As far as charity is concerned, one should give fifty percent of his earnings to some good cause. And what is a good cause? It is that which is conducted in terms of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is not only a good cause, but the best cause. Because Kṛṣṇa is good, His cause is also good. Thus charity should be given to a person who is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. According to the Vedic literature, it is enjoined that charity should be given to the brāhmaṇas.
This practice is still followed, although not very nicely in terms of the Vedic injunction. But still the injunction is that charity should be given to the brāhmaṇas. Why? Because they are engaged in higher cultivation of spiritual knowledge. A brāhmaṇa is supposed to devote his whole life to understanding Brahman. Brahma jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ: one who knows Brahman is called a brāhmaṇa. Thus charity is offered to the brāhmaṇas because they are always engaged in higher spiritual service and have no time to earn their livelihood. In the Vedic literature, charity is also to be awarded to one in the renounced order of life, the sannyāsī.
The sannyāsīs beg from door to door, not for money but for missionary purposes. The system is that they go from door to door to awaken the householders from the slumber of ignorance. Because the householders are engaged in family affairs and have forgotten their actual purpose in life – awakening their Kṛṣṇa consciousness – it is the business of the sannyāsīs to go as beggars to the householders and encourage them to be Kṛṣṇa conscious. As it is said in the Vedas, one should awake and achieve what is due him in this human form of life. This knowledge and method is distributed by the sannyāsīs; hence charity is to be given to the renouncer of life, to the brāhmaṇas, and similar good causes, not to any whimsical cause.
Yaśas, fame, should be according to Lord Caitanya, who said that a man is famous when he is known as a great devotee. That is real fame. If one has become a great man in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and it is known, then he is truly famous. One who does not have such fame is infamous.
All these qualities are manifest throughout the universe in human society and in the society of the demigods. There are many forms of humanity on other planets, and these qualities are there. Now, for one who wants to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, Kṛṣṇa creates all these qualities, but the person develops them himself from within. One who engages in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord develops all the good qualities, as arranged by the Supreme Lord.
Of whatever we find, good or bad, the origin is Kṛṣṇa. Nothing can manifest itself in this material world which is not in Kṛṣṇa. That is knowledge; although we know that things are differently situated, we should realize that everything flows from Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 6
महर्षयः सप्त पूर्वे चत्वारो मनवस्तथा ।
मद्भावा मानसा जाता येषां लोक इमाः प्रजाः ।। 6 ।।
maharṣayaḥ sapta pūrve
catvāro manavas tathā
mad-bhāvā mānasā jātā
yeṣāṁ loka imāḥ prajāḥ
mahā-ṛṣayaḥ – the great sages; sapta – seven; pūrve – before; catvāraḥ – four; manavaḥ – Manus; tathā – also; mat-bhāvāḥ – born of Me; mānasāḥ – from the mind; jātāḥ – born; yeṣām – of them; loke – in the world; imāḥ – all this; prajāḥ – population.
The seven great sages and before them the four other great sages and the Manus [progenitors of mankind] come from Me, born from My mind, and all the living beings populating the various planets descend from them.
The Lord is giving a genealogical synopsis of the universal population. Brahmā is the original creature born out of the energy of the Supreme Lord, who is known as Hiraṇyagarbha. And from Brahmā all the seven great sages, and before them four other great sages, named Sanaka, Sananda, Sanātana and Sanat-kumāra, and the fourteen Manus, are manifested. All these twenty-five great sages are known as the patriarchs of the living entities all over the universe. There are innumerable universes and innumerable planets within each universe, and each planet is full of population of different varieties.
All of them are born of these twenty-five patriarchs. Brahmā underwent penance for one thousand years of the demigods before he realized by the grace of Kṛṣṇa how to create. Then from Brahmā came Sanaka, Sananda, Sanātana and Sanat-kumāra, then Rudra, and then the seven sages, and in this way all the brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas are born out of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Brahmā is known as Pitāmaha, the grandfather, and Kṛṣṇa is known as Prapitāmaha, the father of the grandfather. That is stated in the Eleventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā (11.39).
TEXT 7
एतां विभूतिं योगं च मम यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ।
सोऽविकम्पेन योगेन युज्यते नात्र संशयः ।। 7 ।।
etāṁ vibhūtiṁ yogaṁ ca
mama yo vetti tattvataḥ
so ’vikalpena yogena
yujyate nātra saṁśayaḥ
etām – all this; vibhūtim – opulence; yogam – mystic power; ca – also; mama – of Mine; yaḥ – anyone who; vetti – knows; tattvataḥ – factually; saḥ – he; avikalpena – without division; yogena – in devotional service; yujyate – is engaged; na – never; atra – here; saṁśayaḥ – doubt.
One who is factually convinced of this opulence and mystic power of Mine engages in unalloyed devotional service; of this there is no doubt.
The highest summit of spiritual perfection is knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unless one is firmly convinced of the different opulences of the Supreme Lord, he cannot engage in devotional service. Generally people know that God is great, but they do not know in detail how God is great. Here are the details. If one knows factually how God is great, then naturally he becomes a surrendered soul and engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord. When one factually knows the opulences of the Supreme, there is no alternative but to surrender to Him. This factual knowledge can be known from the descriptions in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā and similar literatures.
In the administration of this universe there are many demigods distributed throughout the planetary system, and the chief of them are Brahmā, Lord Śiva and the four great Kumāras and the other patriarchs. There are many forefathers of the population of the universe, and all of them are born of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the original forefather of all forefathers.
These are some of the opulences of the Supreme Lord. When one is firmly convinced of them, he accepts Kṛṣṇa with great faith and without any doubt, and he engages in devotional service. All this particular knowledge is required in order to increase one’s interest in the loving devotional service of the Lord. One should not neglect to understand fully how great Kṛṣṇa is, for by knowing the greatness of Kṛṣṇa one will be able to be fixed in sincere devotional service.
TEXT 8
अहं सर्वस्य प्रभवो मत्तः सर्वं प्रवर्तते ।
इति मत्वा भजन्ते मां बुधा भावसमन्विताः ।। 8 ।।
ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo
mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate
iti matvā bhajante māṁ
budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ
aham – I; sarvasya – of all; prabhavaḥ – the source of generation; mattaḥ – from Me; sarvam – everything; pravartate – emanates; iti – thus; matvā – knowing; bhajante – become devoted; mām – unto Me; budhāḥ – the learned; bhāva-samanvitāḥ – with great attention.
I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.
A learned scholar who has studied the Vedas perfectly and has information from authorities like Lord Caitanya and who knows how to apply these teachings can understand that Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything in both the material and spiritual worlds, and because he knows this perfectly he becomes firmly fixed in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. He can never be deviated by any amount of nonsensical commentaries or by fools.
All Vedic literature agrees that Kṛṣṇa is the source of Brahmā, Śiva and all other demigods. In the Atharva Veda (Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 1.24) it is said, yo brahmāṇaṁ vidadhāti pūrvaṁ yo vai vedāṁś ca gāpayati sma kṛṣṇaḥ: “It was Kṛṣṇa who in the beginning instructed Brahmā in Vedic knowledge and who disseminated Vedic knowledge in the past.” Then again the Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad (1) says, atha puruṣo ha vai nārāyaṇo ’kāmayata prajāḥ sṛjeyeti: “Then the Supreme Personality Nārāyaṇa desired to create living entities.” The Upaniṣad continues, nārāyaṇād brahmā jāyate, nārāyaṇād prajāpatiḥ prajāyate, nārāyaṇād indro jāyate, nārāyaṇād aṣṭau vasavo jāyante, nārāyaṇād ekādaśa rudrā jāyante, nārāyaṇād dvādaśādityāḥ: “From Nārāyaṇa, Brahmā is born, and from Nārāyaṇa the patriarchs are also born. From Nārāyaṇa, Indra is born, from Nārāyaṇa the eight Vasus are born, from Nārāyaṇa the eleven Rudras are born, from Nārāyaṇa the twelve Ādityas are born.” This Nārāyaṇa is an
