24 The Nectar of Devotion

getting Him at any moment is meant to be followed by everyone
without fail.

If this injunction is followed, then all other rules and regulations
will automatically fall into line. All other rules and regulations
should be treated as assistants or servants to this one basic principle.
The injunctions of rules and regulations and the resultant reactions
are mentioned in the Eleventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5th
Chapter, lst and 2nd verses. Camasa Muni, one of the nine sages who
came to instruct King Nimi, addressed the King and said, ‘““The four
social orders, namely the brahmanas, the ksatriyas, the vaisyas, and
the siidras, have come out of the different parts of the universal form
of the Supreme Lord as follows: the brahmanas have come out from
the head, the ksatriyas have come out from the arms, the vaisyas have
come out from the waist, and the siidras have come out from the legs.
Similarly, the sannydsis have come out from the head, the vanapras-
thas from the arms, the grhasthas from the waist, and the brahma-
caris from the legs.”

These different orders of society and grades of spiritual advance-
ment are conceived in terms of qualification. It is confirmed in the
Bhagavad-gita that the four social orders and the four spiritual orders
are created by the Lord Himself, in terms of different individual
qualities. As the different parts of the body have different types of
activities, so the social orders and spiritual orders also have different
types of activities in terms of qualification and position. The target
of these activities, however, is always the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, “He is the supreme en-
joyer.” So whether one is a brahmana or a Sidra, he has to satisfy the
Supreme Lord by his activities. This is also confirmed in the Srimad-
Bhagavatam by a verse which reads: “Everyone must be engaged in
his particular duty, but the perfection of such work should be tested
by how far the Lord is satisfied with such activities.” The injunction
herein is that one has to act according to his position, and by such
activities one must either satisfy the Supreme Personality or else fall
down from his position.

For example, a brahmana who is born out of the head of the Lord
has as his business to preach the transcendental Vedic sounds, or sabda-
