234 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 5

though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified
men who are thoroughly honest.

PURPORT

It is a qualification of the great thinkers to pick up the best even from
the worst. It is said that the intelligent man should pick up nectar from a
stock of poison, should accept gold even from a filthy place, should
accept a good and qualified wife even from an obscure family and should
accept a good lesson even from a man or from a teacher who comes from
the untouchables. These are some of the ethical instructions for everyone
in every place without exception. But a saint is far above the level of an
ordinary man, and he is always absorbed in glorifying the Supreme Lord
because by broadcasting the holy name and fame of the Supreme Lord,
the polluted atmosphere of the world will change, and as a result of
propagating the transcendental literatures like Srimad-Bhagavatam, people
will become sane in their transactions. While preparing this commentation
on this particular stanza of Srimad-Bhdgavatam we have a crisis before us.
Our neighboring friend China has attacked the border of India with a
militaristic spirit. We have practically no business in the political field, yet
we see that previously there were both China and India, and they both
lived peacefully for centuries without ill feeling. The reason is that they
lived those days in an atmosphere of God consciousness, and every
country, over the surface of the world, was God-fearing, purehearted and
simple, and there was no question of political diplomacy. There is no
cause of quarrel between the two countries of China and India over land
which is not very suitable for habitation, and certainly there is no cause
for fighting on this issue. But due to the age of quarrel, Kali, which we
have discussed, there is always a chance of quarrel on slight provocation.
This is due not to the issue in question, but to the polluted atmosphere of
this age: systematically there is propaganda by a section of people to stop
glorification of the name and fame of the Supreme Lord. Therefore, there
is great need for disseminating the message of Srimad-Bhagavatam all over
the world. It is the duty of every responsible Indian to broadcast the
transcendental message of Srimad-Bhaégavatam throughout the world to do
all the supermost good as well as to bring about the desired peace
in the world. Because India has failed in her duty by neglecting this
responsible work, there is so much quarrel and trouble all over the
world. We are confident that if the transcendental message of Srimad-
Bhagavatam is received only by the leading men of the world, certainly
