1116 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 4, Ch. 24

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, any learned person knows that unless he worships You,
his entire life is spoiled. Knowing this, how could he give up worshiping
Your lotus feet? Even our father and spiritual master, Lord Brahma,
unhesitatingly worshiped You, and the fourteen Manus followed in his
footsteps.

PURPORT

The word pandita means ‘‘a wise man.” Who is actually a wise man? The
wise man is described in Bhagavad-gita in this way:

bahiinadm janmanam ante
jiianavan mam prapadyate
vasudevah sarvam iti
sa mahatma sudurlabhah

“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge sur-
renders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is.
Such a great soul is very rare.” (Bg. 7.19)

Thus when the wise man actually becomes wise after many births and
whimsical attempts at self-realization, he surrenders unto the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Krsna. Such a mahatma, or learned person, knows
that Krsna, Vasudeva, is everything (vdsudevah sarvam iti). Learned persons
always think that life is wasted unless they worship Lord Krsna or become
His devotee. Srila Ripa Gosvami also says that when one becomes an
advanced devotee he understands that he should be reserved and perse-
verent (ksantih) and that he should engage in the service of the Lord and
not waste time (avyartha-kalatvam). He should also be detached from all
material attraction (viraktih), and he should not long for any material
respect in return for his activities (mana-siinyata). He should be certain
that Krsna will bestow His mercy upon him (asa-bandhah), and he should
always be very eager to serve the Lord faithfully (samutkantha). The wise
man is always very eager to glorify the Lord by chanting and hearing
(nama-gane sada rucih) and he is always eager to describe the transcendental
qualities of the Lord (dsaktis tad-gunakhyane ). He should also be attracted
to those places where the Lord had His pastimes (pritis tad-vasati-sthale).
These are symptoms of an advanced devotee.

An advanced devotee or a perfect human being who is actually wise and
learned cannot give up his service at the lotus feet of the Lord. Although
Lord Brahma has a long life span (4,320,000,000 years constitute twelve
hours in a day of Brahma), Brahma is nonetheless afraid of death and con-
