284
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 6, Ch. 5]
PURPORT
Bhagavad-gītā  (16.7) says,  pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ : demons, who are less than human beings but are not called animals, do not know the meaning of  pravṛtti  and  nivṛtti , work to be done and work not to be done. In the material world, every living entity has a desire to lord it over the material world as much as possible. This is called  pravṛtti-mārga . All the  śāstras , however, advise  nivṛtti-mārga , or release from the materialistic way of life. Apart from the  śāstras  of the Vedic civilization, which is the oldest of the world, other  śāstras  agree on this point. For example, in the Buddhist  śāstras  Lord Buddha advises that one achieve  nirvāṇa  by giving up the materialistic way of life. In the Bible, which is also  śāstra , one will find the same advice: one should cease materialistic life and return to the kingdom of God. In any  śāstra  one may examine, especially the Vedic  śāstra , the same advice is given: one should give up his materialistic life and return to his original, spiritual life. Śaṅkarācārya also propounds the same conclusion.  Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā : this material world or materialistic life is simply illusion, and therefore one should stop his illusory activities and come to the platform of Brahman.
The word  śāstra  refers to the scriptures, particularly the Vedic books of knowledge. The  Vedas — Śāma ,  Yajur ,  Rg  and  Atharva —and any other books deriving knowledge from these  Vedas  are considered Vedic literatures.  Bhagavad-gītā  is the essence of all Vedic knowledge, and therefore it is the scripture whose instructions should be especially accepted. In this essence of all  śāstras , Kṛṣṇa personally advises that one give up all other duties and surrender unto Him ( sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ).
One should be initiated into following the principles of  śāstra . In offering initiation, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement asks one to come to the conclusion of  śāstra  by taking the advice of the supreme speaker of the  śāstra , Kṛṣṇa, forgetting the principles of the materialistic way of life. Therefore the principles we advise are no illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling and no meat-eating. These four types of engagement will enable an intelligent person to get free from the materialistic life and return home, back to Godhead.
In regard to the instructions of the father and mother, it may be said that every living entity, including even the insignificant cats, dogs and