Executing the Payo-vrata Process of Worship

There are prescribed duties for all the inhabitants of this material world, especially for the brāhmaṇas but also for the people in general, who are subject to the whims of death. Kaśyapa Muni wondered whether the regulative principles, which are meant for the well-being of everyone, had been disobeyed. He accordingly continued his inquiries for seven verses.

In this verse, Aditi has been addressed by her husband, Kaśyapa Muni, as gṛha-medhini, which means “one who is satisfied in household life for sense gratification.” Generally, those who are in household life pursue sense gratification in the field of activities performed for material results. Such gṛhamedhīs have only one aim in life — sense gratification. Therefore it is said, yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham: the householder’s life is based on sense gratification, and therefore the happiness derived from it is very meager. Nonetheless, the Vedic process is so comprehensive that even in householder life one can adjust his activities according to the regulative principles of dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa. One’s aim should be to achieve liberation, but because one cannot at once give up sense gratification, in the śāstras there are injunctions prescribing how to follow the principles of religion, economic development and sense gratification. As explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.9), dharmasya hy āpavargyasya nārtho ’rthāyopakalpate: “All occupational engagements are certainly meant for ultimate liberation. They should never be performed for material gain.” Those who are in household life should not think that religion is meant to improve the process of the householder’s sense gratification. Household life is also meant for advancement in spiritual understanding, by which one can ultimately gain liberation from the material clutches. One should remain in household life with the aim of understanding the ultimate goal of life (tattva jijñāsā). Then household life is as good as the life of a yogi. Kaśyapa Muni therefore inquired from his wife whether the principles of religion, economic development and sense gratification were being properly followed in terms of the śāstric injunctions. As soon as one deviates from the injunctions of the śāstra, the purpose of household life is immediately lost in confusion.

It is the duty of a householder to receive guests, even if a guest be an enemy. When a guest comes to one’s home, one should properly receive him by standing up and offering him a seat. It is enjoined, gṛhe śatrum api prāptaṁ viśvastam akutobhayam: if even an enemy comes to one’s home, one should receive him in such a way that the guest will forget that his host is an enemy. According to one’s position, one should properly receive anyone who comes to one’s home. At least a seat and a glass of water should be offered, so that the guest will not be displeased. Kaśyapa Muni inquired from Aditi whether disrespect had been shown to such guests, or atithis. The word atithi refers to one who comes without an invitation.

In a field there may be holes made by snakes and mice, but when there are very big holes, it may be supposed that jackals live there. Certainly no one goes to take shelter in such homes. Thus the homes of human beings where atithis, uninvited guests, are not properly received are like the homes of jackals.

According to the Vedic system, a fire sacrifice is held in order to offer oblations of ghee, grains, fruits, flowers and so on, so that Lord Viṣṇu may eat and be satisfied. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.26):

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” Therefore, all these items may be offered in the sacrificial fire, and Lord Viṣṇu will be satisfied. Similarly, brāhmaṇa-bhojana, feeding of the brāhmaṇas, is also recommended, for when the brāhmaṇas eat sumptuous remnants of food after yajña, this is another way that Lord Viṣṇu Himself eats. Therefore the Vedic principles recommend that in every festival or ceremony one offer oblations to the fire and give sumptuous food for the brāhmaṇas to eat. By such activities, a householder may be elevated to the heavenly planets and similar places in the higher planetary systems.

In household life one can develop the three principles of religion, economic development and sense gratification according to the regulations given in the śāstras, but to attain liberation one must give up household life and place himself in the transcendental renounced order. Kaśyapa Muni was not in the renounced order of life. Therefore he is addressed here once as brahman and another time as gṛhamedhin. Aditi, his wife, assured him that as far as household life was concerned, everything was going nicely, and the brāhmaṇas and cows were being honored and protected. In other words, there were no disturbances; household life was duly progressing.

In Bhagavad-gītā (9.29) the Lord says:

Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is equal toward everyone, He is especially inclined toward those who engage in His devotional service. The Lord says, kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati: “My dear son of Kuntī, please declare that My devotee will never be vanquished.” Elsewhere, Kṛṣṇa also says:

Actually, everyone is trying to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead in various ways, but according to their methods of approach, the Supreme Lord endows them with different benedictions. Thus Aditi appealed to her husband by saying that since even the supreme controller favors His devotees and since Indra, Kaśyapa’s devoted son, was in difficulty, Kaśyapa should bestow his favor upon Indra.

Aditi, the mother of the demigods, appealed to Kaśyapa Muni to give the demigods protection. When we speak of the demigods, this also includes their mother.

Kaśyapa Muni was surely sympathetic to his wife’s affliction, yet he was surprised at how the whole world is influenced by affection.

The spirit soul (ātmā or jīva) is certainly different from the body, which is a combination of five material elements. This is a simple fact, but it is not understood unless one is spiritually educated. Kaśyapa Muni met his wife, Aditi, in the heavenly planets, but the same misconception extends throughout the entire universe and is also here on earth. There are different grades of living entities, but all of them are more or less under the impression of the bodily conception of life. In other words, all living entities in this material world are more or less devoid of spiritual education. The Vedic civilization, however, is based on spiritual education, and spiritual education is the special basis on which Bhagavad-gītā was spoken to Arjuna. In the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa instructed Arjuna to understand that the spirit soul is different from the body.

“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Bg. 2.13) Unfortunately, this spiritual education is completely absent from modern human civilization. No one understands his real self-interest, which lies with the spirit soul, not with the material body. Education means spiritual education. To work hard in the bodily conception of life, without spiritual education, is to live like an animal. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛ-loke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate vid-bhujāṁ ye (Bhāg. 5.5.1). People are working so hard simply for bodily comforts, without education regarding the spirit soul. Thus they are living in a very risky civilization, for it is a fact that the spirit soul has to transmigrate from one body to another (tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ). Without spiritual education, people are kept in dark ignorance and do not know what will happen to them after the annihilation of the present body. They are working blindly, and blind leaders are directing them. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās te ’pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ (Bhāg. 7.5.31). A foolish person does not know that he is completely under the bondage of material nature and that after death material nature will impose upon him a certain type of body, which he will have to accept. He does not know that although in his present body he may be a very important man, he may next get the body of an animal or tree because of his ignorant activities in the modes of material nature. Therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to give the true light of spiritual existence to all living entities. This movement is not very difficult to understand, and people must take advantage of it, for it will save them from the risky life of irresponsibility.

With these words, Kaśyapa Muni tried to pacify his wife. Aditi made her appeal to her material husband. Of course, that is nice, but actually a material relative cannot do anything good for anyone. If anything good can be done, it is done by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. Therefore, Kaśyapa Muni advised his wife, Aditi, to begin worshiping Lord Vāsudeva, who is situated in everyone’s heart. He is the friend of everyone and is known as Janārdana because He can kill all enemies. There are three modes of material nature — goodness, passion and ignorance — and above material nature, transcendental to material nature, is another existence, which is called śuddha-sattva. In the material world, the mode of goodness is considered the best, but because of material contamination, even the mode of goodness is sometimes overpowered by the modes of passion and ignorance. But when one transcends the competition between these modes and engages himself in devotional service, he rises above the three modes of material nature. In that transcendental position, one is situated in pure consciousness. Sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditam (Bhāg. 4.3.23). Above material nature is the position called vasudeva, or freedom from material contamination. Only in that position can one perceive the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. Thus the vasudeva condition fulfills a spiritual necessity. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. When one realizes Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he becomes most exalted.

Paramātmā (Vāsudeva) is situated in everyone’s heart, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā. The Lord says:

“To those who are constantly devoted and who worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” (Bg. 10.10)

“The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna.” (Bg. 18.61)

“The sage who knows Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.” (Bg. 5.29)

Whenever one is perplexed, let him take shelter of the lotus feet of Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, who will give the devotee intelligence to help him surpass all difficulties and return home, back to Godhead. Kaśyapa Muni advised his wife to seek shelter at the lotus feet of Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, so that all her problems would be very easily solved. Thus Kaśyapa Muni was an ideal spiritual master. He was not so foolish that he would present himself as an exalted personality, as good as God. He was actually a bona fide guru because he advised his wife to seek shelter at the lotus feet of Vāsudeva. One who trains his subordinate or disciple to worship Vāsudeva is the truly bona fide spiritual master. The word jagad-gurum is very important in this regard. Kaśyapa Muni did not falsely declare himself to be jagad-guru, although he actually was jagad-guru because he advocated the cause of Vāsudeva. Actually, Vāsudeva is jagad-guru, as clearly stated here (vāsudevaṁ jagad-gurum). One who teaches the instructions of Vāsudeva, Bhagavad-gītā, is as good as vāsudevaṁ jagad-gurum. But when one who does not teach this instruction — as it is — declares himself jagad-guru, he simply cheats the public. Kṛṣṇa is jagad-guru, and one who teaches the instruction of Kṛṣṇa as it is, on behalf of Kṛṣṇa, may be accepted as jagad-guru. One who manufactures his own theories cannot be accepted; he becomes jagad-guru falsely.

There are three kinds of men, who are called akāma, mokṣa-kāma and sarva-kāma. One who tries to get liberation from this material world is called mokṣa-kāma, one who wants to enjoy this material world to its fullest extent is called sarva-kāma, and one who has fulfilled all his desires and has no further material desires is called akāma. A bhakta has no desire. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam. He is purified and free from material desires. The mokṣa-kāmī wants to achieve liberation by merging into the existence of the Supreme Brahman, and because of this desire to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is not yet pure. And since those who want liberation are impure, what to speak of the karmīs, who have so many desires to fulfill? Nonetheless, the śāstra says:

“Whether one desires everything or nothing or desires to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is intelligent only if he worships Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by rendering transcendental loving service.” (Bhāg. 2.3.10)

Kaśyapa Muni saw that his wife, Aditi, had some material desires for the welfare of her sons, but still he advised her to render devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, everyone, regardless of whether he is a karmī, jñānī, yogī or bhakta, should invariably take shelter of the lotus feet of Vāsudeva and render transcendental loving service unto Him so that all his desires will be duly fulfilled. Kṛṣṇa is dīna-anukampana: He is very merciful to everyone. Therefore if one wants to fulfill his material desires, Kṛṣṇa helps him. Of course, sometimes if a devotee is very sincere, the Lord, as a special favor to him, refuses to fulfill his material desires and directly blesses him with pure, unalloyed devotional service. It is said in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 22.38-39):

“Kṛṣṇa says, ‘If one engages in My transcendental loving service but at the same time wants the opulence of material enjoyment, he is very, very foolish. Indeed, he is just like a person who gives up ambrosia to drink poison. Since I am very intelligent, why should I give this fool material prosperity? Instead I shall induce him to take the nectar of the shelter of My lotus feet and make him forget illusory material enjoyment.’” If a devotee maintains some material desire and at the same time very sincerely desires to engage at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa may directly give him unalloyed devotional service and take away all his material desires and possessions. This is the Lord’s special favor to devotees. Otherwise, if one takes to Kṛṣṇa’s devotional service but still has material desires to fulfill, he may become free from all material desires, as Dhruva Mahārāja did, but this may take some time. However, if a very sincere devotee wants only Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, Kṛṣṇa directly gives him the position of śuddha-bhakti, unalloyed devotional service.

It is said, “Man proposes, God disposes.” Thus a person may desire many things, but unless these desires are fulfilled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they cannot be fulfilled. Fulfillment of desire is called satya-saṅkalpa. Here the word satya-saṅkalpa is very important. Aditi placed herself at the mercy of her husband so that he would give her directions by which to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead so that all her desires would be fulfilled. A disciple must first decide that he should worship the Supreme Lord, and then the spiritual master will give the disciple correct directions. One cannot dictate to the spiritual master, just as a patient cannot demand that his physician prescribe a certain type of medicine. Here is the beginning of worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (7.16):

“O best among the Bhāratas, four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me — the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.” Aditi was ārta, a person in distress. She was very much aggrieved because her sons, the demigods, were bereft of everything. Thus she wanted to take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead under the direction of her husband, Kaśyapa Muni.

Sometimes less intelligent men ask whether one has to approach a guru to be instructed in devotional service for spiritual advancement. The answer is given here — indeed, not only here, but also in Bhagavad-gītā, where Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as his guru (śiṣyas te ’haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam). The Vedas also instruct, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa guruṁ evābhigacchet: one must accept a guru for proper direction if one is seriously inclined toward advancement in spiritual life. The Lord says that one must worship the ācārya, who is the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (ācāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyāt). One should definitely understand this. In Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that the guru is the manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, according to all the evidence given by the śāstra and by the practical behavior of devotees, one must accept a guru. Aditi accepted her husband as her guru, so that he would direct her how to advance in spiritual consciousness, devotional service, by worshiping the Supreme Lord.

Here the process of devotional service is further explained. Kaśyapa Muni wanted to instruct Aditi in the same process recommended to him by Brahmā for satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is valuable. The guru does not manufacture a new process to instruct the disciple. The disciple receives from the guru an authorized process received by the guru from his guru. This is called the system of disciplic succession (evaṁ paramparā-prāptaṁ imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ). This is the bona fide Vedic system of receiving the process of devotional service, by which the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pleased. Therefore, to approach a bona fide guru, or spiritual master, is essential. The bona fide spiritual master is he who has received the mercy of his guru, who in turn is bona fide because he has received the mercy of his guru. This is called the paramparā system. Unless one follows this paramparā system, the mantra one receives will be chanted for no purpose. Nowadays there are so many rascal gurus who manufacture their mantras as a process for material advancement, not spiritual advancement. Still, the mantra cannot be successful if it is manufactured. Mantras and the process of devotional service have special power, provided they are received from the authorized person.

Worshiping the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu with devotion means following arcana-mārga.

One should install the Deity of Lord Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa and worship Him nicely by dressing Him, decorating Him with flower garlands, and offering Him all kinds of fruits, flowers and cooked food, nicely prepared with ghee, sugar and grains. One should also offer a flame, incense and so on, while ringing a bell, as prescribed. This is called worship of the Lord. Here it is recommended that one observe the vow of subsisting only by drinking milk. This is called payo-vrata. As we generally perform devotional service on Ekādaśī by not eating grains, it is generally recommended that on Dvādaśī one not consume anything but milk. Payo-vrata and arcana devotional service to the Supreme Lord should be performed with a pure devotional attitude (bhaktyā). Without bhakti, one cannot worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ. If one wants to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead and be directly connected with Him, knowing what He wants to eat and how He is satisfied, one must take to the process of bhakti. As recommended here also, bhaktyā paramayānvitaḥ: one should be surcharged with unalloyed devotional service.

Catur-viṁśad-guṇa, the twenty-four elements, are the five gross elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether), the three subtle elements (mind, intelligence and false ego), the ten senses (five for working and five for acquiring knowledge), the five sense objects, and contaminated consciousness. These are the subject matter of sāṅkhya-yoga, which was inaugurated by Lord Kapiladeva. This sāṅkhya-yoga was again propounded by another Kapila, but he was an atheist, and his system is not accepted as bona fide.

It is the system for one to offer obeisances unto the expansion or incarnation of the Lord. Lord Śiva is the incarnation of ignorance, one of the material modes of nature.

The dvādaśākṣara-mantra is oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. While worshiping the Deity, one should ring a bell with his left hand and offer pādya, arghya, vastra, gandha, mālā, ābharaṇa, bhūṣaṇa and so on. In this way, one should bathe the Lord with milk, dress Him and again worship Him with all paraphernalia.

In the Vedic system, prasāda is distributed, as recommended here, without discrimination as to who may take the prasāda. Regardless of whether one be a brāhmaṇa, śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya, or even the lowest of men, a caṇḍāla, he should be welcome to accept prasāda. However, when the caṇḍālas, the lower class or poorer class, are taking prasāda, this does not mean that they have become Nārāyaṇa or Viṣṇu. Nārāyaṇa is situated in everyone’s heart, but this does not mean Nārāyaṇa is a caṇḍāla or poor man. The Māyāvāda philosophy of accepting a poor man as Nārāyaṇa is the most envious and atheistic movement in Vedic culture. This mentality should be completely given up. Everyone should be given the opportunity to take prasāda, but this does not mean that everyone has the right to become Nārāyaṇa.

Ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param. This is a statement made by Lord Śiva to Pārvatī. Worshiping Lord Viṣṇu is the supreme process of worship. And how Lord Viṣṇu is worshiped in this payo-vrata ceremony has now been fully described. The ultimate goal of life is to please Lord Viṣṇu by varṇāśrama-dharma. The Vedic principles of four varṇas and four āśramas are meant for worship of Viṣṇu (viṣṇur ārādhyate panthā nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇam). The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is also viṣṇu-ārādhanam, or worship of Lord Viṣṇu, according to the age. The payo-vrata method of viṣṇu-ārādhanam was enunciated long, long ago by Kaśyapa Muni to his wife, Aditi, in the heavenly planets, and the same process is bona fide on earth even now. Especially for this Age of Kali, the process accepted by the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to open hundreds and thousands of Viṣṇu temples (temples of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Jagannātha, Balarāma, Sītā-Rāma, Gaura-Nitāi and so on). Performing prescribed worship in such temples of Viṣṇu and thus worshiping the Lord is as good as performing the payo-vrata ceremony recommended here. The payo-vrata ceremony is performed from the first to the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight of the moon, but in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement Lord Viṣṇu is worshiped in every temple according to a schedule of twenty-four hours of engagement in performing kīrtana, chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, offering palatable food to Lord Viṣṇu and distributing this food to Vaiṣṇavas and others. These are authorized activities, and if the members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement stick to these principles, they will achieve the same result one gains by observing the payo-vrata ceremony. Thus the essence of all auspicious activities, such as performing yajña, giving in charity, observing vratas, and undergoing austerities, is included in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. The members of this movement should immediately and sincerely follow the processes already recommended. Of course, sacrifice is meant to please Lord Viṣṇu. Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ: in Kali-yuga, those who are intelligent perform the saṅkīrtana-yajña. One should follow this process conscientiously.

The Supreme Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.66):

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” Unless one pleases the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to His demand, no good result will come from any of his actions.

“The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead.” (Bhāg. 1.2.8) If one is not interested in satisfying Lord Viṣṇu, Vāsudeva, all his so-called auspicious activities are fruitless. Moghāśā mogha-karmāṇo mogha-jñānā vicetasaḥ: because he is bewildered, he is baffled in his hopes, baffled in his activities, and baffled in his knowledge. In this regard, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī remarks, napuṁsakam anapuṁsakenety-ādinaikatvam. One cannot equate the potent and the impotent. Among modern Māyāvādīs it has become fashionable to say that whatever one does or whatever path one follows is all right. But these are all foolish statements. Here it is forcefully affirmed that this is the only method for success in life. Īśvara-tarpaṇaṁ vinā sarvam eva viphalam. Unless Lord Viṣṇu is satisfied, all of one’s pious activities, ritualistic ceremonies and yajñas are simply for show and have no value. Unfortunately, foolish people do not know the secret of success. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum. They do not know that real self-interest ends in pleasing Lord Viṣṇu.