भक्त्या गोगुरुविप्रेषु विष्वक्सेनानुवर्तिषु ।
ह्रिया प्रश्रयशीलाभ्यामात्मतुल्यः परोद्यमे ॥६२॥
bá¹›haspatir brahma-vÄde
Ätmavattve svayaá¹ hariḥ
bhaktyÄ go-guru-vipreá¹£u
viá¹£vaksenÄnuvartiá¹£u
hriyÄ praÅ›raya-śīlÄbhyÄm
Ätma-tulyaḥ parodyame
bá¹›haspatiḥ - the priest of the heavenly planets; brahma-vÄde - in the matter of spiritual understanding; Ätma-vattve - in the matter of self-control; svayam - personally; hariḥ - the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhaktyÄ - in devotion; go - cow; guru - spiritual master; vipreá¹£u - unto the brÄhmaṇas; viá¹£vaksena - the Personality of Godhead; anuvartiá¹£u - followers; hriyÄ - by shyness; praÅ›raya-śīlÄbhyÄm - by most gentle behavior; Ätma-tulyaḥ - exactly like his personal interest; para-udyame - in the matter of philanthropic work.
In his personal behavior, Pá¹›thu MahÄrÄja exhibited all good qualities, and in spiritual knowledge he was exactly like Bá¹›haspati. In self-control he was like the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. As far as his devotional service was concerned, he was a great follower of devotees who were attached to cow protection and the rendering of all service to the spiritual master and the brÄhmaṇas. He was perfect in his shyness and in his gentle behavior, and when he engaged in some philanthropic activity, he worked as if he were working for his own personal self.
When Lord Caitanya talked to SÄrvabhauma Bhaá¹á¹ÄcÄrya, the Lord honored him as the incarnation of Bá¹›haspati. Bá¹›haspati is the chief priest of the heavenly kingdom, and he is a follower of the philosophy known as brahma-vÄda, or MÄyÄvÄda. Bá¹›haspati is also a great logician. It appears from this statement that MahÄrÄja Pá¹›thu, although a great devotee constantly engaged in the loving service of the Lord, could defeat all kinds of impersonalists and MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s by his profound knowledge of Vedic scriptures. We should learn from MahÄrÄja Pá¹›thu that a Vaiṣṇava, or devotee, must not only be fixed in the service of the Lord, but, if required, must be prepared to argue with the impersonalist MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s with all logic and philosophy and defeat their contention that the Absolute Truth is impersonal.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ideal self-controller or brahmacÄrÄ«. When Kṛṣṇa was elected to be president of the RÄjasÅ«ya yajña performed by MahÄrÄja Yudhiá¹£á¹hira, Grandfather BhÄ«á¹£madeva praised Lord Kṛṣṇa as the greatest brahmacÄrÄ«. Because Grandfather BhÄ«á¹£madeva was a brahmacÄrÄ«, he was quite fit to distinguish a brahmacÄrÄ« from a vyabhicÄrÄ«. Although Pá¹›thu MahÄrÄja was a householder and father of five children, he was still considered to be most controlled. One who begets Kṛṣṇa conscious children for the benefit of humanity is actually a brahmacÄrÄ«. One who simply begets children like cats and dogs is not a proper father. The word brahmacÄrÄ« also refers to one who acts on the platform of Brahman, or devotional service. In the impersonal Brahman conception, there is no activity, yet when one performs activities in connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is to be known as brahmacÄrÄ«. Thus Pá¹›thu MahÄrÄja was an ideal brahmacÄrÄ« and gá¹›hastha simultaneously. Viá¹£vaksenÄnuvartiá¹£u refers to those devotees who are constantly engaged in the service of the Lord. Other devotees must follow in their footsteps. ÅšrÄ«la Narottama dÄsa ṬhÄkura said, ei chaya gosÄñi yÄá¹…ra, muñi tÄá¹…ra dÄsa: “I am prepared to become the disciple of anyone who follows in the footsteps of the Six GosvÄmÄ«s.â€
Also, like all Vaiṣṇavas, MahÄrÄja Pá¹›thu was devoted to cow protection, spiritual masters and qualified brÄhmaṇas. Pá¹›thu MahÄrÄja was also very humble, meek and gentle, and whenever he performed any philanthropic work or welfare activity for the general public, he would labor exactly as if he were tending to his own personal necessities. In other words, his philanthropic activities were not for the sake of show but were performed out of personal feeling and commitment. All philanthropic activities should be thus performed.
