Prabhupāda: Yes, this is very important thing; therefore we are insisting everyone to rise early in the morning. But even though sometimes we rise early in the morning, we compensate in other time. (laughter) (chuckles) This should be practiced, you see—reducing eating, sleeping, mating; there is spiritual advancement. This is the test. The more you reduce, the ideal is to bring it to nil. Just like Gosvāmīs, they did it. Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau (Śrī Śrī Ṣaḍ Gosvāmy Aṣṭaka), they conquered over sleeping and eating and mating. Conquered over.
So our ideal is we are fighting with māyā, so the fighting will conquer over māyā when we see that we are not disturbed by these four processes: eating, sleeping, mating and defending. This is the test. Nobody has to take certificate from anyone as how he is spiritually advancing. He can test himself: "How far I have conquered over these four things: eating, sleeping, mating and defending." That's all. That is the test. So it is not required that don't eat, don't sleep, don't . . . but minimize it, at least regulate it. Try. This is called austerity, tapasya. I want to sleep, but still I shall regulate it. I want to eat, but I must regulate it. I want sense enjoyment, so I must regulate it. That is old Vedic civilization.
Go on.
Pradyumna: "The great sages offered the speaker of the Bhāgavatam an elevated seat of respect called the vyāsāsana, or the seat of Śrī Vyāsadeva."
Prabhupāda: Vyāsāsana means . . . Vyāsa means guru, because he is our original guru. When spiritual master's birthday is observed, it is called Vyāsa-pūjā. This Vyāsa-pūjā means a spiritual master is representative of Vyāsa. Just like we are teaching this bhāgavat-dharma, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we are following the footsteps of Vyāsadeva. So actually the preacher's seat is Vyāsadeva's āsana.
It is the seat of Vyāsa. Just like in the high court the seat, the seat of judgment, or . . . what is called? That seat, nobody else can sit there, in that seat. Only the high-court judge, representative of king or giving law to the citizens, he can sit down. Similarly, the vyāsāsana is occupied by the representative of Vyāsadeva, who can speak on behalf of Vyāsadeva. This is the system.
Go on.
Pradyumna: "Vyāsadeva is the original spiritual preceptor for all men, and all other preceptors are considered to be his representatives. A representative is one who can exactly present the viewpoint of Śrī Vyāsadeva. Śrī Vyāsadeva impregnated the message of Bhāgavatam unto Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī heard it from him, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī. All bona fide representatives of Śrī Vyāsadeva in the chain of disciplic succession are to be understood to be gosvāmīs. These gosvāmīs restrain all their senses, and they stick to the path made by the previous ācāryas."