Q 219. HOW DOES ONE ACT WHO TRANSCEND MATERIAL GOOD AND EVIL ?
A. BY SRILA PRABHUPADA.
doṣa-buddhyobhayātīto
niṣedhān na nivartate
guṇa-buddhyā ca vihitaḿ
na karoti yathārbhakaḥ
SYNONYMS
doṣa-buddhyā — because of thinking that such action is wrong; ubhaya-atītaḥ — one who has transcended both (the conceptions of mundane right and wrong);niṣedhāt — from what is forbidden; na nivartate — he does not desist; guṇa-buddhyā — because of thinking it is good; ca — also; vihitam — what is enjoined;na karoti — he does not do; yathā — just like; arbhakaḥ — a young child.
TRANSLATION
One who has transcended material good and evil automatically acts in accordance with religious injunctions and avoids forbidden activities. The self-realized person does this spontaneously, like an innocent child, and not because he is thinking in terms of material good and evil.
(Srimad Bhagavatam).
PURPORT
One who has developed transcendental knowledge never acts whimsically. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī describes two stages of devotional service: sādhana-bhaktiand rāgānugā-bhakti. Rāgānugā-bhakti is the stage of spontaneous love of Godhead, whereas sādhana-bhakti means the conscientious practice of the regulative principles of devotional service.
In most cases, one who is now enjoying transcendental consciousness has rigidly practiced the rules and regulations of devotional service. Thus, due to previous practice, one spontaneously avoids sinful life and acts in accordance with the standards of ordinary piety.
This does not mean that a self-realized soul is consciously avoiding sin and pursuing piety. Rather, due to his self-realized nature, he spontaneously engages in the most exalted spiritual activities, just as an innocent child may spontaneously exhibit good qualities such as kindness, tolerance, and so on.
The spiritual platform is called śuddha-sattva, or purified goodness, to distinguish it from the material mode of goodness, which is always to some extent polluted by the lower modes of passion and ignorance. Thus if a man in material goodness appears to be most pious in the eyes of the world, we can only imagine the spotless character of a self-realized soul in purified spiritual goodness.
Therefore it is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.18.12):
yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā
sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ
harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā
mano rathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ
SYNONYMS
yasya — of whom; asti — there is; bhaktiḥ — devotional service; bhagavati — to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; akiñcanā — without any motive; sarvaiḥ— with all; guṇaiḥ — good qualities; tatra — there (in that person); samāsate — reside; surāḥ — all the demigods; harau — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; abhaktasya — of a person who is not devoted; kutaḥ — where; mahat-guṇāḥ — good qualities; manorathena — by mental speculation; asati — in the temporary material world; dhāvataḥ — who is running; bahiḥ — outside.
TRANSLATION
All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion, knowledge and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. On the other hand, a person devoid of devotional service and engaged in material activities has no good qualities. Even if he is adept at the practice of mystic yoga or the honest endeavor of maintaining his family and relatives, he must be driven by his own mental speculations and must engage in the service of the Lord's external energy. How can there be any good qualities in such a man?
PURPORT
As explained in the next verse, Kṛṣṇa is the original source of all living entities. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7), wherein Kṛṣṇa says:
mamaivāḿśo jīva-loke
jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi
prakṛti-sthāni karṣati
SYNONYMS
mama — My; eva — certainly; aḿśaḥ — fragmental particle; jīva-loke — in the world of conditional life; jīva-bhūtaḥ — the conditioned living entity; sanātanaḥ— eternal; manaḥ — with the mind; ṣaṣṭhāni — the six; indriyāṇi — senses; prakṛti — in material nature; sthāni — situated; karṣati — is struggling hard.
TRANSLATION
The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.
All living entities are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore when they revive their original Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they possess all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa in a small quantity. When one engages himself in the nine processes of devotional service, one's heart becomes purified, and he immediately understands his relationship with Kṛṣṇa. He then revives his original quality of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
śrī-prahrāda uvāca
śravaṇaḿ kīrtanaḿ viṣṇoḥ
smaraṇaḿ pāda-sevanam
arcanaḿ vandanaḿ dāsyaḿ
sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
iti puḿsārpitā viṣṇau
bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā
kriyeta bhagavaty addhā
tan manye 'dhītam uttamam
SYNONYMS
śrī-prahrādaḥ uvāca — Prahlāda Mahārāja said; śravaṇam — hearing; kīrtanam — chanting; viṣṇoḥ — of Lord Viṣṇu (not anyone else); smaraṇam — remembering; pāda-sevanam — serving the feet; arcanam — offering worship (with ṣoḍaśopacāra, the sixteen kinds of paraphernalia); vandanam — offering prayers; dāsyam — becoming the servant; sakhyam — becoming the best friend; ātma-nivedanam — surrendering everything, whatever one has; iti — thus;puḿsā arpitā — offered by the devotee; viṣṇau — unto Lord Viṣṇu (not to anyone else); bhaktiḥ — devotional service; cet — if; nava-lakṣaṇā — possessing nine different processes; kriyeta — one should perform; bhagavati — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; addhā — directly or completely; tat — that; manye— I consider; adhītam — learning; uttamam — topmost.
TRANSLATION
Prahlāda Mahārāja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one's best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words) — these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Kṛṣṇa through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.
(Srimad Bhagavatam).
In the Ādi-līlā of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Chapter Eight, there is a description of some of the qualities of devotees. For example, Śrī Paṇḍita Haridāsa is described as being very well-behaved, tolerant, peaceful, magnanimous and grave.
In addition, he spoke very sweetly, his endeavours were very pleasing, he was always patient, he respected everyone, he always worked for everyone's benefit, his mind was free of duplicity, and he was completely devoid of all malicious activities.
These are all originally qualities of Kṛṣṇa, and when one becomes a devotee they automatically become manifest. Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, the author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, says that all good qualities become manifest in the body of a Vaiṣṇava and that only by the presence of these good qualities can one distinguish a Vaiṣṇava from a non-Vaiṣṇava.
Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja lists the following twenty-six good qualities of a Vaiṣṇava:
(1) He is very kind to everyone.
(2) He does not make anyone his enemy.
(3) He is truthful.
(4) He is equal to everyone.
(5) No one can find any fault in him.
(6) He is magnanimous.
(7) He is mild.
(8) He is always clean.
(9) He is without possessions.
(10) He works for everyone's benefit.
(11) He is very peaceful.
(12) He is always surrendered to Kṛṣṇa.
(13) He has no material desires.
(14) He is very meek.
(15) He is steady.
(16) He controls his senses.
(17) He does not eat more than required.
(18) He is not influenced by the Lord's illusory energy.
(19) He offers respect to everyone.
(20) He does not desire any respect for himself.
(21) He is very grave.
(22) He is merciful.
(23) He is friendly.
(24) He is poetic.
(25) He is expert.
(26) He is silent.
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