TEXTS 1013
hamse gurau mayi bhaktyanuvrtya
vitrsnaya dvandva-titiksaya ca
sarvatra jantor vyasanavagatya
jijnasaya tapaseha-nivrttya
mat-karmabhir mat-kathaya ca nityam
mad-deva-sangad guna-kirtanan me
nirvaira-samyopasamena putra
jihasaya deha-gehatma-buddheh
adhyatma-yogena vivikta-sevaya
pranendriyatmabhijayena sadhryak
sac-chraddhaya brahmacaryena sasvad
asampramadena yamena vacam
sarvatra mad-bhava-vicaksanena
jnanena vijnana-virajitena
yogena dhrty-udyama-sattva-yukto
lingam vyapohet kusalo ham-akhyam
SYNONYMS
hamsewho is a paramahamsa, or the most exalted. spiritually advanced person; gurauto the spiritual master; mayiunto Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhaktyaby devotional service; anuvrtyaby following; vitrsnayaby detachment from sense gratification; dvandvaof the dualities of the material world; titiksayaby tolerance; caalso; sarvatraeverywhere; jantohof the living entity; vyasanathe miserable condition of life; avagatyaby realizing; jijnasayaby inquiring about the truth; tapasaby practicing austerities and penances; iha-nivrttyaby giving up the endeavor for sense enjoyment; mat-karmabhihby working for Me; mat-kathayaby hearing topics about Me; caalso; nityamalways; mat-deva-sangatby association with My devotees; guna-kirtanat meby chanting and glorifying My transcendental qualities; nirvairabeing without enmity; samyaseeing everyone equally by spiritual understanding; upasamenaby subduing anger, lamentation and so on; putrahO sons; jihasayaby desiring to give up; dehawith the body; gehawith the home; atma-buddhehidentification of the self; adhyatma-yogenaby study of the revealed scriptures; vivikta-sevayaby living in a solitary place; pranathe life air; indriyathe senses; atmathe mind; abhijayenaby controlling; sadhryakcompletely; sat-sraddhayaby developing faith in the scriptures; brahmacaryenaby observing celibacy; sasvatalways; asampramadenaby not being bewildered; yamenaby restraint; vacamof words; sarvatraeverywhere; mat-bhavathinking of Me; vicaksanenaby observing; jnanenaby development of knowledge; vijnanaby practical application of knowledge; virajitenaillumined; yogenaby practice of bhakti-yoga; dhrtipatience; udyamaenthusiasm; sattvadiscretion; yuktahendowed with; lingamthe cause of material bondage; vyapohetone can give up; kusalahin full auspiciousness; aham-akhyamfalse ego, false identification with the material world.
TRANSLATION
O My sons, you should accept a highly elevated paramahamsa, a spiritually advanced spiritual master. In this way, you should place your faith and love in Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You should detest sense gratification and tolerate the duality of pleasure and pain, which are like the seasonal changes of summer and winter. Try to realize the miserable condition of living entities, who are miserable even in the higher planetary systems. Philosophically inquire about the truth. Then undergo all kinds of austerities and penances for the sake of devotional service. Give up the endeavor for sense enjoyment and engage in the service of the Lord. Listen to discussions about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and always associate with devotees. Chant about and glorify the Supreme Lord, and look upon everyone equally on the spiritual platform. Give up enmity and subdue anger and lamentation. Abandon identifying the self with the body and the home, and practice reading the revealed scriptures. Live in a secluded place and practice the process by which you can completely control your life air, mind and senses. Have full faith in the revealed scriptures, the Vedic literatures, and always observe celibacy. Perform your prescribed duties and avoid unnecessary talks. Always thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, acquire knowledge from the right source. Thus practicing bhakti-yoga, you will patiently and enthusiastically be elevated in knowledge and will be able to give up the false ego.
PURPORT
In these four verses, Rsabhadeva tells His sons how they can be freed from the false identification arising from false ego and material conditional life. One gradually becomes liberated by practicing as mentioned above. All these prescribed methods enable one to give up the material body (lingam vyapohet) and be situated in his original spiritual body. First of all one has to accept a bona fide spiritual master. This is advocated by Srila Rupa Gosvami in his Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu: sri-guru-padasrayah. To be freed from the entanglement of the material world, one has to approach a spiritual master. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet [MU
tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet
samit-panih srotriyam brahma-nistham
To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth.
[Mundaka Upanisad 1.2.12]
1.2.12]. By questioning the spiritual master and by serving him, one can advance in spiritual life. When one engages in devotional service, naturally the attraction for personal comfortfor eating, sleeping and dressingis reduced. By associating with the devotee, a spiritual standard is maintained. The word mad-deva-sangat is very important. There are many so-called religions devoted to the worship of various demigods, but here good association means association with one who simply accepts Krsna as his worshipable Deity.
Another important item is dvandva-titiksa. As long as one is situated in the material world, there must be pleasure and pain arising from the material body. As Krsna advises in Bhagavad-gita, tams titiksasva bharata. One has to learn how to tolerate the temporary pains and pleasures of this material world. One must also be detached from his family and practice celibacy. Sex with ones wife according to the scriptural injunctions is also accepted as brahmacarya (celibacy), but illicit sex is opposed to religious principles, and it hampers advancement in spiritual consciousness. Another important word is vijnana-virajita. Everything should be done very scientifically and consciously. One should be a realized soul. In this way, one can give up the entanglement of material bondage.
As Sri Madhvacarya points out, the sum and substance of these four slokas is that one should refrain from acting out of a desire for sense gratification and should instead always engage in the Lords loving service. In other words, bhakti-yoga is the acknowledged path of liberation. Srila Madhvacarya quotes from the Adhyatma:
atmano vihitam karma
varjayitvanya-karmanah
kamasya ca parityago
nirihety ahur uttamah
One should perform activities only for the benefit of the soul; any other activity should be given up. When a person is situated in this way, he is said to be desireless. Actually a living entity cannot be totally desireless, but when he desires the benefit of the soul and nothing else, he is said to be desireless.
Spiritual knowledge is jnana-vijnana-samanvitam. When one is fully equipped with jnana and vijnana, he is perfect. Jnana means that one understands the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, to be the Supreme Being. Vijnana refers to the activities that liberate one from the ignorance of material existence. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.9.31): jnanam parama-guhyam me yad vijnana-samanvitam. Knowledge of the Supreme Lord is very confidential, and the supreme knowledge by which one understands Him furthers the liberation of all living entities. This knowledge is vijnana. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (4.9):
One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.

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