Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.10 Prabhupada: viprad dvi-sad-guna-yutad aravinda-nabha-padaravinda-vimukhat svapacam varistham manye tad-arpita-mano-vacanehitartha-pranam punati sa kulam na tu bhurimanah This verse we have been discussing in the last meeting. It is one of the many verses in the prayers of Prahlada Maharaja to Lord Nrsimha. So Prahlada Maharaja says that a person who has dedicated his life, tad-arpita-mano-vacana… Arpita means dedicated. Mana means mind. Vacana means words. So we act in this body, we act with our mind, with our words, and with our body. Mind, body, and words. This is the medium of exchanging our activities. So Prahlada Maharaja says, “One who has dedicated these three things, mind, body, and words, to the service of the Lord, I think he is best.” How best? Viprad dvi-sad-guna-yutad. He’s better or the best than anyone. In this material world the brahmana, the most intellectual person with twelve good qualifications Satya, sama, dama. He’s truthful, he’s controller of the senses, controller of the mind, he is simple, he is tolerant, he is full of knowledge, he is full of scientific knowledge, he knows everything of Vedas. These are the qualities of a brahmana. But Prahlada Maharaja says that in spite of having all these qualities, if one is aravinda-nabha-padaravinda-vimukhat, if one is averse to the service of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then, even though he’s a qualified brahmana, even though he’s the most intellectual person, he is rejected. And better than him is he who even born of a very low family, svapacam. Svapacam means the dog-eaters. The dog-eaters. There are different kinds of flesh eaters. So there are dog-eaters also. That I have already explained, that dog-eaters are considered the lowest of the mankind. So Prahlada Maharaja says that even if he’s born in the family of the dog-eaters, but if he has dedicated his body, mind and words for the service of the Lord, he is better than such brahmana who has got all the good qualifications, but he has no attachment for God, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the comparison. Why you are giving so much importance to the man, even if he is born in a lower family? He says, manye tad-arpita-mano-vacana iha. Iha means endeavor. Anyone who has engaged this endeavor for the service of the Lord Sri Rupa Gosvami has described about this person whose endeavor is always in the service of the Lord. How Just like the members of the Krsna consciousness society. What is their endeavor? Their only endeavor is how this Krsna consciousness should be spread all over the world. Why they’re endeavoring? Because Krsna wants it. Krsna wants it. God wants it. Why God wants it? Because we are all sons of God. We have gone to dog. Instead of going to God, we have gone to dog. Therefore God is very anxious to reclaim us. He comes therefore in person, Krsna. He sends His son, Lord Jesus Christ, or He sends His devotee. He leaves behind Him the books like Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam or many other such literatures. Why? To reclaim these obstinate, bewildered sons of God. They have forgotten God, and they are, instead of loving God, they are now loving dog. Therefore God is very anxious. It is natural. If a father is very rich man and he has got many sons, he wants to see the sons very happy. But if the sons go away from home and becomes crazy, do not come back home, the father is more anxious than the son. The son does not understand that what is his precarious condition of life in this material world, but God understands that how much in miserable condition he’s living. Threefold miserable condition of this material existence. He’s always disturbed, but still, he does not wish to go back to Godhead. Therefore there is a constant endeavor on the part of God to reclaim these conditioned souls. Who are conditioned souls? Those who have got this material body. They are called conditioned souls. Because this material body means you have to live under certain conditions. Just like I require fan. Why? Because I have been put into the condition of warm. I cannot tolerate it, but I have to live. Similarly severe cold. I do not want it, but I have to live. I do not want set fire at home, but there is fire, and there is fire brigade. In this way, in every step of our life we are always in danger. But foolish persons, they do not understand it. They are thinking that “I am happy.” They are thinking… This is called illusion, maya. Actually, he’s unhappy in every step, but the spell of maya or illusion is so strong that even in the lowest stage of life, anyone will think that he’s happy. Even in the animals, you have experienced that so many animals, they are living in such a miserable condition, but still, he does not like to give up this body. But the pain is more felt by God than the living creature in this conditioned life. So it is always… There is always endeavor on the part of God to send His representative; He comes Himself, He gives book. So anyone who takes up this endeavor on behalf of God to reclaim these conditioned souls back to Godhead, back to home, he is considered the most intimate devotee, dear devotee of the Lord. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, na ca tasmad manusyesu kascid me priya-krttamah. If you want to become very dear to Krsna or God, then try to take up these missionary activities. What is that? Spread Krsna consciousness. Krsna will be very much pleased. If you want to live in a solitary place and perform yoga system for your personal elevation of self-realization, that is very good, undoubtedly. But if you try to convert others to the Krsna consciousness platform, it is far better. Prahlada Maharaja, you’ll find in his prayer, he’ll say to the Lord Nrsimhadeva, “My dear Lord,” naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaranyas, “this world is full of anxieties. That I know. And it is full of miserable condition. But I am not afraid. I am not afraid.” Why you are not afraid? Tvad-virya-gayana-mahamrta-magna-cittah: “Because I have taken to chanting of Your glorious activities. So when I chant Your glorious activities or Your glories, I become merged into the ocean of nectar. Therefore these worldly anxieties or miseries does not…, do not disturb me. I am quite safe.” Naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaranyas tvad-virya-gayana-mahamrta-magna-cittah. “Then why you are…? You appear to be very anxious. Why you are anxious?” “Yes. I have got anxiety.” What is that anxiety? Soce tato vimukha-cetasa: “I am simply disturbed for those rascals who are bereft of Your consciousness. Who have no Krsna consciousness, I am simply anxious for them.” Soce tato vimukha-cetasa. “Why you are anxious for them?” Because indriyartha-maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan [SB 7.9.43]. “These foolish rascals, they have created a very troublesome civilization simply for sense gratification. That’s all. Their so-called advancement of civilization, machine and machinery and so many things, they’ve complicated. But what is their purpose? The purpose is indriya sukha. Indriya sukha means sense gratification. That’s all. And what is that sense gratification? Maya sukha indriyartham. For the matter of the senses. Maya. Maya means illusion. It, this kind of sense gratification has no practical meaning. It is simply temporary, flickering. But I am hankering after eternal pleasure. And what this sense gratification will give me? They do not know. But they have invented a type of civilization full of activities simply for the matter of sense gratification. So I am simply anxious for them.” So this is the business of a Krsna conscious person. A Krsna conscious person is not at all anxious for his personal self, because he knows perfectly that he is protected by Krsna in all circumstances. Just like Prahlada Maharaja. He was put to so much difficulties by his father, but still he is steadily fixed up in his position because he knew that “My father cannot do any harm. I am fixed up.” And actually it so happened. So those who have taken very seriously to this business of Krsna consciousness, they are already free. I was just going to explain the word iha. Iha means endeavor. This iha has been explained by Rupa Gosvami very nicely. He says, iha yasya harer dasye. Iha means endeavor. One who has engaged… Everyone is endeavoring. Nobody is idle. Everyone is trying something, do something, endeavoring something for higher position or higher distinction. So many things. The endeavor is there. That is the symptom of life. A living entity means he is always active. Resistance and activity. These are the symptoms of life. So iha, this activity, endeavor… Rupa Gosvami says iha yasya harer dasye. Anyone who has engaged in endeavors simply for Krsna, Hari, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, karmana manasa vaca… The same thing as Prahlada Maharaja says. Prana, mana, vaca. Because these things required for endeavoring. We require our mind, attention. If you want to do, you have to have clear attention; you must engage your body, you must engage your words. So Rupa Gosvami says, iha yasya harer dasye karmana manasa vaca nikhilasv apy avasthasu. He may remain in anywhere, in any stage of life. It doesn’t matter whether he is European, American, Indian, brahmana, sudra, white, black, or this or that. It doesn’t matter. But if he has simply engaged his endeavor for the service of the Lord, he is a liberated person. That is the definition given by Rupa Gosvami. Iha yasya harer dasye. So Prahlada Maharaja also says the same thing, that “I consider that person is better than the so-called qualified brahmana because his endeavors are engaged in the service of the Lord.” Svapacam varistham. Pranam punati sa kulam na tu bhurimanah. A highly qualified materialistic person, he’s proud of his qualification. Anyone. There are four things to become proud: janmaisvarya-sruta-sri. If one is born in very good family, high family, aristocratic family or rich family, he is proud. He’s always proud. And one who is very wealthy, he’s also very proud. And one who is very beautiful, he is also proud. And one who is very learned, a great scholar, he is also very proud. So Prahlada Maharaja says that what this pride will help him? You may remain a very proud man, full of pride so long this body is there. That’s all. As long the body is finished, your designation as Rockefeller finished. Your degree, M.A., Ph.D., finished. Your beautiful body finished. Your aristocratic family finished. Then you have to take another platform according to your work. If you have done works like again aristocratic or learned activities, then you get similar body. But in spite of all your acquisitions, you have played the part of a dog, then you are going to become a dog. Because after leaving this body we are completely in the hands of material nature. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27]. The Bhagavad-gita says that the material nature is acting. I have got this body not according to my choice. You have got this body not according to your choice. Nobody can say that “Next life I shall get a body like this.” There are so many, 8,400,000 bodies. So that choice is not in your hands. That choice is in your work. So if you, this body, work in Krsna consciousness, then next body you are going to get a body like Krsna. That is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita: janma karma me divyam yo janati tattvatah tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti kaunteya [Bg. 4.9] If anyone is always full in Krsna consciousness, always trying to understand Krsna, always trying to engage himself in the service of Krsna—that means fully absorbed in Krsna consciousness—he is sure to get next body just like Krsna. What is the difference between Krsna and your body? That is said in the Bhagavad-gita also. When Arjuna inquired from Krsna, “Krsna, You say that You spoke this yoga system of Bhagavad-gita to sun- god, but I know that You are born just like me. Your age and my age is similar. You are my friend. How can I believe that You spoke this philosophy to sun-god, which means some millions of years ago?” So what was the reply of Krsna? The reply was that “Your birth and My birth, there are many, many times. But I remember them all and you forget. That is the difference.” Why we forget? Because we get a different body. Just like you remember you had been a child. Just like here is a small baby, he has got a small body. But when she’ll be grown up girl she’ll forget, because the body has changed. Forget. So because we change our body, therefore we forget. This is a fact. Just like when you, at night you are in dream. You forget your body. You are dreaming that you have got a body of a bird. You are flying in the sky and you have forgotten completely that you are Mr. and Mrs. such and such, lying in a room. You have forgotten. So in daily experience we can understand that due to change of body we forget. Death means change of body and forgetfulness. That is death. So Krsna said that “You forget, you have forgotten, but I have not forgotten.” That means indirectly Krsna says that “I do not change My body, but you change your body.” So we are all changing our body. So Prahlada Maharaja says that this person who is very much proud of his intelligence, his aristocracy, his wealth, his education, he can become proud, but by that prideness he cannot purify himself. But this person, even if he is born in the family of a dog-eater, because he has engaged his everything, mind, words, and body, in the service of the Lord, he can purify not only himself, but his whole family. That is the prerogative of a devotee. If there is a pure, sincere devotee in a family, then that family, up to seven generation up and down, they are also liberated. That information we have got in the Vedic scripture. So Prahlada Maharaja says that proud man who is simply proud of his qualification of this body, he cannot even purify himself, and what to speak of purifying his family. But this man who is born even in the family of a dog-eater, but because he has engaged himself fully and solely in the service of the Lord, he not only purifies himself, but he purifies his whole family. Sa-kulam. This very word is pranam punati sa-kulam na tu bhurimanah. Yata bhakti-hinasya trai-guna garbhayoh(?) bhavanti. Here is a very nice commentary by Sridhara Swami that the difference between a devotee and nondevotee is this—that a nondevotee is simply proud of his acquisition. That’s all. He has no other qualification. But a devotee, because he is humble and meek, he thinks that “All these nice qualifications which Krsna has given me, or God has given me, so much wealth, so much education, so much beauty, oh, let me engage these things to the service of Krsna.” That is the difference between a devotee and nondevotee. There is a very nice verse of Canakya Pandita, the difference between a great soul and a poor soul. ahagata(?) caritrani vicitrani mahasanam(?) laksyams(?) traya tucchanti tad bharena namanti ca The difference between devotee and nondevotee is that if a devotee is rich man, then he will think, “Oh, Krsna has entrusted me with so much money. So it is Krsna’s money. Let me spend it for Krsna.” Prahlada Maharaja, Bhisma Maharaja, and Yudhisthira Maharaja, and many, many great kings, they were very rich, but they engaged their money for the service of Krsna. Similarly a devotee, if he is educated, he tries to apply his educational qualification in describing Krsna by so many literatures, so many publications. That is the proper use. And Bhagavata says, as I have several times explained before you, that svanusthitasya dharmasya samsiddhir hari-tosanam [SB 1.2.13] If you want to see tle perfection of your acquisition, if you want to take… Suppose you are a very great, learned man. Now you think over whether by becoming such learned man your life has become successful. That test is when you will see that you have engaged your learning in the service of Krsna, then it is successful. Otherwise it is finished with this body. Similarly, take anything—learning, beauty, or wealth, or anything, whatever you possess. There are many good things to possess in this material world. But if that good thing is engaged in the service of Krsna, or God, then it is success. Otherwise it is simply a burden, or it is finished as soon as this body is finished. Thank you very much. Any question? (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Montreal, July 12, 1968