Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.23.11

jñātyo jagṛhuḥ kiñcit

kiñcid dasyava uddhava

daivataḥ kālataḥ kiñcid

brahma-bandhor nṛ-pārthivāt

SYNONYMS

jñātayaḥ — the relatives; jagṛhuḥ — took away; kiñcit — some; kiñcit — some; dasyavaḥ — thieves; uddhava — O Uddhava; daivataḥ — by providence; kālataḥ — by time; kiñcit — some; brahma-bandhoḥ — of the so-called brāhmaṇa; nṛ — by common men; pārthivāt — and by elevated government officials.

TRANSLATION

Some of the wealth of this so-called brāhmaṇa was taken away by his relatives, My dear Uddhava, some by thieves, some by the whims of providence, some by the effects of time, some by ordinary men and some by government authorities.

PURPORT

It appears that even though the so-called brāhmaṇa was determined not to spend his money, his wife and other relatives managed to squeeze out a portion. According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, providence here refers to fires in the home and other types of occasional misfortune. Effects of time here refers to the destruction of agricultural crops through seasonal irregularities and other such occurrences. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura points out that one should not merely proclaim oneself to be a brāhmaṇa but should actually understand one's original identity as a servant of the Lord. One declaring himself to be a brāhmaṇa but maintaining a materialistic mentality is not a real brāhmaṇa, but rather a brahma-bandhu, or so-called brāhmaṇa. The humble devotees of Lord Viṣṇu, following the indications of the Vedic scriptures, refer to themselves as unfortunate and unable to understand the kingdom of God; they do not proudly proclaim themselves to be brāhmaṇas. Those who are wise, however, know that such humble devotees are actually brāhmaṇas whose hearts are cleansed by the pure mode of goodness.

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