Text 38] Instructions by Maharaja Prthu - 865
and deva means “worshipable Lord.” Therefore unless one is on the
transcendental platform of being a Vaisnava, or on the highest platform
of material goodness (as a brahmana), he cannot appreciate the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. In the lower stages of ignorance and passion, it is
difficult to appreciate or understand the Supreme Lord. Therefore the
Lordis described herein as the worshipable Deity for persons in brahminical
and Vaisnava culture.
namo brahmanya-devaya go-brahmana-hitaya ca
jagad-dhitaya krsnaya govinddya namo namah
(Visnu Purana 1.19.65)

Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the prime protector
of brahminical culture and the cow. Without knowing and respect-
ing these, one cannot realize the science of God, and without this
knowledge, any welfare activities or humanitarian propaganda cannot be
successful. The Lord is purusa, or the supreme enjoyer. Not only is He the
enjoyer when He appears as a manifested incarnation, but He is the enjoyer
since time immemorial, from the very beginning (puratana), and eternally
(nityam). Yac-caranabhivandanat: Prthu Maharaja said that the Supreme
Personality of Godhead attained this opulence of eternal fame simply by
worshiping the lotus feet of the brahmanas. In Bhagavad-gita it is said that
the Lord does not need to work to achieve material gain. Since He is
perpetually supremely perfect, He does not need to obtain anything, but
still it is said that He obtained His opulences by worshiping the lotus
feet of the brahmanas. These are His exemplary actions. When Lord Sri
Krsna was in Dvaraka, He offered His respects by bowing down at the
lotus feet of Narada. When Sudama Vipra came to His house, Lord Krsna
personally washed his feet and gave him a seat on His personal bed. Al-
though He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna
offered His respects to Maharaja Yudhisthira and Kunti. The Lord’s
exemplary behavior is to teach us. We should learn from His personal
behavior how to give protection to the cow, how to cultivate brahminical
qualities, and how to respect the brahmanas and the Vaisnavas. The Lord
says in Bhagavad-gita, yad yad acarati sresthas tat tad evetaro janah: “If
the leading personalities behave in a certain manner, others follow them
automatically.”’ (Bg. 3.21) Who can be more of a leading personality than
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and whose behavior could be more
exemplary? It is not that He needed to do all these things to acquire
material gain, but all of these acts were performed just to teach us how to
behave in this material world.
