Devanagari
न गर्हयन्ति ह्यर्थेषु यविष्ठाङ्घ्य्रभिवादनम् ।
छन्दोभ्योऽन्यत्र न ब्रह्मन् वयो ज्यैष्ठ्यस्य कारणम् ॥ ३३ ॥
Verse text
na garhayanti hy artheṣu
yaviṣṭhāṅghry-abhivādanam
chandobhyo ’nyatra na brahman
vayo jyaiṣṭhyasya kāraṇam
Synonyms
na
—
not
;
garhayanti
—
forbid
;
hi
—
indeed
;
artheṣu
—
in acquiring interests
;
yaviṣṭha
—
aṅghri — at the lotus feet of a junior
;
abhivādanam
—
offering obeisances
;
chandobhyaḥ
—
the Vedic mantras
;
anyatra
—
apart from
;
na
—
not
;
brahman
—
O brāhmaṇa
;
vayaḥ
—
age
;
jyaiṣṭhyasya
—
of seniority
;
kāraṇam
—
the cause .
Translation
The demigods continued: Do not fear criticism for being younger than us. Such etiquette does not apply in regard to Vedic mantras. Except in relationship to Vedic mantras, seniority is determined by age, but one may offer respectful obeisances even to a younger person who is advanced in chanting Vedic mantras. Therefore although you are junior in relationship to us, you may become our priest without hesitation.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O brāhmaṇa! The wise do not criticize a junior in age for fulfilling one’s purposes. The cause of seniority is age except in the case of Vedic knowledge.
“You want to make you your guru, but how will you worship me, who am younger, being a son of your brother?” The wise do not criticize worshipping the feet of a younger person. The cause of being senior and junior is greater age and younger age for activities other than Vedic knowledge. But in activities relating to the Vedas, that is not so. The cause of seniority is knowledge of the Vedas. Therefore because you have greater knowledge of the Vedas, you should be out priest, and be the guru who gives mantra to us.
Purport
It is said,
vṛddhatvaṁ vayasā vinā:
one may be senior without being advanced in age. Even if one is not old, one gains seniority if he is senior in knowledge. Viśvarūpa was junior in relationship to the demigods because he was their nephew, but the demigods wanted to accept him as their priest, and therefore he would have to accept obeisances from them. The demigods explained that this should not be a cause for hesitation; he could become their priest because he was advanced in Vedic knowledge. Similarly. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita advises,
nīcād apy uttamaṁ jṣānam:
one may accept education from a member of a lower social order. The
brāhmaṇas,
the members of the most elevated
varṇa,
are teachers, but a person in a lower family, such as a family of
kṣatriyas, vaiśyas
or even
śūdras,
may be accepted as a teacher if he has knowledge. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu approved of this when He expressed this opinion before Rāmānanda Rāya (
Cc. Madhya
8.128):
kibā vipra, kibā nyāsī, śūdra kene naya
yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei ‘guru’ haya
It does not matter whether one is a
brāhmaṇa, śūdra, gṛhastha
or
sannyāsī.
These are all material designations. A spiritually advanced person has nothing to do with such designations. Therefore, if one is advanced in the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, regardless of his position in human society, he may become a spiritual master.