TEXT 1
TEXT
sri-narada uvaca
kalpas tv evam parivrajya
deha-matravasesitah
gramaika-ratra-vidhina
nirapeksas caren mahim
Sri Narada Muni said: A person able to cultivate spiritual knowledge
should renounce all material connections, and merely keeping the body
inhabitable, he should travel from one place to another, passing only one
night in each village. In this way, without dependence in regard to the
needs of the body, the sannyasi should travel all over the world.
TEXT 2
TEXT
bibhryad yady asau vasah
kaupinacchadanam param
tyaktam na lingad dandader
anyat kincid anapadi
A person in the renounced order of life may try to avoid even a dress
to cover himself. If he wears anything at all, it should be only a
loincloth, and when there is no necessity, a sannyasi should not even
accept a danda. A sannyasi should avoid carrying anything but a danda and
kamandalu.
TEXT 3
TEXT
eka eva cared bhiksur
atmaramo ‘napasrayah
sarva-bhuta-suhrc-chanto
narayana-parayanah
The sannyasi, completely satisfied in the self, should live on alms
begged from door to door. Not being dependent on any person or any place,
he should always be a friendly well-wisher to all living beings and be a
peaceful, unalloyed devotee of Narayana. In this way he should move from
one place to another.
TEXT 4
TEXT
pasyed atmany ado visvam
pare sad-asato ‘vyaye
atmanam ca param brahma
sarvatra sad-asan-maye
The sannyasi should always try to see the Supreme pervading everything
and see everything, including this universe, resting on the Supreme.
TEXT 5
TEXT
supti-prabodhayoh sandhav
atmano gatim atma-drk
pasyan bandham ca moksam ca
maya-matram na vastutah
During unconsciousness and consciousness, and between the two, he
should try to understand the self and be fully situated in the self. In
this way, he should realize that the conditional and liberated stages of
life are only illusory and not actually factual. With such a higher
understanding, he should see only the Absolute Truth pervading
everything.
TEXT 6
TEXT
nabhinanded dhruvam mrtyum
adhruvam vasya jivitam
kalam param pratikseta
bhutanam prabhavapyayam
Since the material body is sure to be vanquished and the duration of
one’s life is not fixed, neither death nor life is to be praised. Rather,
one should observe the eternal time factor, in which the living entity
manifests himself and disappears.
TEXT 7
TEXT
nasac-chastresu sajjeta
nopajiveta jivikam
vada-vadams tyajet tarkan
paksam kamca na samsraye
Literature that is a useless waste of time–in other words, literature
without spiritual benefit–should be rejected. One should not become a
professional teacher as a means of earning one’s livelihood, nor should
one indulge in arguments and counter-arguments. Nor should one take
shelter of any cause or faction.
TEXT 8
TEXT
na sisyan anubadhnita
granthan naivabhyased bahun
na vyakhyam upayunjita
narambhan arabhet kvacit
A sannyasi must not present allurements of material benefits to gather
many disciples, nor should he unnecessarily read many books or give
discourses as a means of livelihood. He must never attempt to increase
material opulences unnecessarily.
TEXT 9
TEXT
na yater asramah prayo
dharma-hetur mahatmanah
santasya sama-cittasya
bibhryad uta va tyajet
A peaceful, equipoised person who is factually advanced in spiritual
consciousness does not need to accept the symbols of a sannyasi, such as
the tridanda and kamandalu. According to necessity, he may sometimes
accept those symbols and sometimes reject them.
TEXT 10
TEXT
avyakta-lingo vyaktartho
manisy unmatta-balavat
kavir mukavad atmanam
sa drstya darsayen nrnam
Although a saintly person may not expose himself to the vision of
human society, by his behavior his purpose is disclosed. To human society
he should present himself like a restless child, and although he is the
greatest thoughtful orator, he should present himself like a dumb man.
TEXT 11
TEXT
atrapy udaharantimam
itihasam puratanam
prahradasya ca samvadam
muner ajagarasya ca
As a historical example of this, learned sages recite the story of an
ancient discussion between Prahlada Maharaja and a great saintly person
who was feeding himself like a python.
TEXTS 12-13
TEXT
tam sayanam dharopasthe
kaveryam sahya-sanuni
rajas-valais tanu-desair
nigudhamala-tejasam
dadarsa lokan vicaran
loka-tattva-vivitsaya
vrto ‘matyaih katipayaih
prahrado bhagavat-priyah
Prahlada Maharaja, the most dear servitor of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, once went out touring the universe with some of his
confidential associates just to study the nature of saintly persons. Thus
he arrived at the bank of the Kaveri, where there was a mountain known as
Sahya. There he found a great saintly person who was lying on the ground,
covered with dirt and dust, but who was deeply spiritually advanced.
TEXT 14
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karmanakrtibhir vaca
lingair varnasramadibhih
na vidanti jana yam vai
so ‘sav iti na veti ca
Neither by that saintly person’s activities, by his bodily features,
by his words nor by the symptoms of his varnasrama status could people
understand whether he was the same person they had known.
TEXT 15
TEXT
tam natvabhyarcya vidhivat
padayoh sirasa sprsan
vivitsur idam apraksin
maha-bhagavato ‘surah
The advanced devotee Prahlada Maharaja duly worshiped and offered
obeisances to the saintly person who had adopted a python’s means of
livelihood. After thus worshiping the saintly person and touching his own
head to the saint’s lotus feet, Prahlada Maharaja, in order to understand
him, inquired very submissively as follows.
TEXTS 16-17
TEXT
bibharsi kayam pivanam
sodyamo bhogavan yatha
vittam caivodyamavatam
bhogo vittavatam iha
bhoginam khalu deho ‘yam
piva bhavati nanyatha
Seeing the saintly person to be quite fat, Prahlada Maharaja said: My
dear sir, you undergo no endeavor to earn your livelihood, but you have a
stout body, exactly like that of a materialistic enjoyer. I know that if
one is very rich and has nothing to do, he becomes extremely fat by
eating and sleeping and performing no work.
TEXT 18
TEXT
na te sayanasya nirudyamasya
brahman nu hartho yata eva bhogah
abhogino ‘yam tava vipra dehah
piva yatas tad vada nah ksamam cet
O brahmana, fully in knowledge of transcendence, you have nothing to
do, and therefore you are lying down. It is also understood that you have
no money for sense enjoyment. How then has your body become so fat? Under
the circumstances, if you do not consider my question impudent, kindly
explain how this has happened.
TEXT 19
TEXT
kavih kalpo nipuna-drk
citra-priya-kathah samah
lokasya kurvatah karma
sese tad-viksitapi va
Prahlada Maharaja studied the bodily features of the saintly person,
and through the saint’s physiognomy Prahlada Maharaja could understand
that he was intelligent and expert, although he was lying down and not
doing anything. Prahlada was naturally inquisitive about why he was lying
there inactive.
TEXT 20
TEXT
sri-narada uvaca
sa ittham daitya-patina
pariprsto maha-munih
smayamanas tam abhyaha
tad-vag-amrta-yantritah
Narada Muni continued: When the saintly person was thus questioned by
Prahlada Maharaja, the King of the Daityas, he was captivated by this
shower of nectarean words, and he replied to the inquisitiveness of
Prahlada Maharaja with a smiling face.
TEXT 21
TEXT
sri-brahmana uvaca
vededam asura-srestha
bhavan nanv arya-sammatah
ihoparamayor nrnam
padany adhyatma-caksusa
The saintly brahmana said: O best of the asuras, Prahlada Maharaja,
who are recognized by advanced and civilized men, you are aware of the
different stages of life because of your inherent transcendental eyes,
with which you can see a man’s character and thus know clearly the
results of acceptance and rejection of things as they are.
TEXT 22
TEXT
yasya narayano devo
bhagavan hrd-gatah sada
bhaktya kevalayajnanam
dhunoti dhvantam arkavat
Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is full of all
opulences, is predominant within the core of your heart because of your
being a pure devotee. He always drives away all the darkness of
ignorance, as the sun drives away the darkness of the universe.
TEXT 23
TEXT
tathapi brumahe prasnams
tava rajan yatha-srutam
sambhasaniyo hi bhavan
atmanah suddhim icchata
My dear King, although you know everything, you have posed some
questions, which I shall try to answer according to what I have learned
by hearing from authorities. I cannot remain silent in this regard, for a
personality like you is just fit to be spoken to by one who desires selfpurification.
TEXT 24
TEXT
trsnaya bhava-vahinya
yogyaih kamair apuryaya
karmani karyamano ‘ham
nana-yonisu yojitah
Because of insatiable material desires, I was being carried away by
the waves of material nature’s laws, and thus I was engaging in different
activities, struggling for existence in various forms of life.
TEXT 25
TEXT
yadrcchaya lokam imam
prapitah karmabhir bhraman
svargapavargayor dvaram
tirascam punar asya ca
In the course of the evolutionary process, which is caused by fruitive
activities due to undesirable material sense gratification, I have
received this human form of life, which can lead to the heavenly planets,
to liberation, to the lower species, or to rebirth among human beings.
TEXT 26
TEXT
tatrapi dam-patinam ca
sukhayanyapanuttaye
karmani kurvatam drstva
nivrtto ‘smi viparyayam
In this human form of life, a man and women unite for the sensual
pleasure of sex, but by actual experience we have observed that none of
them are happy. Therefore, seeing the contrary results, I have stopped
taking part in materialistic activities.
TEXT 27
TEXT
sukham asyatmano rupam
sarvehoparatis tanuh
manah-samsparsajan drstva
bhogan svapsyami samvisan
The actual form of life for the living entities is one of spiritual
happiness, which is real happiness. This happiness can be achieved only
when one stops all materialistic activities. Material sense enjoyment is
simply imagination. Therefore, considering this subject matter, I have
ceased from all material activities and am lying down here.
TEXT 28
TEXT
ity etad atmanah svartham
santam vismrtya vai puman
vicitram asati dvaite
ghoram apnoti samsrtim
In this way the conditioned soul living within the body forgets his
self-interest because he identifies himself with the body. Because the
body is material, his natural tendency is to be attracted by the
varieties of the material world. Thus the living entity suffers the
miseries of material existence.
TEXT 29
TEXT
jalam tad-udbhavais channam
hitvajno jala-kamyaya
mrgatrsnam upadhavet
tathanyatrartha-drk svatah
Just as a deer, because of ignorance, cannot see the water within a
well covered by grass, but runs after water elsewhere, the living entity
covered by the material body does not see the happiness within himself,
but runs after happiness in the material world.
TEXT 30
TEXT
dehadibhir daiva-tantrair
atmanah sukham ihatah
duhkhatyayam canisasya
kriya moghah krtah krtah
The living entity tries to achieve happiness and rid himself of the
causes of distress, but because the various bodies of the living entities
are under the full control of material nature, all his plans in different
bodies, one after another, are ultimately baffled.
TEXT 31
TEXT
adhyatmikadibhir duhkhair
avimuktasya karhicit
martyasya krcchropanatair
arthaih kamaih kriyeta kim
Materialistic activities are always mixed with three kinds of
miserable conditions–adhyatmika, adhidaivika and adhibautika. Therefore,
even if one achieves some success by performing such activities, what is
the benefit of this success? One is still subjected to birth, death, old
age, disease and the reactions of his fruitive activities.
TEXT 32
TEXT
pasyami dhaninam klesam
lubdhanam ajitatmanam
bhayad alabdha-nidranam
sarvato ‘bhivisankinam
The brahmana continued: I am actually seeing how a rich man, who is a
victim of his senses, is very greedy to accumulate wealth, and therefore
suffers from insomnia due to fear from all sides, despite his wealth and
opulence.
TEXT 33
TEXT
rajatas cauratah satroh
sva-janat pasu-paksitah
arthibhyah kalatah svasman
nityam pranarthavad bhayam
Those who are considered materially powerful and rich are always full
of anxieties because of governmental laws, thieves and rogues, enemies,
family members, animals, birds, persons seeking charity, the inevitable
time factor and even their own selves. Thus they are invariably afraid.
TEXT 34
TEXT
soka-moha-bhaya-krodharaga-
klaibya-sramadayah
yan-mulah syur nrnam jahyat
sprham pranarthayor budhah
Those in human society who are intelligent should give up the original
cause of lamentation, illusion, fear, anger, attachment, poverty and
unnecessary labor. The original cause of all of these is the desire for
unnecessary prestige and money.
TEXT 35
TEXT
madhukara-maha-sarpau
loke ‘smin no guruttamau
vairagyam paritosam ca
prapta yac-chiksaya vayam
The bee and the python are two excellent spiritual masters who give us
exemplary instructions regarding how to be satisfied by collecting only a
little and how to stay in one place and not move.
TEXT 36
TEXT
viragah sarva-kamebhyah
siksito me madhu-vratat
krcchraptam madhuvad vittam
hatvapy anyo haret patim
From the bumblebee I have learned to be unattached to accumulating
money, for although money is as good as honey, anyone can kill its owner
and take it away.
TEXT 37
TEXT
anihah paritustatma
yadrcchopanatad aham
no cec chaye bahv-ahani
mahahir iva sattvavan
I do not endeavor to get anything, but am satisfied with whatever is
achieved in its own way. If I do not get anything, I am patient and
unagitated like a python and lie down in this way for many days.
TEXT 38
TEXT
kvacid alpam kvacid bhuri
bhunje ‘nnam svadv asvadu va
kvacid bhuri gunopetam
guna-hinam uta kvacit
sraddhayopahrtam kvapi
kadacin mana-varjitam
bhunje bhuktvatha kasmims cid
diva naktam yadrcchaya
Sometimes I eat a very small quantity and sometimes a great quantity.
Sometimes the food is very palatable, and sometimes it is stale.
Sometimes prasada is offered with great respect, and sometimes food is
given neglectfully. Sometimes I eat during the day and sometimes at
night. Thus I eat what is easily available.
TEXT 39
TEXT
ksaumam dukulam ajinam
ciram valkalam eva va
vase ‘nyad api sampraptam
dista-bhuk tusta-dhir aham
To cover my body I use whatever is available, whether it be linen,
silk, cotton, bark or deerskin, according to my destiny, and I am fully
satisfied and unagitated.
TEXT 40
TEXT
kvacic chaye dharopasthe
trna-parnasma-bhasmasu
kvacit prasada-paryanke
kasipau va parecchaya
Sometimes I lie on the surface of the earth, sometimes on leaves,
grass or stone, sometimes on a pile of ashes, or sometimes, by the will
of others, in a palace on a first-class bed with pillows.
TEXT 41
TEXT
kvacit snato ‘nuliptangah
suvasah sragvy alankrtah
rathebhasvais care kvapi
dig-vasa grahavad vibho
O my lord, sometimes I bathe myself very nicely, smear sandalwood pulp
all over my body, put on a flower garland, and dress in fine garments and
ornaments. Then I travel like a king on the back of an elephant or on a
chariot or horse. Sometimes, however, I travel naked, like a person
haunted by a ghost.
TEXT 42
TEXT
naham ninde na ca staumi
sva-bhava-visamam janam
etesam sreya asase
utaikatmyam mahatmani
Different people are of different mentalities. Therefore it is not my
business either to praise them or to blaspheme them. I only desire their
welfare, hoping that they will agree to become one with the Supersoul,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna.
TEXT 43
TEXT
vikalpam juhuyac cittau
tam manasy artha-vibhrame
mano vaikarike hutva
tam mayayam juhoty anu
The mental concoction of discrimination between good and bad should be
accepted as one unit and then invested in the mind, which should then be
invested in the false ego. The false ego should be invested in the total
material energy. This is the process of fighting false discrimination.
TEXT 44
TEXT
atmanubhutau tam mayam
juhuyat satya-drn munih
tato niriho viramet
svanubhuty-atmani sthitah
A learned, thoughtful person must realize that material existence is
illusion. This is possible only by self-realization. A self-realized
person, who has actually seen the truth, should retire from all material
activities, being situated in self-realization.
TEXT 45
TEXT
svatma-vrttam mayettham te
suguptam api varnitam
vyapetam loka-sastrabhyam
bhavan hi bhagavat-parah
Prahlada Maharaja, you are certainly a self-realized soul and a
devotee of the Supreme Lord. You do not care for public opinion or socalled
scriptures. For this reason I have described to you without
hesitation the history of my self-realization.
TEXT 46
TEXT
sri-narada uvaca
dharmam paramahamsyam vai
muneh srutvasuresvarah
pujayitva tatah prita
amantrya prayayau grham
Narada Muni continued: After Prahlada Maharaja, the King of the
demons, heard these instructions from the saint, he understood the
occupational duties of a perfect person [paramahamsa]. Thus he duly
worshiped the saint, took his permission and then left for his own home.
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