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TEXT 34
sattvam visuddham srayate bhavan sthitau
saririnam sreya-upayanam vapuh
veda-kriya-yoga-tapah-samadhibhis
tavarhanam yena janah samihate
SYNONYMS
sattvamexistence; visuddhamtranscendental, beyond the three modes of material nature; srayateaccepts; bhavanYour Lordship; sthitauduring the maintenance of this material world; saririnamof all living entities; sreyahof supreme auspiciousness; upayanamfor the benefit; vapuha transcendental form or body; veda-kriyaby ritualistic ceremonies according to the directions of the Vedas; yogaby practice of devotion; tapahby austerities; samadhibhihby becoming absorbed in transcendental existence; tavaYour; arhanamworship; yenaby such activities; janahhuman society; samihateoffers (its obligation unto You).
TRANSLATION
O Lord, during the time of maintenance You manifest several incarnations, all with transcendental bodies, beyond the material modes of nature. When You appear in this way, You bestow all good fortune upon the living entities by teaching them to perform Vedic activities such as ritualistic ceremonies, mystic yoga, austerities, penances, and ultimately samadhi, ecstatic absorption in thoughts of You. Thus You are worshiped by the Vedic principles.
PURPORT
As stated in Bhagavad-gita (18.3), yajna-dana-tapah-karma na tyajyam: the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, charity, austerity and all such prescribed duties are never to be given up. Yajno danam tapas caiva pavanani manisinam (18.5): even one who is very much advanced in spiritual realization must still execute the Vedic principles. Even in the lowest stage, the karmis are advised to work for the sake of the Lord.
Work done as a sacrifice for Visnu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. (Bg. 3.9) The words yajnarthat karmanah indicate that while performing all kinds of duties, one should remember that these duties should be performed to satisfy the Supreme Lord (sva-karmana tam abhyarcya). According to Vedic principles, there must be divisions of human society (catur-varnyam maya srstam [Bg. 4.13]). There should be brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras, and everyone should learn to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead (tam abhyarcya). This is real human society, and without this system we are left with animal society.
The modern activities of human society are described in Srimad-Bhagavatam as the activities of go-khara, cows and asses (sa eva go-kharah [SB 10.84.13]). Everyone is acting in a bodily concept of life involving society, friendship and love for the improvement of economic and political conditions, and thus all activities are enacted in ignorance. The Supreme Personality therefore comes to teach us how to act according to the Vedic principles. In this age of Kali, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and preached that in this age the Vedic activities cannot be systematically performed because people are so fallen. He gave this recommendation from the sastras:
In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way. The Krsna consciousness movement is therefore teaching people all over the world how to chant the Hare Krsna mantra, and this has proved very much effective in all places at all times. The Supreme Personality of Godhead appears in order to teach us Vedic principles intended for understanding Him (vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah [Bg. 15.15]). We should always know that when Krsna and Lord Caitanya appeared, They appeared in suddha-sattva bodies. One should not mistake the body of Krsna or Caitanya Mahaprabhu to be a material body like ours, for Krsna and Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared as needed for the benefit of the entire human society. Out of causeless mercy, the Lord appears in different ages in His original suddha-sattva transcendental body to elevate human society to the spiritual platform upon which they can truly benefit. Unfortunately, modern politicians and other leaders stress the bodily comforts of life (yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke [SB 10.84.13]) and concentrate on the activities of this ism and that ism, which they describe in different kinds of flowery language. Essentially such activities are the activities of animals (sa eva go-kharah [SB 10.84.13]). We should learn how to act from Bhagavad-gita, which explains everything for human understanding. Thus we can become happy even in this age of Kali.
Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/sb/10/2/34 Previous: SB 10.2.33 Next: SB 10.2.35
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