vá¹›ddha mÄtÄ-pitÄra yÄi' karaha sevana
vaiṣṇava-pÄÅ›a bhÄgavata kara adhyayana
vá¹›ddha - old; mÄtÄ-pitÄra - of the mother and father; yÄi' - going back; karaha sevana - engage in service; vaiṣṇava-pÄÅ›a - from a pure Vaiṣṇava; bhÄgavata - ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam; kara adhyayana - study.
ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu said to RaghunÄtha Bhaá¹á¹a, “When you return home, serve your aged father and mother, who are devotees, and try to study ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam from a pure Vaiṣṇava who has realized God.â€
One should note how ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, advised RaghunÄtha Bhaá¹á¹ÄcÄrya to learn ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. He advised him to understand ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam not from professional men but from a real bhÄgavata, a devotee. He also advised RaghunÄtha Bhaá¹á¹a to serve his mother and father because they were both Lord Caitanya’s devotees. Anyone who wishes to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness must try to serve the devotees of Kṛṣṇa. As Narottama dÄsa ṬhÄkura says, chÄá¸iyÄ vaiṣṇava-sevÄ nistÄra peyeche kebÄ: “Without serving a self-realized Vaiṣṇava, no one has ever been released from the materialistic way of life.†ŚrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu would have never advised RaghunÄtha Bhaá¹á¹a to serve ordinary parents, but since his parents were Vaiṣṇavas, the Lord advised him to serve them.
One might ask, “Why shouldn’t ordinary parents be served?†As stated in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (5.5.18):
gurur na sa syÄt sva-jano na sa syÄt
pitÄ na sa syÄj jananÄ« na sÄ syÄt
daivaá¹ na tat syÄt na patiÅ› ca sa syÄn
na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum
“One who cannot deliver his dependent from the path of birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a relative, a father or mother, or a worshipable demigod, nor should such a person become a husband.†Everyone naturally gets a father and mother at the time of birth, but the real father and mother are those who can release their offspring from the clutches of imminent death. This is possible only for parents advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore any parents who cannot enlighten their offspring in Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot be accepted as a real father and mother. The following verse from the Bhakti-rasÄmá¹›ta-sindhu (1.2.200) confirms the uselessness of serving ordinary parents:
laukikÄ« vaidikÄ« vÄpi yÄ kriyÄ kriyate mune
hari-sevÄnukÅ«laiva sa kÄryÄ bhaktim icchatÄ
“One should perform only those activities — either worldly or prescribed by Vedic rules and regulations — which are favorable for the cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.â€
Concerning the study of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu clearly advises that one avoid hearing from a non-Vaiṣṇava professional reciter. In this connection SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« quotes a verse from the Padma PurÄṇa:
avaiṣṇava-mukhodgÄ«rṇaá¹ pÅ«taá¹ hari-kathÄmá¹›tam
Å›ravaṇaá¹ naiva kartavyaá¹ sarpocchiá¹£á¹aá¹ yathÄ payaḥ
“No one should hear or take lessons from a person who is not a Vaiṣṇava. Even if he speaks about Kṛṣṇa, such a lesson should not be accepted, for it is like milk touched by the lips of a serpent.†Nowadays it is fashionable to observe BhÄgavata-saptÄha and hear ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam from persons who are anything but advanced devotees or self-realized souls. There are even many MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s who read ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam to throngs of people. Many MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s have recently begun reciting ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam in Vá¹›ndÄvana, and because they can present the BhÄgavatam with word jugglery, twisting the meaning by grammatical tricks, materialistic persons who go to Vá¹›ndÄvana as a matter of spiritual fashion like to hear them. All this is clearly forbidden by ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu. We should note carefully that since these MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s cannot personally know the meaning of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, they can never deliver others by reciting it. On the other hand, an advanced devotee of the Lord is free from material bondage. He personifies ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam in life and action. Therefore we advise that anyone who wants to learn ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam must approach such a realized soul.
