SB 4.24.67
kas tvat-padabjam vijahati pandito
yas te ’vamana-vyayamana-ketanah
visankayasmad-gurur arcati sma yad
vinopapattim manavas caturdasa
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
My dear Lord, any learned person knows that unless he worships You, his entire life is spoiled. Knowing this, how could he give up worshiping Your lotus feet? Even our father and spiritual master, Lord Brahma, unhesitatingly worshiped You, and the fourteen Manus followed in his footsteps.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The word pandita means “a wise man.” Who is actually a wise man? The wise man is described in Bhagavad-gita (7.19) in this way:
bahunam janmanam ante
jñanavan mam prapadyate
vasudevah sarvam iti
sa mahatma sudurlabhah
“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.”
Thus when the wise man actually becomes wise after many births and whimsical attempts at self-realization, he surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. Such a mahatma, or learned person, knows that Krsna, Vasudeva, is everything (vasudevah sarvam iti). Learned persons always think that life is wasted unless they worship Lord Krsna or become His devotee. Srila Rupa Gosvami also says that when one becomes an advanced devotee, he understands that he should be reserved and perseverant (ksantih) and that he should engage in the service of the Lord and not waste time (avyartha-kalatvam). He should also be detached from all material attraction (viraktih), and he should not long for any material respect in return for his activities (mana-sunyata). He should be certain that Krsna will bestow His mercy upon him (asa-bandhah), and he should always be very eager to serve the Lord faithfully (samutkantha). The wise man is always very eager to glorify the Lord by chanting and hearing (nama-gane sada rucih), and he is always eager to describe the transcendental qualities of the Lord (asaktis tad-gunakhyane). He should also be attracted to those places where the Lord had His pastimes (pritis tad-vasati-sthale). These are symptoms of an advanced devotee.
An advanced devotee, or a perfect human being who is actually wise and learned, cannot give up his service at the lotus feet of the Lord. Although Lord Brahma has a long life span (4,320,000,000 years constitute twelve hours in a day of Brahma), Brahma is afraid of death and consequently engages in the devotional service of the Lord. Similarly, all the Manus who appear and disappear during the day of Brahma are also engaged in the Lord’s devotional service. In Brahma’s one day, fourteen Manus appear and disappear. The first Manu is Svayambhuva Manu. Each Manu lives for seventy-one yugas, each consisting of some 4,320,000 years. Although the Manus have such a long life span, they still prepare for the next life by engaging in the devotional service of the Lord. In this age human beings only live for sixty or eighty years, and even this small life span is gradually decreasing. Therefore it is even more imperative for human beings to take to the worship of the lotus feet of the Lord by constantly chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, as recommended by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu:
trnad api sunicena
taror iva sahisnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniyah sada harih
(Siksastaka 3)
When one is engaged in devotional service, he is often surrounded by envious people, and often many enemies come to try to defeat him or stop him. This is not new in this present age, for even in the days of yore Prahlada Maharaja, who was engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, was harassed by his demoniac father, Hiranyakasipu. The atheists are always prepared to harass a devotee; therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu suggested that one be very tolerant of these people. Nonetheless, one has to continue chanting the Hare Krsna mantra and preaching the chanting of this mantra because such preaching and chanting constitute the perfection of life. One should chant and preach about the urgency of making this life perfect in all respects. One should thus engage in the devotional service of the Lord and follow in the footsteps of previous acaryas, beginning with Lord Brahma and others.