### SB 5.5.24

> धृता तनूरुशती मे पुराणी येनेह सत्त्वं परमं पवित्रम\
> शमो दमः सत्यमनुग्रहश्च तपस्तितिक्षानुभवश्च यत्र ॥२४॥

> dhṛtā tanūr uśatī me purāṇī\
> yeneha sattvaṁ paramaṁ pavitram\
> śamo damaḥ satyam anugrahaś ca\
> tapas titikṣānubhavaś ca yatra

*dhṛtā*—maintained by transcendental education; *tanūḥ*—body; *uśatī*—free from material contamination; *me*—My; *purāṇī*—eternal; *yena*—by whom; *iha*—in this material world; *sattvam*—the mode of goodness; *paramam*—supreme; *pavitram*—purified; *śamaḥ*—control of the mind; *damaḥ*—control of the senses; *satyam*—truthfulness; *anugrahaḥ*—mercy; *ca*—and; *tapaḥ*—austerity; *titikṣā*—tolerance; *anubhavaḥ*—realization of God and the living entity; *ca*—and; *yatra*—wherein.

**The Vedas are My eternal transcendental sound incarnation. Therefore the Vedas are śabda-brahma. In this world, the brāhmaṇas thoroughly study all the Vedas, and because they assimilate the Vedic conclusions, they are also to be considered the Vedas personified. The brāhmaṇas are situated in the supreme transcendental mode of nature-sattva-guṇa. Because of this, they are fixed in mind control [śama], sense control [dama], and truthfulness [satya]. They describe the Vedas in their original sense, and out of mercy [anugraha] they preach the purpose of the Vedas to all conditioned souls. They practice penance [tapasya] and tolerance [titikṣā], and they realize the position of the living entity and the Supreme Lord [anubhava]. These are the eight qualifications of the brāhmaṇas. Therefore among all living entities, no one is superior to the brāhmaṇas.**

This is a true description of a *brāhmaṇa. A brāhmaṇa* is one who has assimilated the Vedic conclusions by practicing mind and sense control. He speaks the true version of all the *Vedas.* As confirmed in the *Bhagavad-gītā* [[bg/15/15|(Bg. 15.15)]]: *vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ.* By studying all the *Vedas,* one should come to understand the transcendental position of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. One who actually assimilated the essence of the *Vedas* can preach the truth. He is compassionate to conditioned souls who are suffering the threefold miseries of this conditional world due to their not being Kṛṣṇa conscious. A *brāhmaṇa* should take pity on the people and preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness in order to elevate them. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, personally descends into this universe from the spiritual kingdom to teach conditioned souls about the values of spiritual life. He tries to induce them to surrender unto Him. Similarly, the *brāhmaṇas* do the same thing. After assimilating the Vedic instructions, they assist the Supreme Lord in His endeavor to deliver conditioned souls. The *brāhmaṇas* are very dear to the Supreme Lord due to their high *sattva-guṇa* qualities, and they also engage in welfare activities for all conditioned souls in the material world.