Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.21.14
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · Germany · 2004
Chapters
Recitation and verse translation
By reading Shriman Bhagavatam Kanto four chapter twenty one instructions by Maharaja Pritu Text Number fourteen Tasminar Tasarveshu Tasminasarvesu S,varchitesu Yatarhata, Svarchites, Utitaksada, Utita Sadas, Tarana Mudura Diva Arana Mudura Diva Tasmin Tasmin
in that great meeting That great meeting. Arhatsu Arhatsu of all those who are worshipable. Of all those who are worshippable. Sarvasu. Sarvashu. All of them. All of them.
Su Architeshuarchites being worshipped according to their respective positions. Yathaarhataha Yatha Artataha As they deserved. As they deserved. Uthitaha stood up.
Sadasaha amongst the assembly members. Amongst the assembly members. Madia within the mids. Taranam of the stars. Udura Udura the Moon Iva Like
Translation And that great assembly Maharaja Prithu first of all worshipp alled the respectable visitors according to their respective positions.
After this he stood up in the midst of the assembly, and it appeared that the full moon had arisen among the stars for poor by his divine grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. Swami Prabhupada.
According to the very system, the reception of great exalted personalities as arranged by Prithu Maharaja and that great sacrificial arena is very important.
The first procedure in receiving guests is to wash their feet, and it is learned from Vedic literature that one time when Maharaja Yatishtira performed Rajasui Yagya, Krishna took charge of washing the feet of the visitors.
Similarly, Maharaja Prithu also arranged for the proper reception of the demigods, the saintly sages and the Brahmanas and the great kings.
So in this particular verse and purport, the importance of the respect is being stressed to a very great extent. It is said here arhatsu. Arhatsu means arhat means somebody who is worshipable.
This is also by the way the word in the Greek language. They were also called people who have the high positions in the societies arhat. And it is said here su architeshu.
So Architesu means Archana, as we know, means worship. Archana means honoring. Archana means respect. But also we know that archa means sun and the verbal root arch means to shine to be brilliant.
So basically archana means that you have to recognize somebody's position. Archana means that you have to respect everyone according to his position in the society and this is a very essential principle.
So much essential that here it is said that Krishna himself, to stress this was taking care of the guests and worshiping their feet. And washing their feet.
It is also very interesting how it is described here and that Maharaja Prithu was like the sun, oh sorry, was like the moon. He mocked all the stars. And the moon is much more prominent than all the stars.
Still, this moon goes and worships all other stars. The moon is brilliant, and the stars are brilliant. But the moon is brilliant because also it can recognize the brilliance of others.
It is extremely essential principle for the overall welfare of the society, but it is also extremely essential spiritual principle. Because, and it is uh uh cannot be stressed enough,
because uh the spiritual consciousness means hierarchical consciousness. To be spiritual, to be religious, you have to understand and recognize that there is a hierarchy in the society.
Modern equality versus spiritual hierarchy
And ultimately, the crown jewel of this hierarchy, Krishna, God, the modern democratic society, the modern society, which very rapidly goes to hell, wants to eradicate distinctions between the people.
Actually that was the French Revolution, the great French Revolution which first said everyone is equal. No kings, nobody, you know everyone is the same. But it's not. Everyone is not the same.
And someone who has this erroneous mistaken idea that everyone is the same will never be able to recognize the authority of God. And moreover, this idea that everyone is the same has the basis of envy, matsarya.
And if this idea is prevalent in the society, only envy will be increasing and increasing. And we know that envy is the root cause of our material existence. Because we are envious, we are here.
And ultimately because we are envious of God.
So therefore in a proper society, in a traditional society and in this particular case in the Vedic society of whom Maharaja Prithu is an emblem, he is the Shaktiavesha Avatar of Krishna which is invested in with Anushasana Shakti, the Shakti of ruling, the ability to rule and manage.
So he's showing this example to explain how important it is in the society, in the traditional society, to recognize that there is a hierarchy. And we have to respect everyone who is higher than we are.
We have to respect and pay obeisances and honor everyone according to their positions in the society. If we don't do this only envy will increase.
And if we learn to do this, ultimately we will be able to recognize the authority of God. Ultimately we will be able to pay our homage to God and ultimately we will develop love towards Him.
This is so extremely, extremely essential that Krishna himself shows this example, Maharaja Prithu himself shows this example, how important it is.
And as we know in the very beginning of Bhagavad-gītā, that was exactly the crisis of Arjuna. Arjuna didn't want to enter into this battle because he had to fight with those holy superiors.
He says guru-hatā mahā-mahānubhāva, this is I see in front of me my gurus and they are worthy of my worship and I have to shoot them with arrows.
He said I have to offer them flowers, and instead of that, I will have to offer them arrows from my bow. This is not proper. I will have to kill them and how will I live after killing them?
After showing this extreme extent of disrespect by killing, because you know if you kill somebody it's very disrespectful towards this person. So Arjuna says, how can I do how will I be able to live after this?
I will not be able to live after this. Because all my life will be tainted by blood of these people.
Vedic culture of honoring superiors
So this was the crisis of Arjuna. Arjuna couldn't imagine how to do this because in the Vedic society, in the proper society, this culture of respect was so deeply impressed upon the people from the very early age.
Children in the traditional society, in the Vedic society and still in India in some traditional Vedic families children learn how to bow down to his father and mother, their father and mother early in the morning.
The first thing in the morning they have to go and pay obeisances to father and to mother and I I mean it's really a great lesson because it's not that easy. You know for little children already they are born with pride.
I know because I'm living in one grihasta house now because the Moscow temple is no more. I have to live somewhere. I have no place now. So I'm living in one house, and there is a little boy there of four years old.
And his parents they teach him, they they tell him, you know, you have to bow down, you have to go to Maharaj and bow down to him. So he goes and every morning he goes and
he has such a you know such a face it's unbelievable you know, he comes to me and he doesn't want to do it. And then usually he comes he's told very strictly the parents tell him
So you go to Maharaj and you pay obeisances. So he goes very unwillingly. He opens my door, he looks at me, and then he looks behind. And if nobody is there, he closes the door and runs away.
He doesn't do this, he doesn't want to do this. But if somebody is behind, he's just think he bows down and then immediately he's up again.
But uh this is a very wise, very extremely wise system because you know otherwise the envy will rule your heart.
The envy is such a strong emotion and it's it's so strong but from the very beginning we have to learn how to control envy. And the means to control envy is to respect others, is to show respect.
And this respect is actually respect towards the seniors is unrestricted in a sense. In other words, like in a modern society, people they say,
you know, why should I worship seniors, you know, who they are to be worshipped. First, they have to prove that they're worshipable. But no, if they are little elder than us, then we have to worship them.
Like in the laws of Manu, in Manu-saṁhitā, it is said, it is very interestingly, the first lessons in Manu-saṁhitā is actually lessons of how to respect others. And it is explained, you know, who is to be respected.
You You know if somebody is uh uh if you are equal from your birth, for example, right?
But uh if uh if somebody is your neighbor, then you have to respect him as elder if he is elder than you, if he's two years elder than you.
But if he is the member of your own family, you have to respect him as elder even if he is two weeks elder than you. Like we know Balaram. Balaram is only two weeks elder than Krishna. He's only two weeks older.
But Krishna bows down to him and touches his feet. He's his older brother and which who enjoys all possible respect. For Krishna, Balaram is guru.
I mean it's ironic, it's strange, but he is. Because he's more uh he's just two weeks older than Krishna himself.
And, uh, the closer you are, the closer the relationship are, uh the more temptation is there to show some kind of disrespect or contempt of familiarity because familiarity is very bad it it actually destroys the relationship.
And the temptation is there. Therefore, it is stressed in the laws of Manu and Shastras that if you are the members of one family, then even if somebody is a little bit senior than you, you still have to worship him.
Like the wife has to worship husband, which is definitely a very foreign concept in the modern society. And uh but it it's it's actually extremely essential.
In traditional families, wife will never call her husband by name. She will only call her husband Prabhu. Because even calling by name is too familiar.
You know, when you call somebody, hey, Janaka Mahashaya, you know, it's it's familiar. But if you call somebody Prabhu, there is respect. And this respect actually establishes certain distance in
relationship which is very healthy because if there is no distance, of course there should be closeness, but closeness should be also moderated by distance.
Yudhishthira seeking blessings before battle
And if the distance is too short, then there is every chance for disrespect, for envy, too manifest and for all kinds of breaking relationship.
Actually one of the reasons why in the modern society there are such difficulties to keep the relationship is only because there is no respect. Respect is extremely, extremely essential point of every proper culture.
Like in the beginning of Mahābhārata, there is the story, not in the beginning of Mahābhārata, in the beginning of this Kurukṣetra war, there is the story when two armies stand together in front of each other, and Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira is the head of Pandava's army and he looks on the opposite side.
And he saw Drona, he saw Bhishma, he saw everyone else.
So all of a sudden, all of a sudden Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira takes off his armor, takes off his shoes, takes off his crown, takes off his weapons, and he puts everything on the ground. And he starts going in the direction of the Kuru army.
And you know, Bhima, Bhima is just, he's going mad, he's going crazy.
He said, you know, this, this Yudhiṣṭhira, I know him, he just wants peace. He probably goes there to beg forgiveness from Duryodhana. For 14 years Bhima was bubbling with anger. He wanted to take revenge.
And finally, this battle is there. Bhima knows that he is he will take revenge. But now Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira goes on the opposite side and he takes off his weapons, you know, and Bhīma, He's mad.
But he has to do what Yudhiṣṭhira is doing. So he takes off his weapon and follows Mahārāja. And from behind and then Arjuna, he takes off his weapons and everything, and he puts
it on the ground, and Nakula and Sahadeva, and they go, they follow Yudhiṣṭhira very obediently and very diligently. And but then Bhīma from behind, and then Krishna. Krishna follows them.
And then Bhīma from behind, he's asking, what are you going to do? What are you about to do? Tell me. Tell me. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, he's quiet. He's silent. And everyone is in complete anxiety.
Arjuna doesn't know what is going on.
Nakula, Sahadeva, they don't want to... they don't know what's going on, but they have to follow still, he's the older brother, they have to follow, they... they have no choice, you know, against their will they're following, and only Krishna is going and smiling, you know, and everyone... everyone's anxiety goes, you know, high.
Krishna says, Don't worry, he's doing the right thing. Krishna is saying from behind, you know, he knows what he's doing.
So Mahārāja is here, he goes straight to Bhīṣma, and he pays his obeisances to Bhīṣma, and he says, I'm coming here to get your blessing. Could you please bless me to fight against you?
And Bhīṣma smiles, and he said, thank you very much for doing this. Because you did this, I will give you blessings. If you wouldn't do this, you would lose. You would have lost. For sure, you would be lost.
You would lose this battle. I can guarantee you. But because you ask me for blessings, I give you blessings.
And Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, could you give me blessings? Could you give me one more blessing? And Bhīṣma says, sure, I can give you one more blessing, and as many blessings as you want. I want the blessings to kill you.
Bhīṣma said, yeah, sure. Why not? If you want these blessings, if you ask me, if you beg me these blessings, for sure, take these blessings. Of course, he says, you know, nobody can kill me.
But when the time will come, I will teach you how to kill me. Don't worry about this.
But he says, if you wouldn't do this, you would lose because of this disrespect. But because you are... of course you will be victorious.
And then Maharajishtira goes to Drona and the same scene uh is repeated and he asked Drona for blessings. And Drona says, Yes, of course. I give you blessings to fight against me and to be victorious over me.
And then he goes to Kreepa and he goes to all the other members of the Kuru army, and they all gave the blessings.
Mutual protection through proper respect
So, this is what it is, this is what respect means. Respect means also that when you're respectful, then you invoke certain feelings in those whom you respect.
And this is this makes the whole atmosphere very nice because uh you know you're respectful and uh the someone whom you show respect also shows uh the uh reciprocal m respect or reciprocal feelings towards you the feelings of protection.
If you go to somebody for protection, then he is more or less forced to give you protection. And in this way everyone in the society is protected. Everyone in the society feels secure.
Like in the modern families, we know from the Vedic literature that psychology of women is that they need some security, they need to be protected.
But then they go to husband and say, you husband, you just, you dirt, you know, you don't know what you're doing, you know, you're such a dull.
You know, the husband, how how he can protect such a woman, you know, you cannot protect her because she doesn't show the proper relationship towards him. And because he doesn't feel like protecting her.
And then she says, I'm so unprotected. I have to take and get another shelter.
So this is the respect is also, there is another meaning in this respectful relationship is that when the respect is there, then everyone feels properly protected.
Because everyone feels you know I'm I'm senior and therefore I have to give protection. I have to give this shelter to those who are junior to me.
And this is so important that Krishna himself stresses this in giving this example in Rajasuya Yagya. It's also very beautifully described in Mahābhārata then before Rājasūya-yajña Yajña is a huge event.
It's such a complicated event with so many things. And everything has to be done properly. This is actually another very important point.
When you do yajña, for yajña to be successful, there is no details. There is no unimportant details. All details are important. And if you miss just one little detail, yajña will not bring the result.
Like there is also a story about Rājasūya-yajña and, uh, in Mahābhārata that when the yajña was performed.
The one of the signs that yajña was successful, one of the very important signs in the mystical performance of yajña is that if you perform yajña, then the bell should ring on its own.
Nobody should ring the bell, you know, and it's just the bell starts ringing. That's the sign that everything is okay, everything is fine. So when Rājasūya-yajña was performed, then the bell didn't rank, didn't ring.
Everything was done, everything was proper, but the bell didn't ring. And Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was in complete anxiety. He called everyone for the council and he asked why the bell didn't ring. We did something wrong.
And then Kṛṣṇa said, I know why it didn't ring, because Krishna knows everything. He said most probably because you didn't respect everyone properly, especially probably because you you probably neglected somebody.
And probably you neglected some humble vaiṣṇava. If vaiṣṇavas are not respected, no yajña can be successful. If you do yajña, the first condition is to worship Viṣṇu.
But also we know that, uh, Lord Śiva says, tadīyānām samarcanam, that even more, uh, important than to worship Viṣṇu is to worship tadīyānām, those who are connected with Viṣṇu. Tadīyānām samarcanam.
If you do yajña, and yajña means worship of Viṣṇu, yajña means worship of the Lord. But if you do yajña and do not respect vaiṣṇavas, it's waste of time. Waste of time, waste of energy, waste of everything. It's useless.
And therefore, Kṛṣṇa said, probably because you didn't respect vaiṣṇavas, that's probably. And Mahārāja said, how come? Is it possible that we didn't respect?
Kṛṣṇa said vaiṣṇavas are, you know, humble, they're somewhere behind. And you might not have noticed even them.
They're, you know, the vaiṣṇavas sometimes they're hiding away from respect. But you have to do it. Otherwise, it's useless. So, and Kṛṣṇa gives that advice.
He says, you go and get there is nearby in Kurukṣetra. Uh, there is one, uh, very humble vaiṣṇava is living, and you please invite him, please drag him, please basically force him to come because he will not
him, please drag him, please basically force him to come because he will not And by doing puja for this Vaishnava, you will more or less make up for this mistake.
So they are going, Arjuna himself goes and he begs this Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava says, No, I don't want to go, please leave me alone. I'm here. I'm happy. You know, I don't need this.
But Arjuna begs him and he says, even Krishna himself wants to see you, and he says, Oh, if Krishna wants to see me, of course I will go. So they go and they do puja. This is also a very traditional way.
In the Vedic society, why is it so nice? Only because everyone is so secure because of this principle of respect. It's amazing.
Traditional guest reception in Kerala
It's really, really amazing. This year I had the real experience of what it means to be a part of this Vedic culture. We came I was traveling in the south of India in Kerala with one local devotee, Indian devotee.
And we came to a little city uh where there was no Vishnu temple even. There was no Yskon temple and there was no Vishnu temple, there was Shiva temple.
And of course we are very proud Vaishnavas, you know, we don't, you know, shaivas. So but we we need to eat. So this devotee he beforehand he called and he arranged with a brāhmaṇa from this Shiva temple to feed us.
And when I heard about this, I was not, I was, I was kind of, you know, I but I didn't want to say anything, I didn't like it. But I didn't want to say anything.
But anyway we went to this Shiva temple and this brāhmaṇa was taking us around, showing us everything.
And I I always thought, you know, sooner or later he will just beg some you know, some dakṣiṇā. You know, being spoiled as I am.
So, but it's brāhmaṇa and you know, nice gentleman, you know, fat as brāhmaṇas are supposed to be. And he's from the highest brāhmaṇical caste. The highest brāhmaṇical caste in Kerala is Nambudri brāhmaṇas.
Nambudri brāhmaṇas, they are descendants of Parashuram. Parashuram personally invested them with powers and he said, You rule this country. I'm giving this Kerala.
Kerala is actually was was received from the ocean by Parashuram. Parashuram gave all his land to the brāhmaṇas and he took some land from the ocean. And he gave it to Nambudri brāhmaṇas and he said, You rule this land.
So this Nambudri brāhmaṇa, you know, Fat, he is the head priest of the Shiva temple, he takes us to his home. Before entering the home, he washes our feet. You know, I felt so bad, you know, this elderly gentleman.
He washed our feet. Then he set us down and he made puja. He chanted all kinds of mantras, he made all kinds of incense, offer everything. Then he chanted, you know, Rig Veda Purusha Sukta or something like this, whatever.
Because Atithi Bhagavān, you know, Atithi guest, he's Bhagavān. He should be worshipped like like God Himself. He got all his family, all his family paid obeisances, chanted mantras, you know, you know, they set us down.
They fed us, you know, then they made puja again, then they wash our feet again. And then on the top of this, he gave everyone of us 100 rupees, 101 rupees. When he did this, I totally.
I was totally completely you know I didn't know what to do. So but this is what it is, some mlecchas. Mlecchas are coming from God knows where.
You know, of course they're wearing this separate clothes, which is worshipable in itself. But still, you know, there is not a slightest concept in his consciousness that there is some mlecchas or whatever. Gesakanning.
Guest means Bhagavān. God Himself came to our home and I have to worship Him and I have to be there. And this is, you know, this is such a culture that you feel your heart melts.
When you when you see this, you want to do you know you also want to be like this. You also want to instead of being craf veterner you know who is you know is dealing roughly with everyone.
Draupadi's lesson on subtle offenses
You want to be this soft-hearted vaiṣṇava with a proper culture.
So, what happened in this Rāja-sūya yajña? They invited this vaiṣṇava and they worshiped him properly, everything was done, and then Draupadī she cooked special feast prasāda.
And Draupadī, she's wonderful cook. And this Vaishnava, because he's very renounced, he took everything which was there on the plate and he he kind of, you know, sweet and salt everything. He just made a big kichri out of it and started eating because you're not supposed
to enjoy prasadam you're supposed just to respect prasadam so very respectfully he met he mixed everything up and started taking little prasadam. And then when he finished, he went home. But the bell didn't ring.
The bell was supposed to ring, and they again said, Something is wrong. And Krishna said, Yeah, I know what is wrong. When he mixed up all the prasāda, Draupadī didn't like it.
She in her heart thought, such a what is he doing? I cooked such a tasty preparation. Determine soms. But he didn't really. Så in her hart she respected him at this moment. Therefore the bell didn't ring.
Therefore, you have to invite him again and you have to do the same again. And they did again and again Dropadi cooked, but this time she she she turned away when he started eating. She didn't want to see this.
In any case and and this time the the bell rang. So but the point here is that you know if somebody is not respected, then the yagi is wasted.
If if somebody is not, if somebody is offended in the course of yagi, and we know you know sometimes we are doing this Sankirtana Yagi, right?
And Sankirtana Yagi means you know means you sometimes we have this crazy strange idea that on the way we can stop on the toes of everyone and it doesn't matter because we are doing Sankirtana Yagi, right?
Because we are worshiping Krishna, we can trample over people, we can s you know, we can do whatever we like, because we are engaged in these most important activities, but it's wrong. It's totally, completely wrong.
It's totally against our culture. The culture means that everyone is important. According to their positions in the society, everyone has to be worshipped and respected and honored, and everyone has to be recognized.
Whoever he may be very little person like here, this Maharaja Prithu, he is like the moon.
And maybe little stars are there, but he recognizes everyone according to the position and respects them accordingly, and therefore he is showing this example of proper conduct.
And especially of course, uh the you know this elder elderly members of the society they are called gurus because if somebody is elder than you then his proper name is guru if somebody is a little more wise or little a more senior in any respect, you have to actually show to him the respect of a guru.
The father is a guru, the mother is a guru, the mother is the first guru. Because mother teaches the child how to love. And we start definitely we start this learning this respect.
Of course we're supposed to start it from the childhood. But because when we were children nobody really taught us this proper respect that at least we have to learn how to respect others by respecting our gurus.
But it's it's just a school because by respecting Guru you ultimately have to learn how to respect others who are connected with the Guru, others members of the family, or Guru's family.
Like Sanatana Goswami in his Hari-bhakti-vilāsa where he is teaching the proper conduct to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas. And it's not just some smart book, it's a book for Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas.
He starts uh this chapter about Guru by s by quoting I don't remember which Purana by quoting one verse from a Purana where it is said it's a very shocking statement.
There it is said, and that Vidyava Avidyava Gurur Eva Janārdana Masta amardastha And this word is said that vidyva a vidyava, it doesn't matter whether your guru has knowledge or doesn't have knowledge.
Gurur ever Janārdana. Gurur is always Janārdana. He is God.
Even if he doesn't have knowledge, you know, like in our society, which actually shows the extent of the degradation of the people, you know, sometimes people come to his con and then they reject Guru because he is not knowledgeable enough, right?
You know, I I will go to somebody else who has more knowledge. This is so ridiculous. This is so low class. Sanatana Gaswami starts this from this shocking statement. Vidyava Avidyava. Gurur Eva Janārdana.
And very specifically he uses this word Janārdana. Because Janārdana, you know what Janārdana means. What does this Krishna's name mean?
Protector of all the people, that's what Prabhupāda gives this meaning in Bhagavad-gītā, but there is first meaning for this word. It's very interesting.
When Arjuna says, Oh Janārdana, O Keśava, O Krishna, why do you engage me in this ghastly war? He means very specific meaning of this word and this is the main meaning of Janārdana. Janārdana means one who makes troubles.
One who causes troubles for the people. This is this is the first meaning of this word. And therefore Arjuna says, oh troublemaker, why do you why do you want to engage me in this war? In this war?
Why do you cause me such an anxiety? And this is what Janārdana is. And this is if we if we know that Krishna is the cause of all causes, then He is also causa all troubles, right?
He's causing everyone, all the troubles and anxieties and everything. And basically it means Guru Eva Janārdana means Guru is God and it means his business is what? To make troubles to you.
It basically means we have to recognize that Guru has the right to do something which we don't like. Guru, or somebody who is elder than us, actually, that's his duty,
that's his business to do some to say something which is unpleasant. You know, Guru is not somebody who always has to smile. Sometimes they have this, you know, crazy conception that guru has to smile,
and if he doesn't smile I reject him and take somebody else who always smiles. Guru has to chastise.
Guru has to really you know because otherwise you will be complacent, otherwise you will not be able to progress properly. Guru has this right and therefore it is stress there. Guru eva Janārdana. He's always Janārdana.
He always has to have this position in your life. And then Margasto, Amargast though. It doesn't matter whether he is standing on the road or he is uh on his way or not. You know, he is guru-reva parama-gatiḥ.
He is always the supreme goal of a person. If somebody knows this, he he learns actually through the relationship with Guru, he learns how to properly relate to Krishna ultimately.
Accepting chastisement from superiors
And if he doesn't do this, he will not learn anything.
And therefore, later on it is said in the next verse from Brahmā-vaivarta Purāṇa, which Sanātana Gosvāmī quotes, he says that even if guru is angry and he uses this guru in plural.
Means even if anyone who is elder than you is angry and he's chastising you and whatever, you have no right to To you chastise him back.
Because when somebody chastises us, our you know our natural false ego reaction is, you know, I just you, know I, punch him in the nose. You know, what right does he have?
So but then, uh, Sanātana Gosvāmī says that you have to instead of punching him in the nose, you have to invite him home. And basically, to invite him home means you have to invite him within your heart.
It's very essential and give him proper respect and proper worship. Like once Prabhupāda was asked by one disciple, Prabhupāda, is it true that Guru is in the heart of the disciple?
And Prabhupāda said, yes, it's true, if you let me in. Yeah, I can be in the heart of a disciple if you let me in. So, and letting guru in means showing the proper respect, proper honor to the spiritual master
which is extremely essential. Otherwise, you will not be able to learn anything from him. So this is very vivid arrangement, and therefore Krishna also says in Bhagavad-gītā that what is the first austerity for the mind?
What is the first and foremost austerity for the mind? Yeah. First austerity for the mind is to show respect to dvija, to sura, to śreṣṭha and to guru. Guru, dvija, what is this? Whatever. Puja.
You have to show this is the main austerity for the mind. to brāhmaṇas, to gurus, to senior vaiṣṇavas, to everyone.
And then there will be proper society and proper spiritual development and proper development of the consciousness. Without that, this is not just mundane principle, not just mundane,
you know, karma-kāṇḍa principle. This is the principle of the spiritual life. And if it's there, then we will be able to progress spiritually.
If it's not there, there is no chance. There is no chance for spiritual progress. And therefore it is so drastically stressed by Krishna himself when
he was when they were arranging for the yajña, everyone was given appropriate engagement, appropriate thing to do.
Like for example, Duryodhana, at that time they were all together, and Duryodhana was asked to do, you know, it was very cleverly arranged. Everyone was asked to do something which he would like to do.
So for Duryodhana, his duty during this Rājasūya-yajña was to accept Dakshina and to count all the money which was given to Maharaj. So he was because he liked money.
And Bhīṣma and Droṇa their duty was it's also very interesting.
Bhīṣma and Droṇa's duty was they were totally free during Rājasūya-yajña and they were supposed to go around and to see what is missing, to see what is not proper, what is done and what is not done.
So that's this is this is the management, this is the level of the management. And Krishna says, my business would be to receive all the guests. My business will be to receive, actually, not all the guests, brāhmaṇas.
His specific assigned duty was to receive brāhmaṇas and to wash the feet of all the brāhmaṇas. And Krishna shows this by his own example.
And it is said specifically in Mahābhārata in this verse where it is described in this Rājasūya ceremony it is said that the center of all the universe, the most important person in all the universe, he took by his own will this duty of worshiping brāhmaṇas, of washing the feet of the brāhmaṇas, just to stress, to emphasize this point how important it is for us to do this.
Okay. Thank you very much for your kind attention.
Practical methods for appreciating others
Is there any question to this point? One is this technique. Who was counting money by uh Duryodhana? Duryodhana, that was his business.
He was he was supposed to take because when the kings would come for a Rājasūya sacrifice, they're supposed to bring some tribute to the king, to the emperor. And Duryodhana, you know, because he loved all this, so he was the treasurer in this sacrifice.
But Bhīṣma and Drona they were assigned to just to go around and to see what is improper, what is not being done in Latin language the word respect may give us a clue for what is behind respect.
It c uh spektada means to see and re means to see again, to see a second time. We are going to respect everyone it is clear we can't we have to come to a different vision than we are used to.
The this Vedic paradigm who's higher and who's lower, you know, it's it's not found in material civilization that's whatever um so I wonder
if you can give us a simple uh respect workshop what what uh steps we have to do to come to that uh competed level where we can really respect everyone for these qualities because our gut reaction Yeah,
you're right. Right. Gut reaction is just to push everyone down and to make everyone to respect me.
But as it is said, as I was trying to this is also, in one sense, it is also in Sanskrit because architeshu arch means to shine and basically means one of the meaning here is just to recognize when we respect we have to really very attentively see what is there to be recognized in everyone.
This recognition is another word for this respect and actually if if if somebody who can give this workshop it's I think it's Radhanat Maharaj he's he is very artful. He's very expert in this art.
So usually when he starts his speech or whatever whatever the assembly is there, he glorifies everyone who is there and not just sometimes we tend when it comes to this glorification we tend to do it in a very shallow way in a very artificial way.
Oh, all the Vaishnavas are great, yeah, this great Vaishnavas are here. But proper respect is to see what is worthy in this person and to really you know bring it out to really stress and emphasize this is this glorious quality of this particular Vaishnava and everyone every Vaishnava has certain qualities which are admirable.
So the proper respect is to see it and to stress this point, to actually to find this point within the person's heart and to magnify it in a sense and to show.
And this is actually very educative for the person himself because he now he understands that this is this is good and this is very this is what I have to cherish in myself in my heart. So the proper workshop would be just to turn to your neighbor and to say to your neighbor, you know, you have this wonderful quality which which I really admire and then to hear from the neighbor the same about yourself so that would be good exercise
uh uh because it's also very specifically said that Arhatsu Yat ha arhatha. He respected everyone who is respectable Yad Ha Arhatha according to his particular position, according to what he's worth of.
So respect is always very specific or very particular in the sense that you know you have to see this quality which is really good in the person and really show him respect for this.
So you Shachan Maharaj you you want us to do this little workshop? Serious? I think it would be nice. Maybe not yet. But I think it would be very uh you know this is what and actually yeah,
I wanted to also — there is another very great example of Prabhupada. But yeah, this is this is like this, definitely. But also, when it comes to somebody who is very superior to us,
then we have to respect him just because of this, because of his position of because of this thing. You know, Prabhupada, to stress this point when I was speaking about guru, I wanted to quote Prabhupada.
Prabhupada, he had a very amazing saying. He said, My Guru Maharaj, whether he was right or wrong was always right.
Which is an amazing statement because when you say whether he was right or wrong, it means that you may see that he is wrong. But in your consciousness, you know he's right.
You may see, or it may seem that he is wrong, but for you, he's always right. So uh but yeah, whatever.
As far as this workshop, I think this is and this is what um Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda was doing with his disciples. When the disciples were quarreling with each other, he would set them down in front of him and he would tell, you know, you find something good in him and tell him that you know this is good in you. And somebody hates this person. You know, he hates. For 10 years he had been hating this person and he didn't see any good quality in him.
And you know, he's looking, and in front of his Guru Mahārāja, he has to say something. You know, he's biting his tongue. But he has to do this.
And as soon as he does this, you know, immediately there is a change in the heart. So this is the workshop which Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī was doing with his disciples. Very practical. Okay Okay. Thank you very much.
Śrīla Prabhupāda ki jaya!