SB 4.8.1
TEXT 1
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TEXT
मैत्रेय उवाच
सनकाद्या नारदश्च ऋभुर्हंसो ऽरुणिर्यतिः । नैते गृहान्ब्रह्मसुता ह्यावसन्नूर्ध्वरेतसः ॥ १ ॥ maitreya uvaca
sanakadya naradas ca
rbhur hamso 'runir yatiḥ
naite grhan brahma-suta
hy avasann ūrdhva-retasaḥ
maitreyaḥ uvaca-Maitreya said; sanaka-adyaḥ-those headed by Sanaka; naradaḥ-Narada; ca-and; rbhuḥ-Rbhu; hamsaḥ-Hamsa; aruniḥ-Aruni; yatiḥ-Yati; na-not; ete-all these; grhan-at home; brahma-sutaḥ-sons of Brahma; hi-certainly; avasan-did live; ūrdhva-retasaḥ-unadulterated celibates.
TRANSLATION
The great sage Maitreya said: The four great Kumara sages headed by Sanaka, as well as Narada, Rbhu, Hamsa, Aruni and Yati, all sons of Brahma, did not live at home, but became ūrdhva-reta or naisthika-brahmacaris, unadulterated celibates.
PURPORT
The system of brahmacarya has been current since the birth of Brahma. A section of the population, especially male, did not marry at all. Instead of allowing their semina to be driven downwards, they used to lift the semina up to the brain. They are called ūrdhva-retaḥ, those who lift up. Semina is so important that if, by the yogic process, one can lift the semina up to the brain, he can perform wonderful work-one's memory is enabled to act very swiftly, and the duration of life is increased. Yogis can thus perform all kinds of austerity with steadiness and be elevated to the highest perfectional stage, even to the spiritual world. Vivid examples of brahmacaris who accepted this principle of life are the four sages Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanat-kumara, as well as Narada and others.
Another significant phrase here is naite grhan hy avasan, "they did not live at home." Grha means home as well as wife. In fact, home means wife; home does not mean a room or a house. One who lives with a wife lives at home, otherwise a sannyasi or brahmacari, even though he may live in a room or in a house, does not live at home. That they did not live at home means that they did not accept a wife, and so there was no question of their discharging semina. Semina is meant to be discharged when one has a home, a wife and the intention to beget children, otherwise there is no injunction for discharging semina. These principles were followed from the beginning of creation, and such brahmacaris never created progeny. This narration has dealt with the descendants of Lord Brahma from Manu's daughter Prasūti. Prasūti's daughter was Daksayani or Sati, in relation to whom the story of the Daksa yajna was narrated. Maitreya is now explaining about the progeny of the sons of Brahma. Out of the many sons of Brahma, the brahmacari sons headed by Sanaka and Narada did not marry at all, and therefore there is no question of narrating the history of their descendants.
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