Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.9.4

tasyāpi ha vā ātmajasya vipraḥ putra-snehānubaddha-manā āsamāvartanāt saḿskārān yathopadeśaḿ vidadhāna upanītasya ca punaḥ śaucācamanādīn karma-niyamān anabhipretān api samaśikṣayad anuśiṣṭena hi bhāvyaḿ pituḥ putreṇeti

SYNONYMS

tasya — of him; api ha vā — certainly; ātma-jasya — of his son; vipraḥ — the brāhmaṇa father of Jaḍa Bharata (mad, crazy Bharata); putra-sneha-anubaddha-manāḥ — who was obliged by affection for his son; ā-sama-āvartanāt — until the end of the brahmacarya-āśrama; saḿskārān — the purificatory processes; yathā-upadeśam — as prescribed in the śāstras; vidadhānaḥ — performing; upanītasya — of one who has a sacred thread; ca — also; punaḥ — again; śauca-ācamana-ādīn — practice of cleanliness, washing of the mouth, legs and hands, etc.; karma-niyamān — the regulative principles of fruitive activities; anabhipretān api — although not wanted by Jaḍa Bharata; samaśikṣayat — taught; anuśiṣṭena — taught to follow the regulative principles; hi — indeed; bhāvyam — should be; pituḥ — from the father; putreṇa — the son; iti — thus.

TRANSLATION

The brāhmaṇa father's mind was always filled with affection for his son, Jaḍa Bharata [Bharata Mahārāja]. Therefore he was always attached to Jaḍa Bharata. Because Jaḍa Bharata was unfit to enter the gṛhastha-āśrama, he simply executed the purificatory process up to the end of the brahmacarya-āśrama. Although Jaḍa Bharata was unwilling to accept his father's instructions, the brāhmaṇa nonetheless instructed him in how to keep clean and how to wash, thinking that the son should be taught by the father.

PURPORT

Jaḍa Bharata was Bharata Mahārāja in the body of a brāhmaṇa, and he outwardly conducted himself as if he were dull, deaf, dumb and blind. Actually he was quite alert within. He knew perfectly well of the results of fruitive activity and the results of devotional service. In the body of a brāhmaṇa, Mahārāja Bharata was completely absorbed in devotional service within; therefore it was not at all necessary for him to execute the regulative principles of fruitive activity. As confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saḿsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam (Bhāg. 1.2.13). One has to satisfy Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the perfection of the regulative principles of fruitive activity. Besides that, it is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puḿsāḿ

viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ

notpādayed yadi ratiḿ

śrama eva hi kevalam

"Duties [dharma] executed by men, regardless of occupation, are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Supreme Lord." (Bhāg. 1.2.8) These karma-kāṇḍa activities are required as long as one has not developed Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If one is developed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no need to execute the prior regulative principles of karma-kāṇḍa. Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī said, "O regulative principles of karma-kāṇḍa, please excuse me. I cannot follow all these regulative principles, for I am fully engaged in devotional service." He expressed the desire to sit somewhere beneath a tree and continue chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Consequently he did not execute all the regulative principles. Similarly, Haridāsa Ṭhākura was born in a Mohammedan family. From the very beginning of his life he was never trained in the karma-kāṇḍa system, but because he was always chanting the holy name of the Lord, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted him as nāmācārya, the authority in chanting the holy name. As Jaḍa Bharata, Bharata Mahārāja was always engaged in devotional service within his mind. Since he had executed the regulative principles continuously for three lives, he was not interested in continuing to execute them, although his brāhmaṇa father wanted him to do so.

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