Prabhupada:
sravanam kirtanam visnoh
smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam
iti pumsarpita visnau
bhaktis cen nava-laksana
kriyeta bhagavaty addha
tan manye 'dhitam uttamam
[SB 7.5.23-24]
So the nine different processes of devotional service. So Prahlada Maharaja was asked by his father to say something from whatever he had learned. He considered that what he had learned from his spiritual master was the best of all teaching, whereas what he had learned about diplomacy from his material teachers, Sanda and Amarka, was useless.
So the education at the present moment throughout the whole world is Sanda-Amarka education. For a devotee such kind of education has no value. Ahara-nidra-bhaya-maithunam ca. Everyone is being educated how to live comfortably with reference to the comforts of the body. This is not education. Real education is to understand oneself, self-realization, and with that purpose one should make progress in Krsna consciousness, that beginning with sravanam. As we are hearing, without sravana there is no beginning of spiritual education. Satam prasangad mama virya-samvidah. That sravana, hearing also, should be accepted from devotee, from real devotee. Sri Svarupa Damodara Gosvami recommended that a brahmana... He wrote something about Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and there were so many discrepancies. So Svarupa Damodara Gosvami was not at all satisfied with such writings. He chastised the brahmana that "You cannot write." So unless one is self-realized, there is practically no use writing about Krsna. This transcendental writing does not depend on material education. It depends on the spiritual realization. You'll find, therefore, in the comments of Bhagavatam by different acaryas, even there are some discrepancies, they are accepted as asat-patha. It should remain as it is.
So Sanatana Gosvami therefore said, avaisnava-mukhodgirnam putam hari-kathamrtam, sravanam naiva kartavyam: "One who is not Vaisnava, from him one should not hear hari-kathamrtam." Hari-katha Srimad-Bhagavatam is hari-katha, and it is amrta, nectarine. But if it is recited or explained by some avaisnava, one should not hear. It is forbidden. The example is given, sarpocchistam payo yatha. So professional reciters or one who speaks and writes for living means it is strictly prohibited. Na vyakhyam upayunjitah. One should not make Bhagavata recitation as a means of livelihood. That is, the process is not accepted. So sravanam kirtanam visnoh [SB 7.5.23]. You should hear from Vaisnava, at least one who is trying to become Vaisnava, not professional man. Bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra syat [SB 11.2.42].
So the test of advancement in Krsna consciousness is that one should be detestful, lose attachment to the material things. Therefore Prahlada Maharaja did not like the material education from Sanda and Amarka. He very plainly said to his father that "What I have heard from my spiritual master, Narada Muni..." Spiritual master means Narada Muni or his representative. Therefore we should follow the Narada-pancaratra instructions. Sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. According to Narada-pancaratra, one should be free from all designation. Just like you boys from America and Europe, you have forgotten your designation. Therefore you are advanced, and people are very much praising that "How these Europeans, Americans have become nice devotee." They do not know that they are no longer Americans or Europeans. They are devotees, Krsna's servant. This is sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. So long we shall think that "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am African," there is no possibility of advancement in Krsna consciousness. This teaching we have got from the greatest authority, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He said that "I am not a brahmana; I am not a ksatriya; I am not a vaisya; I am not a sudra; neither I am a brahmacari or grhastha, vanaprastha, sannyasa. I am simply servant of the servant of the servant of Krsna [Cc. Madhya 13.80]." Gopi-bhartur pada-kamalayor dasa-dasa-dasanudasah. So the more we advance in the matter of becoming designationless, no designation... Sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. So long we have got upadhis, designations, there are many desires, material desires. But we have to become zero about these material desires. Karma, jnana, yoga, they are all material desires. Bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kami-
mam ca 'vyabhicarini
bhakti-yogena yah sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate
[Bg. 14.26]
So as soon as you engage yourself in pure devotional service without any material desire, without any material designation, immediately you are liberated. Svarupena avasthiti. That is real situation of our constitutional position. So long we are not engaged in Krsna's service, that is our opposite number of life, not real life. Real life is when you are fully engaged in Krsna consciousness, always engaged. That is life. Sravanam kirtanam. So to be fixed up in that spiritual life we should always engage ourself, sravanam kirtanam. Sravanam kirtanam of whom? Visnu. Of Krsna or Visnu. Even not of any other demigods, what to speak of ordinary beings. We are engaged in sravanam kirtana from the morning. We newspaper and we read what the politician says, what so many nonsense things. We waste our time. Srama eva hi kevalam [SB 1.2.8]. We should increase our taste for hearing and chanting about Visnu, Krsna. That engagement you have fully in the Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita. So stick to these two books or Caitanya-caritamrta. Caitanya-caritamrta is still far advanced.
So anyway, we should always engage ourself twenty-four hours. Kirtaniyah sada harih [Cc. Adi 17.31]. Here it said, sravanam kirtanam, but Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, kirtaniyah sada harih. Sada means twenty-four hours. We shall mold our life in such a way that... If somebody says, "How it is possible? We have got other business. How it is possible to simply engage in sravanam kir...?" Therefore smaranam. Whatever you are hearing, you should remember it. That is very easy. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam [SB 7.5.23]. And always engage in serving. Just like sri-vigraharadhana-nitya-nana-
That is the recommendation of Prahlada Maharaja. Tan manye adhitam uttamam. "In my mind, in my decision, persons who are engaged in Krsna consciousness fully, they are to be understood as the first-class advanced in education." And this material education... Of course, we are going to open the gurukula. Our aim is not how to make the students a big grammarian. No. That is not our purpose. How to make him fully Krsna conscious. That is the aim of this gurukula. In the gurukula description there is nothing, such thing as how to make the student a big grammarian or... Generally they take Sanskrit education, first grammar, and it is recommended that one should read at least for twelve years grammar. Actually this is the fact. Sanskrit grammar is very difficult, and unless one reads regularly for twelve years... But that is another thing. If one is well versed in grammar he can read all the Sanskrit literatures. That is another thing. But our aim is not that, to read Sanskrit literature. No. Our aim is how to mold the life to become fully Krsna conscious. Those who are contemplating to organize our, this gurukula, they should stress on this point as Prahlada Maharaja says, tan manye adhitam uttamam: "He is first-class educated." Who? Sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam, arcanam vandanam dasyam [SB 7.5.23]. We want to teach that. There is no question of economic problem, that one has to become learned to get some service in some big school or college and get some big salary. This is not our aim. Our only aim is how to mold the life of the children to become Krsna conscious. So this is the summary given by Caitanya..., Prahlada Maharaja. We should follow this instruction.
Thank you very much. (end)
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Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.23-24 -- Vrndavana, March 31,
1976
© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
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