Srimad Bhagavatam. Canto 7: The Science of God

Chapter 5: Prahlada Maharaja, the Saintly Son of Hiranyakasipu. Text 53

यथा त्रिवर्गं गुरुभिरात्मने उपशिक्षितम् ।
न साधु मेने तच्छिक्षां द्वन्द्वारामोपवर्णिताम् ॥५३॥

yathÄ tri-vargaá¹ gurubhir
Ätmane upaÅ›iká¹£itam
na sÄdhu mene tac-chiká¹£Äá¹
dvandvÄrÄmopavarṇitÄm

 yathÄ - as; tri-vargam - the three processes (religion, economic development and sense gratification); gurubhiḥ - by the teachers; Ätmane - unto himself (PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja); upaÅ›iká¹£itam - instructed; na - not; sÄdhu - really good; mene - he considered; tat-Å›iká¹£Äm - the education in that; dvandva-ÄrÄma - by persons taking pleasure in duality (in material enmity and friendship); upavarṇitÄm - which is prescribed.


Text

The teachers á¹¢aṇá¸a and Amarka instructed PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja in the three kinds of material advancement called religion, economic development and sense gratification. PrahlÄda, however, being situated above such instructions, did not like them, for such instructions are based on the duality of worldly affairs, which involve one in a materialistic way of life marked by birth, death, old age and disease.

Purport

The entire world is interested in the materialistic way of life. Indeed, practically 99.9 percent of the people in the three worlds are uninterested in liberation or spiritual education. Only the devotees of the Lord, headed by such great personalities as PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja and NÄrada Muni, are interested in the real education of spiritual life. One cannot understand the principles of religion while staying on the material platform. Therefore one must follow these great personalities. As stated in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (6.3.20):

svayambhÅ«r nÄradaḥ Å›ambhuḥ
 kumÄraḥ kapilo manuḥ
prahlÄdo janako bhÄ«á¹£mo
 balir vaiyÄsakir vayam

One must follow in the footsteps of such great personalities as Lord BrahmÄ, NÄrada, Lord Åšiva, Kapila, Manu, the KumÄras, PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja, BhÄ«á¹£ma, Janaka, Bali MahÄrÄja, Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« and YamarÄja. Those interested in spiritual life should follow PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja in rejecting the education of religion, economic development and sense gratification. One should be interested in spiritual education. Therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is spreading all over the world, following in the footsteps of PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja, who did not like any of the materialistic education he received from his teachers.