yad brahma nityaáš virajaáš sanÄtanaáš
ĹraddhÄ-tapo-maáš gala-mauna-saášyamaiḼ
samÄdhinÄ bibhrati hÄrtha-dášášŁášaye
yatredam ÄdarĹa ivÄvabhÄsate
yat - that which; brahma - the brahminical culture; nityam - eternally; virajam - without contamination; sanÄtanam - without beginning; ĹraddhÄ - faith; tapaḼ - austerity; maáš gala - auspicious; mauna - silence; saášyamaiḼ - controlling the mind and senses; samÄdhinÄ - with full concentration; bibhrati - illuminates; ha - as he did it; artha - the real purpose of the Vedas; dášášŁášaye - for the purpose of finding out; yatra - wherein; idam - all this; ÄdarĹe - in a mirror; iva - like; avabhÄsate - manifests.
Since it is described in the previous verse that feeding a living brÄhmaáša is more effective than offering oblations in a fire sacrifice, in this verse it is now clearly described what brÄhmaášism is and who a brÄhmaáša is. In the Age of Kali, taking advantage of the fact that by feeding a brÄhmaáša one obtains a more effective result than by performing sacrifices, a class of men with no brahminical qualifications claim the eating privilege known as brÄhmaáša-bhojana simply on the basis of their birth in brÄhmaáša families. In order to distinguish this class of men from the real brÄhmaášas, MahÄrÄja Pášthu is giving an exact description of a brÄhmaáša and brahminical culture. One should not take advantage of his position simply to live like a fire without light. A brÄhmaáša must be fully conversant with the Vedic conclusion, which is described in Bhagavad-gÄŤtÄ. VedaiĹ ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḼ (Bg. 15.15). The Vedic conclusion â the ultimate understanding, or VedÄnta understanding â is knowledge of KášášŁáša. Actually that is a fact because simply by understanding KášášŁáša as He is, as described in Bhagavad-gÄŤtÄ (janma karma ca me divyam evaáš yo vetti tattvataḼ), one becomes a perfect brÄhmaáša. The brÄhmaáša who knows KášášŁáša perfectly well is always in a transcendental position. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gÄŤtÄ (14.26):
mÄáš ca yo âvyabhicÄreáša
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa guášÄn samatÄŤtyaitÄn
brahma-bhĹŤyÄya kalpate
âOne who engages in full devotional service and who does not fall down in any circumstance at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.â
Therefore a devotee of Lord KášášŁáša is actually a perfect brÄhmaáša. His situation is transcendental, for he is free from the four defects of conditional life, which are the tendencies to commit mistakes, to be illusioned, to cheat and to possess imperfect senses. A perfect Vaiᚣášava, or KášášŁáša conscious person, is always in this transcendental position because he speaks according to KášášŁáša and His representative. Because Vaiᚣášavas speak exactly according to the tune of KášášŁáša, whatever they say is free from these four defects. For example, KášášŁáša says in Bhagavad-gÄŤtÄ that everyone should always think of Him, everyone should become His devotee, offer Him obeisances and worship Him, and ultimately everyone should surrender unto Him. These devotional activities are transcendental and free from mistakes, illusion, cheating and imperfection. Therefore anyone who is a sincere devotee of Lord KášášŁáša and who preaches this cult, speaking only on the basis of KášášŁášaâs instructions, is understood to be virajam, or free from the defects of material contamination. A genuine brÄhmaáša or Vaiᚣášava therefore depends eternally on the conclusion of the Vedas or Vedic versions presented by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. Only from Vedic knowledge can we understand the actual position of the Absolute Truth, who, as described in ĹrÄŤmad-BhÄgavatam, is manifested in three features â namely impersonal Brahman, localized ParamÄtmÄ and, at last, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This knowledge is perfect from time immemorial, and the brahminical or Vaiᚣášava culture depends on this principle eternally. One should therefore study the Vedas with faith, not only for oneâs personal knowledge, but for the sake of spreading this knowledge and these activities through real faith in the words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Vedas.
In this verse the word maáš gala, âauspicious,â is very significant. ĹrÄŤla ĹrÄŤdhara SvÄmÄŤ quotes that to do what is good and to reject what is not good is called maáš gala, or auspicious. To do what is good means to accept everything favorable to the discharge of devotional service, and to reject what is not good means to reject everything not favorable for discharging devotional service. In our KášášŁáša consciousness movement, we accept this principle by rejecting four prohibited items â namely illicit sex life, intoxication, gambling and flesh-eating â and accepting the daily chanting of at least sixteen rounds of the Hare KášášŁáša mahÄ-mantra and meditation three times a day by chanting the GÄyatrÄŤ mantra. In this way one can keep his brahminical culture and spiritual strength intact. By following these principles of devotional service strictly, chanting twenty-four hours a day the mahÄ-mantra â Hare KášášŁáša, Hare KášášŁáša, KášášŁáša KášášŁáša, Hare Hare/ Hare RÄma, Hare RÄma, RÄma RÄma, Hare Hare â one makes positive progress in spiritual life and ultimately becomes completely fit to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. Because the ultimate goal of studying or understanding the Vedic knowledge is to find KášášŁáša, one who follows the Vedic principles as described above can from the very beginning see all the features of Lord KášášŁáša, the Absolute Truth, very distinctly, as one can see oneâs own face completely reflected in a clear mirror. The conclusion is, therefore, that a brÄhmaáša does not become a brÄhmaáša simply because he is a living entity or is born in a brÄhmaáša family; he must possess all the qualities mentioned in the ĹÄstras and practice the brahminical principles in his life. Thus he ultimately becomes a fully KášášŁáša conscious person and can understand what KášášŁáša is. How a devotee continuously sees KášášŁáša face to face within his heart is described in the Brahma-saášhitÄ (5.38) as follows:
premÄĂąjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santaḼ sadaiva hášdayeᚣu vilokayanti
yaáš ĹyÄmasundaram acintya-guáša-svarĹŤpaáš
govindam Ädi-puruᚣaáš tam ahaáš bhajÄmi
The devotee, by development of pure love for KášášŁáša, constantly sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as ĹyÄmasundara, within his heart. That is the perfectional stage of brahminical culture.