Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 7: “The Science of God”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Fifteen
Instructions for Civilized Human Beings
SB7.15Summary
The summary of the Fifteenth Chapter is as follows. In the previous chapter, Sri Narada Muni proved the importance of the brahmana in society. Now, in this chapter, he will show the differences between different grades of brahmanas. Among the brahmanas, some are householders and are mostly attached to fruitive activities or the betterment of social conditions. Above them, however, are brahmanas who are very much attracted by austerities and penances and who retire from family life. They are known as vanaprasthas. Other brahmanas are very much interested in studying the Vedas and explaining the purport of the Vedas to others. Such brahmanas are called brahmacaris. And still other brahmanas are interested in different types of yoga, especially bhakti-yoga and jnana-yoga. Such brahmanas are mostly sannyasis, members of the renounced order of life.
As far as householders are concerned, they engage in different types of scriptural activities, especially in offering oblations to their forefathers and giving as charity to other brahmanas the paraphernalia engaged in such sacrifices. Generally the charity is given to sannyasis, brahmanas in the renounced order of life. If such a sannyasi is not available, the charity is given to brahmana householders engaged in fruitive activities.
One should not make very elaborate arrangements to perform the sraddha ceremony of offering oblations to one’s forefathers. The best process for the sraddha ceremony is to distribute bhagavata-prasada (remnants of food that has first been offered to Krsna) to all of one’s forefathers and relatives. This makes a first-class sraddha ceremony. In the sraddha ceremony there is no need to offer meat or eat meat. Unnecessary killing of animals must be avoided. Those who are in the lower grades of society prefer to perform sacrifices by killing animals, but one who is advanced in knowledge must avoid such unnecessary violence.
Brahmanas should execute their regulative duties in worshiping Lord Visnu. Those who are advanced in knowledge of religious principles must avoid five kinds of irreligion, known as vidharma, para-dharma, dharmabhasa, upadharma and chala-dharma. One must act according to the religious principles that suit his constitutional position; it is not that everyone must adhere to the same type of religion. A general principle is that a poor man should not unnecessarily endeavor for economic development. One who refrains from such endeavors but who engages in devotional service is most auspicious.
One who is not satisfied with the mind must fall to degradation. One must conquer lusty desires, anger, greed, fear, lamentation, illusion, fright, unnecessary talks on material subjects, violence, the four miseries of material existence, and the three material qualities. That is the objective of human life. One who has no faith in the spiritual master, who is identical with Sri Krsna, cannot get any benefit from reading sastra. One should never consider the spiritual master an ordinary human being, even though the members of the spiritual master’s family may think of him as such. Meditation and other processes of austerity are useful only if they help in advancement toward Krsna consciousness; otherwise, they are simply a waste of time and labor. For those who are not devotees, such meditation and austerity cause falldown.
Every householder should be very careful because even though a householder may try to conquer the senses, he becomes a victim to the association of relatives and falls down. Thus a grhastha must become a vanaprastha or sannyasi, live in a secluded place, and be satisfied with food gotten by begging from door to door. He must chant the omkara mantra or Hare Krsna mantra, and in this way he will perceive transcendental bliss within himself. After taking sannyasa, however, if one returns to grhastha life, he is called a vantasi, which means “one who eats his own vomit.” Such a person is shameless. A householder should not give up the ritualistic ceremonies, and a sannyasi should not live in society. If a sannyasi is agitated by the senses, he is a cheater influenced by the modes of passion and ignorance. When one assumes a role in goodness by starting philanthropic and altruistic activities, such activities become impediments on the path of devotional service.
The best process for advancing in devotional service is to abide by the orders of the spiritual master, for only by his direction can one conquer the senses. Unless one is completely Krsna conscious, there is a chance of falling down. Of course, in performing ritualistic ceremonies and other fruitive activities there are also many dangers at every moment. Fruitive activities have been divided into twelve portions. Because of performing fruitive activities, which are called the path of dharma, one has to accept the cycle of birth and death, but when one takes the path of moksa, or liberation, which is described in Bhagavad-gita as arcana-marga, one can get relief from the cycle of birth and death. The Vedas describe these two paths as pitr-yana and deva-yana. Those who follow the paths of pitr-yana and deva-yana are never bewildered, even while in the material body. A monistic philosopher who gradually develops control of the senses understands that the objective of all the different asramas, the statuses of life, is salvation. One must live and act according to sastras.
If one who is performing the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies becomes a devotee, even if he is a grhastha, he can receive the causeless mercy of Krsna. The objective of a devotee is to return home, back to Godhead. Such a devotee, even though not performing ritualistic ceremonies, advances in spiritual consciousness by the supreme will of the Personality of Godhead. One may actually become successful in spiritual consciousness by the mercy of devotees, or one may fall from spiritual consciousness by being disrespectful to devotees. In this regard, Narada Muni narrated the history of how he had fallen from the Gandharva kingdom, how he was born in a sudra family, and how by serving exalted brahmanas he become the son of Lord Brahma and was reinstated in his transcendental position. After narrating all these stories, Narada Muni praised the mercy received from the Lord by the Pandavas. Maharaja Yudhisthira, after hearing from Narada, become ecstatic in love of Krsna, and then Narada Muni left that place and returned to his own place. Thus Sukadeva Gosvami, having described various descendants of the daughters of Daksa, ends the Seventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. SB7.15.1 TEXT 1 sri-narada uvaca karma-nistha dvijah kecit tapo-nistha nrpapare svadhyaye ’nye pravacane kecana jnana-yogayoh SYNONYMS sri-naradah uvaca—Narada Muni said; karma-nisthah—attached to ritualistic ceremonies (according to one’s social status as a brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya or sudra); dvi-jah—the twice-born (especially the brahmanas); kecit—some; tapah-nisthah—very much attached to austerities and penances; nrpa—O King; apare—others; svadhyaye—in studying Vedic literature; anye—others; pravacane—delivering speeches on Vedic literature; kecana—some; jnana-yogayoh—in culturing knowledge and practicing bhakti-yoga. TRANSLATION Narada Muni continued: My dear King, some brahmanas are very much attached to fruitive activities, some are attached to austerities and penances, and still others study the Vedic literature, whereas some, although very few, cultivate knowledge and practice different yogas, especially bhakti-yoga. SB7.15.2 TEXT 2 jnana-nisthaya deyani kavyany anantyam icchata daive ca tad-abhave syad itarebhyo yatharhatah SYNONYMS jnana-nisthaya—to the impersonalist or the transcendentalist desiring to merge into the Supreme; deyani—to be given in charity; kavyani—ingredients offered to the forefathers as oblations; anantyam—liberation from material bondage; icchata—by a person desiring; daive—the ingredients to be offered to the demigods; ca—also; tat-abhave—in the absence of such advanced transcendentalists; syat—it should be done; itarebhyah—to others (namely, those addicted to fruitive activities); yatha-arhatah—comparatively or with discrimination. TRANSLATION A person desiring liberation for his forefathers or himself should give charity to a brahmana who adheres to impersonal monism [jnana-nistha]. In the absence of such an advanced brahmana, charity may be given to a brahmana addicted to fruitive activities [karma-kanda]. PURPORT There are two processes by which to get free from material bondage. One involves jnana-kanda and karma-kanda, and the other involves upasana-kanda. Vaisnavas never want to merge into the existence of the Supreme; rather, they want to be everlastingly servants of the Lord to render loving service unto Him. In this verse the words anantyam icchata refer to persons who desire to achieve liberation from material bondage and merge into the existence of the Lord. Devotees, however, whose objective is to associate personally with the Lord, have no desire to accept the activities of karma-kanda or jnana-kanda, for pure devotional service is above both karma-kanda and jnana-kanda. Anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam [Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.11]. In pure devotional service there is not even a pinch of jnana or karma. Consequently, when Vaisnavas distribute charity, they do not need to find a brahmana performing the activities of jnana-kanda or karma-kanda. The best example in this regard is provided by Advaita Gosvami, who, after performing the sraddha ceremony for his father, offered charity to Haridasa Thakura, although it was known to everyone that Haridasa Thakura was born in a Mohammedan family, not a brahmana family, and was not interested in the activities of jnana-kanda or karma-kanda. Charity, therefore, should be given to the first-class transcendentalist, the devotee, because the sastras recommend: muktanam api siddhanam “O great sage, among many millions who are liberated and perfect in knowledge of liberation, one may be a devotee of Lord Narayana, or Krsna. Such devotees, who are fully peaceful, are extremely rare.” (Bhag. 6.14.5) A Vaisnava is in a higher position than a jnani, and therefore Advaita Acarya selected Haridasa Thakura to be the person to accept His charity. The Supreme Lord also says: na me ’bhaktas catur-vedi “Even though a person is a very learned scholar of the Sanskrit Vedic literatures, he is not accepted as My devotee unless he is pure in devotional service. However, even though a person is born in a family of dog-eaters, he is very dear to Me if he is a pure devotee who has no motive to enjoy fruitive activity or mental speculation. Indeed, all respect should be given to him, and whatever he offers should be accepted. Such devotees are as worshipable as I am.” (Hari-bhakti-vilasa 10.127) Therefore, even if not born in a brahmana family, a devotee, because of his devotion to the Lord, is above all kinds of brahmanas, whether they be karma-kandis or jnana-kandis. In this regard, it may be mentioned that brahmanas in Vrndavana who are karma-kandis and jnana-kandis sometimes decline to accept invitations to our temple because our temple is known as the angareji temple, or “Anglican temple.” But in accordance with the evidence given in the sastra and the example set by Advaita Acarya, we give prasada to devotees regardless of whether they come from India, Europe or America. It is the conclusion of the sastra that instead of feeding many jnana-kandi or karma-kandi brahmanas, it is better to feed a pure Vaisnava, regardless of where he comes from. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (9.30): api cet su-duracaro “Even if one commits the most abominable actions, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated.” Thus it doesn’t matter whether a devotee comes from a brahmana family or non-brahmana family; if he is fully devoted to Krsna, he is a sadhu. SB7.15.3 TEXT 3 dvau daive pitr-karye trin ekaikam ubhayatra va bhojayet susamrddho ’pi sraddhe kuryan na vistaram SYNONYMS dvau—two; daive—during the period when oblations are offered to the demigods; pitr-karye—in the sraddha ceremony, in which oblations are offered to the forefathers; trin—three; eka—one; ekam—one; ubhayatra—for both occasions; va—either; bhojayet—one should feed; su-samrddhah api—even though one is very rich; sraddhe—when offering oblations to the forefathers; kuryat—one should do; na—not; vistaram—very expensive arrangements. TRANSLATION During the period for offering oblations to the demigods, one should invite only two brahmanas, and while offering oblations to the forefathers, one may invite three brahmanas. Or, in either case, only one brahmana will suffice. Even though one is very opulent, he should not endeavor to invite more brahmanas or make various expensive arrangements on those occasions. PURPORT As we have already mentioned, Srila Advaita Acarya, during the generally observed ceremony to offer oblations to the forefathers, invited only Haridasa Thakura. Thus He followed this principle: na me’bhaktas catur-vedi mad-bhaktah sva-pacah priyah. The Lord says, “It is not necessary that one become very expert in Vedic knowledge before he can become My bhakta, or devotee. Even if one is born in a family of dog-eaters, he can become My devotee and be very dear to Me, in spite of having taken birth in such a family. Therefore, offerings should be given to My devotee, and whatever My devotee has offered Me should be accepted.” Following this principle, one should invite a first-class brahmana or Vaisnava—a realized soul—and feed him while observing the sraddha ceremony to offer oblations to one’s forefathers. SB7.15.4 TEXT 4 desa-kalocita-sraddha- dravya-patrarhanani ca samyag bhavanti naitani vistarat sva-janarpanat SYNONYMS desa—place; kala—time; ucita—proper; sraddha—respect; dravya—ingredients; patra—a suitable person; arhanani—paraphernalia for worship; ca—and; samyak—proper; bhavanti—are; na—not; etani—all these; vistarat—due to expansion; sva-jana-arpanat—or due to inviting relatives. TRANSLATION If one arranges to feed many brahmanas or relatives during the sraddha ceremony, there will be discrepancies in the time, place, respectability and ingredients, the person to be worshiped, and the method of offering worship. PURPORT Narada Muni has prohibited unnecessarily gorgeous arrangements to feed relatives or brahmanas during the sraddha ceremony. Those who are materially opulent spend lavishly during this ceremony. Indians spend especially lavishly on three occasions—at the birth of a child, at marriage and while observing the sraddha ceremony—but the sastras prohibit the excessive expenditures involved in inviting many brahmanas and relatives, especially during the sraddha ceremony. SB7.15.5 TEXT 5 dese kale ca samprapte muny-annam hari-daivatam sraddhaya vidhivat patre nyastam kamadhug aksayam SYNONYMS dese—in a proper place, namely a holy place of pilgrimage; kale—at an auspicious time; ca—also; samprapte—when available; muni-annam—foodstuffs prepared with ghee and suitable to be eaten by great saintly persons; hari-daivatam—unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari; sraddhaya—with love and affection; vidhi-vat—according to the directions of the spiritual master and the sastras; patre—unto the suitable person; nyastam—if it is so offered; kamadhuk—becomes a source of prosperity; aksayam—everlasting. TRANSLATION When one gets the opportunity of a suitable auspicious time and place, one should, with love, offer food prepared with ghee to the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and then offer the prasada to a suitable person—a Vaisnava or brahmana. This will be the cause of everlasting prosperity. SB7.15.6 TEXT 6 devarsi-pitr-bhutebhya atmane sva-janaya ca annam samvibhajan pasyet sarvam tat purusatmakam SYNONYMS deva—unto the demigods; rsi—saintly persons; pitr—forefathers; bhutebhyah—the living entities in general; atmane—relatives; sva-janaya—family members and friends; ca—and; annam—foodstuff (prasada); samvibhajan—offering; pasyet—one should see; sarvam—all; tat—them; purusa-atmakam—related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. TRANSLATION One should offer prasada to the demigods, the saintly persons, one’s forefathers, the people in general, one’s family members, one’s relatives and one’s friends, seeing them all as devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. PURPORT As mentioned above, it is recommended that everyone distribute prasada, considering every living being a part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Even in feeding the poor, one should distribute prasada. In Kali-yuga there is a scarcity of food almost every year, and thus philanthropists spend lavishly to feed the poor. For this they invent the term daridra-narayana-seva. This is prohibited. One should distribute sumptuous prasada, considering everyone a part of the Supreme Lord, but one should not juggle words to make a poor man Narayana. Everyone is related to the Supreme Lord, but one should not mistakenly think that because one is related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he has become the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana. Such a Mayavada philosophy is extremely dangerous, especially for a devotee. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has therefore strictly forbidden us to associate with Mayavadi philosophers. Mayavadi-bhasya sunile haya sarva-nasa: if one associates with the Mayavada philosophy, his devotional life is doomed. SB7.15.7 TEXT 7 na dadyad amisam sraddhe na cadyad dharma-tattvavit muny-annaih syat para pritir yatha na pasu-himsaya SYNONYMS na—never; dadyat—should offer; amisam—meat, fish, eggs and so on; sraddhe—in the performance of the sraddha ceremony; na—nor; ca—also; adyat—one should eat personally; dharma-tattva-vit—one who is actually learned in regard to religious activities; muni-annaih—by preparations made with ghee for saintly persons; syat—should be; para—first-class; pritih—satisfaction; yatha—for the forefathers and the Supreme Personality of Godhead; na—not; pasu-himsaya—by killing animals unnecessarily. TRANSLATION A person fully aware of religious principles should never offer anything like meat, eggs or fish in the sraddha ceremony, and even if one is a ksatriya, he himself should not eat such things. When suitable food prepared with ghee is offered to saintly persons, the function is pleasing to the forefathers and the Supreme Lord, who are never pleased when animals are killed in the name of sacrifice. SB7.15.8 TEXT 8 naitadrsah paro dharmo nrnam sad-dharmam icchatam nyaso dandasya bhutesu mano-vak-kayajasya yah SYNONYMS na—never; etadrsah—like this; parah—a supreme or superior; dharmah—religion; nrnam—of persons; sat-dharmam—superior religion; icchatam—being desirous of; nyasah—giving up; dandasya—causing trouble because of envy; bhutesu—unto the living entities; manah—in terms of the mind; vak—words; kaya-jasya—and body; yah—which. TRANSLATION Persons who want to advance in superior religion are advised to give up all envy of other living entities, whether in relationship to the body, words or mind. There is no religion superior to this. SB7.15.9 TEXT 9 eke karmamayan yajnan jnanino yajna-vittamah atma-samyamane ’niha juhvati jnana-dipite SYNONYMS eke—some; karma-mayan—resulting in a reaction (such as the killing of animals); yajnan—sacrifices; jnaninah—persons advanced in knowledge; yajna-vit-tamah—who know perfectly well the purpose of sacrifice; atma-samyamane—by self-control; anihah—who are without material desires; juhvati—execute sacrifice; jnana-dipite—enlightened in perfect knowledge. TRANSLATION Because of an awakening of spiritual knowledge, those who are intelligent in regard to sacrifice, who are actually aware of religious principles and who are free from material desires, control the self in the fire of spiritual knowledge, or knowledge of the Absolute Truth. They may give up the process of ritualistic ceremonies. PURPORT People are generally very much interested in karma-kanda ritualistic ceremonies for elevation to the higher planetary systems, but when one awakens his spiritual knowledge, he becomes uninterested in such elevation and engages himself fully in jnana-yajna to find the objective of life. The objective of life is to stop completely the miseries of birth and death and to return home, back to Godhead. When one cultivates knowledge for this purpose, he is considered to be on a higher platform than one who is engaged in karma-yajna, or fruitive activities. SB7.15.10 TEXT 10 dravya-yajnair yaksyamanam drstva bhutani bibhyati esa makaruno hanyad ataj-jno hy asu-trp dhruvam SYNONYMS dravya-yajnaih—with animals and other eatable things; yaksyamanam—the person engaged in such sacrifices; drstva—by seeing; bhutani—the living entities (animals); bibhyati—become afraid; esah—this person (the performer of sacrifice); ma—us; akarunah—who is inhumane and merciless; hanyat—will kill; a-tat-jnah—most ignorant; hi—indeed; asu-trp—who is most satisfied by killing others; dhruvam—certainly. TRANSLATION Upon seeing the person engaged in performing the sacrifice, animals meant to be sacrificed are extremely afraid, thinking, “This merciless performer of sacrifices, being ignorant of the purpose of sacrifice and being most satisfied by killing others, will surely kill us.” PURPORT Animal sacrifice in the name of religion is current practically all over the world in every established religion. It is said that Lord Jesus Christ, when twelve years old, was shocked to see the Jews sacrificing birds and animals in the synagogues and that he therefore rejected the Jewish system of religion and started the religious system of Christianity, adhering to the Old Testament commandment “Thou shalt not kill.” At the present day, however, not only are animals killed in the name of sacrifice, but the killing of animals has increased enormously because of the increasing number of slaughterhouses. Slaughtering animals, either for religion or for food, is most abominable and is condemned herein. Unless one is merciless, one cannot sacrifice animals, either in the name of religion or for food. SB7.15.11 TEXT 11 tasmad daivopapannena muny-annenapi dharmavit santusto ’har ahah kuryan nitya-naimittikih kriyah SYNONYMS tasmat—therefore; daiva-upapannena—obtainable very easily by the grace of the Lord; muni-annena—with food (prepared in ghee and offered to the Supreme Lord); api—indeed; dharma-vit—one who is actually advanced in religious principles; santustah—very happily; ahah ahah—day after day; kuryat—one should perform; nitya-naimittikih—regular and occasional; kriyah—duties. TRANSLATION Therefore, day by day, one who is actually aware of religious principles and is not heinously envious of poor animals should happily perform daily sacrifices and those for certain occasions with whatever food is available easily by the grace of the Lord. PURPORT The word dharmavit, meaning “one who knows the actual purpose of religion,” is very significant. As explained in Bhagavad-gita (18.66), sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]: becoming Krsna conscious is the topmost stage in understanding of religious principles. One who reaches this stage performs the arcana process in devotional service. Anyone, whether a grhastha or a sannyasi, can keep small Deities of the Lord suitably packed or, if possible, installed, and thus worship the Deities of Radha-Krsna, Sita-Rama, Laksmi-Narayana, Lord Jagannatha or Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by offering food prepared in ghee and then offering the sanctified prasada to the forefathers, demigods and other living entities as a matter of routine daily work. All the centers of our Krsna consciousness movement have Deity worship programs very nicely going on in which food is offered to the Deity and distributed to the first-class brahmanas and Vaisnavas and even to the people in general. This performance of sacrifice brings complete satisfaction. The members of the Krsna consciousness movement engage daily in such transcendental activities. Thus in our Krsna consciousness movement there is no question at all of killing animals. SB7.15.12 TEXT 12 vidharmah para-dharmas ca abhasa upama chalah adharma-sakhah pancema dharma-jno ’dharmavat tyajet SYNONYMS vidharmah—irreligion; para-dharmah—religious principles practiced by others; ca—and; abhasah—pretentious religious principles; upama—principles that appear religious but are not; chalah—a cheating religion; adharma-sakhah—which are different branches of irreligion; panca—five; imah—these; dharma-jnah—one who is aware of religious principles; adharma-vat—accepting them as irreligious; tyajet—should give up. TRANSLATION There are five branches of irreligion, appropriately known as irreligion [vidharma], religious principles for which one is unfit [para-dharma], pretentious religion [abhasa], analogical religion [upadharma] and cheating religion [chala-dharma]. One who is aware of real religious life must abandon these five as irreligious. PURPORT Any religious principles opposed to the principle of surrendering to the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, are to be considered religious principles of irregularity or cheating, and one who is actually interested in religion must give them up. One should simply follow the instructions of Krsna and surrender unto Him. To do this, of course, one needs very good intelligence, which may be awakened after many, many births through good association with devotees and the practice of Krsna consciousness. Everything but the principle of religion recommended by Krsna—sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]—should be given up as irreligion. SB7.15.13 TEXT 13 dharma-badho vidharmah syat para-dharmo ’nya-coditah upadharmas tu pakhando dambho va sabda-bhic chalah SYNONYMS dharma-badhah—obstructs the execution of one’s own religious principles; vidharmah—against the principles of religion; syat—should be; para-dharmah—imitating religious systems for which one is unfit; anya-coditah—which is introduced by someone else; upadharmah—concocted religious principles; tu—indeed; pakhandah—by one who is against the principles of Vedas, standard scriptures; dambhah—who is falsely proud; va—or; sabda-bhit—by word jugglery; chalah—a cheating religious system. TRANSLATION Religious principles that obstruct one from following his own religion are called vidharma. Religious principles introduced by others are called para-dharma. A new type of religion created by one who is falsely proud and who opposes the principles of the Vedas is called upadharma. And interpretation by one’s jugglery of words is called chala-dharma. PURPORT To create a new type of dharma has become fashionable in this age. So-called svamis and yogis support that one may follow any type of religious system, according to one’s own choice, because all systems are ultimately the same. In Srimad-Bhagavatam, however, such fashionable ideas are called vidharma because they go against one’s own religious system. The real religious system is described by the Supreme Personality of Godhead: sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. The real religious system is that of surrender to the lotus feet of the Lord. In the Sixth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, in connection with Ajamila’s deliverance, Yamaraja says, dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam: [SB 6.3.19] real religion is that which is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, just as real law is that which is given by the government. No one can manufacture actual law at home, nor can one manufacture actual religion. Elsewhere it is said, sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje: [SB 1.2.6] the real religious system is that which leads one to become a devotee of the Supreme Lord. Therefore, anything opposed to this religious system of progressive Krsna consciousness is called vidharma, para-dharma, upadharma or chala-dharma. Misinterpretation of Bhagavad-gita is chala-dharma. When Krsna directly says something and some rascal interprets it to mean something different, this is chala-dharma—a religious system of cheating—or sabda-bhit, a jugglery of words. One should be extremely careful to avoid these various types of cheating systems of religion. SB7.15.14 TEXT 14 yas tv icchaya krtah pumbhir abhaso hy asramat prthak sva-bhava-vihito dharmah kasya nestah prasantaye SYNONYMS yah—that which; tu—indeed; icchaya—whimsically; krtah—conducted; pumbhih—by persons; abhasah—dim reflection; hi—indeed; asramat—from one’s own order of life; prthak—different; sva-bhava—according to one’s own nature; vihitah—regulated; dharmah—religious principle; kasya—in what respect; na—not; istah—capable; prasantaye—for relieving all kinds of distress. TRANSLATION A pretentious religious system manufactured by one who willfully neglects the prescribed duties of his order of life is called abhasa [a dim reflection or false similarity]. But if one performs the prescribed duties for his particular asrama or varna, why are they not sufficient to mitigate all material distresses? PURPORT It is indicated here that everyone should strictly follow the principles of varna and asrama as given in the sastra. In the Visnu Purana (3.8.9) it is said: varnasramacaravata One should focus upon the destination for progress, which is to become Krsna conscious. This is the aim and end of all varnas and asramas. However, if Visnu is not worshiped, the followers of the varnasrama institution manufacture some concocted God. Thus it has now become fashionable for any rascal or fool to be elected God, and there are many missionaries who have concocted their own gods, giving up their relationship with the real God. In Bhagavad-gita it is clearly said that one who worships the demigods has lost his intelligence. Nonetheless we find that even an illiterate person who has lost all intelligence is elected God, and although he has a temple, it has meat-eating sannyasis, and many polluted activities go on there. This type of religious system, which misguides its poor followers, is strictly forbidden. Such pretentious religions should be stopped altogether. The original system is that a brahmana should actually become a brahmana; he should not only take birth in a brahmana family, but must also be qualified. Also, even if one is not born in a brahmana family but has brahminical qualifications, he must be considered a brahmana. By strictly following this system, one can be happy without extra endeavor. Sva-bhava-vihito dharmah kasya nestah prasantaye. The real aim of life is to mitigate distress, and one can do this very easily by following the principles of sastra.
narayana-parayanah
sudurlabhah prasantatma
kotisv api maha-mune
mad-bhaktah sva-pacah priyah
tasmai deyam tato grahyam
sa ca pujyo yatha hy aham
bhajate mam ananya-bhak
sadhur eva sa mantavyah
samyag vyavasito hi sah
purusena parah puman
visnur aradhyate pantha
nanyat tat-tosa-karanam