Śrī Rāya Rāmānanda Saṁvāda
Varṇāśrama-dharma
Commentary by ŚRĪ ŚRĪMAD BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA GOSVĀMĪ MAHĀRĀJA
8.57
prabhu kahe,—“paḍa śloka sādhyera nirṇaya”
rāya kahe,—“sva-dharmācaraṇe viṣṇu-bhakti haya”
Śrīman Mahāprabhu began by saying, “O Rāya, what is the sādhya (ultimate goal) and sādhana (spiritual practice, or method to attain that goal) for the living entities?
Please recite verses from the revealed scriptures as evidence.”
Receiving the order of the Lord, Rāmānanda replied that the verdict regarding the ultimate goal of life is to perform viṣṇu-bhakti, devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu, by executing one’s prescribed duties according to his social position.
8.58
varṇāśramācāra-vatā
puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān
visṇur ārādhyate panthā
nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇam
(Viṣṇu Purāṇa 3.8.8)
“Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Controller, is worshiped by those who properly execute the system of prescribed duties according to one’s varṇa and āśrama (spiritual and social classification). Apart from this there is no other way to satisfy Him.”
Viṣṇu-bhakti – devotion to Lord Viṣṇu. Śrīla Sarasvatī Prabhupāda says that bhakti is indeed most pleasing and valuable for the human race. Apart from this, all else is undesirable and unsatisfying. Only the soul endowed with bhakti can accept Śrī Bhagavān. By the continuous performance of jñāna-miśra-bhakti and karma-miśra-bhakti, then gradually, a special kind of realized knowledge which pertains to the topmost form of bhakti (svarūpa-siddha-bhakti) awakens. In Śrī Bhagavad-gītā (18.46), Śrī Kṛṣṇa says:
sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya siddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ
“Mankind can, by the constant performance of his own duty, attain all perfection.”
All forms of life arise from Bhagavān, and this world itself expands from Him alone. Even knowledge of this makes a man favourably inclined towards Bhagavān. The supremely pure disciplic succession, or paramparā, of the path of devotional service is sanctioned by Bhagavān Bodhāyana, Ṭaṅka, Dramiḍa, Guhyadeva, Kapardi, and down to Bhāruci, in the disciplic order.
It is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.22):
bhakti-yogo bhagavati tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ
“Devotional service, beginning with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is the ultimate religious principle for human beings.”
In this verse, the term bhakti-yoga alone is capable of conveying the desired meaning, but the word bhagavati has also been used. The special meaning is that an endeavour may be called bhakti-yoga only when the limbs of devotion such as chanting and remembering the holy name are performed to please Bhagavān. That type of bhakti-yoga is capable of bestowing prema-bhakti.
One is unable to apply the name bhakti-yoga even to such activities as śravaṇa and kīrtana when they are performed with intentions other than the desire to please Bhagavān. It is never possible to achieve the fruit of prema-bhakti by this. Only after the attainment of prema may it become possible to reach the stages of sneha, māna, praṇaya, etc. In devotional literatures such as the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Nārada pañcarātra, use of the word bhakti exclusively indicates pure bhagavat-bhakti, or devotional service to Bhagavān. Therefore, it is extremely clear that the word bhakti only applies to viṣṇu-tattva (9) not to anyone or anything else.
It is only possible to know what to do and what not to do by consulting the scriptures. This is why Śrīman Mahāprabhu asked Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya to quote evidence from the scriptures. The definition of sādhya (goal) is “desired object” (abhīṣṭa-vastu). Sādhana (duties pertaining to the soul) is defined as service that is pleasing to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is sevya (He who is to be served). Only divine love for Kṛṣṇa, which is utterly devoid of any desire for one’s own happiness, is the true goal of the soul, as per the soul’s constitutional nature.
Sva-dharma-ācaraṇa – following one’s prescribed duties. Brāhmaṇas (the priestly class), kṣatriyas (the warrior or managerial class), vaiśyas (the mercantile class), and śūdras (the servitor class), comprise the four varṇas, or divisions of society according to one’s occupation; and brahmacārya (celibate student life), gṛhastha (household life), vānaprastha (retired, or partial renunciation from household life), and sannyāsa (complete renunciation) constitute the four spiritual orders, or āśramas.
When we adhere to the responsibilities ordained by the scriptures for these social and spiritual divisions, we are engaged in the performance of one’s prescribed duties. By executing the prescribed directives that are suitable for one’s social and spiritual status, it is possible to attain qualification to perform devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu. Sva-dharma-ācaraṇa cannot be called the sādhana to achieve perfect devotion to Viṣṇu, which is the goal of human life. Therefore, the words of scripture determine that devotion to Viṣṇu alone is the true goal.
Bhagavān Viṣṇu is pleased with the worship that is performed by executing the duties prescribed for one’s social and spiritual status, which are determined by one’s conditioned nature. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam lists the respective constituent qualities of each of the four social divisions:
śamo damas tapaḥ śaucaṁ
santoṣaḥ kṣāntir ārjavam
jñānaṁ dayācyutātmatvaṁ
satyaṁ ca brahma-lakṣaṇam
śauryaṁ vīryaṁ dhṛtis tejas
tyāgaś cātmajayaḥ kṣamā
brahmaṇyatā prasādaś ca
rakṣā ca kṣatra-lakṣaṇam
deva-gurv-acyute bhaktis
tri-varga-paripoṣaṇam
āstikyam udyamo nityaṁ
naipuṇyaṁ vaiśya-lakṣaṇam
śūdrasya sannatiḥ śaucaṁ
sevā svāminy amāyayā
amantra-yajño hy asteyaṁ
satyaṁ go-vipra-rakṣaṇam
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.11.21–24)
“The symptoms of a brāhmaṇa are control of the mind, control of the senses, performance of austerities, cleanliness, satisfaction, forgiveness, simplicity, knowledge, compassion, truthfulness, and devotion to Bhagavān.”
“To be powerful in battle, heroic, patient, influential, and charitable, in control of the senses, renounced, forgiving, devoted to the brāhmaṇas, merciful, and always protective of the citizens – these
are the symptoms of the kṣatriya.”
“To be ever devoted to the demigods, the spiritual master and Bhagavān; to always protect the three religious principles – religiosity (dharma), economic development (artha), and sense gratification (kāma); to be theistic; to always endeavour for wealth, and to be expert in trade – these are the symptoms of the vaiśya.”
“To remain submissive to the higher sections of society [the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas], to always be very clean, to serve one’s master without duplicity, to perform sacrifices without uttering Vedic mantras, to not steal, to always speak the truth, and to protect the cows and brāhmaṇas – these are the symptoms of the śūdra.”
In much the same way, there are four spiritual positions, or āśramas, namely brahmacārya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, and sannyāsa. Every human being should please Bhagavān by executing one’s prescribed duties (dharma) according to one’s spiritual position. In the Jāvāla Upaniṣada (8.5) it states:
sa hovāca yājñavalkyaḥ, brahmacaryaṁ samāpya gṛhī bhavet,
gṛhī bhūtvā vanī bhavet, vanī bhūtvā pravrajet, yadi vetarathā
brahmacaryādeva pravrajed gṛhād vā vanādvā, atha punaravratī vā
vratī vā snātako vā ’snātako vā utsannāgniko vā yadahareva virajet
tadahareva pravrajet
“The saintly Janaka Mahārāja asked the great sage Maharṣi Yājñavalkaya:
‘My lord, please be merciful and explain the qualification for the position of sannyāsa and the rules and regulations to be followed by one in that order.’
Maharṣi Yājñavalkya replied:
‘After completing one’s time in the brahmacārya-āśrama, as a celibate student, one should accept the gṛhastha-āśrama, or household life.
Following that, one should accept the vānaprastha-āśrama, in which one retires from household affairs. And after some time, one should accept the sannyāsa-āśrama, the renounced order of life. If feelings of renunciation arise in someone before entering the gṛhastha-āśrama, then one may directly enter the sannyāsa-āśrama.’”
One should endeavour to please Bhagavān in the prescribed manner. If one deviates from this and instead turns to illicit behaviour, then the result will be greatly detrimental, and one will attain a hellish destination. To follow the path of transcendental enlightenment is the foremost responsibility of the living beings. One’s acquired nature, close association, and received teachings each have a discernable effect upon one’s life.
In the present verse beginning with varṇāśramācāra-vatā, Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya states that the sādhya (goal) for every living entity is the attainment of loving sentiments for Viṣṇu, and that the sādhana to achieve that is following the varṇāśrama system.
(9) Lord Kṛṣṇa and His incarnations.
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