TEXT 24
rsabham yavananam tvam
vrne virepsitam patim
sankalpas tvayi bhutanam
krtah kila na risyati
SYNONYMS
rsabhamthe best; yavananamof the untouchables; tvamyou; vrneI accept; viraO great hero; ipsitamdesired; patimhusband; sankalpahthe determination; tvayiunto you; bhutanamof all living entities; krtahif done; kilacertainly; nanever; risyatibecomes baffled.
TRANSLATION
Approaching the King of the Yavanas, Kalakanya addressed him as a great hero, saying: My dear sir, you are the best of the untouchables. I am in love with you, and I want you as my husband. I know that no one is baffled if he makes friends with you.
PURPORT
The words yavananam rsabham refer to the King of the Yavanas. The Sanskrit words yavana and mleccha apply to those who do not follow the Vedic principles. According to the Vedic principles, one should rise early in the morning, take bath, chant Hare Krsna, offer mangala-arati to the Deities, study Vedic literature, take prasada and engage in dressing and decorating the Deities. One must also collect money for the temple expenditures, or if one is a householder he must go to work in accordance with the prescribed duties of a brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya or sudra. In this way one should live a life of spiritual understanding, and this is the Vedic way of civilization. One who does not follow all these rules and regulations is called a yavana or mleccha. One should not mistakenly think that these words refer to certain classes of men in other countries. There is no question of limitation according to nationalism. Whether one lives in India or outside of India, he is called a yavana or mleccha if he does not follow the Vedic principles. One who does not actually follow the hygienic principles prescribed in the Vedic rules and regulations will be subjected to many contagious diseases. Because the students in this Krsna consciousness movement are advised to follow the Vedic principles, they naturally become hygienic.
If a person is Krsna conscious, he can work like a young man even if he is seventy-five or eighty years old. Thus the daughter of Kala (Time) cannot overcome a Vaisnava. Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami engaged in writing Caitanya-caritamrta when he was very old, yet he presented the most wonderful literature about the activities of Lord Caitanya. Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami began their spiritual lives at a very old age, that is, after they retired from their occupations and family lives. Yet they presented many valuable literatures for the advancement of spiritual life. This is confirmed by Srila Srinivasa Acarya, who praised the Gosvamis in this way:
nana-sastra-vicaranaika-nipunau sad-dharma-samsthapakau
lokanam hita-karinau tri-bhuvane manyau saranyakarau
radha-krsna-padaravinda-bhajananandena mattalikau
vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who are very expert in scrutinizingly studying all the revealed scriptures with the aim of establishing eternal religious principles for the benefit of all human beings. Thus they are honored all over the three worlds, and they are worth taking shelter of because they are absorbed in the mood of the gopis and are engaged in the transcendental loving service of Radha and Krsna.
Thus jara, the effect of old age, does not harass a devotee. This is because a devotee follows the instructions and the determination of Narada Muni. All devotees are in the disciplic succession stemming from Narada Muni because they worship the Deity according to Narada Munis direction, namely the Narada-pancaratra, or the pancaratrika-vidhi. A devotee follows the principles of pancaratrika-vidhi as well as bhagavata-vidhi. Bhagavata-vidhi includes preaching worksravanam kirtanam visnoh [SB 7.5.23]the hearing and chanting of the glories of Lord Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The pancaratrika-vidhi includes arcanam vandanam dasyam sakhyam atma-nivedanam. Because a devotee rigidly follows the instructions of Narada Muni, he has no fear of old age, disease or death. Apparently a devotee may grow old, but he is not subjected to the symptoms of defeat experienced by a common man in old age. Consequently, old age does not make a devotee fearful of death, as a common man is fearful of death. When jara, or old age, takes shelter of a devotee, Kalakanya diminishes the devotees fear. A devotee knows that after death he is going back home, back to Godhead; therefore he has no fear of death. Thus instead of depressing a devotee, advanced age helps him become fearless and thus happy.

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