rule



 
Canto 7
S'rī Rādhika Stava
 
 

Chapter 13: The Behavior of a Saintly Person

(1) S'rī Nārada said: 'Someone capable [of what I described before], should wander around from place to place without any form of material attachment and, ultimately with nothing but his body, not stay in any village longer than a single night [see also the story of King Rishabha 5.5: 28]. (2) If the renunciate [sannyāsī] wears clothing at all, it should be nothing but some covering for his private parts. Except for in case of distress, he should not take to matters he has given up; he normally is characterized by nothing but the marks of renunciation: his rod [danda] and such. (3) With Nārāyana as his refuge he, living on alms only, satisfied within, all alone and not depending on anyone or anything, moves around in perfect peace as a well-wisher to all living beings. (4) He should see this universe of cause and effect as existing within the everlasting Self in the beyond and see the Supreme Absolute itself as pervading the world of cause and effect everywhere [compare B.G. 9: 4]. (5) The soul moves from waking to sleeping to the dreaming in between [see also 6.16: 53-54]. Because of that someone of self-awareness considers the states of being bound - of being conditioned - and being liberated as in fact being nothing but an illusion. (6) He should not rejoice in the certainty of the death of the body, nor in the uncertainty of its life, he instead should observe the supreme [command] of Time that rules the manifestation and disappearance of all living beings. (7) He [the renunciate] should not be fixed on time bound literatures, nor depend on a career. Accusations and pedantry he should give up and he should not side with group bound conjecture, opinion and speculation [politics]. (8) He should not seek followers, nor should he engage in diverse literary exercises or read such writings. He should not subsist on lecturing nor set up an enterprise [for building temples e.g.]. (9) A peaceful and equal minded renunciate does not necessarily have to adopt the symbols of his spiritual position [the danda etc. of his ās'rama *], he as a great soul may just as well abandon them. (10) Even though he externally may not directly be recognized as a renunciate, he is clear in his purpose. Such a saintly person may feel the need to present himself in society like a restless youth, or, having been a scholar, present himself as a less intelligent man.

(11)
As an example of such a hidden identity one [often] recites a very old story about a conversation between Prahlāda and a saintly man who lived like a python. (12-13) Prahlāda, the favorite of the Supreme Lord, once met such a saint when he with a few royal associates was traveling around the world in an effort to understand the motives of the people. At the bank of the Kāverī river on a slope of the mountain Sahya, he witnessed the purity and profundity of the spiritual radiance of a man who was lying on the ground with his entire body covered with dirt and dust. (14) From what he did, how he looked, from what he said as also by his age, occupation and other marks of identity, the people could not decide whether or not that man was someone they knew. (15) After paying his respects and honoring him by, according to the rules, touching his lotus feet with his head, the great Asura devotee of the Lord, eager to know him, asked the following question. (16-17) 'I see you are maintaining quite a fat body, like you are someone eager for money. People who always worry about an income, are surely of sense gratification. Wealthy people, they who enjoy this world and think of nothing else, therefore [easily] become as fat as this body of yours. (18) You, lying down doing nothing, oh man of the spirit, clearly have no money for sense enjoyment. How can, without you enjoying your senses, your body be this fat, oh learned one? Excuse me for asking this, but can you please tell us that? (19) Despite your being so learned, skilled and intelligent and your talent to speak nicely and your inner balance, you lie down observing how the people are engaged in their work!'

(20)
S'rī Nārada said: 'The great saint thus being questioned by the Daitya king, smiled at him and was, captivated by the beauty and love of his words, willing to reply. (21) The brahmin said: 'Oh best of the Asuras, you who are appreciated by all civilized men, know from your transcendental vision all about the matters people during their lifetime are inclined to and turn away from. (22) With Nārāyana deva, our Lord always present in one's heart, someone by his devotion alone will shake off all ignorance, the way darkness is dispelled by the sun. (23) Nevertheless I will try to answer all your questions according to what I have heard [from the sages and their scriptures], oh King, for you, as someone desiring the purification of the self, deserves it to be addressed. (24) Under the influence of worldly interests, I myself have catered to one material desire after the other and was perforce impelled to perform actions that tied me to different types of birth. (25) After I, because of my karma, had wandered from the heavenly gate of liberation to lower species of life, I unexpectedly acquired this [human] position again  [see also B.G. 8: 16 and **]. (26) But seeing how one, in that position always acting for the avoidance of misery and for the sake of the pleasure that men and women have, achieves the opposite, I have terminated those activities. (27) To be happy is the natural position of the soul and to put an end to all material activities constitutes the cause of the manifestation of this happiness. Having understood that sense enjoyment follows from fostering desires, I am now lying here slumbering silently. (28) Someone situated in this world, gets, because of its attraction, entangled in oppositions that make him afraid of a [repeated] worldly existence, and because of this duality [of his material ego] he forgets about the interest of his heart and soul, his true nature [of happiness]. (29) Just like a thirsty animal that, failing to notice water overgrown by grass, ignorantly looks for it elsewhere, also someone who is thirsty for his material interest [but fails to see the happiness of his true self] runs after a mirage [of that happiness]. (30) Someone who, with his body and everything belonging to it, is subjected to the superior control [of the material world], searches for the happiness of the soul by trying to diminish his misery [by material means]. But [not meditating on the true happiness, being completely powerless], he time and again is disappointed in his plans and actions. (31) [And if he sometimes happens to succeed,] of what use would the incidental success of fighting adverse consequences be to a mortal person who is not free from the threefold miseries, as created by himself, by others and by nature? Where do such successes lead to? What is their value? (32) I see the miseries of the greedy rich and wealthy; as a victim of their senses they in their fear have sleepless nights in which they see danger coming from all sides. (33) He who lives for the money is always afraid of the government, of thieves, of enemies, relatives, animals and birds, of beggars, of Time and of himself. (34) Someone intelligent has to forsake the original cause leading to all lamentation, illusion, fear, anger, attachment, poverty, toiling and so on of the human being: the desire for power and wealth [***].

(35)
The working bees and the big snakes in this world are in this matter our first-class gurus: from what they teach we find the satisfaction [of being happy as one is] and the renunciation [of not seeking things elsewhere]. (36) I learned from the honeybee to detach from all desires. The money you as honey [like a bee] have collected with great difficulty, is by someone else taken away again, in the process of which the owner is eventually killed. (37) Enduring like a python lying down for many days, I am satisfied with the soul without endeavor, and not interested in acquiring possessions. (38) Sometimes I eat little, sometimes I eat a lot of food that sometimes is fresh and sometimes is stale, that sometimes is palatable and sometimes is tasteless. Sometimes food is brought to me with respect and sometimes it is offered with disrespect. Thus I eat during the night or else during the day, whenever it is available. (39) Spiritually satisfied I am clothed in whatever destiny offers me, be it linen, silk or cotton, deerskin, a loincloth, bark or whatever material. (40) Sometimes I lie down on the earth, on grass, on leaves, on stone or on a pile of ash and sometimes, when someone wishes me to, I lie down in a palace on a first-class bed with pillows [see also B.G. 18: 61]. (41) Sometimes I bathe nicely, smear my body with sandalwood paste, properly dress, wear garlands and various ornaments and sit on a chariot, an elephant or the back of a horse. And sometimes I wander around completely naked as if haunted by a ghost, oh mighty one. (42) I do not curse the people nor praise them, all having a different nature. I pray for the ultimate benefit of everyone that is found in the Oneness of the Greater Soul. (43) The notion of discrimination should be offered as an oblation in the fire of consciousness, consciousness should be offered in the fire of the mind and the mind, that is the root of all confusion, must be offered in the fire of the false self. That variable ego should, following this principle, be offered in the complete of the material energy. (44) A mindful person for the sake of his self-realization, in respect of the truth, should offer the complete of his material energy as an oblation. When he thus has lost his interest [in the world], he must, thus being situated in his essence - in his true self -, remain completely aloof. (45) This story about myself I now submit to you this way in utter confidence. But it might be so that you, from the side of your good self, as a man of transcendence with the Supreme Lord, find it contrary to the customary scriptural explanation.'

(46)
S'rī Nārada said: 'Thus having heard from the holy man about the dharma of the paramahamsas [see also 6.3: 20-21], the Asura lord most pleased, after duly honoring him took leave and returned home.

 

next                            

 
 

Third revised edition, loaded March 26, 2019.

 

 

 

 

Previous Aadhar edition and Vedabase links:

Text 1

S'rī Nārada said: 'Someone capable [of what I described before], should wander around from place to place without any form of material attachment and ultimately with nothing but his body not stay in any village longer than a single night [see also the story of King Rishabha 5.5: 28].
S'rī Nārada said: 'A person who because of his selfrealization is ready for what I before described, should wander the earth, and thereto, not wishing to keep more than his body, not depend on anything and stay in no village for more than a night [see also the story of King Rishabha 5.5: 28]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 2

If the renunciate [sannyāsī] wears clothing at all, it should be nothing but some covering for his private parts. Except for in case of distress, he should not take to matters he has given up; he normally is characterized by nothing but the marks of renunciation: his rod [danda] and such.

The renunciate [sannyāsī] should not wear more clothing but some covering for his private parts and, free from misfortune, in his forsaking not take to anything else but his rod [danda] and such.  (Vedabase)

 

Text 3

With Nārāyana as his refuge he, living on alms only, satisfied within, all alone and not depending on anyone or anything, moves around in perfect peace as a well-wisher to all living beings.

Resorting to Nārāyana living on alms only and being fully satisfied within, he moves by himself alone, fully independent, wishing each living being the best in perfect peace. (Vedabase)


Text 4

He should see this universe of cause and effect as existing within the everlasting Self in the beyond and see the Supreme Absolute itself as pervading the world of cause and effect everywhere [compare B.G. 9: 4].

Such a one should see this universe of cause and effect as existing within the everlasting self in the beyond and see himself as [a part of] the Supreme Absolute everywhere pervading the world of cause and effect. (Vedabase)

 

Text 5

The soul moves from waking to sleeping to the dreaming in between [see also 6.16: 53-54]. Because of that someone of self-awareness considers the states of being bound - of being conditioned - and being liberated as in fact being nothing but an illusion.

Of the sleeping, waking and the dreaming in between one may be engaged in [see also 6.16: 53-54] should the one who actually sees the self understand that the states of being bound and being liberated in fact are nothing but illusory images. (Vedabase)

 

Text 6

He should not rejoice in the certainty of the death of the body, nor in the uncertainty of its life, he instead should observe the supreme [command] of Time that rules the manifestation and disappearance of all living beings.

One should not rejoice in the sure - or not sure either - of the death of this body and its lifespan, one should rather observe the Time Supreme which rules the manifestation and disappearance of the living beings. (Vedabase)

 

Text 7

He [the renunciate] should not be fixed on time bound literatures, nor depend on a career. Accusations and pedantry he should give up and he should not side with group bound conjecture, opinion and speculation [politics].

One should not indulge in fixations on the untrue nor try to have a career in that; pointless arguing should be given up nor should one take shelter of factions [political parties]. (Vedabase)


Text 8

He should not seek followers, nor should he engage in diverse literary exercises or read such writings. He should not subsist on lecturing nor set up an enterprise [for building temples e.g.].

No followers for the sake of this or that, nor certainly the reading and writing of many books, nor should one try to give discourses for one's livelihood or ever try to increase material opulences [like temples e.g.]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 9

A peaceful and equal minded renunciate does not necessarily have to adopt the symbols of his spiritual position [the danda etc. of his ās'rama *], he as a great soul may just as well abandon them.

The one advanced who is of peace and an equal mind may, even though he as a renunciate never needs them, adopt the symbols of his spiritual position [his ās'rama*] or just as well give them up.  (Vedabase)

 

Text 10

Even though he externally may not directly be recognized as a renunciate, he is clear in his purpose. Such a saintly person may feel the need to present himself in society like a restless youth, or, having been a scholar, present himself as a less intelligent man.

Even though one externally might not directly recognize him as a renunciate, is his purpose clear; such a one being a saint may present himself in society like an excited boy or, having been a great orator, now be like a man unable to speak. (Vedabase)

 

Text 11

As an example of such a hidden identity one [often] recites a very old story about a conversation between Prahlāda and a saintly man who lived like a python.

The learned recite as an example of this hidden identity a very old historical incident of a conversation between Prahlāda and a saintly man who lived as a python. (Vedabase)


Text 12-13

Prahlāda, the favorite of the Supreme Lord, once met such a saint when he, with a few royal associates, was traveling around the world in an effort to understand the motives of the people. At the bank of the Kāverī river on a slope of the mountain Sahya, he witnessed the purity and profundity of the spiritual radiance of a man who was lying there on the ground, with his entire body covered by dirt and dust.

He saw the purest, most grave, spiritual power of that man at the bank of the Kāverī river on a ridge of the mountain Sahya, with him laying on the ground covered by dirt and dust all over his body. Prahlāda, the favorite of the Supreme Lord, met him when he in the company of a couple of his royal friends was traveling all the world in an effort to understand what it was that ruled the people.  (Vedabase)

 

Text 14

From what he did, how he looked, from what he said as also by his age, occupation and other marks of identity, the people could not decide whether or not that man was someone they knew.

From what he did, how he looked, to what he said and to his age and occupation and other marks of identity could the people not make up whether or not that man was the same person they used to know. (Vedabase)

 

Text 15

After paying his respects and honoring him by, according to the rules, touching his lotus feet with his head, the great Asura devotee of the Lord, eager to know him, asked the following question.

After paying his respects and honoring him according the rules by touching his lotus feet with his head, posed the great asura devotee of the Lord, eager to know him, the following question. (Vedabase)
  
Text 16-17

'I see you are maintaining quite a fat body, like you are someone eager for money. People who always worry about an income, are surely of sense gratification. Wealthy people, they who enjoy this world and think of nothing else, therefore [easily] become as fat as this body of yours.

'I see you are maintaining quite a fat body like someone lusting after the money; people who always worry about an income are surely of sense gratification and those being so wealthy thus as the enjoyers of this world do, not doing anything else, in effect become as fat indeed as this body of yours. (Vedabase)

 

Text 18

You, lying down doing nothing, oh man of the spirit, clearly have no money for sense enjoyment. How can, without you enjoying your senses, your body be this fat, oh learned one? Excuse me for asking this, but can you please tell us that?

It is clear that you lying down doing nothing, o man of the spirit, have no money at all for enjoying your senses; how can, not being after the pleasure, your body be in this condition, o learned one, please tell us that if you excuse me for my impudence. (Vedabase)


Text 19

Despite your being so learned, skilled and intelligent and your talent to speak nicely and your inner balance, you lie down observing how the people are engaged in their work!'

Despite of your being so learned, skilled and intelligent, capable of speaking nicely and remaining equipoised do you, seeing how the people are engaged in fruitive labor, lie down!' (Vedabase)

 

Text 20

S'rī Nārada said: 'The great saint thus being questioned by the Daitya king, smiled at him and was, captivated by the beauty and love of his words, willing to reply.

S'rī Nārada said: 'This way showered by the words of the daitya king smiled the great muni at him and was he, captivated by the nectar of his words, willing to reply. (Vedabase)

  

Text 21

The brahmin said: 'Oh best of the Asuras, you who are appreciated by all civilized men, know from your transcendental vision all about the matters people during their lifetime are inclined to and turn away from.

The honorable brahmin said: 'O best of the Asuras hailed by all āryans, from your transcendental vision you are well acquainted with indeed all the things that the people are inclined to or desist from according their different positions. (Vedabase)
 

Text 22

With Nārāyana deva, our Lord always present in one's heart, someone by his devotion alone will shake off all ignorance, the way darkness is dispelled by the sun.

He who has Nārāyana our God and Nārāyana our Lord always in his heart, can by his devotion alone uproot all the ignorance like the sun expells the darkness. (Vedabase)

 

Text 23

Nevertheless I will try to answer all your questions according to what I have heard [from the sages and their scriptures], oh King, for you, as someone desiring the purification of the self, deserves it to be addressed.

Nevertheless I shall answer all your questions o King, in accord with the Vedas, because you indeed, for someone who desires the purification of his self, are worthy the address. (Vedabase)

 

Text 24

Under the influence of worldly interests, I myself have catered to one material desire after the other and was perforce impelled to perform actions that tied me to different types of birth.

Because of material desires struggling for my existence was I, under a worldly sway catering to my lusty appetites and driven from one activity to the other, born in different forms of life. (Vedabase)


Text 25

After I, because of my karma, had wandered from the heavenly gate of liberation to lower species of life, I unexpectedly acquired this [human] position again  [see also B.G. 8: 16 and **].

This human form, carried by the waves of the material ocean, achieved, because of his karma going here and there, the heaven's gate of liberation, the lower species of life and a human life again [see also B.G. 8: 16 and **]. (Vedabase)


Text 26

But seeing how one, in that position always acting for the avoidance of misery and for the sake of the pleasure that men and women have, achieves the opposite, I have terminated those activities.

And in that life has one the union of man and woman for the sake of pleasure. But seeing, always engaged in fruitive activities, how one arrives at the opposite [of that pleasure], have I now ceased in order to escape from that misery. (Vedabase)

Text 27

To be happy is the natural position of the soul and to put an end to all material activities constitutes the cause of the manifestation of this happiness. Having understood that sense enjoyment follows from fostering desires, I am now lying here slumbering silently.

Happiness is the natural state of the living entity, and thus, definitely ceasing with all out here in having seen how the worldly demands are definitively linked to sense gratification, have I, contemplating these matters, entered silence. (Vedabase)


Text 28

Someone situated in this world, gets, because of its attraction, entangled in oppositions that make him afraid of a [repeated] worldly existence, and because of this duality [of his material ego] he forgets about the interest of his heart and soul, his true nature [of happiness].

Situated in this world does someone, by the false attraction of that material world very fearfully being entangled in material affairs that are strange to himself, indeed forget the interest of the living entity within himself. (Vedabase)


Text 29

Just like a thirsty animal that, failing to notice water overgrown by grass, ignorantly looks for it elsewhere, also someone who is thirsty for his material interest [but fails to see the happiness of his true self] runs after a mirage [of that happiness].

Just like water that overgrown by grass is missed by a thirsty one who ignorantly looks for it elsewhere, is the same way someone in his material self-interest pursuing a mirage [of worldy happiness]. (Vedabase)


Text 30

Someone who, with his body and everything belonging to it, is subjected to the superior control [of the material world], searches for the happiness of the soul by trying to diminish his misery [by material means]. But [not meditating on the true happiness, being completely powerless], he time and again is disappointed in his plans and actions.

Someone who with his body and everything is submitted to the superior control of matter, searches for the happiness belonging to the self in trying to diminish his misery and is, being fully conditioned, baffled over and over in his plans and actions. (Vedabase)


Text 31

[And if he sometimes happens to succeed,] of what use would the incidental success of fighting adverse consequences be to a mortal person who is not free from the threefold miseries, as created by himself, by others and by nature? Where do such successes lead to? What is their value?

By the threefold of the miseries created by oneself, by others and by nature, is the mortal person, sometimes being of some success in fighting the adverse consequences, still not free from them; what then is the value of such happiness, where do those desires lead to? (Vedabase)


Text 32

I see the miseries of the greedy rich and wealthy; as a victim of their senses they in their fear have sleepless nights in which they see danger coming from all sides.

Just consider the miseries of the rich and wealthy who are so very concerned about their possessions: as the victim of their senses have they afraid sleepless nights in which they see the danger coming from all sides. (Vedabase)

 

Text 33

He who lives for the money is always afraid of the government, of thieves, of enemies, relatives, animals and birds, of beggars, of Time and of himself.

Of the government, of thieves, of enemies, relatives, animals and birds, of beggars, of Time itself, as well as of himself, is the one living for the money always afraid. (Vedabase)


Text 34

Someone intelligent has to forsake the original cause leading to all lamentation, illusion, fear, anger, attachment, poverty, toiling and so on of the human being: the desire for power and wealth [***].

What an intelligent person must give up is the original cause that leads to all the lamentation, illusion, fear, anger, attachment, poverty, toiling and so on of the human being: the desire for prestige and money [***]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 35

The working bees and the big snakes in this world are in this matter our first-class gurus: from what they teach we find the satisfaction [of being happy as one is] and the renunciation [of not seeking things elsewhere].

The bees at work and the big snakes in this world are in this our first class gurus: from what they teach do we find the satisfaction [of taking only what is necessary] and the renunciation [of not seeking things elsewhere]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 36

I learned from the honeybee to detach from all desires. The money you as honey [like a bee] have collected with great difficulty, is by someone else taken away again, in the process of which the owner is eventually killed.

The bees have taught me to detach from all desires as for the money, that with difficulty is acquired as the honey, one even kills one another taking it away from the owner. (Vedabase)


Text 37

Enduring like a python lying down for many days, I am satisfied with the soul without endeavor, and not interested in acquiring possessions.

Me not desiring more am happy with what I obtain free from endeavoring, and if nothing is found, I just lie down for many days to endure like a python. (Vedabase)


Text 38

Sometimes I eat little, sometimes I eat a lot of food that sometimes is fresh and sometimes is stale, that sometimes is palatable and sometimes is tasteless. Sometimes food is brought to me with respect and sometimes it is offered with disrespect. Thus I eat during the night or else during the day, whenever it is available.

Sometimes I eat little, sometimes I eat much food, whether it is fresh or sometimes stale, or of a great flavor or tasteless; sometimes it is brought with respect and sometimes it is offered in disrespect; thus eating during the night somewhere or during the day at times, I eat whatever is available. (Vedabase)

 

Text 39

Spiritually satisfied I am clothed in whatever destiny offers me, be it linen, silk or cotton, deerskin, a loincloth, bark or whatever material.

Of linen, silk or cotton, deerskin, with a loincloth, or whatever material it may concern, with a happy mind I put on what is available by destiny. (Vedabase)


Text 40

Sometimes I lie down on the earth, on grass, on leaves, on stone or on a pile of ash and sometimes, when someone wishes me to, I lie down in a palace on a first-class bed with pillows [see also B.G. 18: 61].

Sometimes I lay down on the earth, on grass, leaves, on stone or a pile of ash and sometimes, to whatever someone wishes me, I lay down in a palace on a first-class bed with pillows [see also B.G. 18: 61]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 41

Sometimes I bathe nicely, smear my body with sandalwood paste, properly dress, wear garlands and various ornaments and sit on a chariot, an elephant or the back of a horse. And sometimes I wander around completely naked as if haunted by a ghost, oh mighty one.

Sometimes I bathe nicely and smear my body with sandalwood and do I properly dress, decorated with garlands and various ornaments, and sit I on a chariot, an elephant or the back of a horse; and sometimes I wander completely naked as if haunted by a ghost, o mighty one. (Vedabase)

 

Text 42

I do not curse the people nor praise them, all having a different nature. I pray for the ultimate benefit of everyone that is found in the Oneness of the Greater Soul.

I do not swear, nor do I praise the people who are of different natures; I pray for the ultimate benefit for them all, which in truth is the Oneness of the Greater Soul. (Vedabase)

 

Text 43

The notion of discrimination should be offered as an oblation in the fire of consciousness, consciousness should be offered in the fire of the mind and the mind, that is the root of all confusion, must be offered in the fire of the false self. That variable ego should, following this principle, be offered in the complete of the material energy.

The sense of discrimination should, as an oblation, be offered in the fire of consciousness, that consciousness then in the fire of the mind that is the root of all confusion, that mind next needs to be offered in the fire of the false self and this ego of material identification should, following this principle, be offered in the total material energy. (Vedabase)

 

Text 44

A mindful person for the sake of his self-realization, in respect of the truth, should offer the complete of his material energy as an oblation. When he thus has lost his interest [in the world], he must, thus being situated in his essence - in his true self -, remain completely aloof.

The false of material existence is, by a thoughtful person who realizes the ultimate truth in his selfrealization, offered as an oblation and because of that finds he, free from desires, himself thus situated in the faithfulness to the essence of his own living self. (Vedabase)


Text 45

This story about myself I now submit to you this way in utter confidence. But it might be so that you, from the side of your good self, as a man of transcendence with the Supreme Lord, find it contrary to the customary scriptural explanation.'

This story about myself I this way pass on to you in utter confidence; it might be so that you, from your good self as a man of transcendence with the Supreme Lord, miss the common [scriptural] explanation.' (Vedabase)


 

Text 46

S'rī Nārada said: 'Thus having heard from the holy man about the dharma of the paramahamsas [see also 6.3: 20-21], the Asura lord most pleased, after duly honoring him took leave and returned home.

S'rī Nārada said: 'Thus hearing from the holy man what truly the dharma of the paramahamsas is [see also 6.3: 20-21] took the asura lord lord very pleased, after duly honoring him, leave of him to return home.' (Vedabase)

 

*: The four stages of sannyās are: kuthīcaka, bahūdaka, parivrājakācārya and paramahamsa [see further footnote 5.1].

**: Swami Prabhupāda comments: "Material life is called pavarga because here we are subject to five different states of suffering, represented by the letters pa, pha, ba, bha and ma. Pa means paris'rama, very hard labor. Pha means phena, or foam from the mouth. For example, sometimes we see a horse foaming at the mouth with heavy labor. Ba means byarthatā, disappointment. In spite of so much hard labor, at the end we find disappointment. Bha means bhaya, or fear. In material life, one is always in the blazing fire of fear, since no one knows what will happen next. Finally, ma means mrityu, or death. When one attempts to nullify these five different statuses of life--pa, pha, ba, bha and ma--one achieves apavarga, or liberation from the punishment of material existence."

***: S'rīla Rūpa Gosvāmī writes in his 'Nectar of Instruction' (2):

atyāhārah prayāsas' ca
prajalpo niyamāgrahah
jana-sangas' ca laulyam ca
shadbhir bhaktir vinas'yati

"One's devotional service is spoiled when he becomes too entangled in the following six activities: (1) eating more than necessary or collecting more funds than required; (2) over-endeavoring for mundane things that are very difficult to obtain; (3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters; (4) practicing the scriptural rules and regulations only for the sake of following them and not for the sake of spiritual advancement, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and working independently or whimsically; (5) associating with worldly-minded persons who are not interested in Krishna consciousness; and (6) being greedy for mundane achievements."

 

 

 

 

 

Creative Commons
                License
The text and audio are offered under the conditions of the
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
The image is from: "A Portrait of the Hindus: Balthazar Solvyns & the European Image of India 1760-1824"
The title of the image is: 141. Avadhuta (p. 325). Solvyns, Les Hindoūs: II.5.2.  "Ab'dhoot, A Penitent Naked." (
source)
© From the collection of prof
R.L. Hardgrave, University of Texas. Used with permission.
Production:
Filognostic Association of The Order of Time


  

 

Feed-back | Links | Downloads | MusicPictures | What's New | Search | Donations