Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.5.24

dhritā tanūr uśatī me purānī

yeneha sattvam paramam pavitram

śamo damah satyam anugrahaś ca

tapas titikshānubhavaś ca yatra

SYNONYMS

dhritā — maintained by transcendental education; tanūh — body; uśatī — free from material contamination; me — My; purānī — eternal; yena — by whom; iha — in this material world; sattvam — the mode of goodness; paramam — supreme; pavitram — purified; śamah — control of the mind; damah — control of the senses; satyam — truthfulness; anugrahah — mercy; ca — and; tapah — austerity; titikshā — tolerance; anubhavah — realization of God and the living entity; ca — and; yatra — wherein.

TRANSLATION

The Vedas are My eternal transcendental sound incarnation. Therefore the Vedas are śabda-brahma. In this world, the brāhmanas thoroughly study all the Vedas, and because they assimilate the Vedic conclusions, they are also to be considered the Vedas personified. The brāhmanas are situated in the supreme transcendental mode of nature — sattva-guna. Because of this, they are fixed in mind control [śama], sense control [dama], and truthfulness [satya]. They describe the Vedas in their original sense, and out of mercy [anugraha] they preach the purpose of the Vedas to all conditioned souls. They practice penance [tapasya] and tolerance [titikshā], and they realize the position of the living entity and the Supreme Lord [anubhava]. These are the eight qualifications of the brāhmanas. Therefore among all living entities, no one is superior to the brāhmanas.

PURPORT

This is a true description of a brāhmana. A brāhmana is one who has assimilated the Vedic conclusions by practicing mind and sense control. He speaks the true version of all the Vedas. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyah. By studying all the Vedas, one should come to understand the transcendental position of Lord Śrī Krishna. One who actually assimilated the essence of the Vedas can preach the truth. He is compassionate to conditioned souls who are suffering the threefold miseries of this conditional world due to their not being Krishna conscious. A brāhmana should take pity on the people and preach Krishna consciousness in order to elevate them. Śrī Krishna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, personally descends into this universe from the spiritual kingdom to teach conditioned souls about the values of spiritual life. He tries to induce them to surrender unto Him. Similarly, the brāhmanas do the same thing. After assimilating the Vedic instructions, they assist the Supreme Lord in His endeavor to deliver conditioned souls. The brāhmanas are very dear to the Supreme Lord due to their high sattva-guna qualities, and they also engage in welfare activities for all conditioned souls in the material world.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness