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The purity of hereditary succession is called amogha-virya. The pious seminal succession in the twice-born families of the brahmanas and ksatriyas especially, as well as in the families of vaisyas also, must be kept very pure by the observation of the purificatory processes beginning with garbhadhana-samskara, which is observed before conceiving a child. Unless this purificatory process is strictly observed, especially by the brahmanas, the family descendants become impure, and gradually sinful activities become visible in the family. Maharaja Anga was very pure because of the purification of semen in the family of Maharaja Dhruva. However, his semen became contaminated in association with his wife, Sunitha, who happened to be the daughter of death personified. Because of this polluted semen, King Vena was produced. This was a catastrophe in the family of Dhruva Maharaja. All the saintly persons and sages considered this point, and they decided to take action in this matter, as described in the following verses. (More...) Birth after birth I desire to serve the lotus feet of the acaryas and live in a society of devotees. A spiritual atmosphere can be maintained only by living in a society of devotees and by serving the orders of the acaryas. The spiritual master is the best brahmana. At present, in the age of Kali, it is very difficult to render service to the brahmana-kula, or the brahmana class. The difficulty, according to the Varaha Purana, is that demons, taking advantage of Kali-yuga, have taken birth in brahmana families. Raksasah kalim asritya jayante brahma-yonisu (Varaha Purana). In other words, in this age there are many so-called caste brahmanas and caste Gosvamis who, taking advantage of the sastra and of the innocence of people in general, claim to be brahmanas and Vaisnavas by hereditary right. One will not derive any benefit by rendering service to such false brahmana-kulas. One must therefore take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and his associates and should also render service to them, for such activity will greatly help the neophyte in attaining full satisfaction. This has been very clearly explained by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in his explanation of the verse vyavasayatmika buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana (Bg. 2.41). By actually following the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga as recommended by Srila Narottama dasa Thakura, one can very quickly come to the transcendental platform of liberation, as explained in this verse (atyanta-samam). (More...) Since it is described in the previous verse that feeding a living brahmana is more effective than offering oblations in a fire sacrifice, in this verse it is now clearly described what brahmanism is and who a brahmana is. In the age of Kali, taking advantage of the fact that by feeding a brahmana one obtains a more effective result than by performing sacrifices, a class of men with no brahminical qualifications claim the eating privilege known as brahmana-bhojana simply on the basis of their birth in brahmana families. In order to distinguish this class of men from the real brahmanas, Maharaja Prthu is giving an exact description of a brahmana and brahminical culture. One should not take advantage of his position simply to live like a fire without light. A brahmana must be fully conversant with the Vedic conclusion, which is described in Bhagavad-gita. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah (Bg. 15.15). The Vedic conclusionthe ultimate understanding, or Vedanta understandingis knowledge of Krsna. Actually that is a fact because simply by understanding Krsna as He is, as described in Bhagavad-gita (janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvatah [Bg. 4.9]), one becomes a perfect brahmana. The brahmana who knows Krsna perfectly well is always in a transcendental position. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (14.26): (More...) " 'One may be born in a brahmana family and have all twelve brahminical qualities, but if he is not devoted to the lotus feet of Lord Krsna, who has a navel shaped like a lotus, he is not as good as a candala who has dedicated his mind, words, activities, wealth and life to the service of the Lord. Simply to take birth in a brahmana family or to have brahminical qualities is not sufficient. One must become a pure devotee of the Lord. If a sva-paca or candala is a devotee, he delivers not only himself but his whole family, whereas a brahmana who is not a devotee but simply has brahminical qualifications cannot even purify himself, not to speak of his family.' " (More...) Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/?g=1377 Previous: [none] Next: [none]
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