Srimad Bhagavatam : 10.52.31~32 by HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj on Dec 5, 2024 @ ISKCON Japan
ŚB 10.52.31
santuṣṭo yarhi varteta
brāhmaṇo yena kenacit
ahīyamānaḥ svad dharmāt
sa hy asyākhila-kāma-dhuk
Translation
When a brāhmaṇa is satisfied with whatever comes his way and does not fall away from his religious duties, those very religious principles become his desire cow, fulfilling all his wishes.
ŚB 10.52.32
asantuṣṭo ’sakṛl lokān
āpnoty api sureśvaraḥ
akiñcano ’pi santuṣṭaḥ
śete sarvāṅga-vijvaraḥ
Translation
An unsatisfied brāhmaṇa wanders restlessly from one planet to another, even if he becomes King of heaven. But a satisfied brāhmaṇa, though he may possess nothing, rests peacefully, all his limbs free of distress.
So these verses are further praise of the Brahmana. And particularly he’s praising the fact that the Brahmana is always satisfied in any condition, as long as he does not deviate from his dharma. And of course we have many places where the dharma of the Brahmana is described. Of course one of the main duties of the Brahmana is to study and understand the Vedas. As well as that, he has many daily and periodic duties to perform.
Many of these duties are for maintenance of purity. He should have a pure body and a pure mind. So the other night I described how in the Varnashrama system there are nitya kriyas and naimitya kriyas that you have to do. So these are for purification. And there is the idea of paying debts. We have to repay something. So we have debts to the pitras, debts to living entities, debts to the sages. And if you don’t repay those debts then you are considered to be very sinful. So the Brahmana should always follow these principles. And at the same time he should maintain his body.
And it is a little difficult because technically he should not work. He does not work for somebody else. He is at the top of the system so he cannot be dependent on somebody else. So this is a rather peculiar position because he is at the top but he has no way to support himself. So he can survive on donations. And that is why the kings are very generous with Brahmanas.
So in the Bhagavatam and other scriptures it is described that one of the professions of the Brahmana, because he cannot work, is he can collect grains. But he should not beg for food. So he can go in the field after they harvest all the rice and whatever grains are left on the field, that dropped down and they didn’t pick up, he can pick up those grains and take them home and eat them. Or he can go to the marketplace where they sell all the grains. And after the market is finished, if there is any grains on the floor that have dropped, he can pick those up and take them back and feed his family. So these are very strict principles.
Many people wouldn’t want to be a Brahmana because life is too strict. But nevertheless the Brahmana is at the top of society. So because he is satisfied with very, very little, this becomes a good qualification. So he is satisfied because he is doing his proper duties, maintaining himself in the proper way. And in this position he can distribute proper knowledge. He can distribute knowledge with no distortion.
So that Brahmana should be respected. And he plays a very important role in society. So that is why we find that great kings and even Krishna respects the Brahmana. Of course, there is another principle. None of the Varanas and Ashrams are complete unless there is also worship of the Supreme Lord. So that has to be there to some degree. And if the person is anti-Vishnu, anti-Krishna, anti-devotee, no one is going to respect him. And if he’s got great devotion, then of course he gets most respect.
So respect is given to the Brahmana who is also worshiping the Lord, and greater respect is given to the Brahmana who is a great devotee. And of course, if a person is not a Brahmana but is a great devotee, that person also gets great respect.
So we see that conduct in Krishna himself. Krishna respects the Brahmanas. He respects great Brahmanas like Sudama. But he’s also controlled by Kshatriyas, the Pandavas. And of course, he’s more controlled by the people of Vrindavan who are Vaishyas. And he’s most controlled by the Gopis, who are women. So ultimately, Krishna is controlled most by devotees. But within the social system, Krishna gives great respect to the Brahmanas.
So we’ll often see in the Bhagavatam, a great glorification of the Brahmana. For instance, in the story of King Nrga, there’s a whole part of a chapter for glorifying Brahmanas. And in the incident in Vaikuntha, where the gatekeepers get angry at the Kumaras who are Brahmanas, there’s a whole discussion about how you have to respect the Brahmana.
So in Caitanya Caritamrita, Lord Chaitanya also glorifies the Brahmana. He talks about lower living entities, higher living entities like animals, and then we have human beings. And among human beings, those who are following dharma in the Varnashrama system are considered much higher. And in that Varnashrama system, the Brahmana is most respected. But the Brahmana who’s really following the principles of scripture, he is considered to be more respected.
So many people following dharma go that far, and they give great respect to the Brahmana. However, higher than the brahmana, who is really following the principles, is the devotee. So, respect is given everywhere, but most respect is given to the devotees. So, we should keep that in mind when we read all these different descriptions about the varnashrama system. So here these verses are talking about Brahmana being satisfied. So, when the brahmana community is satisfied, then that’s when they will function properly and give proper knowledge. If they are dissatisfied, they are not going to give knowledge.
So, the brahmana is like the head of society. And without the head, the body cannot function properly. So, therefore, the kings realize this, and they keep the brahmanas satisfied. So, that is the social system. And if it’s in place, and supported by the king, then society is peaceful and prosperous.
Unfortunately in Kali Yuga, the whole system is not working properly. In the Bhagavatam, there is a whole description of what happens to the dynasty of kings in Kali Yuga. And we see, as time goes on in Kali Yuga, some sudra comes along and assassinates the king, and he becomes the king, he starts a new dynasty. Somebody assassinates him, and then somebody else becomes the head. So, the whole system becomes completely corrupted.
So, what happens to the descendants from Manu? In the 9th canto, there’s a description of how the Sun dynasty is traced from Vaivasvata to Manu, and then there’s a branch of the Moon dynasty, and Krishna appears there, and then they start disintegrating in Kali Yuga. So, it’s described, the last descendant of Manu got a little tired, and he decided to retire and disappear, and then come back until Satya yuga again, next Satya yuga, then he’ll come and start a new dynasty. So, it’s very difficult to establish that system of dharma when the descendant who’s supposed to establish it isn’t even there.
So, all we can do is take shelter of the highest dharma, bhakti.
Okay. Hare Krsna.
Q & A
1.) Maharaj, Practically, which time did Manu give u? Before Kali Yuga, he predicted how Kali Yuga would become worse, and then Manu gave up?
It’s not stated exactly, but we have the first is after Krishna, then his grandson was put on the throne, so it continued that long. But then after that, we see there’s a gradual disintegration, maybe take a few hundred years after that. Then eventually then we get a real deviation after that, after a few hundred years in Kali Yuga.
Devotee : After Pariksit ?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, definitely.
2) When they say there is no qualified person, Krishna incarnates himself, takes the position, or whatever it is, like you, material world, spiritual world, Krishna comes himself and replaces the person. Why Krishna doesn’t replace himself, Manu? In Kali Yuga, why allow him to run away? What if somebody, you know, is in charge and then suddenly disappears? That is not proper.
Well, the Supreme Lord did come, he came as Buddha, who said we don’t want any more Vedas. Then He came as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and Mahaprabhu said the highest Dharma is Nama Sankirtana.
So therefore, even if we don’t have that dharma, we have the highest dharma ! So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared, then he disappeared, but his presence is still there in the holy name. So holy name itself is considered to be an avatar !
So it seems this is an arrangement of the Lord to give everybody the opportunity to completely depend on Nama Sankirtana.
In other yugas, they got an alternative, they can just be peaceful by following dharma. In Kali Yuga, there is no peaceful dharma. So people have to take shelter of bhakti and the holy name.
3) Maharaj, in Bhagavad Gita 18.42, Krishna describes the quality of Brahmana. So I am wondering, can anyone become a true Vaishnava without the Brahmanical quality?
So, qualification to become a devotee is not being a Brahmana. That’s not the qualification for being a devotee, being a Brahmana. So simply because you are a Brahmana, you could be a Mayavadi, you could be anything. So it doesn’t qualify you for bhakti.
Devotee : Even (they can be) a Karmi ? Karmi Brahmana?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, they may or may not be a devotee. It doesn’t produce bhakti, and qualification for bhakti is faith. But faith may appear in a Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Sudra, Melacha, dog-eater, anybody. By getting the faith, becoming a devotee, then he is superior to the Brahmana.
So this is clearly stated in Srimad Bhagavatam. There it is stated that the dog-eater, who chants purely the holy name once, or meditates on the lotus feet of the Lord, he becomes superior to the Brahmana and is qualified to do sacrifices.
So that’s actually the meaning of our second initiation, because we’re certified as a real Vaishnava, and we get Vaishnava Krishna mantra, etc. Then we can do whatever a Brahmana can do and so therefore we get a thread, the Gayatri mantra, etc. So if we get the Krishna mantra, then we get the qualification to do whatever a Brahmana can do.
Our goal is not to become a Brahmana. Our goal is to be a Vaishnava and when that takes place, we’re superior to the Brahmana. Whatever qualities a Brahmana may show, the devotee will also manifest those qualities, but better qualities. So qualities of a Brahmana are sattvic, qualities of a devotee are spiritual.
4) We say about the qualities, but when we are going through the Anartha nivritti, we don’t see the qualities of Vaishnava / devotee / spiritual. They are not normal, common-sense behaviours. So how can we say they are spiritual?
Of course, in a subtle way, we have Ajamila, all of his karmas were destroyed when he recites “Narayana”. But after that, he didn’t look like anything had changed. He was still so simple, had all bad qualities, didn’t become Brahminical or anything. So the explanation is that even though all the karmas are gone through the process of bhakti or whatever, there is an appearance, that nothing changed.
Of course, the Yama-dutas would say, look, he’s still simple. Why can’t we punish him? Vishnu-dutas said, no, you can’t. There is nothing. It’s clear. However Ajamila’s case is a little special. Because it is very sudden, the destruction of all karmas took place, because there was no apradhas. If there are aparadhas, from previous life or this life, when we practice bhakti, it will not be complete sudden destruction of all karmas and vasanas, etc. So, the destruction of karmas and desires, etc., and the manifestation of good spiritual qualities will be more gradual.
5) But this should not justify the wrong behaviours of devotee, that he can do anything he want, because “I am a devotee” ?
So, if anarthas manifests in a devotee, we’re going through anartha nivritti, we should not indulge in our anarthas / we should not enjoy our anarthas [Laughing]. I am becoming angry all the time, but I can become angry, because I am going through the anartha nivrti stage, I am a devotee, so you have to tolerate all my anger [Laughing].
When we see the anarthas, we understand of course the anarthas are unfavourable for bhakti, and therefore we should concentrate and doing our bhakti effectively to minimize the anarthas. We should not use the excuse, I’m growing bhakti and at the same time grow weeds [Laughing]. We should always be attentive to pulling out the weeds, but the only way we pull out the weeds also is, by proper execution of bhakti.
6) Does Proper execution of bhakti means attentive chanting?
Yeah, attentive devotional chanting, association, hearing, etc.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam Ki.. Jai ! Srila Prabhupad Ki.. Jai !!