ये ब्राह्मणान्मयि धिया क्षिपतोऽर्चयन्तस्
तुष्यद्धृदः स्मितसुधोक्षितपद्मवक्त्राः ।
वाण्यानुरागकलयात्मजवद्गृणन्तः
सम्बोधयन्त्यहमिवाहमुपाहृतस्तैः ॥११॥

ye brÄhmaṇÄn mayi dhiyÄ ká¹£ipato 'rcayantas
tuá¹£yad-dhá¹›daḥ smita-sudhoká¹£ita-padma-vaktrÄḥ
vÄṇyÄnurÄga-kalayÄtmajavad gṛṇantaḥ
sambodhayanty aham ivÄham upÄhá¹›tas taiḥ

 ye - which persons; brÄhmaṇÄn - the brÄhmaṇas; mayi - in Me; dhiyÄ - with intelligence; ká¹£ipataḥ - uttering harsh words; arcayantaḥ - respecting; tuá¹£yat - gladdened; há¹›daḥ - hearts; smita - smiling; sudhÄ - nectar; uká¹£ita - wet; padma - lotuslike; vaktrÄḥ - faces; vÄṇyÄ - with words; anurÄga-kalayÄ - loving; Ätmaja-vat - like a son; gṛṇantaḥ - praising; sambodhayanti - pacify; aham - I; iva - as; aham - I; upÄhá¹›taḥ - being controlled; taiḥ - by them.


Text

On the other hand, they captivate My heart who are gladdened in heart and who, their lotus faces enlightened by nectarean smiles, respect the brÄhmaṇas, even though the brÄhmaṇas utter harsh words. They look upon the brÄhmaṇas as My own Self and pacify them by praising them in loving words, even as a son would appease an angry father or as I am pacifying you.

Purport

It has been observed in many instances in the Vedic scriptures that when the brÄhmaṇas or Vaiṣṇavas curse someone in an angry mood, the person who is cursed does not take it upon himself to treat the brÄhmaṇas or Vaiṣṇavas in the same way. There are many examples of this. For instance, the sons of Kuvera, when cursed by the great sage NÄrada, did not seek revenge in the same harsh way, but submitted. Here also, when Jaya and Vijaya were cursed by the four KumÄras, they did not become harsh towards them; rather, they submitted. That should be the way of treating brÄhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas. One may sometimes be faced with a grievous situation created by a brÄhmaṇa, but instead of meeting him with a similar mood, one should try to pacify him with a smiling face and mild treatment. BrÄhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas should be accepted as earthly representatives of NÄrÄyaṇa. Nowadays some foolish persons have manufactured the term daridra-nÄrÄyaṇa, indicating that the poor man should be accepted as the representative of NÄrÄyaṇa. But in Vedic literature we do not find that poor men should be treated as representatives of NÄrÄyaṇa. Of course, “those who are unprotected†are mentioned here, but the definition of this phrase is clear from the Å›Ästras. The poor man should not be unprotected, but the brÄhmaṇa should especially be treated as the representative of NÄrÄyaṇa and should be worshiped like Him. It is specifically said that to pacify the brÄhmaṇas, one’s face should be lotuslike. A lotuslike face is exhibited when one is adorned with love and affection. In this respect, the example of the father’s being angry at the son and the son’s trying to pacify the father with smiling and sweet words is very appropriate.