nÄrada kahe, — "vyÄdha, ei nÄ haya ÄÅ›carya
hari-bhaktye hiá¹sÄ-śūnya haya sÄdhu-varya

 nÄrada kahe - NÄrada Muni said; vyÄdha - my dear hunter; ei nÄ haya ÄÅ›carya - this is not wonderful for you; hari-bhaktye - by advancement in devotional service; hiá¹sÄ-śūnya haya - one becomes nonviolent and nonenvious; sÄdhu-varya - thus one becomes the best of honest gentlemen.


Text

“NÄrada Muni said, ‘My dear hunter, such behavior is not at all astonishing. A man in devotional service is automatically nonviolent. He is the best of gentlemen.

Purport

In this verse the word sÄdhu-varya means “the best of gentlemen.†At the present moment there are many so-called gentlemen who are expert in killing animals and birds. Nonetheless, these so-called gentlemen profess a type of religion that strictly prohibits killing. According to NÄrada Muni and Vedic culture, animal-killers are not even gentlemen, to say nothing of being religious men. A religious person, a devotee of the Lord, must be nonviolent. Such is the nature of a religious person. It is contradictory to be violent and at the same time call oneself a religious person. Such hypocrisy is not approved by NÄrada Muni and the disciplic succession.