यथोपदेशं विदधान उपनीतस्य च पुनः शौचाचमनादीन् कर्मनियमानन
भिप्रेतानपि समशिक्षयदनुशिष्टेन हि भाव्यं पितुः पुत्रेणेति ॥४॥
tasyÄpi ha vÄ Ätmajasya vipraḥ putra-snehÄnubaddha-manÄ ÄsamÄvartanÄt saá¹skÄrÄn yathopadeÅ›aá¹ vidadhÄna upanÄ«tasya ca punaḥ Å›aucÄcamanÄdÄ«n karma-niyamÄn anabhipretÄn api samaÅ›iká¹£ayad anuÅ›iá¹£á¹ena hi bhÄvyaá¹ pituḥ putreṇeti
tasya - of him; api ha vÄ - certainly; Ätma-jasya - of his son; vipraḥ - the brÄhmaṇa father of Jaá¸a Bharata (mad, crazy Bharata); putra-sneha-anubaddha-manÄḥ - who was obliged by affection for his son; Ä-sama-ÄvartanÄt - until the end of the brahmacarya-ÄÅ›rama; saá¹skÄrÄn - the purificatory processes; yathÄ-upadeÅ›am - as prescribed in the Å›Ästras; vidadhÄnaḥ - performing; upanÄ«tasya - of one who has a sacred thread; ca - also; punaḥ - again; Å›auca-Äcamana-ÄdÄ«n - practice of cleanliness, washing of the mouth, legs and hands, etc.; karma-niyamÄn - the regulative principles of fruitive activities; anabhipretÄn api - although not wanted by Jaá¸a Bharata; samaÅ›iká¹£ayat - taught; anuÅ›iá¹£á¹ena - taught to follow the regulative principles; hi - indeed; bhÄvyam - should be; pituḥ - from the father; putreṇa - the son; iti - thus.
The brÄhmaṇa father’s mind was always filled with affection for his son, Jaá¸a Bharata [Bharata MahÄrÄja]. Therefore he was always attached to Jaá¸a Bharata. Because Jaá¸a Bharata was unfit to enter the gá¹›hastha-ÄÅ›rama, he simply executed the purificatory process up to the end of the brahmacarya-ÄÅ›rama. Although Jaá¸a Bharata was unwilling to accept his father’s instructions, the brÄhmaṇa nonetheless instructed him in how to keep clean and how to wash, thinking that the son should be taught by the father.
Jaá¸a Bharata was Bharata MahÄrÄja in the body of a brÄhmaṇa, and he outwardly conducted himself as if he were dull, deaf, dumb and blind. Actually he was quite alert within. He knew perfectly well of the results of fruitive activity and the results of devotional service. In the body of a brÄhmaṇa, MahÄrÄja Bharata was completely absorbed in devotional service within; therefore it was not at all necessary for him to execute the regulative principles of fruitive activity. As confirmed in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam: svanuá¹£á¹hitasya dharmasya saá¹siddhir hari-toá¹£aṇam (BhÄg. 1.2.13). One has to satisfy Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the perfection of the regulative principles of fruitive activity. Besides that, it is stated in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam:
dharmaḥ svanuá¹£á¹hitaḥ puá¹sÄá¹
viá¹£vaksena-kathÄsu yaḥ
notpÄdayed yadi ratiá¹
śrama eva hi kevalam
“Duties [dharma] executed by men, regardless of occupation, are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Supreme Lord.†(BhÄg. 1.2.8) These karma-kÄṇá¸a activities are required as long as one has not developed Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If one is developed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no need to execute the prior regulative principles of karma-kÄṇá¸a. ÅšrÄ«la MÄdhavendra PurÄ« said, “O regulative principles of karma-kÄṇá¸a, please excuse me. I cannot follow all these regulative principles, for I am fully engaged in devotional service.†He expressed the desire to sit somewhere beneath a tree and continue chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahÄ-mantra. Consequently he did not execute all the regulative principles. Similarly, HaridÄsa ṬhÄkura was born in a Mohammedan family. From the very beginning of his life he was never trained in the karma-kÄṇá¸a system, but because he was always chanting the holy name of the Lord, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu accepted him as nÄmÄcÄrya, the authority in chanting the holy name. As Jaá¸a Bharata, Bharata MahÄrÄja was always engaged in devotional service within his mind. Since he had executed the regulative principles continuously for three lives, he was not interested in continuing to execute them, although his brÄhmaṇa father wanted him to do so.
