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kala-cakram—the wheel of eternal time; bhrami—revolving automatically; tiksnam—very sharp; sarvam—all; niskarsayat—driving; jagat—the world; sva-tantram—independent, not caring for the so-called scientists and philosophers; abudhasya—of one who does not know (this principle of time); iha—in this material world; kim asat-karmabhih bhavet—what is the use of engaging in temporary fruitive activities.

[Narada Muni had spoken of a physical object made of sharp blades and thunderbolts. The Haryasvas understood this allegory as follows.] Eternal time moves very sharply, as if made of razors and thunderbolts. Uninterrupted and fully independent, it drives the activities of the entire world. If one does not try to study the eternal element of time, what benefit can he derive from performing temporary material activities?

This verse explains the words ksaura-pavyam svayam bhrami, which especially refer to the orbit of eternal time. It is said that time and tide wait for no man. According to the moral instructions of the great politician Canakya Pandita:

ayusah ksana eko ’pi
na labhyah svarna-kotibhih
na cen nirarthakam nitih
ka ca hanis tato ’dhika

Even a moment of one’s lifetime could not be returned in exchange for millions of dollars. Therefore one should consider how much loss one suffers if he wastes even a moment of his life for nothing. Living like an animal, not understanding the goal of life, one foolishly thinks that there is no eternity and that his life span of fifty, sixty, or, at the most, one hundred years, is everything. This is the greatest foolishness. Time is eternal, and in the material world one passes through different phases of his eternal life. Time is compared herein to a sharp razor. A razor is meant to shave the hair from one’s face, but if not carefully handled, the razor will cause disaster. One is advised not to create a disaster by misusing his lifetime. One should be extremely careful to utilize the span of his life for spiritual realization, or Krsna consciousness.

SB6.5.20

TEXT 20

sastrasya pitur adesam

yo na veda nivartakam

katham tad-anurupaya

guna-visrambhy upakramet

sastrasya—of the scriptures; pituh—of the father; adesam—the instruction; yah—one who; na—not; veda—understands; nivartakam—which brings about the cessation of the material way of life; katham—how; tat-anurupaya—to follow the instruction of the sastras; guna-visrambhi—a person entangled in the three modes of material nature; upakramet—can engage in the creation of progeny.

[Narada Muni had asked how one could ignorantly defy one’s own father. The Haryasvas understood the meaning of this question.] One must accept the original instructions of the sastra. According to Vedic civilization, one is offered a sacred thread as a sign of second birth. One takes his second birth by dint of having received instructions in the sastra from a bona fide spiritual master. Therefore, sastra, scripture, is the real father. All the sastras instruct that one should end his material way of life. If one does not know the purpose of the father’s orders, the sastras, he is ignorant. The words of a material father who endeavors to engage his son in material activities are not the real instructions of the father.

Bhagavad-gita (16.7) says, pravrttim ca nivrttim ca jana na vidur asurah: demons, who are less than human beings but are not called animals, do not know the meaning of pravrtti and nivrtti, work to be done and work not to be done. In the material world, every living entity has a desire to lord it over the material world as much as possible. This is called pravrtti-marga. All the sastras, however, advise nivrtti-marga, or release from the materialistic way of life. Apart from the sastras of the Vedic civilization, which is the oldest of the world, other sastras agree on this point. For example, in the Buddhist sastras Lord Buddha advises that one achieve nirvana by giving up the materialistic way of life. In the Bible, which is also sastra, one will find the same advice: one should cease materialistic life and return to the kingdom of God. In any sastra one may examine, especially the Vedic sastra, the same advice is given: one should give up his materialistic life and return to his original, spiritual life. Sankaracarya also propounds the same conclusion. Brahma satyam jagan mithya: this material world or materialistic life is simply illusion, and therefore one should stop his illusory activities and come to the platform of Brahman.

The word sastra refers to the scriptures, particularly the Vedic books of knowledge. The Vedas—Sama, Yajur, Rg and Atharva—and any other books deriving knowledge from these Vedas are considered Vedic literatures. Bhagavad-gita is the essence of all Vedic knowledge, and therefore it is the scripture whose instructions should be especially accepted. In this essence of all sastras, Krsna personally advises that one give up all other duties and surrender unto Him (sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]).

One should be initiated into following the principles of sastra. In offering initiation, our Krsna consciousness movement asks one to come to the conclusion of sastra by taking the advice of the supreme speaker of the sastra, Krsna, forgetting the principles of the materialistic way of life. Therefore the principles we advise are no illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling and no meat-eating. These four types of engagement will enable an intelligent person to get free from the materialistic life and return home, back to Godhead.

In regard to the instructions of the father and mother, it may be said that every living entity, including even the insignificant cats, dogs and serpents, takes birth of a father and mother. Therefore, getting a material father and mother is not a problem. In every form of life, birth after birth, the living entity gets a father and mother. In human society, however, if one is satisfied with his material father and mother and their instructions and does not make further progress by accepting a spiritual master and being educated in the sastras, he certainly remains in darkness. The material father and mother are important only if they are interested in educating their son to become free from the clutches of death. As instructed by Rsabhadeva (Bhag. 5.5.18): pita na sa syaj janani na sa syat/ na mocayed yah samupeta-mrtyum. One should not strive to become a mother or father if one cannot save one’s dependent son from the impending danger of death. A parent who does not know how to save his son has no value because such fathers and mothers may be had in any form of life, even among the cats, dogs and so on. Only a father and mother who can elevate their son to the spiritual platform are bona fide parents. Therefore according to the Vedic system it is said, janmana jayate sudrah: one is born of a material father and mother as a sudra. The purpose of life, however, is to become a brahmana, a first-class man.

A first-class intelligent man is called a brahmana because he knows the Supreme Brahman, the Absolute Truth. According to the Vedic instructions, tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet: [MU 1.2.12] to know this science, one must approach a bona fide guru, a spiritual master who will initiate the disciple with the sacred thread so that he may understand the Vedic knowledge. Janmana jayate sudrah samskarad dhi bhaved dvijah. Becoming a brahmana through the endeavor of a bona fide spiritual master is called samskara. After initiation, one is engaged in study of the sastra, which teaches the student how to gain release from materialistic life and return home, back to Godhead.

The Krsna consciousness movement is teaching this higher knowledge of retiring from materialistic life to return to Godhead, but unfortunately many parents are not very satisfied with this movement. Aside from the parents of our students, many businessmen are also dissatisfied because we teach our students to abandon intoxication, meat-eating, illicit sex and gambling. If the Krsna consciousness movement spreads, the so-called businessmen will have to close their slaughterhouses, breweries and cigarette factories. Therefore they are also very much afraid. However, we have no alternative than to teach our disciples to free themselves from materialistic life. We must instruct them in the opposite of material life to save them from the repetition of birth and death.

Narada Muni, therefore, advised the Haryasvas, the sons of Prajapati Daksa, that instead of begetting progeny, it would be better to leave and achieve the perfection of spiritual understanding according to the instructions of the sastras. The importance of the sastras is mentioned in Bhagavad-gita (16.23):

yah sastra-vidhim utsrjya
vartate kama-karatah
na sa siddhim avapnoti
na sukham na param gatim

“One who disregards the injunctions of the sastras and acts whimsically, as he likes, never achieves the perfection of life, not to speak of happiness. Nor does he return home to the spiritual world.”

prayayus tam parikramya

panthanam anivartanam

iti—thus; vyavasitah—being fully convinced by the instructions of Narada Muni; rajan—O King; haryasvah—the sons of Prajapati Daksa; eka-cetasah—all being of the same opinion; prayayuh—left; tam—Narada Muni; parikramya—circumambulating; panthanam—on the path; anivartanam—which does not bring one back again to this material world.

Sukadeva Gosvami continued: My dear King, after hearing the instructions of Narada, the Haryasvas, the sons of Prajapati Daksa, were firmly convinced. They all believed in his instructions and reached the same conclusion. Having accepted him as their spiritual master, they circumambulated that great sage and followed the path by which one never returns to this world.

From this verse we can understand the meaning of initiation and the duties of a disciple and spiritual master. The spiritual master never instructs his disciple, “Take a mantra from me, pay me some money, and by practicing this yoga system you will become very expert in materialistic life.” This is not the duty of a spiritual master. Rather, the spiritual master teaches the disciple how to give up materialistic life, and the disciple’s duty is to assimilate his instructions and ultimately follow the path back home, back to Godhead, from whence no one returns to this material world.

After hearing the instructions of Narada Muni, the Haryasvas, the sons of Prajapati Daksa, decided not to be entangled in materialistic life by begetting hundreds of children and having to take care of them. This would have been unnecessarily entangling. The Haryasvas did not consider pious and impious activities. Their materialistic father had instructed them to increase the population, but because of the words of Narada Muni, they could not heed that instruction. Narada Muni, as their spiritual master, gave them the sastric instructions that they should give up this material world, and as bona fide disciples they followed his instructions. One should not endeavor to wander to different planetary systems within this universe, for even if one goes to the topmost planetary system, Brahmaloka, one must return again (ksine punye martya-lokam visanti [Bg. 9.21]). The endeavors of karmis are a useless waste of time. One should endeavor to return home, back to Godhead. This is the perfection of life. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (8.16):

abrahma-bhuvanal lokah
punar avartino ’rjuna
mam upetya tu kaunteya
punar janma na vidyate

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.”

SB6.5.22

TEXT 22

svara-brahmani nirbhata-

hrsikesa-padambuje

akhandam cittam avesya

lokan anucaran munih

svara-brahmani—in spiritual sound; nirbhata—placing clearly before the mind; hrsikesa—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, the master of the senses; padambuje—the lotus feet; akhandam—unbroken; cittam—consciousness; avesya—engaging; lokan—all the planetary systems; anucarat—traveled around; munih—the great sage Narada Muni.

The seven musical notes—sa, r, ga, ma, pa, dha and ni—are used in musical instruments, but originally they come from the Sama Veda. The great sage Narada vibrates sounds describing the pastimes of the Supreme Lord. By such transcendental vibrations, such as Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, he fixes his mind at the lotus feet of the Lord. Thus he directly perceives Hrsikesa, the master of the senses. After delivering the Haryasvas, Narada Muni continued traveling throughout the planetary systems, his mind always fixed at the lotus feet of the Lord.

The goodness of the great sage Narada Muni is described herewith. He always chants about the pastimes of the Lord and delivers the fallen souls back to Godhead. In this regard, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung:

narada-muni, bajaya vina,
‘radhika-ramana’-name
nama amani, udita haya,
bhakata-gita-same

amiya-dhara, varise ghana,
sravana-yugale giya
bhakata-jana, saghane nace,
bhariya apana hiya

madhuri-pura, asaba pasi’,
mataya jagata-jane
keha va kande, keha va nace,
keha mate mane mane

panca-vadana, narade dhari’,
premera saghana rola
kamalasana, naciya bale,
’bola bola hari bola’

sahasranana, parama-sukhe,
’hari hari’ bali’ gaya
nama-prabhave, matila visva,
nama-rasa sabe paya

sri-krsna-nama, rasane sphuri’,
pura’la amara asa
sri-rupa-pade, yacaye iha,
bhakativinoda dasa

The purport of this song is that Narada Muni, the great soul, plays a stringed instrument called a vina, vibrating the sound radhika-ramana, which is another name for Krsna. As soon as he strokes the strings, all the devotees begin responding, making a very beautiful vibration. Accompanied by the stringed instrument, the singing seems like a shower of nectar, and all the devotees dance in ecstasy to the fullest extent of their satisfaction. While dancing, they appear madly intoxicated with ecstasy, as if drinking the beverage called madhuri-pura. Some of them cry, some of them dance, and some of them, although unable to dance publicly, dance within their hearts. Lord Siva embraces Narada Muni and begins talking in an ecstatic voice, and seeing Lord Siva dancing with Narada, Lord Brahma also joins, saying, “All of you kindly chant ‘Hari bol! Hari bol!’ ” The King of heaven, Indra, also gradually joins with great satisfaction and begins dancing and chanting “Hari bol! Hari bol!” In this way, by the influence of the transcendental vibration of the holy name of God, the whole universe becomes ecstatic. Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, “When the universe becomes ecstatic, my desire is satisfied. I therefore pray unto the lotus feet of Rupa Gosvami that this chanting of harer nama [Adi 17.21] may go on nicely like this.”

Lord Brahma is the guru of Narada Muni, who is the guru of Vyasadeva, and Vyasadeva is the guru of Madhvacarya. Thus the Gaudiya-Madhva-sampradaya is in the disciplic succession from Narada Muni. The members of this disciplic succession—in other words, the members of the Krsna consciousness movement—should follow in the footsteps of Narada Muni by chanting the transcendental vibration Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. They should go everywhere to deliver the fallen souls by vibrating the Hare Krsna mantra and the instructions of Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam and Caitanya-caritamrta. That will please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One can spiritually advance if one actually follows the instructions of Narada Muni. If one pleases Narada Muni, then the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hrsikesa, is also pleased (yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah **). The immediate spiritual master is the representative of Narada Muni; there is no difference between the instructions of Narada Muni and those of the present spiritual master. Both Narada Muni and the present spiritual master speak the same teachings of Krsna, who says in Bhagavad-gita (18.65–66):

man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ’si me

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah

“Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend. Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.”

SB6.5.23

TEXT 23

nasam nisamya putranam

naradac chila-salinam

anvatapyata kah socan

suprajastvam sucam padam

nasam—the loss; nisamya—hearing of; putranam—of his sons; naradat—from Narada; sila-salinam—who were the best of well-behaved persons; anvatapyata—suffered; kah—Prajapati Daksa; socan—lamenting; su-prajastvam—having ten thousand well-behaved sons; sucam—of lamentation; padam—position.

The Haryasvas, the sons of Prajapati Daksa, were very well behaved, cultured sons, but unfortunately, because of the instructions of Narada Muni, they deviated from the order of their father. When Daksa heard this news, which was brought to him by Narada Muni, he began to lament. Although he was the father of such good sons, he had lost them all. Certainly this was lamentable.

The Haryasvas, the sons of Prajapati Daksa, were certainly well behaved, learned and advanced, and in accordance with the order of their father they went to perform austerities to beget good sons for their family. But Narada Muni took advantage of their good behavior and culture to properly direct them not to be involved with this material world, but to use their culture and knowledge to end their material affairs. The Haryasvas abided by the order of Narada Muni, but when news of this was brought to Prajapati Daksa, the prajapati, instead of being happy with the actions of Narada Muni, was extremely sorrowful. Similarly, we are trying to bring as many young men as possible to the Krsna consciousness movement for their ultimate benefit, but the parents of the young men joining this movement, being very sorry, are lamenting and making counterpropaganda. Of course, Prajapati Daksa did not make propaganda against Narada Muni, but later, as we shall see, Daksa cursed Narada Muni for his benevolent activities. This is the way of materialistic life. A materialistic father and mother want to engage their sons in begetting children, striving for improved economic conditions and rotting in materialistic life. They are not unhappy when their children become spoiled, useless citizens, but they lament when they join the Krsna consciousness movement to achieve the ultimate goal of life. This animosity between parents and the Krsna consciousness movement has existed since time immemorial. Even Narada Muni was condemned, not to speak of others. Nevertheless, Narada Muni never gives up his mission. To deliver as many fallen souls as possible, he continues playing his musical instrument and vibrating the transcendental sound Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

SB6.5.24

TEXT 24

sa bhuyah pancajanyayam

ajena parisantvitah

putran ajanayad daksah

savalasvan sahasrinah

sah—Prajapati Daksa; bhuyah—again; pancajanyayam—in the womb of his wife Asikni, or Pancajani; ajena—by Lord Brahma; parisantvitah—being pacified; putran—sons; ajanayat—begot; daksah—Prajapati Daksa; savalasvan—named the Savalasvas; sahasrinah—numbering one thousand.

When Prajapati Daksa was lamenting for his lost children, Lord Brahma pacified him with instructions, and thereafter Daksa begot one thousand more children in the womb of his wife, Pancajani. This time his sons were known as the Savalasvas.

Prajapati Daksa was so named because he was very expert in begetting children. (The word daksa means “expert.”) First he begot ten thousand children in the womb of his wife, and when the children were lost—when they returned home, back to Godhead—he begot another set of children, known as the Savalasvas. Prajapati Daksa is very expert in begetting children, and Narada Muni is very expert in delivering all the conditioned souls back home, back to Godhead. Therefore the materialistic experts do not agree with the spiritual expert Narada Muni. but this does not mean that Narada Muni will give up his engagement of chanting the Hare Krsna mantra.

SB6.5.25

TEXT 25

te ca pitra samadistah

praja-sarge dhrta-vratah

narayana-saro jagmur

yatra siddhah sva-purvajah

te—these sons (the Savalasvas); ca—and; pitra—by their father; samadistah—being ordered; praja-sarge—in increasing progeny or population; dhrta-vratah—accepted vows; narayana-sarah—the holy lake named Narayana-saras; jagmuh—went to; yatra—where; siddhah—perfected; sva-purva-jah—their older brothers, who had previously gone there.

In accordance with their father’s order to beget children, the second group of sons also went to Narayana-saras, the same place where their brothers had previously attained perfection by following the instructions of Narada. Undertaking great vows of austerity, the Savalasvas remained at that holy place.

Prajapati Daksa sent his second group of sons to the same place where his previous sons had attained perfection. He did not hesitate to send his second group of sons to the same place, although they too might become victims of Narada’s instructions. According to the Vedic culture, one should be trained in spiritual understanding as a brahmacari before entering household life to beget children. This is the Vedic system. Thus Prajapati Daksa sent his second group of sons for cultural improvement, despite the risk that because of the instructions of Narada they might become as intelligent as their older brothers. As a dutiful father, he did not hesitate to allow his sons to receive cultural instructions concerning the perfection of life; he depended upon them to choose whether to return home, back to Godhead, or to rot in this material world in various species of life. In all circumstances, the duty of the father is to give cultural education to his sons, who must later decide which way to go. Responsible fathers should not hinder their sons who are making cultural advancement in association with the Krsna consciousness movement. This is not a father’s duty. The duty of a father is to give his son complete freedom to make his choice after becoming spiritually advanced by following the instructions of the spiritual master.

japanto brahma paramam

tepus tatra mahat tapah

tat—of that holy place; upasparsanat—by bathing regularly in the water; eva—indeed; vinirdhuta—completely purified; mala-asayah—of all the dirt within the heart; japantah—chanting or murmuring; brahma—mantras beginning with om (such as om tad visnoh paramam padam sada pasyanti surayah); paramam—the ultimate goal; tepuh—performed; tatra—there; mahat—great; tapah—penances.

At Narayana-saras, the second group of sons performed penances in the same way as the first. They bathed in the holy water, and by its touch all the dirty material desires in their hearts were cleansed away. They murmured mantras beginning with omkara and underwent a severe course of austerities.

visuddha-sattva-dhisnyaya

Every Vedic mantra is called brahma because each mantra is preceded by the brahmaksara (aum or omkara). For example, om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. Lord Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (7.8), pranavah sarva-vedesu: “In all the Vedic mantras, I am represented by pranava, or omkara.” Thus chanting of the Vedic mantras beginning with omkara is directly chanting of Krsna’s name. There is no difference. Whether one chants omkara or addresses the Lord as “Krsna,” the meaning is the same, but Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has recommended that in this age one chant the Hare Krsna mantra (harer nama eva kevalam [Adi 17.21]). Although there is no difference between Hare Krsna and the Vedic mantras beginning with omkara, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the leader of the spiritual movement for this age, has recommended that one chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

SB6.5.27-28

TEXTS 27–28

ab-bhaksah katicin masan

katicid vayu-bhojanah

aradhayan mantram imam

abhyasyanta idaspatim

om namo narayanaya

purusaya mahatmane

maha-hamsaya dhimahi

ap-bhaksah—drinking only water; katicit masan—for some months; katicit—for some; vayu-bhojanah—merely breathing, or eating air; aradhayan—worshiped; mantram imam—this mantra, which is nondifferent from Narayana; abhyasyantah—practicing; idah-patim—the master of all mantras, Lord Visnu; om—O Lord; namah—respectful obeisances; narayanaya—unto Lord Narayana; purusaya—the Supreme Person; maha-atmane—the exalted Supersoul; visuddha-sattva-dhisnyaya—who is always situated in the transcendental abode; maha-hamsaya—the great swanlike Personality of Godhead; dhimahi—we always offer.

For a few months the sons of Prajapati Daksa drank only water and ate only air. Thus undergoing great austerities, they recited this mantra: “Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is always situated in His transcendental abode. Since He is the Supreme Person [paramahamsa], let us offer our respectful obeisances unto Him.”