Canto
7
Chapter 13: The Behavior of a Saintly Person
(1) S'rî Nârada 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]. (2) The renunciate [sannyâsî] 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. (3) Resorting to Nârâyana 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. (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. (5) 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. (6) 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. (7) 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]. (8) 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.]. (9) 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 âs'rama*] or just as well give them up. (10) 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.
(11) The learned recite as an example of this hidden identity a very old historical incident of a conversation between Prahlâda and a saintly man who lived as a python.(12-13) He saw the purest, most grave, spiritual power of that man at the bank of the Kâverî river on a ridge of the mountain Sahya, with him laying on the ground covered by dirt and dust all over his body. Prahlâda, 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. (14) 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. (15) 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. (16-17) '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. (18) 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. (19) 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!'
(20) S'rî Nârada 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. (21) The honorable brahmin said: 'O best of the Asuras hailed by all âryans, 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. (22) He who has Nârâyana our God and Nârâyana our Lord always in his heart, can by his devotion alone uproot all the ignorance like the sun expells the darkness. (23) 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. (24) 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. (25) 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 **]. (26) 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. (27) 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. (28) 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. (29) 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]. (30) 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. (31) 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? (32) 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. (33) 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. (34) 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 [***].
(35) 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]. (36) 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. (37) 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. (38) 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. (39) 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. (40) 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]. (41) 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. (42) 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. (43) 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. (44) 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. (45) 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.'
(46) S'rî Nârada 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 very pleased, after duly honoring him, leave of him to return home.'
Second edition, loaded August 4, 2007.
Source Texts:
The Behavior of a Perfected Person
S'rî Nârada 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].S'rî Nârada Muni said: A person able to cultivate spiritual knowledge should renounce all material connections, and merely keeping the body inhabitable, he should travel from one place to another, passing only one night in each village. In this way, without dependence in regard to the needs of the body, the sannyâsî should travel all over the world. (Vedabase)
The renunciate [sannyâsî] 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.
A person in the renounced order of life may try to avoid even a dress to cover himself. If he wears anything at all, it should be only a loincloth, and when there is no necessity, a sannyâsî should not even accept a danda. A sannyâsî should avoid carrying anything but a danda and kamandalu. (Vedabase)
Resorting to Nârâyana 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.
The sannyâsî, completely satisfied in the self, should live on alms begged from door to door. Not being dependent on any person or any place, he should always be a friendly well-wisher to all living beings and be a peaceful, unalloyed devotee of Nârâyana. In this way he should move from one place to another. (Vedabase)
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.
The sannyâsî should always try to see the Supreme pervading everything and see everything, including this universe, resting on the Supreme. (Vedabase)
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.
During unconsciousness and consciousness, and between the two, he should try to understand the self and be fully situated in the self. In this way, he should realize that the conditional and liberated stages of life are only illusory and not actually factual. With such a higher understanding, he should see only the Absolute Truth pervading everything. (Vedabase)
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.
Since the material body is sure to be vanquished and the duration of one's life is not fixed, neither death nor life is to be praised. Rather, one should observe the eternal time factor, in which the living entity manifests himself and disappears. (Vedabase)
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].
Literature that is a useless waste of time--in other words, literature without spiritual benefit--should be rejected. One should not become a professional teacher as a means of earning one's livelihood, nor should one indulge in arguments and counter-arguments. Nor should one take shelter of any cause or faction. (Vedabase)
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.].
A sannyâsî must not present allurements of material benefits to gather many disciples, nor should he unnecessarily read many books or give discourses as a means of livelihood. He must never attempt to increase material opulences unnecessarily. (Vedabase)
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 âs'rama*] or just as well give them up.
A peaceful, equipoised person who is factually advanced in spiritual consciousness does not need to accept the symbols of a sannyâsî, such as the tridanda and kamandalu. According to necessity, he may sometimes accept those symbols and sometimes reject them. (Vedabase)
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.
Although a saintly person may not expose himself to the vision of human society, by his behavior his purpose is disclosed. To human society he should present himself like a restless child, and although he is the greatest thoughtful orator, he should present himself like a dumb man. (Vedabase)
The learned recite as an example of this hidden identity a very old historical incident of a conversation between Prahlâda and a saintly man who lived as a python.
As a historical example of this, learned sages recite the story of an ancient discussion between Prahlâda Mahârâja and a great saintly person who was feeding himself like a python. (Vedabase)
He saw the purest, most grave, spiritual power of that man at the bank of the Kâverî river on a ridge of the mountain Sahya, with him laying on the ground covered by dirt and dust all over his body. Prahlâda, 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.
Prahlâda Mahârâja, the most dear servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, once went out touring the universe with some of his confidential associates just to study the nature of saintly persons. Thus he arrived at the bank of the Kâverî, where there was a mountain known as Sahya. There he found a great saintly person who was lying on the ground, covered with dirt and dust, but who was deeply spiritually advanced. (Vedabase)
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.
Neither by that saintly person's activities, by his bodily features, by his words nor by the symptoms of his varnâs'rama status could people understand whether he was the same person they had known. (Vedabase)
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.
The advanced devotee Prahlâda Mahârâja duly worshiped and offered obeisances to the saintly person who had adopted a python's means of livelihood. After thus worshiping the saintly person and touching his own head to the saint's lotus feet, Prahlâda Mahârâja, in order to understand him, inquired very submissively as follows. (Vedabase)Text 16-17:
'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.
Seeing the saintly person to be quite fat, Prahlâda Mahârâja said: My dear sir, you undergo no endeavor to earn your livelihood, but you have a stout body, exactly like that of a materialistic enjoyer. I know that if one is very rich and has nothing to do, he becomes extremely fat by eating and sleeping and performing no work. (Vedabase)
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.
O brâhmana, fully in knowledge of transcendence, you have nothing to do, and therefore you are lying down. It is also understood that you have no money for sense enjoyment. How then has your body become so fat? Under the circumstances, if you do not consider my question impudent, kindly explain how this has happened. (Vedabase)
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!'
Your Honor appears learned, expert and intelligent in every way. You can speak very well, saying things that are pleasing to the heart. You see that people in general are engaged in fruitive activities, yet you are lying here inactive. (Vedabase)
S'rî Nârada 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.
Nârada Muni continued: When the saintly person was thus questioned by Prahlâda Mahârâja, the King of the Daityas, he was captivated by this shower of nectarean words, and he replied to the inquisitiveness of Prahlâda Mahârâja with a smiling face. (Vedabase)
The honorable brahmin said: 'O best of the Asuras hailed by all âryans, 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.
The saintly brâhmana said: O best of the Asuras, Prahlâda Mahârâja, who are recognized by advanced and civilized men, you are aware of the different stages of life because of your inherent transcendental eyes, with which you can see a man's character and thus know clearly the results of acceptance and rejection of things as they are. (Vedabase)
He who has Nârâyana our God and Nârâyana our Lord always in his heart, can by his devotion alone uproot all the ignorance like the sun expells the darkness.
Nârâyana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is full of all opulences, is predominant within the core of your heart because of your being a pure devotee. He always drives away all the darkness of ignorance, as the sun drives away the darkness of the universe. (Vedabase)
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.
My dear King, although you know everything, you have posed some questions, which I shall try to answer according to what I have learned by hearing from authorities. I cannot remain silent in this regard, for a personality like you is just fit to be spoken to by one who desires self-purification. (Vedabase)
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.
Because of insatiable material desires, I was being carried away by the waves of material nature's laws, and thus I was engaging in different activities, struggling for existence in various forms of life. (Vedabase)
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 **].
In the course of the evolutionary process, which is caused by fruitive activities due to undesirable material sense gratification, I have received this human form of life, which can lead to the heavenly planets, to liberation, to the lower species, or to rebirth among human beings. (Vedabase)
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.
In this human form of life, a man and women unite for the sensual pleasure of sex, but by actual experience we have observed that none of them are happy. Therefore, seeing the contrary results, I have stopped taking part in materialistic activities. (Vedabase)
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.
The actual form of life for the living entities is one of spiritual happiness, which is real happiness. This happiness can be achieved only when one stops all materialistic activities. Material sense enjoyment is simply imagination. Therefore, considering this subject matter, I have ceased from all material activities and am lying down here. (Vedabase)
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.
In this way the conditioned soul living within the body forgets his self-interest because he identifies himself with the body. Because the body is material, his natural tendency is to be attracted by the varieties of the material world. Thus the living entity suffers the miseries of material existence. (Vedabase)
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].
Just as a deer, because of ignorance, cannot see the water within a well covered by grass, but runs after water elsewhere, the living entity covered by the material body does not see the happiness within himself, but runs after happiness in the material world. (Vedabase)
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.
The living entity tries to achieve happiness and rid himself of the causes of distress, but because the various bodies of the living entities are under the full control of material nature, all his plans in different bodies, one after another, are ultimately baffled. (Vedabase)
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?
Materialistic activities are always mixed with three kinds of miserable conditions--adhyâtmika, adhidaivika and adhibautika. Therefore, even if one achieves some success by performing such activities, what is the benefit of this success? One is still subjected to birth, death, old age, disease and the reactions of his fruitive activities. (Vedabase)
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.
The brâhmana continued: I am actually seeing how a rich man, who is a victim of his senses, is very greedy to accumulate wealth, and therefore suffers from insomnia due to fear from all sides, despite his wealth and opulence. (Vedabase)
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.
Those who are considered materially powerful and rich are always full of anxieties because of governmental laws, thieves and rogues, enemies, family members, animals, birds, persons seeking charity, the inevitable time factor and even their own selves. Thus they are invariably afraid. (Vedabase)
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 [***].
Those in human society who are intelligent should give up the original cause of lamentation, illusion, fear, anger, attachment, poverty and unnecessary labor. The original cause of all of these is the desire for unnecessary prestige and money. (Vedabase)
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].
The bee and the python are two excellent spiritual masters who give us exemplary instructions regarding how to be satisfied by collecting only a little and how to stay in one place and not move. (Vedabase)
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.
From the bumblebee I have learned to be unattached to accumulating money, for although money is as good as honey, anyone can kill its owner and take it away. (Vedabase)
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.
I do not endeavor to get anything, but am satisfied with whatever is achieved in its own way. If I do not get anything, I am patient and unagitated like a python and lie down in this way for many days. (Vedabase)
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.
Sometimes I eat a very small quantity and sometimes a great quantity. Sometimes the food is very palatable, and sometimes it is stale. Sometimes prasâda is offered with great respect, and sometimes food is given neglectfully. Sometimes I eat during the day and sometimes at night. Thus I eat what is easily available. (Vedabase)
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.
To cover my body I use whatever is available, whether it be linen, silk, cotton, bark or deerskin, according to my destiny, and I am fully satisfied and unagitated. (Vedabase)
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].
Sometimes I lie on the surface of the earth, sometimes on leaves, grass or stone, sometimes on a pile of ashes, or sometimes, by the will of others, in a palace on a first-class bed with pillows. (Vedabase)
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.
O my lord, sometimes I bathe myself very nicely, smear sandalwood pulp all over my body, put on a flower garland, and dress in fine garments and ornaments. Then I travel like a king on the back of an elephant or on a chariot or horse. Sometimes, however, I travel naked, like a person haunted by a ghost. (Vedabase)
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.
Different people are of different mentalities. Therefore it is not my business either to praise them or to blaspheme them. I only desire their welfare, hoping that they will agree to become one with the Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. (Vedabase)
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.
The mental concoction of discrimination between good and bad should be accepted as one unit and then invested in the mind, which should then be invested in the false ego. The false ego should be invested in the total material energy. This is the process of fighting false discrimination. (Vedabase)
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.
A learned, thoughtful person must realize that material existence is illusion. This is possible only by self-realization. A self-realized person, who has actually seen the truth, should retire from all material activities, being situated in self-realization. (Vedabase)
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.'
Prahlâda Mahârâja, you are certainly a self-realized soul and a devotee of the Supreme Lord. You do not care for public opinion or so-called scriptures. For this reason I have described to you without hesitation the history of my self-realization. (Vedabase)
S'rî Nârada 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 very pleased, after duly honoring him, leave of him to return home.'
Nârada Muni continued: After Prahlâda Mahârâja, the King of the demons, heard these instructions from the saint, he understood the occupational duties of a perfect person [paramahamsa]. Thus he duly worshiped the saint, took his permission and then left for his own home. (Vedabase)
*: The four stages of sannyâs are : kuthîcaka, bahûdaka, parivrâjakâcârya and paramahamsa [see further footnote 5.1].
**: Svâmî Prabhupâda 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 byarthatâ, 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'rîla Rûpa Gosvâmî writes in his 'Nectar of Instruction' (2):
atyâhârah prayâsas' ca
prajalpo niyamâgrahah
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) overendeavoring 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."
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