Prabhupāda: . . . practically in every initiation ceremony, apavitraḥ pavitro vā, namaḥ (Garuḍa Purāṇa). Namaḥ means surrendering. Namāmi: "I surrender unto You. He Kṛṣṇa, I am surrendering to You." And apavitraḥ pavitro vā. Apavitraḥ means contaminated, and pavitra means liberated. In either stage, either in the material, contaminated stage or in transcendental, liberated stage, apavitraḥ pavitro vā sarvāvasthām, in any situation . . .
Yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣam. Sarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vā. In any circumstances, if somebody remembers, smaret, remembers puṇḍarīkākṣam . . . puṇḍarīka akṣam. Akṣam means eyes. One who is lotus-eyed, Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu, puṇḍarīkākṣam, anyone who remembers always or at any time Kṛṣṇa, yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣam, sa, that person . . .
Bahya. Bahya means externally, and abhyantaram means internally. Bahyābhyantaraṁ śuciḥ. Śuci means brahmin, or śuci means completely cleansed. The brahmin means completely clean. The brahminical qualification is first of all cleanliness. Satya śaucaṁ śamo dama titikṣa ārjavam:
- jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ
- brahma-karma svabhāva-jam
- (BG 18.42)
To become brahmin means satyam saucam. First thing is truthful, and next, śaucam, very cleansed, internally and externally. Externally we can cleanse ourself by soap and water. That is necessary. Daily we should take bath with soap and water and oil. Bahyābhyantaram. And abhyantaraṁ śuciḥ means evacuating and cleansing.
In yoga system there is a system they practice, they can get out all the intestines and cleanse it clearly. Dhauti. What do they know about this yoga system? They can take out the whole intestine and cleanse it nicely and again set it. So these are actually practicing yoga system. But who is going to do that? Simply a gymnastic process. So śaucam, cleanliness, is very necessary for advancing in spiritual life.
So brahmin qualification is truthfulness, cleanliness, satyaṁ śaucam. Sama, equilibrium of the mind, without any disturbance, without any anxiety. Satyaṁ śaucam śamo dama. Dama means controlling the senses. Śamo dama titikṣa. Titikṣa means tolerance. So many things in the material world will happen.
We have to practice to tolerate. Tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata. Kṛṣṇa says: "You have to learn tolerance. The sukha-duḥkha, happiness, distress, they will come like seasonal changes." Just like there is sometimes rain, there is sometimes snowfall, sometimes scorching heat. How you can fight? It is not possible. Try to tolerate. That's all.
Satyaṁ śaucaṁ śamo dama titikṣa ārjavam. Ārjavam means simplicity, no duplicity. Simplicity, ārjavam. Jñānaṁ vijñānam, knowledge and practical application in life. Jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyam. Āstikyam means to believe firmly in the scriptures. Just like Bhagavad-gītā we are studying, or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We should firmly believe what Kṛṣṇa says, not interpretation.
This is called āstikyam. And nāstikyam means not firm belief—atheism. Just like Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha simply said that "I don't believe in the Vedas." Therefore he is immediately calculated as atheist, nāstikyam. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, veda nā māniyā bauddha haila nāstika: "The followers of Buddha, they did not accept Vedic," I mean to say: "Direction; therefore they are nāstika."
What is that Vedic direction? In the Dāsavatāra-stotra by Jayadeva Gosvāmī, he says, nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātam. In the śruti, in the Vedas, there is prescription of sacrifice, and in some of the sacrifice there is recommendation for sacrifice of some animals, goats. So that is . . . but Lord Buddha says: "No. I want to introduce nonviolence, no animal killing. So even there is Veda, prescription, I don't accept Vedas." Therefore he became nāstika.
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that veda nā māniyā bauddha haila nāstika: "Because Lord Buddha did not accept the authority of the Veda, therefore he was considered nāstika, atheist." He was Indian. He was Hindu. His forefathers were kṣatriyas, Vedic.
He revolted. So therefore he was called nāstika. But a brahmin should not be nāstika, he should be āstik. Āstikyam: "He must believe in the scriptural injunction." These are brahminical qualification.