and finally a sannyāsī to take advantage of the duration of one's life by engaging oneself fully in self-realization. Sannyāsa does not mean begging from door to door to accumulate money for sense gratification. However, because in Kali-yuga people are more or less prone to sense gratification, immature sannyāsa is not recommended
"One's devotional service is spoiled when he becomes too entangled in the following six activities: (1) eating more than necessary or collecting more funds than required; (2) overendeavoring for mundane things that are very difficult to obtain; (3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters; (4) practicing the scriptural rules and regulations only for the sake of following them and not for the sake of spiritual advancement, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and working independently or whimsically; (5) associating with worldly-minded persons who are not interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness; and (6) being greedy for mundane achievements." A sannyāsī should have an institution meant to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness; he need not accumulate money for himself. We recommend that as soon as money accumulates in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, fifty per cent of it should be invested in printing books, and fifty per cent for expenditures, especially in establishing centers all over the world. The managers of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement should be extremely cautious in regard to this point. Otherwise money will be the cause of lamentation, illusion, fear, anger, material attachment, material poverty, and unnecessary hard work. When I was alone in Vṛndāvana, I never attempted to construct maṭhās or temples; rather, I was fully satisfied with the small amount of money I could gather by selling Back to Godhead, and thus I would provide for myself and also print the literature. When I went to foreign countries, I lived according to the same principle, but when Europeans and Americans began to give money profusely, I started temples and Deity worship. The same principle should still be followed. Whatever money is collected should be spent for Kṛṣṇa, and not a farthing for sense gratification. This is the Bhāgavata principle.
7.13.35
loke 'smin no gurūttamau
(35) The bees at work and the big snakes in this world are in this our first class gurus: from what they teach do we find the satisfaction [of taking only what is necessary] and the renunciation [of not seeking things elsewhere].
7.13.36
kṛcchrāptaḿ madhuvad vittaḿ
(36) The bees have taught me to detach from all desires as for the money, that with difficulty is acquired as the honey, one even kills one another taking it away from the owner.
7.13.37
anīhaḥ parituṣṭātmā
yadṛcchopanatād aham
mahāhir iva sattvavān
(37) Me not desiring more am happy with what I obtain free from endeavoring, and if nothing is found, I just lie down for many days to endure like a python.
7.13.38
kvacid bhūri guṇopetaḿ
śraddhayopahṛtaḿ kvāpi
bhuñje bhuktvātha kasmiḿś cid
(38) Sometimes I eat little, sometimes I eat much food, whether it is fresh or sometimes stale, or of a great flavor or tasteless; sometimes it is brought with respect and sometimes it is offered in disrespect; thus eating during the night somewhere or during the day at times, I eat whatever is available.
7.13.39
vase 'nyad api samprāptaḿ
(39) Of linen, silk or cotton, deerskin, with a loincloth, or whatever material it may concern, with a happy mind I put on what is available by destiny.
7.13.40
kvacic chaye dharopasthe
(40) Sometimes I lay down on the earth, on grass, leaves, on stone or a pile of ash and sometimes, to whatever someone wishes me, I lay down in a palace on a first-class bed with pillows [see also B.G. 18: 61].
The learned brāhmaṇa's description indicates different types of births, for one lies down according to one's body. Sometimes one takes birth as an animal and sometimes as a king. When he takes birth as an animal he must lie down on the ground, and when he takes birth as a king or a very rich man he is allowed to lie in first-class rooms in huge palaces decorated with beds and other furniture. Such facilities are not available, however, at the sweet will of the living entity; rather, they are available by the supreme will (parecchayā), or by the arrangement of māyā.
"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy." The living entity, according to his material desires, receives different types of bodies, which are nothing but machines offered by material nature according to the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By the will of the Supreme, one must take different bodies with different means for lying down.
7.13.41
kvacit snāto 'nuliptāńgaḥ
suvāsāḥ sragvy alańkṛtaḥ
rathebhāśvaiś care kvāpi
(41) Sometimes I bathe nicely and smear my body with sandalwood and do I properly dress, decorated with garlands and various ornaments, and sit I on a chariot, an elephant or the back of a horse; and sometimes I wander completely naked as if haunted by a ghost, o mighty one.
7.13.42
utaikātmyaḿ mahātmani
(42) I do not swear, nor do I praise the people who are of different natures; I pray for the ultimate benefit for them all, which in truth is the Oneness of the Greater Soul.
7.13.43
(43) The sense of discrimination should, as an oblation, be offered in the fire of consciousness, that consciousness then in the fire of the mind that is the root of all confusion, that mind next needs to be offered in the fire of the false self and this ego of material identification should, following this principle, be offered in the total material energy.
This verse describes how a yogī can become free from material affection. Because of material attraction, a karmī cannot see himself. Jñānīs can discriminate between matter and spirit, but the yogīs, the best of whom are the bhakti-yogīs, want to return home, back to Godhead. The karmīs are completely in illusion, the jñānīs are neither in illusion nor in positive knowledge, but the yogīs, especially the bhakti-yogīs, are completely on the spiritual platform.
"One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down under any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman." Thus a devotee's position is secure. A devotee is at once elevated to the spiritual platform. Others, such as jñānīs and haṭha-yogīs, can only gradually ascend to the spiritual platform by nullifying their material discrimination on the platform of psychology and nullifying the false ego, by which one thinks, "I am this body, a product of matter." One must merge the false ego into the total material energy and merge the total material energy into the supreme energetic. This is the process of becoming free from material attraction.
7.13.44
tato nirīho viramet
(44) The false of material existence is, by a thoughtful person who realizes the ultimate truth in his selfrealization, offered as an oblation and because of that finds he, free from desires, himself thus situated in the faithfulness to the essence of his own living self.
By an analytical study of the entire constitution of the body, one can surely come to the conclusion that the soul is different from all the body's material constituents, such as earth, water, fire and air. Thus the difference between the body and soul can be realized by a person who is thoughtful (manīṣī or muni), and after this realization of the individual spirit soul one can very easily understand the supreme spirit soul. If one thus realizes that the individual soul is subordinate to the supreme spirit soul, he achieves self-realization. As explained in the Thirteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, there are two souls within the body. The body is called kṣetra, and there are two kṣetra jñas, or occupants of the body, namely the Supersoul (Paramātmā) and the individual soul. The Supersoul and the individual soul are like two birds sitting on the same tree (the material body). One bird, the individual, forgetful bird, is eating the fruit of the tree, not caring for the instructions of the other bird, which is only a witness to the activities of the first bird, who is his friend. When the forgetful bird comes to understand the supreme friend who is always with him and trying to give him guidance in different bodies, he takes shelter at the lotus feet of that supreme bird. As explained in the yoga process, dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaḿ yoginaḥ [SB 12.13.1]. When one actually becomes a perfect yogī, by meditation he can see the supreme friend and surrender unto Him. This is the beginning of bhakti-yoga, or actual life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
7.13.45
(45) This story about myself I this way pass on to you in utter confidence; it might be so that you, from your good self as a man of transcendence with the Supreme Lord, miss the common [scriptural] explanation.'
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 sańkīrtana-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.
7.13.46
muneḥ śrutvāsureśvaraḥ
(46) S'rî Nârada said: 'Thus hearing from the holy man what truly the dharma of the paramahamsas is [see also 6.3: 20-21] took the asura lord very pleased, after duly honoring him, leave of him to return home.'
A guru, or spiritual master, can be anyone who is well conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore although Prahlāda Mahārāja was a gṛhastha ruling over the demons, he was a paramahaḿsa, the best of human beings, and thus he is our guru. In the list of gurus, or authorities, Prahlāda Mahārāja's name is therefore mentioned:
svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ
prahlādo janako bhīṣmo
balir vaiyāsakir vayam
(Bhāg. 6.3.20)The conclusion is that a paramahaḿsa is an exalted devotee (bhagavat-priya). Such a paramahaḿsa may be in any stage of life — brahmacāri, gṛhastha, vānaprastha or sannyāsa — and be equally liberated and exalted
* The four stages of sannyâs are : kuthîcaka, bahûdaka, parivrâjakâcârya and paramahamsa [see further footnote 5.1].
**: Svâmî Prabhupâda comments: "Material life is called pavarga because here we are subject to five different states of suffering, represented by the letters pa, pha, ba, bha and ma. Pa means paris'rama, very hard labor. Pha means phena, or foam from the mouth. For example, sometimes we see a horse foaming at the mouth with heavy labor. Ba means byarthatâ, disappointment. In spite of so much hard labor, at the end we find disappointment. Bha means bhaya, or fear. In material life, one is always in the blazing fire of fear, since no one knows what will happen next. Finally, ma means mrityu, or death. When one attempts to nullify these five different statuses of life--pa, pha, ba, bha and ma--one achieves apavarga, or liberation from the punishment of material existence."
*** S'rîla Rûpa Gosvâmî writes in his 'Nectar of Instruction' (2):
atyâhârah prayâsas' ca
prajalpo niyamâgrahah
jana-sangas' ca laulyam ca
shadbhir bhaktir vinas'yati
"One's devotional service is spoiled when he becomes too entangled in the following six activities: (1) eating more than necessary or collecting more funds than required; (2) overendeavoring for mundane things that are very difficult to obtain; (3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters; (4) practicing the scriptural rules and regulations only for the sake of following them and not for the sake of spiritual advancement, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and working independently or whimsically; (5) associating with worldly-minded persons who are not interested in Krishna consciousness; and (6) being greedy for mundane achievements."
(My humble salutations to the lotus feet of Swamyjis, Philosophers, Scholars and Knowledge Seekers for the collection)
No comments:
Post a Comment