The Real Meaning Of Sankirtan

2009-07-12
Srimad Bhagavatam 07.15.70 - The Real Meaning Of Sankirtan (download mp3)
by Vraja Bihari Prabhu at ISKCON Chowpatty
www.iskcondesiretree.net

 SB 7.15.70
rupa-pesala-madhurya-
saugandhya-priya-darsanah
strinam priyatamo nityam
mattah sva-pura-lampatah

Translation:

I had a beautiful face and a pleasing, attractive bodily structure. Decorated with flower garlands and sandalwood pulp, I was most pleasing to the women of my city. Thus I was bewildered, always feeling lusty desires.

Purport:

From the description of the beauty of Narada Muni when he was one of the denizens of Gandharvaloka, it appears that everyone on that planet is extremely beautiful and pleasing and always decorated with flowers and sandalwood. Upabarhana was Narada Muni's name previously. Upabarhana was specifically expert in decorating himself to attract the attention of women, and thus he became a playboy, as described in the next verse. To be a playboy in this life is unfortunate because too much attraction to women will lead one to fall into the association of sudras, who can easily take advantage of mingling with women without restriction. In this present age of Kali, when people are mandah sumanda-matayah—very bad because of a sudra mentality—such free mingling is prominent. Among the higher classes—brahmana, ksatriya and vaisya—there is no chance for men to mingle with women freely, but in the sudra community such mingling is open. Because there is no cultural education in this age of Kali, everyone is spiritually untrained, and everyone is therefore to be considered sudra (asuddhah sudra-kalpa hi brahmanah kali-sambhavah). When all the people become sudras, certainly they are very bad (mandah sumanda-matayah). Thus they manufacture their own way of life, with the result that they gradually become unfortunate (manda-bhagyah), and furthermore they are always disturbed by various circumstances.