Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 6: “Prescribed Duties for Mankind”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Sixteen

SB6.16.35

TEXT 35

tava vibhavah khalu bhagavan

jagad-udaya-sthiti-layadini

visva-srjas te ’msamsas

tatra mrsa spardhanti prthag abhimatya

SYNONYMS

tava—Your; vibhavah—opulences; khalu—indeed; bhagavan—O Supreme Personality of Godhead; jagat—of the cosmic manifestation; udaya—the creation; sthiti—maintenance; laya-adini—dissolution and so on; visva-srjah—the creators of the manifested world; te—they; amsa-amsah—parts of Your plenary portion; tatra—in that; mrsa—in vain; spardhanti—rival one another; prthak—of separateness; abhimatya—by a false conception.

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, this cosmic manifestation and its creation, maintenance and annihilation are all but Your opulences. Since Lord Brahma and the other creators are nothing but small portions of a portion of You, their partial power to create does not make them God [isvara]. Their consciousness of themselves as separate Lords is therefore merely false prestige. It is not valid.

PURPORT

A devotee who has fully surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord knows very well that the creative energy of the living entities, from Lord Brahma down to the small ant, exists because the living entities are part and parcel of the Lord. In Bhagavad-gita (15.7) the Lord says, mamaivamso jiva-loke jiva-bhutah sanatanah: “The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts.” The living entities are nothing but very small portions of the supreme spirit, like sparks of a fire. Because they are part of the Supreme, they have a creative quality in a very minute quantity.

The so-called scientists of the modern materialistic world are proud because they have created modern facilities like great airplanes, but the credit for creating the airplanes should go to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not to the scientists who have invented or created the so-called wonderful products. The first consideration is the intelligence of the scientist; one must be elevated by the dictation of the Supreme Lord, who says in Bhagavad-gita (15.15), mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca: “From Me comes remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” Because the Supreme Lord, as Supersoul, sits within the core of every living entity’s heart, the dictation by which one advances in scientific knowledge or creative faculties comes from Him. Furthermore, the ingredients to manufacture wonderful machines like airplanes are also supplied by the Lord, not by the scientists. Before the airplane was created, its ingredients already existed, having been caused by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but when the manifested creation of the airplane is ruined, the remaining debris is a problem for the so-called creators. Another example is that the West is creating many automobiles. The ingredients for these cars are supplied, of course, by the Supreme Lord, and the intelligence for the so-called creation is also supplied by the Lord. Ultimately, when the cars are demolished, the so-called creators are faced with the problem of what to do with their ingredients. The actual creator, the original creator, is the Personality of Godhead. Only in the interim does someone create something with intelligence supplied by the Lord, and later the creation again becomes a problem. Therefore the so-called creator is not to be credited with the act of creation; the only credit goes to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is rightly stated herein that the credit for all the opulences of creation, maintenance and annihilation belongs to the Supreme Lord, not to the living entities.

SB6.16.36

TEXT 36

paramanu-parama-mahatos

tvam ady-antantara-varti traya-vidhurah

adav ante ’pi ca sattvanam

yad dhruvam tad evantarale ’pi

SYNONYMS

parama-anu—of the atomic particle; parama-mahatoh—and of the biggest (the result of the combination of atoms); tvam—You; adi-anta—in both the beginning and the end; antara—and in the middle; varti—existing; traya-vidhurah—although without beginning, end or middle; adau—in the beginning; ante—at the end; api—also; ca—and; sattvanam—of all existences; yat—which; dhruvam—permanent; tat—that; eva—certainly; antarale—in the middle; api—also.

TRANSLATION

You exist in the beginning, middle and end of everything, from the most minute particle of the cosmic manifestation—the atom—to the gigantic universes and total material energy. Nonetheless, You are eternal, having no beginning, end or middle. You are perceived to exist in these three phases, and thus You are permanent. When the cosmic manifestation does not exist, You exist as the original potency.

PURPORT

The Brahma-samhita (5.33) says:

advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam
adyam purana-purusam nava-yauvanam ca
vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

“I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Krsna], who is the original person—absolute, infallible, without beginning, although expanded into unlimited forms, still the same original, the oldest, and the person always appearing as a fresh youth. Such eternal, blissful, all-knowing forms of the Lord cannot be understood even by the best Vedic scholars, but they are always manifest to pure, unalloyed devotees.” The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no cause, for He is the cause of everything. The Lord is beyond the workings of cause and effect. He is eternally existing. In another verse the Brahma-samhita says, andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham: the Lord exists within the gigantic universe and within the atom. The descent of the Lord into the atom and the universe indicates that without His presence, nothing could factually exist. Scientists say that water is a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, but when they see a vast ocean they are puzzled about where such a quantity of hydrogen and oxygen could have come from. They think that everything evolved from chemicals, but where did the chemicals come from? That they do not know. Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all causes, He can produce immense quantities of chemicals to create a situation for chemical evolution. We actually see that chemicals are produced from living entities. For example, a lemon tree produces many tons of citric acid. The citric acid is not the cause of the tree; rather, the tree is the cause of the acid. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of everything. He is the cause of the tree that produces the citric acid (bijam mam sarva-bhutanam). Devotees can see that the original potencies causing the cosmic manifestation are not in chemicals but in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for He is the cause of the chemicals.

Everything is caused or manifested by the energy of the Supreme Lord, and when everything is annihilated or dissolved, the original potency enters the body of the Supreme Lord. Therefore this verse says, adav ante ’pi ca sattvanam yad dhruvam tad evantarale ’pi. The word dhruvam means “permanent.” The permanent reality is Krsna, not this cosmic manifestation. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, aham adir hi devanam and mattah sarvam pravartate: Krsna is the original cause of everything. Arjuna recognized Lord Sri Krsna as the original person (purusam sasvatam divyam adi-devam ajam vibhum), and the Brahma-samhita describes Him as the original person (govindam adi-purusam). He is the cause of all causes, whether at the beginning, at the end or in the middle.

SB6.16.37

TEXT 37

ksity-adibhir esa kilavrtah

saptabhir dasa-gunottarair anda-kosah

yatra pataty anu-kalpah

sahanda-koti-kotibhis tad anantah

SYNONYMS

ksiti-adibhih—by the ingredients of the material world, headed by earth; esah—this; kila—indeed; avrtah—covered; saptabhih—seven; dasa-guna-uttaraih—each ten times more than the previous one; anda-kosah—egg-shaped universe; yatra—in whom; patati—falls; anu-kalpah—like a minute atom; saha—with; anda-koti-kotibhih—millions of such universes; tat—therefore; anantah—(You are called) unlimited.

TRANSLATION

Every universe is covered by seven layers—earth, water, fire, air, sky, the total energy and false ego—each ten times greater than the previous one. There are innumerable universes besides this one, and although they are unlimitedly large, they move about like atoms in You. Therefore You are called unlimited [ananta].

PURPORT

The Brahma-samhita (5.48) says:

yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya
jivanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah
visnur mahan sa iha yasya kala-viseso
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

The origin of the material creation is Maha-Visnu, who lies in the Causal Ocean. While He sleeps in that ocean, millions of universes are generated as He exhales, and they are all annihilated when He inhales. This Maha-Visnu is a plenary portion of a portion of Visnu, Govinda (yasya kala-visesah). The word kala refers to a plenary portion of a plenary portion. From Krsna, or Govinda, comes Balarama; from Balarama comes Sankarsana; from Sankarsana, Narayana; from Narayana, the second Sankarsana; from the second Sankarsana, Maha-Visnu; from Maha-Visnu, Garbhodakasayi Visnu; and from Garbhodakasayi Visnu, Ksirodakasayi Visnu. Ksirodakasayi Visnu controls every universe. This gives an idea of the meaning of ananta, unlimited. What is to be said of the unlimited potency and existence of the Lord? This verse describes the coverings of the universe (saptabhir dasa-gunottarair anda-kosah). The first covering is earth, the second is water, the third is fire, the fourth is air, the fifth is sky, the sixth is the total material energy, and the seventh is the false ego. Beginning with the covering of earth, each covering is ten times greater than the previous one. Thus we can only imagine how great each universe is, and there are many millions of universes. As confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gita (10.42):

athava bahunaitena
kim jnatena tavarjuna
vistabhyaham idam krtsnam
ekamsena sthito jagat

“But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.” The entire material world manifests only one fourth of the Supreme Lord’s energy. Therefore He is called ananta.

SB6.16.38

TEXT 38

visaya-trso nara-pasavo

ya upasate vibhutir na param tvam

tesam asisa isa

tad anu vinasyanti yatha raja-kulam

SYNONYMS

visaya-trsah—eager to enjoy sense gratification; nara-pasavah—manlike animals; ye—who; upasate—worship very gorgeously; vibhutih—small particles of the Supreme Lord (the demigods); na—not; param—the Supreme; tvam—You; tesam—of them; asisah—the benedictions; isa—O supreme controller; tat—them (the demigods); anu—after; vinasyanti—will be vanquished; yatha—just as; raja-kulam—those who are supported by the government (when the government is finished).

TRANSLATION

O Lord, O Supreme, unintelligent persons who thirst for sense enjoyment and who worship various demigods are no better than animals in the human form of life. Because of their animalistic propensities, they fail to worship Your Lordship, and instead they worship the insignificant demigods, who are but small sparks of Your glory. With the destruction of the entire universe, including the demigods, the benedictions received from the demigods also vanish, just like the nobility when a king is no longer in power.

PURPORT

Bhagavad-gita (7.20) says, kamais tais tair hrta jnanah prapadyante ’nya-devatah: “Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto the demigods.” Similarly, this verse condemns worship of the demigods. We may show our respect to the demigods, but the demigods are not worshipable. The intelligence of those who worship the demigods is lost (hrta jnanah) because these worshipers do not know that when the entire material cosmic manifestation is annihilated, the demigods, who are the departmental heads of that manifestation, will be vanquished. When the demigods are vanquished, the benedictions given by the demigods to unintelligent men will also be vanquished. Therefore a devotee should not hanker to obtain material opulence by worshiping the demigods, but should engage in the service of the Lord, who will satisfy all his desires.

akamah sarva-kamo va
moksa-kama udara-dhih
tivrena bhakti-yogena
yajeta purusam param

“Whether full of all material desires, free from material desires or desiring liberation, a person who has broader intelligence must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead.” (Bhag. 2.3.10) This is the duty of a perfect human being. One who has the shape of a human being but whose actions are nothing but those of an animal is called nara-pasu or dvipada-pasu, a two-legged animal. A human being who is not interested in Krsna consciousness is condemned herewith as a nara-pasu.

SB6.16.39

TEXT 39

kama-dhiyas tvayi racita

na parama rohanti yatha karambha-bijani

jnanatmany agunamaye

guna-ganato ’sya dvandva-jalani

SYNONYMS

kama-dhiyah—desires for sense gratification; tvayi—in You; racitah—performed; na—not; parama—O Supreme Personality of Godhead; rohanti—do grow (produce other bodies); yatha—just as; karambha-bijani—sterilized or fried seeds; jnana-atmani—in You, whose existence is in full knowledge; aguna-maye—who is not affected by the material qualities; guna-ganatah—from the material qualities; asya—of a person; dvandva-jalani—the networks of duality.

TRANSLATION

O Supreme Lord, if persons obsessed with material desires for sense gratification through material opulence worship You, who are the source of all knowledge and are transcendental to material qualities, they are not subject to material rebirth, just as sterilized or fried seeds do not produce plants. Living entities are subjected to the repetition of birth and death because they are conditioned by material nature, but since You are transcendental, one who is inclined to associate with You in transcendence escapes the conditions of material nature.

PURPORT

This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (4.9), wherein the Lord says:

janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so ’rjuna

“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” If one simply engages in Krsna consciousness to understand Krsna, he surely becomes immune to the process of repeated birth and death. As clearly stated in Bhagavad-gita, tyaktva deham punar janma naiti: [Bg. 4.9] such a person, simply by engaging in Krsna consciousness or understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, becomes quite fit to return home, back to Godhead. Even those who are obsessed with material desires may also come to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead so steadily that they go back to Godhead. The fact is that if one comes to Krsna consciousness, although he may have many material desires, he becomes increasingly attracted to the lotus feet of Krsna through associating with the Supreme Lord by chanting His holy name. The Supreme Lord and His holy name are identical. Thus he becomes uninterested in attachment to material enjoyment. The perfection of life is to be uninterested in material enjoyment and interested in Krsna. If one comes to Krsna consciousness somehow or other, even for material gain, the result is that he will be liberated. Kamad dvesad bhayat snehat. Whether for the satisfaction of material desires, because of the influence of envy, because of fear, because of affection or because of any other reason, if one comes to Krsna, his life is successful.

SB6.16.40

TEXT 40

jitam ajita tada bhavata

yadaha bhagavatam dharmam anavadyam

niskincana ye munaya

atmarama yam upasate ’pavargaya

SYNONYMS

jitam—conquered; ajita—O unconquerable one; tada—then; bhavata—by Your Lordship; yada—when; aha—spoke; bhagavatam—which helps the devotee approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead; dharmam—the religious process; anavadyam—faultless (free from contamination); niskincanah—who have no desire to be happy with material opulences; ye—those who; munayah—great philosophers and exalted sages; atma-aramah—who are self-satisfied (being completely aware of their constitutional position as eternal servants of the Lord); yam—whom; upasate—worship; apavargaya—for achieving liberation from material bondage.

TRANSLATION

O unconquerable one, when You spoke about bhagavata-dharma, which is the uncontaminated religious system for achieving the shelter of Your lotus feet, that was Your victory. Persons who have no material desires, like the Kumaras, who are self-satisfied sages, worship You to be liberated from material contamination. In other words, they accept the process of bhagavata-dharma to achieve shelter at Your lotus feet.

PURPORT

As stated by Srila Rupa Gosvami in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu:

anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama

[Madhya 19.167]

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Krsna favorably and without desires for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.”

The Narada-pancaratra also says:

sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hrsikena hrsikesa-
sevanam bhaktir ucyate

[Cc. Madhya 19.170]

“One should be free from all material designations and cleansed of all material contamination. He should be restored to his pure identity, in which he engages his senses in the service of the proprietor of the senses. That is called devotional service.” This is also called bhagavata-dharma. Without material aspirations, one should simply serve Krsna, as advised in Bhagavad-gita, Narada-pancaratra and Srimad-Bhagavatam. Bhagavata-dharma is the process of religion enunciated by pure devotees, direct representatives of the Supreme Personality of Godhead like Narada, Sukadeva Gosvami and their humble servants in the disciplic succession. By understanding bhagavata-dharma, one immediately becomes free from material contamination. Living entities, who are part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are loitering in this material world suffering. When they are instructed by the Lord Himself about bhagavata-dharma and they adopt it, that is victory for the Lord, for He then reclaims these fallen souls. A devotee following the principles of bhagavata-dharma feels very much obligated to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He can understand the difference between life without bhagavata-dharma and life with bhagavata-dharma and thus he ever remains obliged to the Lord. Taking to Krsna consciousness and bringing fallen souls to Krsna consciousness is victory for Lord Krsna.

sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata
yayatma suprasidati

“The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted in order to completely satisfy the self.” (Bhag. 1.2.6) Therefore Srimad-Bhagavatam is the pure transcendental process of religion.

SB6.16.41

TEXT 41

visama-matir na yatra nrnam

tvam aham iti mama taveti ca yad anyatra

visama-dhiya racito yah

sa hy avisuddhah ksayisnur adharma-bahulah

SYNONYMS

visama—unequal (your religion, my religion; your belief, my belief); matih—consciousness; na—not; yatra—in which; nrnam—of human society; tvam—you; aham—I; iti—thus; mama—my; tava—your; iti—thus; ca—also; yat—which; anyatra—elsewhere (in religious systems other than bhagavata-dharma); visama-dhiya—by this unequal intelligence; racitah—made; yah—that which; sah—that system of religion; hi—indeed; avisuddhah—not pure; ksayisnuh—temporary; adharma-bahulah—full of irreligion.

TRANSLATION

Being full of contradictions, all forms of religion but bhagavata-dharma work under conceptions of fruitive results and distinctions of “you and I” and “yours and mine.” The followers of Srimad-Bhagavatam have no such consciousness. They are all Krsna conscious, thinking that they are Krsna’s and Krsna is theirs. There are other, low-class religious systems, which are contemplated for the killing of enemies or the gain of mystic power, but such religious systems, being full of passion and envy, are impure and temporary. Because they are full of envy, they are full of irreligion.

PURPORT

Bhagavata-dharma has no contradictions. Conceptions of “your religion” and “my religion” are completely absent from bhagavata-dharma. Bhagavata-dharma means following the orders given by the Supreme Lord, Bhagavan, as stated in Bhagavad-gita: sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. God is one, and God is for everyone. Therefore everyone must surrender to God. That is the pure conception of religion. Whatever God orders constitutes religion (dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam [SB 6.3.19]). In bhagavata-dharma there is no question of “what you believe” and “what I believe.” Everyone must believe in the Supreme Lord and carry out His orders. Anukulyena krsnanusilanam: whatever Krsna says—whatever God says—should be directly carried out. That is dharma, religion.

If one is actually Krsna conscious, he cannot have any enemies. Since his only engagement is to induce others to surrender to Krsna, or God, how can he have enemies? If one advocates the Hindu religion, the Muslim religion, the Christian religion, this religion or that religion, there will be conflicts. History shows that the followers of religious systems without a clear conception of God have fought with one another. There are many instances of this in human history, but systems of religion that do not concentrate upon service to the Supreme are temporary and cannot last for long because they are full of envy. There are many activities directed against such religious systems, and therefore one must give up the idea of “my belief” and “your belief.” Everyone should believe in God and surrender unto Him. That is bhagavata-dharma.

Bhagavata-dharma is not a concocted sectarian belief, for it entails research to find how everything is connected with Krsna (isavasyam idam sarvam). According to the Vedic injunctions, sarvam khalv idam brahma: Brahman, the Supreme, is present in everything. Bhagavata-dharma captures this presence of the Supreme. Bhagavata-dharma does not consider everything in the world to be false. Because everything emanates from the Supreme, nothing can be false; everything has some use in the service of the Supreme. For example, we are now dictating into a microphone and recording on a dictating machine, and thus we are finding how the machine can be connected to the Supreme Brahman. Since we are using this machine in the service of the Lord, it is Brahman. This is the meaning of sarvam khalv idam brahma. Everything is Brahman because everything can be used for the service of the Supreme Lord. Nothing is mithya, false; everything is factual.

Bhagavata-dharma is called sarvotkrsta, the best of all religious systems, because those who follow bhagavata-dharma are not envious of anyone. Pure bhagavatas, pure devotees, invite everyone, without envy, to join the Krsna consciousness movement. A devotee is therefore exactly like the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Suhrdam sarva-bhutanam: he is the friend of all living entities. Therefore this is the best of all religious systems. Whereas so-called religions are meant for a particular type of person who believes in a particular way, such discrimination has no place in Krsna consciousness, or bhagavata-dharma. If we scrutinize the religious systems meant for worship of demigods or anyone else but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we will find that they are full of envy and therefore impure.

SB6.16.42

TEXT 42

kah ksemo nija-parayoh

kiyan varthah sva-para-druha dharmena

sva-drohat tava kopah

para-sampidaya ca tathadharmah

SYNONYMS

kah—what; ksemah—benefit; nija—to oneself; parayoh—and to others; kiyan—how much; va—or; arthah—purpose; sva-para-druha—which is envious of the performer and of others; dharmena—with the religious system; sva-drohat—from being envious of one’s own self; tava—of You; kopah—anger; para-sampidaya—by giving pain to others; ca—also; tatha—as well as; adharmah—irreligion.

TRANSLATION

How can a religious system that produces envy of one’s self and of others be beneficial for oneself and for them? What is auspicious about following such a system? What is actually to be gained? By causing pain to one’s own self due to self-envy and by causing pain to others, one arouses Your anger and practices irreligion.

PURPORT

Any religious system but the process of bhagavata-dharma—service as an eternal servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead—is a system of envy of one’s own self and of others. For example, there are many systems of religion in which animal sacrifices are recommended. Such animal sacrifices are inauspicious both for the performer and for the animal. Although one is sometimes permitted to sacrifice an animal before the goddess Kali and eat it instead of purchasing meat from a slaughterhouse, permission to eat meat after a sacrifice in the presence of the goddess Kali is not the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is simply a concession for the miserable person who will not give up eating meat. It is meant to restrict his desire for unrestricted meat-eating. Such a religious system is condemned. Therefore Krsna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: [Bg. 18.66] “Give up all other duties and surrender unto Me.” That is the last word in religion.

One may argue that the sacrifice of animals is recommended in the Vedas. This recommendation, however, is a restriction. Without Vedic restrictions on the purchase of meat, people will purchase meat from the market, which will be overflooded with meat shops, and slaughterhouses will increase. To restrict this, sometimes the Vedas say that one may eat meat after sacrificing an insignificant animal like a goat before the goddess Kali. In any case, a system of religion in which animal sacrifices are recommended is inauspicious for those who perform the sacrifices and for the animals. Envious persons who perform ostentatious animal sacrifices are condemned in Bhagavad-gita (16.17) as follows:

atma-sambhavitah stabdha
dhana-mana-madanvitah
yajante nama-yajnais te
dambhenavidhi-purvakam

“Self-complacent and always impudent, deluded by wealth and false prestige, they sometimes perform sacrifices in name only without following any rules or regulations.” Sometimes animal sacrifices are performed very gorgeously with grand arrangements for worshiping the goddess Kali, but such festivals, although performed in the name of yajna, are not actually yajna, for yajna means to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore it is recommended that in this age specifically, yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah: [SB 11.5.32] those who have good intelligence satisfy the yajna-purusa, Visnu, by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra. Envious persons, however, are condemned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as follows:

ahankaram balam darpam
kamam krodham ca samsritah
mam atma-para-dehesu
pradvisanto ’bhyasuyakah

tan aham dvisatah kruran
samsaresu naradhaman
ksipamy ajasram asubhan
asurisv eva yonisu

“Bewildered by false ego, strength, pride, lust and anger, the demon becomes envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in his own body and in the bodies of others, and blasphemes against the real religion. Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, are cast by Me into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.” (Bg. 16.18–19) These persons are condemned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as indicated by the words tava kopah. A person who commits murder is envious of himself and also the person he has killed, for the result of committing murder is that he will be arrested and hanged. If one transgresses the laws of a man-made government, he may escape being killed by the state, but one cannot escape the laws of God. A killer of any animal must be killed in his next life by the same animal. This is the law of nature. One must follow the instructions of the Supreme Lord: sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. If one follows any other system of religion, he is subject to punishment by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in many different ways. Therefore if one follows a concocted system of religion, he is envious not only of others but also of himself. Consequently his system of religion is useless.

Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.8) says:

dharmah svanusthitah pumsam
visvaksena-kathasu yah
notpadayed yadi ratim
srama eva hi kevalam

“Duties (dharma) executed by men, regardless of occupation, are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Supreme Lord.” Following a system of religion that does not awaken one’s Krsna consciousness, or God consciousness, is merely a waste of time and labor.

SB6.16.43

TEXT 43

na vyabhicarati taveksa

yaya hy abhihito bhagavato dharmah

sthira-cara-sattva-kadambesv

aprthag-dhiyo yam upasate tv aryah

SYNONYMS

na—not; vyabhicarati—fails; tava—Your; iksa—outlook; yaya—by which; hi—indeed; abhihitah—declared; bhagavatah—in relationship with Your instructions and activities; dharmah—religious principle; sthira—nonmoving; cara—moving; sattva-kadambesu—among the living entities; aprthak-dhiyah—who do not consider distinctions; yam—which; upasate—follow; tu—certainly; aryah—those who are advanced in civilization.

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, one’s occupational duty is instructed in Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita according to Your point of view, which never deviates from the highest goal of life. Those who follow their occupational duties under Your supervision, being equal to all living entities, moving and nonmoving, and not considering high and low, are called Aryans. Such Aryans worship You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

Bhagavata-dharma and krsna-katha are identical. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted everyone to become a guru and preach the instructions of Krsna everywhere from Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Puranas, Vedanta-sutra and similar Vedic literatures. Aryans, who are advanced in civilization, follow bhagavata-dharma. Prahlada Maharaja, although merely a child of five years, recommended:

kaumara acaret prajno
dharman bhagavatan iha
durlabham manusam janma
tad apy adhruvam arthadam

(Bhag. 7.6.1)

Prahlada Maharaja preached bhagavata-dharma among his classmates as soon as an opportunity was afforded by the absence of his teachers from the classroom. He said that from the very beginning of life, from the age of five, children should be instructed about bhagavata-dharma because the human form of life, which is very rarely obtained, is meant for understanding this subject.

Bhagavata-dharma means living according to the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gita we find that the Supreme Lord has arranged human society in four social divisions, namely brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra. Again, the Puranas and other Vedic literatures set forth four asramas, which are the divisions of spiritual life. Therefore bhagavata-dharma means the varnasrama-dharma of the four social and four spiritual divisions.

The members of human society who strictly follow the principles of bhagavata-dharma and live according to the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are called Aryans or arya. A civilization of Aryans who strictly follow the instructions of the Lord and never deviate from those instructions is perfect. Such civilized men do not discriminate between trees, animals, human beings and other living entities. panditah sama-darsinah: [Bg. 5.18] because they are completely educated in Krsna consciousness, they see all living beings equally. Aryans do not kill even a small plant unnecessarily, not to speak of cutting trees for sense gratification. At the present moment, throughout the world, killing is prominent. Men are killing trees, they are killing animals, and they are killing other human beings also, all for sense gratification. This is not an Aryan civilization. As stated here, sthira-cara-sattva-kadambesv aprthag-dhiyah. The word aprthag-dhiyah indicates that Aryans do not distinguish between lower and higher grades of life. All life should be protected. All living beings have a right to live, even the trees and plants. This is the basic principle of an Aryan civilization. Apart from the lower living entities, those who have come to the platform of human civilization should be divided into a society of brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras. The brahmanas should follow the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as stated in Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic literatures. The criterion must be guna and karma. In other words, one should acquire the qualities of a brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya or sudra and act accordingly. This is the civilization accepted by the Aryans. Why do they accept it? They accept it because they are very much eager to satisfy Krsna. This is perfect civilization.

Aryans do not deviate from the instructions of Krsna, nor do they have doubts about Krsna, but non-Aryans and other demoniac people fail to follow the instructions of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. This is because they have been trained in sense gratification at the cost of all other living entities. Nunam pramattah kurute vikarma: [Bhag. 5.5.4] their only business is to indulge in all kinds of forbidden activities for sense gratification. Yad indriya-pritaya aprnoti: they deviate in this way because they want to gratify their senses. They have no other occupation or ambition. Their method of civilization is condemned in the previous verse. Kah ksemo nija-parayoh kiyan varthah sva-para-druha dharmena: “What is the meaning of a civilization that kills oneself and others?”

This verse, therefore, advises that everyone become a member of the Aryan civilization and accept the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should conduct his social, political and religious affairs according to His instructions. We are spreading the Krsna consciousness movement to try to establish a society the way that Krsna wants it. This is the meaning of Krsna consciousness. We are therefore presenting Bhagavad-gita as it is and kicking out all kinds of mental concoction. Fools and rascals interpret Bhagavad-gita in their own way. When Krsna says, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65]—“Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me”—they comment that it is not Krsna to whom we must surrender. Thus they derive imaginary meanings from Bhagavad-gita. The Krsna consciousness movement, however, strictly follows bhagavata-dharma, the instructions of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam for the complete welfare of human society. One who misinterprets Bhagavad-gita, twisting out some meaning for his sense gratification, is a non-Aryan. Therefore commentaries on Bhagavad-gita by such persons should be immediately rejected. One should try to follow Bhagavad-gita as it is. In Bhagavad-gita (12.6–7) Lord Sri Krsna says:

ye tu sarvani karmani
mayi sannyasya mat-parah
ananyenaiva yogena
mam dhyayanta upasate

tesam aham samuddharta
mrtyu-samsara-sagarat
bhavami na cirat partha
mayy avesita-cetasam

“For one who worships Me, giving up all his activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, who has fixed his mind upon Me, O son of Prtha, for him I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.”

Next verse (SB6.16.44)