Srila Prabhupada once made a comment on Bhakti Caru Swami when a devotee asked about his position since he joined the movement relatively later. Srila Prabhupadasaid, 'He was born more qualified.' From this statement, we canunderstand thatthose who take a good birth are born with superior qualities. Thosewho areborn in Vaisnava families, and who accept the opportunity of such abirth (andare not destroyed by others with demoniac qualities) are certainly tobe respected.We consider seniority primarily according to one's wisdom andspiritual qualities.Wherever you see such a manifestation, you should understand thatthere is seniority.
About seniority & remembrance of Krishna (by Dharmapada das: "The fallacy of hotch-potch astrology")
So who was Parashara in the first place? There is a nice narration in the Hari Bhakti Sudhodaya (a section of the Naradiya Purana) which illustrates how exaltedParashara was. Apparently, Markandeya came upon a meeting of sages in aforestclearing somewhere. They were sitting in a circle and among them wasParashara,who was just a boy of seven at the time. He was seated on the lap ofVasisthaMuni, who was the family priest of Shree Ramachandra, a plenary Vishnuavatara.
To be seated on the lap of Vasistha is in itself a great honor. But to get on with the story, Markandeya fell at the feet of Vasistha and offered his respects.Parashara, in turn, bowed down to Markandeya. Markandeya disapprovedof thisand instructed the boy that elders should receive respect and nothumble themselvesto those of lesser age. Parashara showed surprise and stated that,since hewas only seven, he was not an elder. Markandeya, however, cited thesages asdefining age as time which is spent in remembrance of Vishnu.Markandeya wenton to say that Parashara's devotion was unalloyed and that the boy wasin constantcontact with the Supersoul.
Therefore, Markandeya said that, although only a boy, all of Parashara's seven years counted whereas if the time that all others present there had rememberedVishnu were added together it would not exceed even five years. Thatis whyMarkandeya considered Parashara to be the eldest person in theassembly.
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