को नु लोके मनुष्येन्द्र पितुरात्मकृतः पुमान् ।
प्रतिकर्तुं क्षमो यस्य प्रसादाद् विन्दते परम् ॥४३॥
Å›rÄ«-pÅ«rur uvÄca
ko nu loke manuá¹£yendra
pitur Ätma-ká¹›taḥ pumÄn
pratikartuá¹ ká¹£amo yasya
prasÄdÄd vindate param
Å›rÄ«-pÅ«ruḥ uvÄca - PÅ«ru said; kaḥ - what; nu - indeed; loke - in this world; manuá¹£ya-indra - O Your Majesty, best of human beings; pituḥ - the father; Ätma-ká¹›taḥ - who has given this body; pumÄn - a person; pratikartum - to repay; ká¹£amaḥ - is able; yasya - of whom; prasÄdÄt - by the mercy; vindate - one enjoys; param - superior life.
Pūru replied: O Your Majesty, who in this world can repay his debt to his father? By the mercy of one’s father, one gets the human form of life, which can enable one to become an associate of the Supreme Lord.
The father gives the seed of the body, and this seed gradually grows and develops until one ultimately attains the developed human body, with consciousness higher than that of the animals. In the human body one can be elevated to the higher planets, and, furthermore, if one cultivates Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can return home, back to Godhead. This important human body is obtained by the grace of the father, and therefore everyone is indebted to his father. Of course, in other lives one also gets a father and mother; even cats and dogs have fathers and mothers. But in the human form of life the father and mother can award their son the greatest benediction by teaching him to become a devotee. When one becomes a devotee, he achieves the greatest benediction because he completely averts the repetition of birth and death. Therefore the father who trains his child in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the most benevolent father in this world. It is said:
janame janame sabe pitÄ mÄtÄ pÄya
kṛṣṇa guru nahi mile bhaja hari ei
Everyone gets a father and mother, but if one gets the benediction of Kṛṣṇa and guru, he can conquer material nature and return home, back to Godhead.
