290 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 6
nala—pipes; venu—bamboo; sarah—pens; tanba—full of; kusa—sharp
grass; kicaka—weeds; gahvaram—caves; eka—alone; eva—only; atiyatah—
difficult to go through; aham—I; adraksam—visited; vipinam—deep forests;
mahat—great; ghoram—fearful; pratibhayakaram—dangerously; vydla—
snakes; ulika— owls; siva —jackals; ajiram— playgrounds.
TRANSLATION
I then passed alone through many forests of bamboo, sharp grass,
weeds and caves, which were very difficult to go through alone. I visited
deep, dark and dangerously fearful forests, which were the play yards of
snakes, owls and jackals.
PURPORT
It is the duty of a mendicant (parivrajakacarya) to experience all
varieties of God’s creation by travelling alone through all forests, hills,
towns, villages, etc., to gain faith in God and strength of mind as well as to
enlighten the inhabitants with the message of God. A sannyasi is duty-
bound to take all these risks without fear, and the most typical sannyasi of
the present age is Lord Caitanya, who travelled in the same manner through
the central Indian jungles, enlightening even the tigers, bears, snakes, deers,
elephants and many other jungle animals. In this age of Kali, sannydsa is
forbidden for ordinary men. One who changes his dress to make propaganda
is a different man from the original ideal sannydsi. One should, however,
take the vow to stop social intercourse completely and devote life exclu-
sively to the service of the Lord. The change of dress is only a formality.
Lord Caitanya did not accept the name of a sannyasi, and in this age of
Kali the so-called sannydsis should not change their former names, follow-
ing in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya. In this age devotional service of
hearing and repeating the holy glories of the Lord is strongly recommended,
and one who takes the vow of renunciation of family life need not imitate
the parivrajakacarya like Narada or Lord Caitanya, but may sit down at
some holy place and devote his whole time and energy to hear and re-
peatedly chant the holy scriptures left by the great dcaryas like the six
Gosvamis of Vrndavana.
TEXT 14
afeaeararee TeTeAt TAI: |
AT Tea TS ATT TTT TIAA: 112 VI
