Nitai: "Ajamila had ten sons. The
youngest son, named Narayana, was a child begotten while Ajamila was very old.
Because he was the youngest son, he was naturally very dear to his father and
mother."
Prabhupada:
tasya pravayasah putra
dasa tesam tu yo 'vamah
balo narayano namna
pitros ca dayito bhrsam
[SB 6.1.24]
So a small child of very old man, because when the child, baby, is within two, three years, they are taken care of especially by the parents. And the youngest son, when the child is two, three years, naturally he is youngest. So youngest is taken more care. Sneha, affection, is compared with oil. Sneha means oil. So affection is just like oil. Why? Now, you put oil in the ground, it will glide down where there is slope. So generally, the affection goes down to the youngest child. The particular point in this connection is pravayasah. Pravayasah means very old. Yes, he was eighty-eight years old. So this child might be three years or two years, less than three years. That means when he was eighty-five or eighty-six he begot a child. This is the purpose, to point out. This is family life. He is going to die after one or two years, and still, he is begetting child. Therefore this word is used, pravayasah. This is not proper life that up to the point of death one has to beget a child. This is animal life. Human life, maximum fifty years, that's all. After that, by force, pancasordhvam vanam vrajet, give up this family life. And if you don't give up, then you remain and go on begetting children. Yan maithunadi-grhamedhi-sukham hi tuccham [SB 7.9.45]. What is the happiness of this grhamedhi life, attached to family life? The only happiness is this sex, that's all. Otherwise there is no happiness. They are working day and night. Therefore, at the present moment the tendency is to kill the child. Because to enjoy sex life means there must be pregnancy. But when there is pregnancy, either illicit or..., legal or illegal, the child-bearing, the giving birth to the child, then taking care of it, then growing, raising, feeding him, education -- so many troubles there is. But trpyanti neha krpana bahu-duhkha-bhajah [SB 7.9.45].
The krpana, those who are not brahmana... The brahmana means liberal or advanced in knowledge, and krpana means miser. So the opposite word of brahmana is krpana. Krpana... Because one who is liberal, he knows how to utilize this life, therefore he is called brahmana. Brahma janati. This life is meant for knowing Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth. That is brahmana. Brahma janatiti brahmanah. And if somebody, getting this human life, he does not become a brahmana, then he remains a krpana, miser. Krpana means miser. You have got some millions of dollars, but you do not spend it. You keep it in the safe and see daily, "Oh, I have got so much money." They are krpana. Why you keep money? Utilize it. Distribute it for Krsna. That is brahmana. Why should you keep it? But the krpana, they do not know how to utilize the money. The money belongs to Krsna. Isavasyam idam sarvam [Iso mantra 1]. Everything belongs to Krsna. That's a fact. Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram [Bg. 5.29]. So He is the proprietor. Some way or other... Just like in our society somebody is entrusted with millions of dollars to spend. But that money is Krsna's money; it is not his money. Similarly, you take big society, the nation, the community, whatever money is there, that is Krsna's money. So if we spend it properly, conscientiously, for Krsna consciousness movement, then it is properly utilized. Otherwise he becomes a krpana, miser. He got the opportunity to serve Krsna -- Krsna gave him so much money -- but he kept it without any use. That is called krpana.
So brahmana and... Brahmanas, I have already explained, that brahmana's business is dana-pratigraha. He will collect. Brahmana has the right to collect from his disciples. Spiritual master. But he will distribute it. Dana-pratigraha. He will be also a man charitably disposed, spending that money for public welfare, for Krsna consciousness. So krpana. Krpana, this word, is used, krpanah phala-hetavah. The krpanas, they are simply trying to get some benefit. Another word is used:
yan maithunadi-grhamedhi-sukham hi tuccham
kanduyanena karayor iva duhkha-duhkham
trpyanti neha krpana bahu-duhkha-bhajah
kandutivan manasijam visaheta dhirah
[SB 7.9.45]
Dhiras tatra na muhyati [Bg. 2.13]. This word is used, dhira. So if one is not dhira, adhira, agitated always, they will go on begetting children one after another, up to the eighty-ninth year. Why? Trpyanti... They are not satisfied, although to beget a child means so many troubles, if you are responsible father. And those who are not responsible father-mother, they want to kill it, that's all. This is the psychology of killing children nowadays, because they know that "This child, I have to take care so much," bahu-duhkha-bhajah. There are... Trpyanti... By very analytical study... Yan maithunadi-grhamedhi-sukham hi tuccham [SB 7.9.45]. This happiness of the grhamedhi, family attachment... Family you can utilize, grhastha. If you are inconvenienced to accept sannyasa or brahmacari life, remain in household life, but the purpose is the same, to develop Krsna consciousness. If one is in the family life and is trying to advance in Krsna consciousness, he is called grhastha, and his family life is called grhastha-asrama. Just like sannyasa-asrama. Asrama means where there is activities, spiritual. That is called asrama. So if you remain as grhastha or family man, there is no harm. But utilize for advancement of Krsna consciousness. Then you are grhastha. And if you do not know that, if you simply remain a family man for satisfying your senses and begetting children up to the point of death, that is called grhamedhi. These two words. Apasyatam atma-tattvam grhesu grhamedhinam [SB 2.1.2]. So one should not be grhamedhi. One may become grhastha. That is the difference.
So this man, Ajamila, was not a grhastha because his beginning of life is that he gave up his married life. He was married with nice wife, coming from respectable family, but he gave up that, and he was attached to a maidservant. And he gave up his real family life. He became a family man with this maidservant, and go on begetting children. That was his life. Therefore this word is used particularly, tasya pravayasah. He was old enough; still, he was begetting child. But one who is brahmana, he would not stay in family life more than fiftieth year. Pancasordhvam vanam vrajet. One must go to the forest. Forest means vana, and therefore, one who goes to the forest, from the word vana, it is vana, vanaprastha. Prastha mean one who has gone. This is regulative life. One has to take leave from this family life and accept the vanaprastha. Vanaprastha means prior to accepting the renounced order of life. The husband and wife goes out of home and travels in many holy places to associate with holy man and take his instruction just to prepare for sannyasa. So when one is fully equipped in knowledge, then he asks his wife to go to home to be taken care of by the elderly children, and he becomes a sannyasi. This is called varnasrama-dharma. This is real purpose of life. Four varnas, four classes of men, up to fourth class, not up to tenth class. And then spiritual life: brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha, sannyasa. This institution is called varnasrama-dharma: four varnas and four asrama. So when one is educated or trained up by this varnasrama institution, then his human life begins. Otherwise he is animal. One who does not take to this varnasrama-dharma, he remains in the animal life. That is the Vedic system. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu enquired from Ramananda Raya, "What is the aim of life?" Ramananda Raya immediately replied that,
varnasramacaravata
purusena parah puman
visnur aradhyate pantha
nanyat tat-tosa-karanam
[Cc. Madhya 8.58]
The real purpose of life, goal of life, is to satisfy Visnu. Visnu, Lord, the Supreme Lord, or Krsna. This is life, to become Krsna conscious, to know Krsna, and try to satisfy Him. That is life.
So to enter into this elevated life, fulfilling the desire or the aim of life is varnasrama-dharma. Varnasramacaravata purusena parah puman, visnur aradhyate. Visnur aradhyate, that is required, how to become Krsna conscious or Visnu conscious and to worship Him. So that begins with this varnasrama. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He knew that this is Kali-yuga; it is very, very difficult to engage people strictly in the varnasrama-dharma. Actually it is difficult. Who is going... If you open a varnasrama college, there will be no student. Because they will think, "What is this nonsense, varnasrama? Let us learn technology. We shall get good salary. We shall earn money." Yes. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu immediately said, eho bahya, age kaha ara. In this age it is not possible, varnasrama-dharma. So age kaha ara: "If you know something better than this, you say." So in this way Ramananda Raya recommended that karma-tyaga, sannyasa, so many stages. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu went on saying, eho bahya age kaha ara: "This is useless now. If you know better, then something, something." So then at last -- not at last, in the middle -- Ramananda Raya said that jnane prayasam udapasya namanta eva..., namanta eva, bhavadiya-vartam, sthane sthitah sruti-gatam tanu-van-manobhih. The purport is that all these processes recommended in the sastra, varnasrama-dharma, acceptance of sannyasa, or other, karma-tyaga, misra, karma-misra-jnana... There are so many things.
So Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, eho bahya. But when he quoted one passage from Srimad-Bhagavatam, quotation... That is the statement of Lord Brahma,
jnane prayasam udapasya namanta eva
jivanti san-mukharitam bhavadiya-vartam
sthane sthitah sruti-gatam tanu-van-manobhir
ye prayaso 'jita jito 'py asi tais tri-lokyam
Our aim is how to realize God. That is the aim. So there are so many different processes recommended in the sastra: varnasrama-dharma, karma-tyaga, karma-sannyasa, jnana-misra-bhakti, karma-misra-bhakti. So all of them were rejected by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. But when He quoted this verse... What is this? Jnane prayasam. People are trying to understand the Absolute Truth by speculation, according to one's knowledge. The so-called philosopher, theosophists, theologists, these are useless. You cannot speculate to understand the Absolute Truth. That is not possible. Therefore Brahma recommends that one should give up this nonsense practice. It is not nonsense, but at the present moment it has no use. The so-called theolosophists and theologists or philosophers, they do not know, speculators. So this sort of practice, jnane prayasam, endeavoring after knowledge, udapasya, give up this. Jnane prayasam udapasya.
Then what is required? Namanta eva. Just become submissive. Don't think yourself as very great philosopher, theologist, scientist. Just be humble. "My dear sir, just be humble." Namanta eva. "Then what will be my business? All right, I shall become humble. Then how I shall make progress?" Now, namanta eva san-mukharitam bhavadiya-vartam. "Just hear the message of God." "From whom?" San-mukharitam: "through the mouth of the devotees." Not professional, not gramophone -- through the mouth of, through the lips of real devotee. "So then? Next? I will have to become sannyasa or grhastha or what?" "No." Sthane sthitah: "You remain wherever you are. Either you are a grhastha or a vanaprastha, or apart from that, either you are a medical man or engineer or politician or businessman or shopkeeper -- something your position is there -- so you remain in that." Sthane sthitah: "You remain in your position. Simply you have to hear the message of Godhead, Krsna, through the realized saintly person." This recommendation. If you go on speculating, you will never be able to understand. Therefore give up this practice. Jnane prayasam udapasya namanta eva. "Be submissive." If you think, "Oh, I am so much advanced. I can speculate. Why shall I go to a devotee and hear from him?" No. You have to adopt this. Why? If you want to conquer the ajita. Ajita, ajita means Krsna, or God. Nobody can conquer Him. But you can conquer Him. How? By this process. Remain your process..., remain in your situation, in your occupation, but try to hear from the realized soul. Very simple thing.
So this process is recommended to realize God. Yadi... If somebody follows this process without mental speculation and if he has got intelligence, by hearing from the realized soul, he will realize everything. Krsna will also help him from within. Guru means Krsna without, and Supersoul means Krsna within. So Krsna is so kind that He is ready to help us from within and without, both ways. We have to take advantage of this. So if we become devotee, sthane sthitah sruti-gatam tanu-van-manobhih, and engage our body, mind, tanu... Tanu means body, and vak means words. Tanu-van-manobhih. And mano means mind. We have got three things: mind, this body, and words, vak. So we can serve Krsna according to the direction of the sastra. Sastra, guru, satam. Satam means one who... Acarya means one who knows sastra. He will not speak anything which is not in the sastra. He will never say, "In my opinion you can do like this." No. He must give evidence from the sastra. Therefore our practice is, whenever we speak something, immediately we quote from authoritative sastra. In this way...
So here it is said, tasya pravayasah putra dasa. So in his so-called grhamedhi life... That I was going to explain. Grhamedhi life means darkness. He will know simply how to beget child, that's all, up to the eighty-fifth year. He is going to die next moment. So he is fortunate that he named his son Narayana. This is God's grace. This was done -- Krsna is so kind -- because in his youthhood he was a devotee. Not devotee; he was trying to become a devotee. Dvija, he was initiated. We have begun his life that kanyakubje kascid dvijah. He was initiated, but he fell down. Later on, he fell down in contact with a prostitute. Therefore he lost his all qualification, and he was busy... Instead of serving Krsna, he was busy in begetting children, up to the eighty-fifth year. Therefore pravayasah. Although he had made... The last one is tenth. Although he had nine sons, still, at the eighty-fifth year he is begetting another. That is called krpana.
trpyanti neha krpana bahu-duhkha-bhajah
kandutivan manasijam visaheta dhirah
[SB 7.9.45]
Dhira, one who is sober, he thinks that "What is the use of simply begetting children? One, two, three, that's all. Let me engage now in Krsna consciousness." That is dhira, sober.
So we should not be like this Ajamila, go on begetting children, children, children, children, up to eighty-fifth year. No. Tesam yah avamah. The most junior, the small, the latest edition, they are very much fond, father and mother. It is said, balo narayano namna pitros ca dayito bhrsam. Pitroh, pitroh means parents, father and mother, naturally, dayitah, very merciful upon him than all other, bhrsam, sufficiently. So the idea is that by God's grace, because in the beginning of his life he engaged himself to be Krsna conscious, and he was initiated, but later on... But the first assessment of his life, that helped him that Krsna gave him the advice, "All right, you keep your this youngest son's name Narayana, because you will be naturally attached to this boy and you will call him, 'Narayana, please come here. Narayana, take your food. Narayana, take your drink.' So you will chant 'Narayana.' " (pause)
All right. Thank you very much. (end)
© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
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