Vyasadev
Praneetha
The Mad Bhagavatam
Canto 7
Chapter 10
About Prahlâda, the Best Among the Exalted Devotees and the Fall of Tripura
This chapter describes how the Supreme Personality of Godhead Nṛsiḿhadeva disappeared, after pleasing Prahlāda Mahārāja. It also describes a benediction given by Lord Śiva.
Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva wanted to bestow benedictions upon Prahlāda Mahārāja, one after another, but Prahlāda Mahārāja, thinking them impediments on the path of spiritual progress, did not accept any of them. Instead, he fully surrendered at the Lord's lotus feet. He said: "If anyone engaged in the devotional service of the Lord prays for personal sense gratification, he cannot be called a pure devotee or even a devotee. He may be called only a merchant engaged in the business of give and take. Similarly, a master who wants to please his servant after taking service from him is also not a real master." Prahlāda Mahārāja, therefore, did not ask anything from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Rather, he said that if the Lord wanted to give him a benediction, he wanted the Lord to assure him that he would never be induced to take any benedictions for the sake of material desires. Exchanges of devotional service for lusty desires are always very prominent. As soon as lusty desires awaken, one's senses, mind, life, soul, religious principles, patience, intelligence, shyness, beauty, strength, memory and truthfulness are all vanquished. One can render unalloyed devotional service only when there are no material desires in one's mind.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead was greatly pleased with Prahlāda Mahārāja for his unalloyed devotion, yet the Lord provided him one material benediction — that he would be perfectly happy in this world and live his next life in Vaikuṇṭha. The Lord gave him the benediction that he would be the king of this material world until the end of the manvantara millennium and that although in this material world, he would have the facility to hear the glories of the Lord and depend fully on the Lord, performing service to Him in uncontaminated bhakti-yoga. The Lord advised Prahlāda to perform sacrifices through bhakti-yoga, for this is the duty of a king.
Prahlāda Mahārāja accepted whatever the Lord had offered him, and he prayed for the Lord to deliver his father. In response to this prayer, the Lord assured him that in the family of such a pure devotee as he, not only the devotee's father but his forefathers for twenty-one generations are liberated. The Lord also asked Prahlāda to perform the ritualistic ceremonies appropriate after his father's death.
Then Lord Brahmā, who was also present, offered many prayers to the Lord, expressing his obligation to the Lord for having offered benedictions to Prahlāda Mahārāja. The Lord advised Lord Brahmā not to offer benedictions to asuras as he had to Hiraṇyakaśipu, for such benedictions indulge them. Then Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva disappeared. On that day, Prahlāda Mahārāja was installed on the throne of the world by Lord Brahmā and Śukrācārya.
Thus Nārada Muni described the character of Prahlāda Mahārāja for Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, and he further described the killing of Rāvaṇa by Lord Rāmacandra and the killing of Śiśupāla and Dantavakra in Dvāpara-yuga. Śiśupāla, of course, had merged into the existence of the Lord and thus achieved sāyujya-mukti. Nārada Muni praised Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja because the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, was the greatest well-wisher and friend of the Pāṇḍavas and almost always stayed in their house. Thus the fortune of the Pāṇḍavas was greater than that of Prahlāda Mahārāja.
Later, Nārada Muni described how the demon Maya Dānava constructed Tripura for the demons, who became very powerful and defeated the demigods. Because of this defeat, Lord Rudra, Śiva, dismantled Tripura; thus he became famous as Tripurāri. For this, Rudra is very much appreciated and worshiped by the demigods. This narration occurs at the end of the chapter.
7.10.1
antarāyatayārbhakaḥ
manyamāno hṛṣīkeśaḿ
(1) Nârada Muni said: 'Although small considered he [Prahlâda] each and every one of the blessings that came with his bhakti yoga as impediments on the path and made he sure to tell the Lord of the Senses that with a smile.
Material achievements are not the ultimate goal of devotional service. The ultimate goal of devotional service is love of Godhead. Therefore although Prahlāda Mahārāja, Dhruva Mahārāja, Ambarīṣa Mahārāja, Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja and many devotee kings were materially very opulent, they accepted their material opulence in the service of the Lord, not for their personal sense gratification. Of course, possessing material opulence is always fearful because under the influence of material opulence one may be misdirected from devotional service. Nonetheless, a pure devotee (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11]) is never misdirected by material opulence. On the contrary, whatever he possesses he engages one hundred percent in the service of the Lord. When one is allured by material possessions, they are considered to be given by māyā, but when one uses material possessions fully for service, they are considered God's gifts, or facilities offered by Kṛṣṇa for enhancing one's devotional service.
7.10.2
saktaḿkāmeṣu tair varaiḥ
mumukṣus tvām upāśritaḥ
(2) S'rî Prahlâda said: 'Please do not allure me, because of my asura birth I have a propensity for lusting over all those material blessings. It was of being afraid of such material association that, desiring liberation, for the sake of complete detachment I have taken to the shelter of You.
Materialistic life means attachment to the body and everything in relationship to the body. This attachment is based on lusty desires for sense gratification, specifically sexual enjoyment. Kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ: [Bg. 7.20] when one is too attached to material enjoyment, he is bereft of all knowledge (hṛta jñānāḥ). As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, those who are attached to material enjoyment are mostly inclined to worship the demigods to procure various material opulences. They are especially attached to worship of the goddess Durgā and Lord Śiva because this transcendental couple can offer their devotees all material opulence. Prahlāda Mahārāja, however, was detached from all material enjoyment. He therefore took shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva, and not the feet of any demigod. It is to be understood that if one really wants release from this material world, from the threefold miseries and from janma-mṛtyu jarā-vyādhi (birth, death, old age and disease), one must take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for without the Supreme Personality of Godhead one cannot get release from materialistic life. Atheistic men are very much attached to material enjoyment. Therefore if they get some opportunity to achieve more and more material enjoyment, they take it. Prahlāda Mahārāja, however, was very careful in this regard. Although born of a materialistic father, because he was a devotee he had no material desires (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11]).
7.10.3
(3) So that I may behave as a pure devotee has Your lordship sent me into this world of lust, the lust that as the root cause of being present here is found in the heart of everyone o Master.
Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu has given considerable discussion about nitya-siddha and sādhana-siddha devotees. Nitya-siddha devotees come from Vaikuṇṭha to this material world to teach, by their personal example, how to become a devotee. The living entities in this material world can take lessons from such nitya-siddha devotees and thus become inclined to return home, back to Godhead. A nitya-siddha devotee comes from Vaikuṇṭha upon the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and shows by his example how to become a pure devotee (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11]). In spite of coming to this material world, the nitya-siddha devotee is never attracted by the allurements of material enjoyment. A perfect example is Prahlāda Mahārāja, who was a nitya-siddha, a mahā-bhāgavata devotee. Although Prahlāda was born in the family of Hiraṇyakaśipu, an atheist, he was never attached to any kind of materialistic enjoyment. Desiring to exhibit the symptoms of a pure devotee, the Lord tried to induce Prahlāda Mahārāja to take material benedictions, but Prahlāda Mahārāja did not accept them. On the contrary, by his personal example he showed the symptoms of a pure devotee. In other words, the Lord Himself has no desire to send His pure devotee to this material world, nor does a devotee have any material purpose in coming. When the Lord Himself appears as an incarnation within this material world, He is not allured by the material atmosphere, and He has nothing to do with material activity, yet by His example He teaches the common man how to become a devotee. Similarly, a devotee who comes here in accordance with the order of the Supreme Lord shows by his personal behavior how to become a pure devotee. A pure devotee, therefore, is a practical example for all living entities, including Lord Brahmā.
7.10.4
ghaṭeta karuṇātmanaḥ
(4) Otherwise such a thing could not happen of You, o guru of all; anyone who from You, the soul of friendliness, desires any material benefits, would such a person indeed not be a merchant instead of a servitor [see also B.G. 17: 20]?
7.10.5
(5) A person for himself desiring material benefits from his spiritual master is not really a servant nor is the master really of service who for his own prestige desires to bestow material profits upon his servant [see also 10.88: 8-10].
7.10.6
ahaḿ tv akāmas tvad-bhaktas
tvaḿ ca svāmy anapāśrayaḥ
nānyathehāvayor artho
(6) As far as I am concerned is there, fully devoted to You, surely no question of any desire and also do You, in our relating, as the real master, have no further motives such as one finds with a king and his subject.
If this relationship continues, then real happiness exists eternally between the master and servant. Unfortunately, when this eternal relationship is disturbed, the living entity wants to become separately happy and thinks that the master is his order supplier. In this way there cannot be happiness. Nor should the master cater to the desires of the servant. If he does, he is not the real master. The real master commands, "You must do this," and the real servant immediately obeys the order. Unless this relationship between the Supreme Lord and the subordinate living entity is established, there can be no real happiness. The living entity is āśraya, always subordinate, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is viṣaya, the supreme objective, the goal of life. Unfortunate persons trapped in this material world do not know this. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiḿ hi viṣṇum: [SB 7.5.31] illusioned by the material energy, everyone in this material world is unaware that the only aim of life is to approach Lord Viṣṇu.
ārādhanānāḿ sarveṣāḿ
viṣṇor ārādhanaḿ param
In the Padma Purāṇa Lord Śiva explains to his wife, Parvatī, the goddess Durgā, that the highest goal of life is to satisfy Lord Viṣṇu, who can be satisfied only when His servant is satisfied. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore teaches, gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ. One must become a servant of the servant. Prahlāda Mahārāja also prayed to Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva that he might be engaged as the servant of the Lord's servant. This is the prescribed method of devotional service. As soon as a devotee wants the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be his order supplier, the Lord immediately refuses to become the master of such a motivated devotee. In Bhagavad-gītā (4.11) the Lord says, ye yathā māḿ prapadyante tāḿs tathaiva bhajāmy aham. "As one surrenders unto Me, I reward him accordingly." Materialistic persons are generally inclined to material profits. As long as one continues in such an adulterated position, he does not receive the benefit of returning home, back to Godhead.7.10.7
varāḿs tvaḿ varadarṣabha
kāmānāḿ hṛdy asaḿrohaḿ
(7) If You want to give me anything to my desire for a blessing, then I pray for the benediction from You, o Lord of All Blessings, that no desire for any material happiness will grow in my heart [see also: S'ikshâshthaka verse four].
7.10.8
(8) From one's very birth on are the senses, the mind, the life-air, the body, the religion, one's patience, intelligence, shyness, opulence, strength, memory and truthfulness overrun by lusty desires.
As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, kāmaḿ hṛd-rogam. Materialistic life means that one is afflicted by a formidable disease called lusty desire. Liberation means freedom from lusty desires because it is only due to such desires that one must accept repeated birth and death. As long as one's lusty desires are unfulfilled, one must take birth after birth to fulfill them. Because of material desires, therefore, one performs various types of activities and receives various types of bodies with which to try to fulfill desires that are never satisfied. The only remedy is to take to devotional service, which begins when one is free from all material desires. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11]. Anya-abhilāṣitā means "material desire," and śūnyam means "free from." The spiritual soul has spiritual activities and spiritual desires, as described by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi. Unalloyed devotion to the service of the Lord is the only spiritual desire. To fulfill this spiritual desire, however, one must be free from all material desires. Desirelessness means freedom from material desires. This is described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī as Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11]. As soon as one has material desires, one loses his spiritual identity. Then all the paraphernalia of one's life, including one's senses, body, religion, patience and intelligence, are deviated from one's original Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As soon as one has material desires, one cannot properly use his senses, intelligence, mind and so on for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Māyāvādī philosophers want to become impersonal, senseless and mindless, but that is not possible. The living entity must be living, always existing with desires, ambitions and so on. These should be purified, however, so that one can desire spiritually and be spiritually ambitious, without material contamination. In every living entity these propensities exist because he is a living entity. When materially contaminated, however, one is put into the hands of material misery (janma-mṛtyu jarā-vyādhi). If one wants to stop repeated birth and death, one must take to the devotional service of the Lord.
7.10.9
tarhy eva puṇḍarīkākṣa
(9) Only indeed when one gives up all the desires that one of human association finds in one's mind is one fit for an opulence equal to that of You, o Lotus-eyed Lord.
7.10.10
puruṣāya mahātmane
(10) Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto You, o Supreme Lord, o Original Personality; all my respects for You as the Great Soul, the Lord in the form of Nrisimha, the Brahman, the Supersoul.'
7.10.11
naikāntino me mayi jātv ihāśiṣa
tathāpi manvantaram etad atra
daityeśvarāṇām anubhuńkṣva bhogān
(11) The Supreme Lord said: 'Unalloyed from Me towards Me, not intent on any benedictions in this world nor in the next, is it all the devoted like you nevertheless till the end of Manu's reign given to enjoy all the material wealth of the daitya rule out here [see also 2.3: 10].
One Manu lives for a duration of time calculated to be an aggregate of seventy-one yuga cycles, each of which equals 4,300,000 years. Although atheistic men like to enjoy material opulences and they endeavor with great energy to build big residences, roads, cities and factories, unfortunately they cannot live more than eighty, ninety or at the utmost one hundred years. Although the materialist exerts so much energy to create a kingdom of hallucinations, he is unable to enjoy it for more than a few years. However, because Prahlāda Mahārāja was a devotee, the Lord allowed him to enjoy material opulence as the king of the materialists. Prahlāda Mahārāja had taken birth in the family of Hiraṇyakaśipu, who was the topmost materialist, and since Prahlāda was the bona fide heir of his father, the Supreme Lord allowed him to enjoy the kingdom created by his father for so many years that no materialist could calculate them. A devotee does not have to desire material opulence, but if he is a pure devotee, there is ample opportunity for him to enjoy material happiness also, without personal endeavor. Therefore, everyone is advised to take to devotional service under all circumstances. If one desires material opulence, he can also become a pure devotee, and his desires will be fulfilled. It is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.10):
akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
"Whether one desires everything or nothing, or whether he desires to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is intelligent only if he worships Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by rendering transcendental loving service."
7.10.12
kathā madīyā juṣamāṇaḥ priyās tvam
sarveṣu bhūteṣv adhiyajñam īśaḿ
(12) Always ponder over My stories; being absorbed in Me as existing within you as the One within all living beings, will give you the greatest pleasure; worship with bhakti yoga the Lord who is the enjoyer of all sacrifices and give up your fruitive activities.
7.10.13
(13) With the wealth be pious, by such devoted action are all kinds of reactions overcome. Forced by the time giving up your vehicle of time will your reputation of transcendence spread all over the universe, be sung in the highest spheres and you will, freed from all bondage, return back to Me.
7.10.14
(14) Anyone who chants these prayers offered to Me by you, any human being who remembers Me as well as you, will in due course of time become free from the bondage of his karma [see B.G. 4: 9, 6: 7, 9: 27-28, 12: 3-4 and see also 11.14: 21].'
7.10.15-17
varadeśān maheśvara
viddhāmarṣāśayaḥ sākṣāt
durantād dustarād aghāt
pūtas te 'pāńga-saḿdṛṣṭas
(15-17) S'rî Prahlâda said: 'I pray for this benediction from You, o Lord of Benedictions, o Supreme Controller; my father, not knowing Your strength and supremacy, had with a heart polluted by anger thus a false notion of You, o master and guru of all worlds, as being the killer of his brother and was so of the greatest sin towards me, Your devotee. May my father be purified from that greatest and most difficult to overcome sin, although he was already purified when You casted Your glance upon him, o Merciful Father to the Materialists.'
7.10.18
pitṛbhiḥ saha te 'nagha
(18) The Supreme Lord said: 'With the purification of your father have all together twenty-one of your forefathers been purified, o sinless one, because, o saintly boy, the person of you took birth in the dynasty. You indeed are the dynasty its purifier.
7.10.19
sādhavaḥ samudācārās
(19) Wherever and whenever there are My devotees who full of peace and equipoise, with the best qualities are equally graceful towards all, is even the worst of societies purified.
7.10.20
uccāvaceṣu daityendra
(20) Never are they in any way of any violence towards all the beings higher or lower, , o King of the Daityas, because they, out of their love for Me, have given up all material aspirations.
7.10.21
mad-bhaktās tvām anuvratāḥ
(21) Persons in this world following in your footsteps become My pure devotees; of all devotees of Mine are you indeed the best example of all the different mellows [see also 6.3: 20-21].
7.10.22
mad-ańga-sparśanenāńga
(22) You should perform the obsequies for your father, who already in all respects was purified being in touch with My body, My child, so that he will be promoted to the worlds of better men.
7.10.23
yathoktaḿ brahmavādibhiḥ
(23) Also assume the throne of your father as prescribed by vedic injunction; be with your mind fully absorbed in Me, My dearest, and do your duty just for My supreme sake.'
PURPORT
When one becomes a devotee, he no longer has any duty to the Vedic regulative principles. One has many duties to perform, but if one becomes fully devoted to the Lord, he no longer has any such obligations. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.41):devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāḿ pitṝṇāḿ
sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaḿ śaraṇyaḿ
gato mukundaḿ parihṛtya kartam
One who has fully surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord is no longer a debtor to his forefathers, the great sages, human society, the common man or any living entity.The Supreme Personality of Godhead nonetheless advised Prahlāda Mahārāja to follow the regulative principles, for since he was going to be the king, others would follow his example. Thus Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva advised Prahlāda Mahārāja to engage in his political duties so that people would become the Lord's devotees.
yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas
lokas tad anuvartate
"Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues." (Bg. 3.21) One should not be attached to any materialistic activities, but a devotee may perform such activities as an example to show the common man that one should not deviate from the Vedic injunctions.7.10.24
pitur yat sāmparāyikam
yathāha bhagavān rājann
abhiṣikto dvijātibhiḥ
(24) S'rî Nârada said: 'Prahlâda performed, as was commissioned by the Supreme Lord, all the functions necessary to the occasion of his father's death, o King [Yudhishthhira], and was crowned by the brahmins present.
7.10.25
(25) With his face shining because of the Lord His grace offered Lord Brahmâ, who had witnessed what had happened, with transcendental words the purest of prayers unto Lord Nrisimha, addressing Him in the presence of all the godly.
7.10.26
śrī-brahmovāca
deva-devākhilādhyakṣa
(26) S'rî Brahmâ said: 'O God of gods, o proprietor of the whole universe, o love of all beings, o first among all the living, by your decision has the most sinful Asura, who was of so much trouble to everyone, been killed.
7.10.27
na vadhyo mama sṛṣṭibhiḥ
tapo-yoga-balonnaddhaḥ
(27) That one I have granted the rare benediction that he would not be killed by any creature created by me nor that he would die because of any austerity, mystical or physical power; thus very proud he transgressed all injunctions.7.10.28
mahā-bhāgavato 'rbhakaḥ
tvayā vimocito mṛtyor
(28) By Your decision has his son, who despite of his young age was a great saint and exalted devotee, been released from the clutches of death and enjoys he, the way You wanted it, now Your shelter.
7.10.29
sarvato goptṛ santrāsān
mṛtyor api jighāḿsataḥ
(29) For those who, confronted with an adversary, meditate upon this physical presence of Your Supersoul, o omnipresent Supreme Lord, are You the protector against all kinds of fear, including even the fear of death.'
Everyone is sure to die, for no one is excused from the hands of death, which is but a feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham). When one becomes a devotee, however, he is not destined to die according to a limited duration of life. Everyone has a limited duration of life, but a devotee's lifetime can be extended by the mercy of the Supreme Lord, who is able to nullify the results of one's karma. Karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājāḿ [Bs. 5.54]. This is the statement of Brahma-saḿhitā (5.54). A devotee is not under the laws of karma. Therefore even a devotee's scheduled death can be avoided by the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord. God protects the devotee even from the extreme danger of death.
7.10.30
(30) The Supreme Lord replied: 'Do not, as you have done, bestow benedictions upon demons, o Meditator of the Lotus; to bless people of a cruel nature is like giving milk to snakes.'
7.10.31
tataś cāntardadhe hariḥ
(31) S'rî Nârada said: 'This is what the Supreme Lord said, o King, after which Hari, being worshiped by the 0ne from the beyond, disappeared He from before the eyes of all the ones alive.
7.10.32
(32) Prahlâda bowing his head was thereafter of worship with offering prayers, and so did the One in the beyond as also Lord S'iva, the leading fathers and the demigods, who each were part of the Supreme Lord.
7.10.33
munibhiḥ kamalāsanaḥ
(33) Next made S'ukrâcârya and others, with all the sages and the One on the Lotus, him king of all the Daityas and Dânavas.
7.10.34
pratinandya tato devāḥ
prayujya paramāśiṣaḥ
brahmādyāḥ pratipūjitāḥ
(34) O King, with Brahmâ and all the rest properly honored, congratulated thereafter all the godly him, wishing him all the best and returned they to their respective abodes.
7.10.35
(35) In this way were the two associates of Vishnu, who born as the sons of Diti in their forgetfulness were thinking as enemies, both killed by the Lord residing in the core of the heart [see 7.1: 36-39].
7.10.36
(36) Again being cursed by the brahmins were the two devils reborn as Kumbhakarna and ten-head Râvana and were they both killed by the special powers of Lord Râmacandra.
7.10.37
(37) Slain laying on the battlefield with their hearts pierced by Râma's arrows, gave they up their bodies with their minds fixed on Him, just as they did in their previous birth.
7.10.38
harau vairānubandhena
paśyatas te samīyatuḥ
(38) The two this way reappearing out here, again being bound to the Lord in enmity, took their births as S'is'upâla and Dantavakra and merged with Him in your presence.
7.10.39
(39) All the kings who were inimical to S'ri Krishna were, upon their death, freed from what they were guilty of in their lives; they became as pure as He like larvae that obtain the same body as the drone that guarded them.
7.10.40
bhaktyā paramayābhidā
nṛpāś caidyādayaḥ sātmyaḿ
(40) In their devotion undivided unto the Supreme One, turned kings like S'is'upâla back to Godhead with the same form as the Supreme Lord, because they had kept Him constantly in mind [see also B.G. 4: 9]. 7.10.41
damaghoṣa-sutādīnāḿ
(41) This all I described to you in reply to your inquiry on how, even hating, the son of Damaghosha [S'is'upâla] and others could be of the same kind of body [see 7.1: 34-35].
7.10.42
vadho yatrādi-daityayoḥ
(42) In this about the Supersoul and the God of all brahmins, Krishna, I related to you the stories about His incarnations of purification wherein He from the beginning defeated the Daityas.
Avatāras, or incarnations, are expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead — Kṛṣṇa, Govinda.
advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam
"I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, who is the original person — nondual, infallible, and without beginning. Although He expands into unlimited forms, He is still the original, and although He is the oldest person, He always appears as a fresh youth. Such eternal, blissful and all-knowing forms of the Lord cannot be understood by the academic wisdom of the Vedas, but they are always manifest to pure, unalloyed devotees." (Brahma-saḿhitā 5.33) The Brahma-saḿhitā describes the avatāras. Indeed, all the avatāras are described in the authentic scriptures. No one can become an avatāra, or incarnation, although this has become fashionable in the age of Kali. The avatāras are described in the authentic scriptures (śāstras), and therefore before one risks accepting a pretender as an avatāra, one should refer to the śāstras. The śāstras say everywhere that Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead and that He has innumerable avatāras, or incarnations. Elsewhere in the Brahma-saḿhitā it is said, rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan: [Bs. 5.39] Rāma, Nṛsiḿha, Varāha and many others are consecutive expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. After Kṛṣṇa comes Balarāma, after Balarāma is Sańkarṣaṇa, then Aniruddha, Pradyumna, Nārāyaṇa and then the puruṣa-avatāras — Mahā-Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. All of them are avatāras.
One must hear about the avatāras. Narrations about such avatāras are called avatāra-kathā, the narrations of Kṛṣṇa's expansions. Hearing and chanting these narrations is completely pious. Sṛṇvatāḿ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ [SB 1.2.17]. One who hears and chants can become puṇya, purified of material contamination.
Whenever there are references to the avatāras, religious principles are established, and demons who are against Kṛṣṇa are killed. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is spreading all over the world with two aims — to establish Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and to kill all the pretenders who falsely present themselves as avatāras. The preachers of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement must carry this conviction very carefully within their hearts and kill the demons who in many tactful ways vilify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. If we take shelter of Nṛsiḿhadeva and Prahlāda Mahārāja, it will be easier to kill the demons who are against Kṛṣṇa and to thus reestablish Kṛṣṇa's supremacy. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam: Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, the original Lord. Prahlāda Mahārāja is our guru, and Kṛṣṇa is our worshipable God. As advised by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja. If we can be successful in getting the mercy of Prahlāda Mahārāja and also that of Nṛsiḿhadeva, then our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement will be extremely successful.
The demon Hiraṇyakaśipu had so many ways to try to become God himself, but although Prahlāda Mahārāja was chastised and threatened in many ways, he rigidly refused to accept his powerful demoniac father as God. Following in the footsteps of Prahlāda Mahārāja, we should reject all the rascals who pretend to be God. We must accept Kṛṣṇa and His incarnations, and no one else.
7.10.43-44
prahrādasyānucaritaḿ
yāthārthyaḿ cāsya vai hareḥ
sarga-sthity-apyayeśasya
guṇa-karmānuvarṇanam
parāvareṣāḿ sthānānāḿ
(43-44) They describe of that most exalted devotee Prahlâda the characteristics of his devotion, his spiritual knowledge and his renunciation; try to understand each of them and by this indeed know what is of the Lord, the Master of maintenance, creation and destruction; what are His qualities and activities, handed down wisdom and how He, by Time, is the finality of all the higher and lower living beings and their cultures, however great they might be.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is filled with descriptions of the characteristics of various devotees, with reference to the service of the Lord. This Vedic literature is called Bhāgavatam because it deals with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotee. By studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam under the direction of the bona fide spiritual master, one can perfectly understand the science of Kṛṣṇa, the nature of the material and spiritual worlds, and the aim of life. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam amalaḿ purāṇam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the spotless Vedic literature, as we have discussed in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Therefore, simply by understanding Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one can understand the science of the activities of the devotees, the activities of the demons, the permanent abode and the temporary abode. Through Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, everything is perfectly known.
7.10.45
dharmo bhāgavatānāḿ ca
ākhyāne 'smin samāmnātam
(45) From this narration, in which the transcendence without reservations is perfectly described, one may understand the bhâgavata dharma [see 7.6: 28] and Bhagavân Himself.
PURPORT
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. Śravaṇaḿ kīrtanaḿ 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 Nṛsiḿhadeva, therefore, has properly described spiritual, transcendental subjects.7.10.46
viṣṇor vīryopabṛḿhitam
kīrtayec chraddhayā śrutvā
(46) Anyone who after hearing this pious narration describing the Supreme Power of Vishnu, with faith repeats it, will be liberated from the entanglement in fruitive labor.
7.10.47
etad ya ādi-puruṣasya mṛgendra-līlāḿ
daityātmajasya ca satāḿ pravarasya puṇyaḿ
(47) Anyone who with great attention reads and hears this story about the activities of the best of all the truthful, this daitya son, and how the Original Personality playing the part of the lion king killed the king of the demons who was as strong as an elephant, will reach the spiritual world where there is never ever any fear.
7.10.48
lokaḿ punānā munayo 'bhiyanti
(48) All you Pândavas in your human world are extremely fortunate that in your house resides the human appearance of the Supreme One of the Absolute Truth who is able to purify all the worlds and is always sought by the great saints.
After hearing about the activities of Prahlāda Mahārāja, a pure devotee should be very anxious to follow in his footsteps, but such a devotee might be disappointed, thinking that not every devotee can come to the standard of Prahlāda Mahārāja. This is the nature of a pure devotee; he always thinks himself to be the lowest, to be incompetent and unqualified. Thus after hearing the narration of Prahlāda Mahārāja's activities, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, who was on the same standard of devotional service as Prahlāda, might have been thinking of his own humble position. Nārada Muni, however, could understand Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira's mind, and therefore he immediately encouraged him by saying that the Pāṇḍavas were not less fortunate; they were as good as Prahlāda Mahārāja because although Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva appeared for Prahlāda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His original form as Kṛṣṇa was always living with the Pāṇḍavas. Although the Pāṇḍavas, because of the influence of Kṛṣṇa's yogamāyā, could not think of their fortunate position, every saintly person, including the great sage Nārada, could understand it, and therefore they constantly visited Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira.
Any pure devotee who is constantly conscious of Kṛṣṇa is naturally very fortunate. The word nṛ-loke, meaning "within the material world," indicates that before the Pāṇḍavas there had been many, many devotees, such as the descendants of the Yadu dynasty and Vasiṣṭha, Marīci, Kaśyapa, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, who were all extremely fortunate. The Pāṇḍavas, however, were better than all of them because Kṛṣṇa Himself lived with them constantly. Nārada Muni therefore specifically mentioned that within this material world (nṛ-loke) the Pāṇḍavas were the most fortunate.
7.10.49
(49) The Impersonal Brahman for which all the great are searching is He. He, who in fact is the son of your maternal uncle, is your most dear well-wisher, is the oneness of transcendental happiness and the source of all life. He who is there as your guru leading in the principle, is the One who is worshipable in the complete of His body and soul.
7.10.50
50) Not even by meditation could Lord S'iva, Lord Brahmâ and others directly see Him or describe Him in his real form; may He, this great protector of all His devotees, be pleased with the silence we observe, with our devotion, our forsaking for the better and our worship.
7.10.51
mayenānanta-māyinā
(51) He, this very same Supreme Lord, o King, long ago restored the reputation of the divinity of Lord S'iva that was compromised by a demon called Maya who, of great technical cunning, enjoyed an unparalleled power.'
7.10.52
rājovāca
kṛṣṇenānena kathyatām
(52) The king [Yudhishthhira] said: 'Please describe for what reason and by what actions Lord S'iva, he who controls the whole universe, was outdone by Maya Dânava and how he with Krishna regained his reputation.'
7.10.53
yudhy anenopabṛḿhitaiḥ
māyināḿ paramācāryaḿ
(53) Nârada said: 'All the Asuras who by the godly by the power of the Lord were defeated in battle, took shelter of the greatest and best of them all, Maya Dânava.
7.10.54-55
durlakṣyāpāya-saḿyogā
(54-55) That demon constructed three big and mighty cities made of gold, silver and iron. Possessing the uncommon ability to change places were they difficult to discern. Thus hidden from view began the Asuras, remembering their former enmity with all the three worlds and their controllers, o ruler of man, to break up the order in the world.
7.10.56
upāsādyeśvaraḿ natāḥ
vinaṣṭāḿs tripurālayaiḥ
(56) Thereupon approached all the worlds with their rulers Lord S'iva, falling at his feet in surrender saying: 'Please save us who are so close to you, for we are frightened, o Godhead, we are most affected by the tripura [three-city] people.
7.10.57
athānugṛhya bhagavān
pureṣv astraḿ vyamuñcata
(57) To show them his favor said the All-powerful Lord to the Suras: 'Do not fear', and fixed he an arrow on his bow to launch his weapons on the cities.
7.10.58
tato 'gni-varṇā iṣava
nādṛśyanta puro yataḥ
(58) The arrows after being released shone as bright as beams of sunlight from which the cities could no longer be seen.
7.10.59
(59) Because of that attack fell they who used to inhabit the houses of the cities, lifeless to the ground, but thanks to the great mystic powers of Maya were they all, one by one, dipped in a well of [life-giving] nectar [called mrita-sanjîvayitari].
"Of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all." The actual purpose of mystic yoga is to concentrate one's attention fully on the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and always think of Him (mad-gatenāntarātmanā). To attain such perfection, one must undergo a certain process — haṭha-yoga — and through this yoga system the practitioner achieves some uncommon mystic power. The asuras, however, instead of becoming devotees of Kṛṣṇa, utilize this mystic power for their personal sense gratification. Maya Dānava, for example, is mentioned here as mahā-yogī, a great mystic, but his business was to help the asuras. Nowadays we are actually seeing that there are some yogīs who cater to the senses of materialists, and there are imposters who advertise themselves as God. Maya Dānava was such a person, a god among the demons, and he could perform some wonderful feats, one of which is described here: he made a well filled with nectar and dipped the asuras into that nectarean well. This nectar was known as mṛta-sanjīvayitari, for it could bring a dead body to life. Mṛta-sanjīvayitari is also an Āyur-vedic preparation. It is a kind of liquor that invigorates even a person on the verge of death.
7.10.60
(60) Thus touched by the all-potent nectar of the liquid, rose they from death as strong as thunderbolts splitting the sky with flashes of lightning.
7.10.61
tadāyaḿ bhagavān viṣṇus
tatropāyam akalpayat
(61) Seeing how disappointed and unhappy the Emblem of the Lord [S'iva] was at the time, considered the Almighty Lord Vishnu the proper measures.
7.10.62
(62) Thus assumed Lord Brahmâ the form of a calf and with Lord Vishnu Himself as the cow entered they in broad daylight Tripura to drink all the nectar in the well.
7.10.63
(63) Even though the Asuras took notice of them could they, in their bewilderment, not stop them. And thus did the great mystic Maya who, fully aware of it, thought it was a thing of divine ordinance, address the ones on guard who, once quite content with their illusion, were now greatly dismayed:
7.10.64
devo 'suro naro 'nyo vā
neśvaro 'stīha kaścana
daivenāpohituḿ dvayoḥ
(64) 'Demigods, demons, human beings, nor anybody else can undo what by God would the fate ordained for oneself, for others or for everybody together.'
The Supreme Lord is one — Kṛṣṇa, the viṣṇu-tattva. Kṛṣṇa expands Himself into viṣṇu-tattva personal expansions (svāḿśa), who control everything. Maya Dānava said, "However I plan, you plan or both of us plan, the Lord has planned what is to happen. No one's plan will be successful without His sanction." We may make our own various plans, but unless they are sanctioned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, they will never be successful. Hundreds and millions of plans are made by all kinds of living entities, but without the sanction of the Supreme Lord they are futile.
7.10.65-66
athāsau śaktibhiḥ svābhiḥ
tapo-vidyā-kriyādibhiḥ
(65-66) From His personal potencies concerning all the ingredients of life constituted by the religion, the spiritual knowledge, the renunciation, the opulence, the austerity, the education, the activities and all of that, equiped He [Lord Vishnu] thereafter Lord S'iva with everything required, like a chariot and charioteer, a flag, horses and elephants, a bow with shield and arrows and so on. Seated on his chariot he then fixed an arrow on his bow.
As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.13.16): vaiṣṇavānāḿ yathā śambhuḥ: Lord Śiva is the best of the Vaiṣṇavas, the devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Indeed, he is one of the mahājanas, the twelve authorities on Vaiṣṇava philosophy (svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ, etc. [SB 6.3.20]). Lord Kṛṣṇa is always prepared to help all the mahājanas and devotees in every respect (kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati). Although Lord Śiva is very powerful, he lost a battle to the asuras, and therefore he was morose and disappointed. However, because he is one of the chief devotees of the Lord, the Lord personally equipped him with all the paraphernalia for war. The devotee, therefore, must serve the Lord sincerely, and Kṛṣṇa is always in the background to protect him and, if need be, to equip him fully to fight with his enemy. For devotees there is no scarcity of knowledge or material requisites for spreading the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
7.10.67
muhūrte 'bhijitīśvaraḥ
haro 'tha tripuro nṛpa
(67) O ruler of man, with the arrows joined on his bow set Lord S'iva as the Master and Controller thus by means of them, at noon, the so difficult to pierce three cities afire.
7.10.68
divi dundubhayo nedur
jayeti kusumotkaraiḥ
nanṛtuś cāpsaro-gaṇāḥ
(68) From their celestial chariots in the sky vibrated, with the help of countless kettledrums, the gods and saints, the ancestors, the perfected and the great, 'Jaya, Jaya', as they showered a wealth of flowers over his head and chanted and danced in great ecstacy with the beauties of heaven.
7.10.69
brahmādibhiḥ stūyamānaḥ
(69) O King, the mighty Lord S'iva who thus encouraged by Lord Brahmâ and the others had burnt Tripura to ashes, then returned to his own abode.
7.10.70
vīryāṇi gītāny ṛṣibhir jagad-guror
(70) Thus it happens with all that the Lord is capable of: acting like an ordinary man within the human society are there of Him, the teacher of the universe, the narrations about His transcendental activities that, related by the saintly people, purify all the worlds; what more would you like me to talk about?'
*: "(10.88: 8-10) "The Personality of Godhead said: If I especially favor someone, I gradually deprive him of his wealth. Then the relatives and friends of such a poverty-stricken man abandon him. In this way he suffers one distress after another. When he becomes frustrated in his attempts to make money and instead befriends My devotees, I bestow My special mercy upon him. A person who has thus become sober fully realizes the Absolute as the highest truth, the most subtle and perfect manifestation of spirit, the transcendental existence without end. In this way realizing that the Supreme Truth is the foundation of his own existence, he is freed from the cycle of material life."
Canto 7
Chapter 11
The Perfect Society: About the Four Social Classes and the Woman
This chapter describes the general principles by following which a human being, and specifically one who is interested in advancing in spiritual life, can become perfect.
By hearing about the characteristics of Prahlāda Mahārāja, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira became extremely pleased. Now he inquired from Nārada Muni about the actual religion of a human being and about special characteristics of varṇāśrama-dharma, which marks the highest status of human civilization. When Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira asked Nārada Muni about these matters, Nārada Muni stopped giving his own statements and quoted statements by Lord Nārāyaṇa, for He is the supreme authority for giving religious codes (dharmaḿ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam [SB 6.3.19]). Every human being is expected to acquire thirty qualities, such as truthfulness, mercy and austerity. The process of following the priniples of religion is known as sanātana-dharma, the eternal religious system.
The varṇāśrama system delineates the divisions of brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. It also sets forth the system of saḿskāras. The garbhādhāna saḿskāra, the ceremony for begetting a child, must be observed by the higher section of people, namely the dvijas. One who follows the garbhādhāna saḿskāra system is actually twice-born, but those who do not, who deviate from the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma, are called dvija-bandhus. The principal occupations for a brāhmaṇa are worshiping the Deity, teaching others how to worship the Deity, studying the Vedic literatures, teaching the Vedic literatures, accepting charity from others and again giving charity to others. A brāhmaṇa should make his livelihood from these six occupational duties. The duty of a kṣatriya is to give protection to the citizens and levy taxes upon them, but he is forbidden to tax the brāhmaṇas. The members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement should therefore be exempt from government taxation. Kṣatriyas may tax everyone but the brāhmaṇas. Vaiśyas should cultivate the land, produce food grains and protect the cows, whereas the śūdras, who by quality never become brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas or vaiśyas, should serve the three higher classes and be satisfied. Other means of livelihood are also prescribed for the brāhmaṇas, and these are four — śālīna, yāyāvara, śila, and uñchana. Each of these occupational duties is successively better.
One who is in a lower grade of social life cannot accept the profession of a higher class unless necessary. In times of emergency, all the classes but the kṣatriyas may accept professional duties of others. The means of livelihood known as ṛta (śiloñchana), amṛta (ayācita), mṛta (yācñā), pramṛta (karṣaṇa), and satyānṛta (vāṇijya) may be accepted by everyone but the kṣatriyas. For a brāhmaṇa or a kṣatriya, engaging in the service of the vaiśyas or śūdras is considered the profession of dogs.
Nārada Muni also described that the symptom of a brāhmaṇa is controlled senses, the symptoms of a kṣatriya are power and fame, the symptom of a vaiśya is service to the brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas, and the symptom of a śūdra is service to the three higher classes. The qualification for a woman is to be a very faithful and chaste wife. In this way, Nārada Muni described the characteristics of higher and lower grades of people and recommended that one follow the principles of his caste or his hereditary occupation. One cannot suddenly give up a profession to which he is accustomed, and therefore it is recommended that one gradually be awakened. The symptoms of brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras are very important, and therefore one should be designated only by these symptoms, and not by birth. Designation by birth is strictly forbidden by Nārada Muni and all great personalities.
7.11.1
śrutvehitaḿ sādhu sabhā-sabhājitaḿ
mahattamāgraṇya urukramātmanaḥ
yudhiṣṭhiro daitya-pater mudānvitaḥ
papraccha bhūyas tanayaḿ svayambhuvaḥ
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'Hearing the narration that is discussed in the assemblies of the saints, inquired Yudhishthhira, the greatest of their lead after him, [Prahlâda] the master of the Daityas so faithful to the Lord who covers the world in a step [Urukrama], greatly pleased again of that son of Brahmâ [Nârada].
7.11.2
varṇāśramācāra-yutaḿ
(2) S'rî Yudhishthhira said: 'O great Lord, I would like to hear about the sanâtana dharma [the usual, eternal, common duties] of our human society belonging to the ordinance of the statusoriëntations [varnâs'rama] from which the people in general in peace may enjoy the better life.
Sanātana-dharma means devotional service. The word sanātana refers to that which is eternal, which does not change but continues in all circumstances. We have several times explained what the eternal occupational duty of the living being is. Indeed, it has been explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Jīvera 'svarūpa' haya — kṛṣṇera 'nitya-dāsa': [Cc. Madhya 20.108] the real occupational duty of the living entity is to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even if one prefers to deviate from this principle he remains a servant because that is his eternal position; but one serves māyā, the illusory, material energy. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, therefore, is an attempt to guide human society to serving the Personality of Godhead instead of serving the material world with no real profit. Our actual experience is that every man, animal, bird and beast — indeed, every living entity — is engaged in rendering service. Even though one's body or one's superficial religion may change, every living entity is always engaged in the service of someone. Therefore, the mentality of service is called the eternal occupational duty. This eternal occupational duty can be organized through the institution of varṇāśrama, in which there are four varṇas (brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra) and four āśramas (brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa). Thus, Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja inquired from Nārada Muni about the principles of sanātana-dharma for the benefit of human society.
7.11.3
bhavān prajāpateḥ sākṣād
sutānāḿ sammato brahmaḿs
tapo-yoga-samādhibhiḥ
(3) You, my Lord, are directly the son of our original father, the supreme person within this universe [Brahmâ]; of all his sons are you considered the best in austerity, yoga and meditation.
7.11.4
(4) Of the ones devoted to Nârâyana being the most learned do you know the most confidential and supreme of dharma; no one of the devoted is as merciful, exalted and peaceful as you are.'
Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja knew that Nārada Muni is the supreme spiritual master of human society who can teach the path of spiritual liberation leading to the understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Actually, it is for this purpose that Nārada Muni compiled his Bhakti-sūtra and gave directions in the Nārada-pañcarātra. 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.
7.11.5
nārāyaṇa-mukhāc chrutam
(5) S'rî Nârada said: 'I offer my obeisances to the Supreme Lord Unborn who throughout the universe defends the dharma; I will expound on sanâtana dharma the way I heard it from the mouth of Nârâyana.
7.11.6
yo 'vatīryātmano 'ḿśena
tapo badarikāśrame
(6) He who, begotten by Dharma Mahârâja in the womb of Daksha's daughter [Mûrti], descended [as Nârâyana] along with a part of Himself [Nara], executes for the benefit of all people austerities in Badarikâs'rama [the Himalayan resort for meditation].
7.11.7
(7) The root of all dharma, the essence of all vedic knowledge indeed is Bhagavân, the Supreme Being, who with the help of the scriptures is commemorated [with the s'ruti or the Vedas and the smrti or the scriptures following] by all the knowers of the Reality, o King, and by this principle become the mind and soul fully satisfied.
As stated by Yamarāja, dharmaḿ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam [SB 6.3.19]. Yamarāja, the representative of the Lord who takes care of the living beings after their death, gives his verdict as to how and when the living being will change his body. He is the authority, and he says that the religious principles consist of the codes and laws given by God. No one can manufacture religion, and therefore manufactured religious systems are rejected by the followers of the Vedic principles. In Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) it is said, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: Vedic knowledge means to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, whether one speaks of the Vedas, scriptures, religion or the principles of everyone's occupational duty, all of them must aim at understanding Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.6) therefore concludes:
sa vai puḿsāḿ paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhokṣaje
ahaituky apratihatā
yayātmā suprasīdati
In other words, religious principles aim at learning how to render transcendental loving service to the Lord. That service must be unmotivated and unchecked by material conditions. Then human society will be happy in all respects.The smṛti, the scriptures following the principles of Vedic knowledge, are considered the evidence of Vedic principles. There are twenty different types of scripture for following religious principles, and among them the scriptures of Manu and Yājñavalkya are considered to be all-pervading authorities. In the Yājñavalkya-smṛti it is said:
śruti-smṛti-sadācāraḥ
samyak sańkalpajaḥ kāmo
One should learn human behavior from śruti, the Vedas, and from smṛti, the scriptures following the Vedic principles. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu says:śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi-
aikāntikī harer bhaktir
utpātāyaiva kalpate
[BRS 1.2.101]
The purport is that to become a devotee one must follow the principles laid down in śruti and smṛti. One must follow the codes of the purāṇas and the pāñcarātrikī-vidhi. One cannot be a pure devotee without following the śruti and smṛti, and the śruti and smṛti without devotional service cannot lead one to the perfection of life.Therefore, from all the evidence the conclusion is that without bhakti, devotional service, there is no question of religious principles. God is the central figure in the performance of religious principles. Almost everything going on in this world as religion is devoid of any idea of devotional service and is therefore condemned by the verdict of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Without devotional service, so-called religious principles are only cheating.
7.11.8-12
titikṣekṣā śamo damaḥ
grāmyehoparamaḥ śanaiḥ
nṛṇāḿ viparyayehekṣā
annādyādeḥ saḿvibhāgo
bhūtebhyaś ca yathārhataḥ
śravaṇaḿ kīrtanaḿ cāsya
sevejyāvanatir dāsyaḿ
triḿśal-lakṣaṇavān rājan
(8-12) Truthfulness, compassion, austerity, cleanliness, tolerance, discrimination, composure, continence, nonviolence, celibacy, generosity, scriptural study, rectitude, contentment, service to the holy, gradually cutting with the unnecessary and being critical about the waste of human opposing; gravity, self-search, to share food and drink with all beings, to consider everyone first of all as being part of God and, o Pândava, to listen and to sing with one's fellow man as well as to remember Him who is the shelter of all the great; to be of service, to worship and to propitiate, to be a servant, to be a friend and to be of surrender; for all human beings is this the highest principle: to possess all these thirty characteristics, o King, which please the Soul of All [compare B.G. 12: 13-20].
In order that human beings be distinct from the animals, the great saint Nārada recommends that every human being be educated in terms of the above-mentioned thirty qualifications. Nowadays there is propaganda everywhere, all over the world, for a secular state, a state interested only in mundane activities. But if the citizens of the state are not educated in the above-mentioned good qualities, how can there be happiness? For example, if the total populace is untruthful, how can the state be happy? Therefore, without consideration of one's belonging to a sectarian religion, whether Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist or any other sect, everyone should be taught to become truthful. Similarly, everyone should be taught to be merciful, and everyone should observe fasting on certain days of the month. Everyone should bathe twice a day, cleanse his teeth and body externally, and cleanse his mind internally by remembering the holy name of the Lord. The Lord is one, whether one is Hindu, Muslim or Christian. Therefore, one should chant the holy name of the Lord, regardless of differences in linguistic pronunciation. Also, everyone should be taught to be very careful not to discharge semen unnecessarily. This is very important for all human beings. If semen is not discharged unnecessarily, one becomes extremely strong in memory, determination, activity and the vitality of one's bodily energy. Everyone should also be taught to be simple in thought and feeling and satisfied in body and mind. These are the general qualifications of a human being. There is no question of a secular state or an ecclesiastical state. Unless one is educated in the above-mentioned thirty qualities, there cannot be any peace. Ultimately it is recommended:
śravaṇaḿ kīrtanaḿ cāsya
sevejyāvanatir dāsyaḿ
Everyone should become a devotee of the Lord, because by becoming a devotee of the Lord one automatically acquires the other qualities.yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā
harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā
manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ
"In one who has unflinching devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa and the demigods are consistently manifest. However, he who has no devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead has no good qualifications because he is engaged by mental concoction in material existence, which is the external feature of the Lord." (Bhāg. 5.18.12) Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, therefore, is all-embracing. Human civilization should take it very seriously and practice its principles for the peace of the world.7.11.13
saḿskārā yatrāvicchinnāḥ
ijyādhyayana-dānāni
vihitāni dvijanmanām
janma-karmāvadātānāḿ
kriyāś cāśrama-coditāḥ
(13) They who by unbroken reform [with so called samskâras], by accepting a guru and with the support of the Unborn One [Brahmâ], are of worship, study and charity, and whose ways were purified by the birth they took and by what they did, are the twice-born [dvijas] who are advised to behave according the status of their [age-related] spiritual department [or âs'rama].
After giving a general list of thirty qualifications for one's behavior, Nārada Muni now describes the principles of the four varṇas and four āśramas. A human being must be trained in the above-mentioned thirty qualities; otherwise, he is not even a human being. Then, among such qualified persons, the varṇāśrama process should be introduced. In the varṇāśrama system, the first ceremony for purification is garbhādhāna, which is performed with mantras at the time of sex for propagating a good child. One who uses sex life not for sensual pleasures but only to beget children according to the reformatory method is also accepted as a brahmacārī. One should not waste semen on sensual pleasure, violating the principles of Vedic life. Restraint in sex is possible, however, only when the populace is trained in the above-mentioned thirty qualities; otherwise, it is not possible. Even if one is born in a family of dvijas, or twice-born, if they have not followed the reformatory process he is called a dvija-bandhu — not one of the twice-born, but a friend of the twice-born. The whole purpose of this system is to create good population. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, when women are polluted the populace is varṇa-sańkara, and when the varṇa-sańkara population increases, the situation of the entire world becomes hellish. Therefore, all the Vedic literatures strongly warn against creating varṇa-sańkara population. When there is varṇa-sańkara population, the people cannot be properly controlled for peace and prosperity, regardless of great legislative assemblies, parliaments and similar bodies.
7.11.14
viprasyādhyayanādīni
ṣaḍ-anyasyāpratigrahaḥ
aviprād vā karādibhiḥ
(14) For the brahmins there are the six to the Vedas [to study and teach, worship and model and give and receive in charity] and for the rest [the other occupations] are there the same six minus the acceptance of charity; the means of livelihood for the rulers who maintain the people consists of levying taxes and such from those who do not belong to the ones motivated inward [the brahmins].
Brāhmaṇas have six occupational duties, of which three are compulsory — namely, studying the Vedas, worshiping the Deity and giving charity. By teaching, by inducing others to worship the Deity, and by accepting gifts, the brāhmaṇas receive the necessities of life. This is also confirmed in the Manu-saḿhitā:
ṣaṇṇāḿ tu karmaṇām asya
yajanādhyāpane caiva
viśuddhāc ca pratigrahaḥ
Of the six occupational duties of the brāhmaṇas, three are compulsory — namely, worship of the Deity, study of the Vedas and the giving of charity. In exchange, a brāhmaṇa should receive charity, and this should be his means of livelihood. A brāhmaṇa cannot take up any professional occupational duty for his livelihood. The śāstras especially stress that if one claims to be a brāhmaṇa, he cannot engage in the service of anyone else; otherwise he at once falls from his position and becomes a śūdra. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī belonged to a very respectful family, but because they engaged in the service of Nawab Hussain Shah — not even as ordinary clerks, but as ministers — they were ostracized from brahminical society. Indeed, they became like Mohammedans and even changed their names. Unless a brāhmaṇa is very pure, he cannot accept charity from others. Charity should be given to those who are pure. Even if one is born in a family of brāhmaṇas, if one acts as a śūdra one cannot accept charity, for this is strictly prohibited. Although the kṣatriyas are almost as qualified as the brāhmaṇas, even they cannot accept charity. This is strictly prohibited in this verse by the word apratigraha. What to speak of the lower social orders, even the kṣatriyas must not accept charity. The king or government may levy taxes upon the citizens in various ways — by revenue duties, customs duties, realization of fines, and so on — provided the king is able to give full protection to his subjects to assure the security of their life and property. Unless he is able to give protection, he cannot levy taxes. However, a king must not levy any tax upon the brāhmaṇas and the Vaiṣṇavas fully engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.7.11.15
(15) The vais'yas [merchants] are to be engaged in agricultural activities and trade and should always follow what the brahmins teach, while the s'ûdras [the laborers] for their livelihood as their master of instruction have to accept the three types of twice-born ones above them.
7.11.16
yāyāvara-śiloñchanam
vipra-vṛttiś caturdheyaḿ
śreyasī cottarottarā
(16) Of the four different means of existence for the learned brahmin, of a livelihood achieved without effort [s'âlîna], what one gets as a mendicant [yâyâvara], what one finds as leftovers in the fields [s'ila], or what is not wanted by others in shops [uñchana] are to this the latter means better than the former.
7.11.17
jaghanyo nottamāḿ vṛttim
(17) Except for times of emergency, may a lower man for his livelihood when everything is secure not take to the higher of each status and certain occupation.
The occupational duty of a brāhmaṇa should not be accepted by persons in lower social orders, especially vaiśyas and śūdras. For example, an occupational duty of the brāhmaṇa is to teach Vedic knowledge, but unless there is an emergency, this professional duty should not be accepted by the kṣatriyas, vaiśyas or śūdras. Even a kṣatriya cannot accept the duties of a brāhmaṇa unless there is an emergency, and then even if he does so he should not accept charity from anyone else. Sometimes brāhmaṇas protest against our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement for creating brāhmaṇas from Europeans, or, in other words, from mlecchas and yavanas. This movement, however, is here supported in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. At the present moment, society is in a chaotic condition, and everyone has given up the cultivation of spiritual life, which is especially meant for the brāhmaṇas. Because spiritual culture has been stopped all over the world, there is now an emergency, and therefore it is now time to train those who are considered lower and condemned, so that they may become brāhmaṇas and take up the work of spiritual progress. The spiritual progress of human society has been stopped, and this should be considered an emergency. Here is solid support from Nārada Muni of the movement known as Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
7.11.18-20
ṛtāmṛtābhyāḿ jīveta
rājanyaś ca jugupsitām
(18-20) By rita or amrita one may live, by mrita or pramrita or even by satyânrita, but never by living as a dog. Rita is the living on leftovers one says, of amrita is what is obtained without begging, of mrita is the begging as a mendicant while pramrita, so is recalled, is of the eating of one's own field. To be of satyânrita is to trade but to be of service to the low is for the brahmins and the kshatriyas well acquainted with the Veda the reprehensible business of dogs [s'va-vrittih] that should be given up; the wise and the leaders of state represent all the gods [see also B.G. 4: 13].
7.11.21
santoṣaḥ kṣāntir ārjavam
jñānaḿ dayācyutātmatvaḿ
(21) The brahmin is known for his control of mind and senses, his penance, cleanliness, peacefulness, forgiveness, straightforwardness, spiritual knowledge and compassion, his service to the Absolute of the Lord and his truthfulness.
7.11.22
tyāgaś cātmajayaḥ kṣamā
brahmaṇyatā prasādaś ca
(22) A kshatriya makes his mark with fighting skill, heroism, resolution, strength, charity, restraint, forgiveness, loyalty to the brahminical, being well tempered and loving the truth.
7.11.23
(23) A vais'ya is known for his devotion unto the godly, the guru and the Godhead, the three virtues [of dharma, artha and kâma], his following to the injunctions and his constant effort and expertise.
7.11.24
(24) Of the s'ûdra is there obedience, cleanliness, service to the master, single-mindedness, sacrifice without further prayer, truthfulness, protection of cows and brahmins and certainly no misappropriation.
7.11.25
tac-chuśrūṣānukūlatā
(25) Following him in his vows, being regular, favorably disposed to her husband as well as to his friends and relatives and readiness one finds with a woman in divine respect with her husband [see too B.G. 1: 40].
It is very important for peaceful householder life that a woman follow the vow of her husband. Any disagreement with the husband's vow will disrupt family life. In this regard, Cāṇakya Paṇḍita gives a very valuable instruction: dampatyoḥ kalaho nāsti tatra śrīḥ svayam āgatāḥ. When there are no fights between husband and wife, the goddess of fortune automatically comes to the home. A woman's education should be conducted along the lines indicated in this verse. The basic principle for a chaste woman is to be always favorably disposed toward her husband. In Bhagavad-gītā (1.40) it is said, strīṣu duṣṭāsu vārṣṇeya jāyate varṇa-sańkaraḥ: if the women are polluted, there will be varṇa-sańkara population. In modern terms, the varṇa-sańkara are the hippies, who do not follow any regulative injunctions. Another explanation is that when the population is varṇa-sańkara, no one can know who is on what platform. The varṇāśrama system scientifically divides society into four varṇas and four āśramas, but in varṇa-sańkara society there are no such distinctions, and no one can know who is who. In such a society, no one can distinguish between a brāhmaṇa, a kṣatriya, a vaiśya and a śūdra. For peace and happiness in the material world, the varṇāśrama institution must be introduced. The symptoms of one's activities must be defined, and one must be educated accordingly. Then spiritual advancement will automatically be possible.
7.11.26-27
sammārjanopalepābhyāḿ
kāmair uccāvacaiḥ sādhvī
(26-27) She is of cleaning, mopping and decorating the house as a housewife and is personally finely dressed in her clothes and has her household articles always clean; to the small and great desires of her husband is she a chaste and modest woman of sense control as well as of controlled speech and she is veritable, pleasing, loving and of respect for her husband when it is called for.
7.11.28
santuṣṭālolupā dakṣā
(28) Of contentment, not greedy, expert in serving, knowing what is dharma, kind, speaking the truth, attentive, pure and affectionate, should she worship the husband as long as he is straight with her.
7.11.29
(29) Any woman who accepts her husband as the Supreme Personality is of service exactly like the Goddess of Fortune; devoted is she to the spirit of Hari with her husband in the spiritual world of Vaikunthha just like Lakshmî enjoying the eternal herself.
The faithfulness of the goddess of fortune is the ideal for a chaste woman. The Brahma-saḿhitā (5.29) says, lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānam. In the Vaikuṇṭha planets, Lord Viṣṇu is worshiped by many, many thousands of goddesses of fortune, and in Goloka Vṛndāvana, Lord Kṛṣṇa is worshiped by many, many thousands of gopīs, all of whom are goddesses of fortune. A woman should serve her husband as faithfully as the goddess of fortune. A man should be an ideal servant of the Lord, and a woman should be an ideal wife like the goddess of fortune. Then both husband and wife will be so faithful and strong that by acting together they will return home, back to Godhead, without a doubt. In this regard, Śrīla Madhvācārya gives this opinion:
harir asmin sthita iti
śūdrāṇāḿ brāhmaṇādiṣu
A woman should think of her husband as the Supreme Lord. Similarly, a disciple should think of the spiritual master as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, a śūdra should think of a brāhmaṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and a servant should think of his master as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way, all of them will automatically become devotees of the Lord. In other words, by thinking this way, all of them will become Kṛṣṇa conscious.7.11.30
antyajāntevasāyinām
(30) Of the ones born from a mix of class [pratilomaja with a lower man and anulomaja with a higher man] is there according the family tradition the duty not to be of the theft and sin of the lower outcast.
The four principal divisions of society — brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra — have been defined, and now there is a description of the antyaja, the mixed classes. Among the mixed classes, there are two divisions — pratilomaja and anulomaja. If a woman of a high caste marries a man of a lower caste, their union is called pratilo. If a woman of a low caste, however, marries a man of a higher caste, their union is called anulo. The members of such dynasties have their traditional duties as barbers, washermen and so on. Among the antyajas, those who are still somewhat pure in that they do not steal and are not addicted to meat-eating, drinking, illicit sex and gambling are called antevasāyī. Among people of the lower classes, intermarriage and the drinking of wine are allowed, for these people do not recognize such conduct as sinful among themselves.
7.11.31
(31) In general is the dharma to one's own material position in society in every age [yuga] by the brahmin recognized, o King, as being auspicious for as well one's present life as the life hereafter [see also B.G. 3: 25]
7.11.32
śanair nirguṇatām iyāt
(32) Existing from one's occupation according one's own mode of action may one with heartening one's own business in giving up the karma that belongs to that particular way, gradually attain the transcendental position.
7.11.33-34
kāmānām atisevayā
agnivat kāma-bindubhiḥ
(33-34) A field over and over cultivated may exhausted fall barren not being suitable for further harvesting from seeds sown; similarly with a mind full of lusty desires over and over [in one's position] enjoying the objects of one's desires may one become dispassionate, o King, like small drops of ghee that are lost in a fire
7.11.35
yasya yal lakṣaṇaḿ proktaḿ
puḿso varṇābhivyañjakam
tat tenaiva vinirdiśet
(35) And if with a person the symptoms indicating a certain class other than his own are observed, should one for sure also designate him according that observation [in other words: he who behaves like a brahmin e.g. must be considered as one].'
Herein it is clearly stated by Nārada Muni that one should not be accepted as a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra according to birth, for although this is going on now, it is not accepted by the śāstras. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.13), cātur-varṇyaḿ mayā sṛṣṭaḿ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. Thus the four divisions of society — brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra — are to be ascertained according to qualities and activities. If one was born in a brāhmaṇa family and has acquired the brahminical qualifications, he is to be accepted as a brāhmaṇa; otherwise, he should be considered a brahma-bandhu. Similarly, if a śūdra acquires the qualities of a brāhmaṇa, although he was born in a śūdra family, he is not a śūdra; because he has developed the qualities of a brāhmaṇa, he should be accepted as a brāhmaṇa. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant to develop these brahminical qualities. Regardless of the community in which one was born, if one develops the qualities of a brāhmaṇa he should be accepted as a brāhmaṇa, and he then may be offered the order of sannyāsa. Unless one is qualified in terms of the brahminical symptoms, one cannot take sannyāsa. In designating a person a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra, birth is not the essential symptom. This understanding is very important. Herein Nārada Muni distinctly says that one may be accepted according to the caste of his birth if he has the corresponding qualifications, but otherwise he should not. One who has attained the qualifications of a brāhmaṇa, regardless of where he was born, should be accepted as a brāhmaṇa. Similarly, if one has developed the qualities of a śūdra or a caṇḍāla, regardless of where he was born, he should be accepted in terms of those symptoms.
No comments:
Post a Comment