SB4.21.31

TEXT 31

yat-pāda-sevābhirucis tapasvinām

aśeṣa-janmopacitaṁ malaṁ dhiyaḥ

sadyaḥ kṣiṇoty anvaham edhatī satī

yathā padāṅguṣṭha-viniḥsṛtā sarit

SYNONYMS

yat-pāda—whose lotus feet; sevā—service; abhiruciḥ—inclination; tapasvinām—persons undergoing severe penances; aśeṣa—innumerable; janma—birth; upacitam—acquire; malam—dirtiness; dhiyaḥ—mind; sadyaḥ—immediately; kṣiṇoti—destroys; anvaham—day after day; edhatī—increasing; satī—being; yathā—as; pada-aṅguṣṭha—the toes of His lotus feet; viniḥsṛtā—emanating from; sarit—water.

TRANSLATION

By the inclination to serve the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, suffering humanity can immediately cleanse the dirt which has accumulated in their minds during innumerable births. Like the Ganges water, which emanates from the toes of the lotus feet of the Lord, such a process immediately cleanses the mind, and thus spiritual or Kṛṣṇa consciousness gradually increases.

PURPORT

In India, one can actually see that a person who takes a bath in the Ganges waters daily is almost free from all kinds of diseases. A very respectable brāhmaṇa in Calcutta never took a doctor’s medicine. Even though he sometimes felt sick, he would not accept medicine from the physician but would simply drink Ganges water, and he was always cured within a very short time. The glories of Ganges water are known to Indians and to ourselves also. The River Ganges flows by Calcutta. Sometimes within the water there are many stools and other dirty things which are washed away from neighboring mills and factories, but still thousands of men take baths in the Ganges water, and they are very healthy as well as spiritually inclined. That is the effect of Ganges water. The Ganges is glorified because it emanates from the toes of the lotus feet of the Lord. Similarly, if one takes to the service of the lotus feet of the Lord, or takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is immediately cleansed of the many dirty things which have accumulated in his innumerable births. We have seen that in spite of the very black record of their past lives, persons who take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness become perfectly cleansed of all dirty things and make spiritual progress very swiftly. Therefore Pṛthu Mahārāja advises that without the benediction of the Supreme Lord, one cannot make advancement—either in so-called morality, economic development or sense gratification. One should therefore take to the service of the Lord, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and thus very soon become a perfect man, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā śaśvac chāntiṁ nigacchati). Being a responsible king, Pṛthu Mahārāja recommends that everyone take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus be immediately purified. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa also says in Bhagavad-gītā that simply by surrendering unto Him one is immediately relieved of all sinful reactions. As Kṛṣṇa takes away all the sinful reactions of a person immediately upon his surrender unto Him, similarly the external manifestation of Kṛṣṇa, the representative of Kṛṣṇa who acts as the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, takes all the resultant actions of the sinful life of the disciple immediately after the disciple’s initiation. Thus if the disciple follows the principles instructed by the spiritual master, he remains purified and is not contaminated by the material infection.

TEXT 32

vinirdhutāśeṣa-mano-malaḥ pumān

asaṅga-vijñāna-viśeṣa-vīryavān

yad-aṅghri-mūle kṛta-ketanaḥ punar

na saṁsṛtiṁ kleśa-vahāṁ prapadyate

SYNONYMS

vinirdhuta—being specifically cleansed; aśeṣa—unlimited; manaḥ-malaḥ—mental speculation or the dirt accumulated in the mind; pumān—the person; asaṅga—being disgusted; vijñāna—scientifically; viśeṣa—particularly; vīrya-vān—being strengthened in bhakti-yoga; yat—whose; aṅghri—lotus feet; mūle—at the root of; kṛta-ketanaḥ—taken shelter; punaḥ—again; na—never; saṁsṛtim—material existence; kleśa-vahām—full of miserable conditions; prapadyate—takes to.

TRANSLATION

When a devotee takes shelter at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is completely cleansed of all misunderstanding or mental speculation, and he manifests renunciation. This is possible only when one is strengthened by practicing bhakti-yoga. Once having taken shelter at the root of the lotus feet of the Lord, a devotee never comes back to this material existence, which is full of the threefold miseries.

PURPORT

As stated by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Śikṣāṣṭaka instructions, by the chanting of the holy name of the Lord—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—or by the process of hearing and chanting of the glories of the Lord, one’s mind is gradually cleansed of all dirt. Due to our material association since time immemorial, we have accumulated heaps of dirty things in our minds. The total effect of this takes place when a living entity identifies himself with his body and is thus entrapped by the stringent laws of material nature and put into the cycle of repeated birth and death under the false impression of bodily identification. When one is strengthened by practicing bhakti-yoga, his mind is cleansed of this misunderstanding, and he is no longer interested in material existence or in sense gratification.

TEXT 33

tam eva yūyaṁ bhajatātma-vṛttibhir

mano-vacaḥ-kāya-guṇaiḥ sva-karmabhiḥ

amāyinaḥ kāma-dughāṅghri-paṅkajaṁ

yathādhikārāvasitārtha-siddhayaḥ

SYNONYMS

tam—unto Him; eva—certainly; yūyam—all you citizens; bhajata—worship; ātma—own; vṛttibhiḥ—occupational duty; manaḥ—mind; vacaḥ—words; kāya—body; guṇaiḥ—by the particular qualities; sva-karmabhiḥ—by occupational duties; amāyinaḥ—without reservation; kāma-dugha—fulfilling all desires; aṅghri-paṅkajam—the lotus feet; yathā—as far as; adhikāra—ability; avasita-artha—fully convinced of one’s interest; siddhayaḥ—satisfaction.

TRANSLATION

Pṛthu Mahārāja advised his citizens: Engaging your minds, your words, your bodies and the results of your occupational duties, and being always open-minded, you should all render devotional service to the Lord. According to your abilities and the occupations in which you are situated, you should engage your service at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full confidence and without reservation. Then you will surely be successful in achieving the final objective in your lives.

PURPORT

As stated in the Eighteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya: one has to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead by one’s occupational duties. This necessitates accepting the principle of four varṇas and four āśramas. Pṛthu Mahārāja therefore says, guṇaiḥ sva-karmabhiḥ. This phrase is explained in Bhagavad-gītā. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ: “The four castes (the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras) are created by the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to the material modes of nature and the particular duties discharged in those modes.” A person who is situated in the mode of goodness is certainly more intelligent than others. Therefore he can practice the brahminical activities—namely speaking the truth, controlling the senses, controlling the mind, remaining always clean, practicing tolerance, having full knowledge about one’s self-identity, and understanding devotional service. In this way, if he engages himself in the loving service of the Lord as an actual brāhmaṇa, his aim to achieve the final interest of life is attained. Similarly, the kṣatriya’s duties are to give protection to the citizens, to give all his possessions in charity, to be strictly Vedic in the management of state affairs and to be unafraid to fight whenever there is an attack by enemies. In this way, a kṣatriya can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his occupational duties. Similarly, a vaiśya can satisfy the Supreme Godhead by properly executing his occupational duties—engaging himself in producing foodstuffs, giving protection to cows, and trading if necessary when there is an excess of agricultural production. Similarly, because śūdras do not have ample intelligence, they should simply engage as workers to serve the higher statuses of social life. Everyone’s aim should be to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by engaging his mind in thinking always of Kṛṣṇa, his words in always offering prayers to the Lord or preaching about the glories of the Lord, and his body in executing the service required to satisfy the Lord. As there are four divisions within our body—the head, the arms, the belly and the legs—similarly, human society, taken as a whole, is divided into four classes of men according to their material qualities and occupational duties. Thus the brahminical or intelligent men have to execute the duty of the head, the kṣatriyas must fulfill the duty of the arms, the vaiśya class must fulfill the duty of the belly, and the śūdras must fulfill the duty of the legs. In executing the prescribed duties of life, no one is higher or lower; there are such divisions as “higher” and “lower,” but since there is actually a common interest—to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead—there are no distinctions between them.

TEXT 34

asāv ihāneka-guṇo ’guṇo ’dhvaraḥ

pṛthag-vidha-dravya-guṇa-kriyoktibhiḥ

sampadyate ’rthāśaya-liṅga-nāmabhir

viśuddha-vijñāna-ghanaḥ svarūpataḥ

SYNONYMS

asau—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; iha—in this material world; aneka—various; guṇaḥ—qualities; aguṇaḥ—transcendental; adhvaraḥ—yajña; pṛthak-vidha—varieties; dravya—physical elements; guṇa—ingredients; kriyā—performances; uktibhiḥ—by chanting different mantras; sampadyate—is worshiped; artha—interest; āśaya—purpose; liṅga—form; nāmabhiḥ—name; viśuddha—without contamination; vijñāna—science; ghanaḥ—concentrated; sva-rūpataḥ—in His own form.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is transcendental and not contaminated by this material world. But although He is concentrated spirit soul without material variety, for the benefit of the conditioned soul He nevertheless accepts different types of sacrifice performed with various material elements, rituals and mantras and offered to the demigods under different names according to the interests and purposes of the performers.

PURPORT

TEXT 35

pradhāna-kālāśaya-dharma-saṅgrahe

śarīra eṣa pratipadya cetanām

kriyā-phalatvena vibhur vibhāvyate

yathānalo dāruṣu tad-guṇātmakaḥ

SYNONYMS

pradhāna—material nature; kāla—time; āśaya—desire; dharma—occupational duties; saṅgrahe—aggregate; śarīre—body; eṣaḥ—this; pratipadya—accepting; cetanām—consciousness; kriyā—activities; phalatvena—by the result of; vibhuḥ—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vibhāvyate—manifested; yathā—as much as; analaḥ—fire; dāruṣu—in the wood; tat-guṇa-ātmakaḥ—according to shape and quality.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-pervading, but He is also manifested in different types of bodies which arise from a combination of material nature, time, desires and occupational duties. Thus different types of consciousness develop, just as fire, which is always basically the same, blazes in different ways according to the shape and dimension of firewood.

PURPORT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead constantly lives with the individual soul as Paramātmā. The individual soul has awareness in accord with his material body, which he attains by virtue of prakṛti, or material nature. The material ingredients are activated by the force of time, and thus the three material modes of nature are manifested. According to his association with the three modes of nature, the living entity develops a particular type of body. In animal life, the material mode of ignorance is so prominent that there is very little chance of realizing the Paramātmā, who is also present within the heart of the animal; but in the human form of life, because of developed consciousness (cetanām), one can be transferred from ignorance and passion to goodness by the results of his activities (kriyā-phalatvena). A human being is therefore advised to associate with spiritually advanced personalities. The Vedas give the direction tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: [MU 1.2.12] in order to reach the perfection of life or to understand the real constitutional position of the living entity, one must approach the spiritual master. Gurum evābhigacchet—one must; it is not optional. It is imperative that one approach the spiritual master, for by such association one proportionately develops his consciousness toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The highest perfection of such consciousness is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. According to the body given by prakṛti, or nature, one’s consciousness is present; according to the development of consciousness, one’s activities are performed; and according to the purity of such activities, one realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present in everyone’s heart. The example given herein is very appropriate. Fire is always the same, but according to the size of the fuel or burning wood, the fire appears to be straight, curved, small, big, etc.

TEXT 36

aho mamāmī vitaranty anugrahaṁ

hariṁ guruṁ yajña-bhujām adhīśvaram

sva-dharma-yogena yajanti māmakā

nirantaraṁ kṣoṇi-tale dṛḍha-vratāḥ

SYNONYMS

aho—O all of you; mama—unto me; amī—all of them; vitaranti—distributing; anugraham—mercy; harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; gurum—the supreme spiritual master; yajña-bhujām—all the demigods eligible to accept yajña offerings; adhīśvaram—the supreme master; sva-dharma—occupational duties; yogena—by dint of; yajanti—worship; māmakāḥ—having a relationship with me; nirantaram—incessantly; kṣoṇi-tale—on the surface of the globe; dṛḍha-vratāḥ—with firm determination.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the master and enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices, and He is the supreme spiritual master as well. All of you citizens on the surface of the globe who have a relationship with me and are worshiping Him by dint of your occupational duties are bestowing your mercy upon me. Therefore, O my citizens, I thank you.

PURPORT

TEXT 37

mā jātu tejaḥ prabhaven maharddhibhis

titikṣayā tapasā vidyayā ca

dedīpyamāne ’jita-devatānāṁ

kule svayaṁ rāja-kulād dvijānām

SYNONYMS

mā—never do it; jātu—at any time; tejaḥ—supreme power; prabhavet—exhibit; mahā—great; ṛddhibhiḥ—by opulence; titikṣayā—by tolerance; tapasā—penance; vidyayā—by education; ca—also; dedīpyamāne—upon those who are already glorified; ajita-devatānām—Vaiṣṇavas, or the devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kule—in the society; svayam—personally; rāja-kulāt—greater than the royal family; dvijānām—of the brāhmaṇas.

TRANSLATION

The brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas are personally glorified by their characteristic powers of tolerance, penance, knowledge and education. By dint of all these spiritual assets, Vaiṣṇavas are more powerful than royalty. It is therefore advised that the princely order not exhibit its material prowess before these two communities and should avoid offending them.

PURPORT

Pṛthu Mahārāja has explained in the previous verse the importance of devotional service for both the rulers and the citizens of the state. Now he explains how one can be steadily fixed in devotional service. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, while instructing Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, has compared the devotional service of the Lord with a creeper. A creeper has a feeble stem and requires the support of another tree to grow, and while growing, it requires sufficient protection so that it may not be lost. While describing the system of protection for the creeper of devotional service, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has especially stressed protection from offenses unto the lotus feet of Vaiṣṇavas. Such offenses are called vaiṣṇava-aparādha. Aparādha means “offense.” If one commits vaiṣṇava-aparādhas, all of his progress in devotional service will be checked. Even though one is very much advanced in devotional service, if he commits offenses at the feet of a Vaiṣṇava, his advancement is all spoiled. In the śāstras it is found that a very great yogī, Durvāsā Muni, committed a vaiṣṇava-aparādha and thus for one full year had to travel all over the universe, even to Vaikuṇṭhaloka, to defend himself from the offense. At last, even when he approached the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Vaikuṇṭha, he was refused protection. Therefore one should be very careful about committing offenses at the feet of a Vaiṣṇava. The most grievous type of vaiṣṇava-aparādha is called gurv-aparādha, which refers to offenses at the lotus feet of the spiritual master. In the chanting of the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this gurv-aparādha is considered the most grievous offense. Guror avajñā śruti-śāstra-nindanam (Padma Purāṇa). Among the ten offenses committed against the chanting of the holy name, the first offenses are disobedience of the spiritual master and blasphemy of the Vedic literature.

The simple definition of Vaiṣṇava is given by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: a person who immediately reminds one of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is a Vaiṣṇava. In this verse, both Vaiṣṇavas and brāhmaṇas are mentioned. A Vaiṣṇava is a learned brāhmaṇa and is therefore designated as brāhmaṇa-vaiṣṇava, brāhmaṇa-paṇḍita or as a Vaiṣṇava and brāhmaṇa. In other words, a Vaiṣṇava is supposed to be a brāhmaṇa already, but a brāhmaṇa may not be a pure Vaiṣṇava. When a person understands his pure identity, brahma jānāti, he immediately becomes a brāhmaṇa. In the brāhmaṇa stage, one’s understanding of the Absolute Truth is mainly based on the impersonal view. When a brāhmaṇa, however, rises to the platform of personal understanding of the Supreme Godhead, he becomes a Vaiṣṇava. A Vaiṣṇava is transcendental even to a brāhmaṇa. In the material conception, the position of a brāhmaṇa is the highest in human society, but a Vaiṣṇava is transcendental even to a brāhmaṇa. Both the brāhmaṇa and Vaiṣṇava are spiritually advanced. A brāhmaṇa’s qualifications are mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā as truthfulness, mental equanimity, control of the senses, the power of tolerance, simplicity, knowledge of the Absolute Truth, firm faith in the scriptures, and practical application of the brahminical qualities in life. In addition to all these qualifications, when one fully engages in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, he becomes a Vaiṣṇava. Pṛthu Mahārāja warns his citizens who are actually engaged in the devotional service of the Lord to take care against offenses to the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas. Offenses at their lotus feet are so destructive that even the descendants of Yadu who were born in the family of Lord Kṛṣṇa were destroyed due to offenses at their feet. The Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot tolerate any offense at the lotus feet of brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas. Sometimes, due to their powerful positions, princes or government servants neglect the position of brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas, not knowing that because of their offense they will be ruined.

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