Text 272
nārada kahe, — “vyādha, ei nā haya āścarya
hari-bhaktye hiṁsā-śūnya haya sādhu-varya
nārada kahe — Nārada Muni said; vyādha — my dear hunter; ei nā haya āścarya — this is not wonderful for you; hari-bhaktye — by advancement in devotional service; hiṁsā-śūnya haya — one becomes nonviolent and nonenvious; sādhu-varya — thus one becomes the best of honest gentlemen.
“Nārada Muni said, ‘My dear hunter, such behavior is not at all astonishing. A man in devotional service is automatically nonviolent. He is the best of gentlemen.
In this verse the word sādhu-varya means “the best of gentlemen.” At the present moment there are many so-called gentlemen who are expert in killing animals and birds. Nonetheless, these so-called gentlemen profess a type of religion that strictly prohibits killing. According to Nārada Muni and Vedic culture, animal-killers are not even gentlemen, to say nothing of being religious men. A religious person, a devotee of the Lord, must be nonviolent. Such is the nature of a religious person. It is contradictory to be violent and at the same time call oneself a religious person. Such hypocrisy is not approved by Nārada Muni and the disciplic succession.