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pasyami—I can practically see; dhaninam—of persons who are very rich; klesam—the miseries; lubdhanam—who are extremely greedy; ajita-atmanam—who are victims of their senses; bhayat—because of fear; alabdha-nidranam—who are suffering from insomnia; sarvatah—from all sides; abhivisankinam—being particularly afraid.

The brahmana continued: I am actually seeing how a rich man, who is a victim of his senses, is very greedy to accumulate wealth, and therefore suffers from insomnia due to fear from all sides, despite his wealth and opulence.

Greedy capitalists accumulate wealth under so many miserable conditions, the result being that because they collect money by questionable means, their minds are always agitated. Thus they are unable to sleep at night, and they have to take pills for mental tranquillity to invite sleep. And sometimes even the pills are a failure. Consequently the result of having accumulated money by so much labor is certainly not happiness, but only distress. What is the value of acquiring a comfortable position if one’s mind is always disturbed? Narottama dasa Thakura has therefore sung:

samsara-bisanale, dibanisi hiya jvale,
judaite na kainu upaya

“I am suffering from the poisonous effect of material enjoyment. Thus my heart is always burning and is almost on the verge of failure.” The result of the greedy capitalist’s unnecessary accumulation of wealth is that he must suffer from a blazing fire of anxiety and always be concerned with how to save his money and invest it properly to get more and more. Such a life is certainly not very happy, but because of the spell of the illusory energy, materialistic persons engage in such activities.

As far as our Krsna consciousness movement is concerned, we are getting money naturally, by the grace of God, by selling our literature. This literature is not sold for our sense gratification; to spread the Krsna consciousness movement we need so many things, and Krsna is therefore supplying us the requisite money to advance this mission. The mission of Krsna is to spread Krsna consciousness all over the world, and for this purpose we naturally must have sufficient money. Therefore, according to the advice of Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, we should not give up attachment to money that can spread the Krsna consciousness movement. Srila Rupa Gosvami says in his Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.256):

prapancikataya buddhya
hari-sambandhi-vastunah
mumuksubhih parityago
vairagyam phalgu kathyate

“When persons eager to achieve liberation renounce things which are related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, though they are material, this is called incomplete renunciation.” Money that can help in spreading the Krsna consciousness movement is not a part of the material world, and we should not give it up, thinking that it is material. Srila Rupa Gosvami advises:

anasaktasya visayan
yatharham upayunjatah
nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe
yuktam vairagyam ucyate

“When one is not attached to anything, but at the same time accepts everything in relation to Krsna, one is rightly situated above possessiveness.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.255) Money is undoubtedly coming in great quantities, but we should not be attached to this money for sense gratification; every cent should be spent for spreading the Krsna consciousness movement, not for sense gratification. There is danger for a preacher when he receives great quantities of money, for as soon as he spends even a single cent of the collection for his personal sense gratification, he becomes a fallen victim. The preachers of the Krsna consciousness movement should be extremely careful not to misuse the immense quantities of money needed to spread this movement. Let us not make this money the cause of our distress; it should be used for Krsna, and that will cause our eternal happiness. Money is Laksmi, or the goddess of fortune, the companion of Narayana. Laksmiji must always remain with Narayana, and then there need be no fear of degradation.

SB7.13.33

TEXT 33

rajatas cauratah satroh

sva-janat pasu-paksitah

arthibhyah kalatah svasman

nityam pranarthavad bhayam

rajatah—from the government; cauratah—from thieves and rogues; satroh—from enemies; sva-janat—from relatives; pasu-paksitah—from animals and birds; arthibhyah—from beggars and persons seeking charity; kalatah—from the time factor; svasmat—as well as from one’s self; nityam—always; prana-artha-vat—for one who has life or money; bhayam—fear.

Those who are considered materially powerful and rich are always full of anxieties because of governmental laws, thieves and rogues, enemies, family members, animals, birds, persons seeking charity, the inevitable time factor and even their own selves. Thus they are invariably afraid.

The word svasmat means “from one’s self.” Because of attachment for money, the richest person is even afraid of himself. He fears that he may have locked his money in an unsafe manner or might have committed some mistake. Aside from the government and its income tax and aside from thieves, even a rich man’s own relatives are always thinking of how to take advantage of him and take away his money. Sometimes these relatives are described as sva janaka-dasyu, which means “rogues and thieves in the guise of relatives.” Therefore, there is no need to accumulate wealth or unnecessarily endeavor for more and more money. The real business of life is to ask “Who am I?” and to understand one’s self. world and understand how to return home, back to Godhead.

SB7.13.34

TEXT 34

soka-moha-bhaya-krodha-

raga-klaibya-sramadayah

yan-mulah syur nrnam jahyat

sprham pranarthayor budhah

soka—lamentation; moha—illusion; bhaya—fear; krodha—anger; raga—attachment; klaibya—poverty; srama—unnecessary labor; adayah—and so on; yat-mulah—the original cause of all these; syuh—become; nrnam—of human beings; jahyat—should give up; sprham—the desire; prana—for bodily strength or prestige; arthayoh—and accumulating money; budhah—an intelligent person.

Those in human society who are intelligent should give up the original cause of lamentation, illusion, fear, anger, attachment, poverty and unnecessary labor. The original cause of all of these is the desire for unnecessary prestige and money.

Here is the difference between Vedic civilization and the modern demoniac civilization. Vedic civilization concerned itself with how to achieve self-realization, and for this purpose one was recommended to have a small income to maintain body and soul together. The society was divided into brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras, and the members of this society would limit their endeavors to meeting their minimum demands. The brahmanas, in particular, would have no material desires. Because the ksatriyas had to rule the people, it was necessary for them to have money and prestige. But the vaisyas were satisfied with agricultural produce and milk from the cow, and if by chance there were excess, trade was allowed. The sudras were also happy, for they would get food and shelter from the three higher classes. In the demoniac civilization of the present day, however, there is no question of brahmanas or ksatriyas; there are only so-called workers and a flourishing mercantile class who have no goal in life.

According to Vedic civilization, the ultimate perfection of life is to take sannyasa, but at the present moment people do not know why sannyasa is accepted. Because of misunderstanding, they think that one accepts sannyasa to escape social responsibilities. But one does not accept sannyasa to escape from responsibility to society. Generally one accepts sannyasa at the fourth stage of spiritual life. One begins as a brahmacari then becomes a grhastha, a vanaprastha and finally a sannyasi to take advantage of the duration of one’s life by engaging oneself fully in self-realization. Sannyasa does not mean begging from door to door to accumulate money for sense gratification. However, because in Kali-yuga people are more or less prone to sense gratification, immature sannyasa is not recommended. Srila Rupa Gosvami writes in his Nectar of Instruction (2):

atyaharah prayasas ca
prajalpo niyamagrahah
jana-sangas ca laulyam ca
sadbhir bhaktir vinasyati

“One’s devotional service is spoiled when he becomes too entangled in the following six activities: (1) eating more than necessary or collecting more funds than required; (2) overendeavoring for mundane things that are very difficult to obtain; (3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters; (4) practicing the scriptural rules and regulations only for the sake of following them and not for the sake of spiritual advancement, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and working independently or whimsically; (5) associating with worldly-minded persons who are not interested in Krsna consciousness; and (6) being greedy for mundane achievements.” A sannyasi should have an institution meant to preach Krsna consciousness; he need not accumulate money for himself. We recommend that as soon as money accumulates in our Krsna consciousness movement, fifty per cent of it should be invested in printing books, and fifty per cent for expenditures, especially in establishing centers all over the world. The managers of the Krsna consciousness movement should be extremely cautious in regard to this point. Otherwise money will be the cause of lamentation, illusion, fear, anger, material attachment, material poverty, and unnecessary hard work. When I was alone in Vrndavana, I never attempted to construct mathas or temples; rather, I was fully satisfied with the small amount of money I could gather by selling Back to Godhead, and thus I would provide for myself and also print the literature. When I went to foreign countries, I lived according to the same principle, but when Europeans and Americans began to give money profusely, I started temples and Deity worship. The same principle should still be followed. Whatever money is collected should be spent for Krsna, and not a farthing for sense gratification. This is the Bhagavata principle.

SB7.13.35

TEXT 35

madhukara-maha-sarpau

loke ’smin no guruttamau

vairagyam paritosam ca

prapta yac-chiksaya vayam

madhukara—bees that go from flower to flower to collect honey; maha-sarpau—the big snake (the python, which does not move from one place to another); loke—in the world; asmin—this; nah—our; guru—spiritual masters; uttamau—first-class; vairagyam—renunciation; paritosam ca—and satisfaction; praptah—obtained; yat-siksaya—by whose instruction; vayam—we.

The bee and the python are two excellent spiritual masters who give us exemplary instructions regarding how to be satisfied by collecting only a little and how to stay in one place and not move.

SB7.13.36

TEXT 36

viragah sarva-kamebhyah

siksito me madhu-vratat

krcchraptam madhuvad vittam

hatvapy anyo haret patim

SYNONYMS

viragah—detachment; sarva-kamebhyah—from all material desires; siksitah—has been taught; me—unto me; madhu-vratat—from the bumblebee; krcchra—with great difficulties; aptam—acquired; madhu-vat—as good as honey (“money is honey”); vittam—money; hatva—killing; api—even; anyah—another; haret—takes away; patim—the owner.

TRANSLATION

From the bumblebee I have learned to be unattached to accumulating money, for although money is as good as honey, anyone can kill its owner and take it away.

PURPORT

The honey gathered in the comb is taken away by force. Therefore one who accumulates money should realize that he may be harassed by the government or by thieves or even killed by enemies. Especially in this age of Kali-yuga, it is said that instead of protecting the money of the citizens, the government itself will take away the money with the force of law. The learned brahmana had therefore decided that he should not accumulate any money. One should own as much as he immediately needs. There is no need to keep a big balance at hand, along with the fear that it may be plundered by the government or by thieves.

no cec chaye bahv-ahani

mahahir iva sattvavan

anihah—with no desire to possess more; paritusta—very satisfied; atma—self; yadrccha—in its own way, without endeavor; upanatat—by things brought in by possession; aham—I; no—not; cet—if so; saye—I lie down; bahu—many; ahani—days; maha-ahih—a python; iva—like; sattva-van—enduring.

I do not endeavor to get anything, but am satisfied with whatever is achieved in its own way. If I do not get anything, I am patient and unagitated like a python and lie down in this way for many days.

One should learn detachment from the bumblebees, for they collect drops of honey here and there and keep it in their honeycomb, but then someone comes and by force takes all the honey away, leaving the bumblebees with nothing. Therefore one should learn from the bumblebee not to keep more money than one needs. Similarly, one should learn from the python to stay in one place for many, many days without focal and then eat only if something comes in its own way. Thus the learned brahmana gave instructions gained from two creatures, namely the bumblebee and the python.

SB7.13.38

TEXT 38

kvacid alpam kvacid bhuri

bhunje ’nnam svadv asvadu va

kvacid bhuri gunopetam

guna-hinam uta kvacit

sraddhayopahrtam kvapi

kadacin mana-varjitam

bhunje bhuktvatha kasmims cid

diva naktam yadrcchaya

kvacit—sometimes; alpam—very little; kvacit—sometimes; bhuri—a great quantity; bhunje—I eat; annam—food; svadu—palatable; asvadu—stale; va—either; kvacit—sometimes; bhuri—great; guna-upetam—a nice flavor; guna-hinam—without flavor; uta—whether; kvacit—sometimes; sraddhaya—respectfully; upahrtam—brought by someone; kvapi—sometimes; kadacit—sometimes; mana-varjitam—offered without respect; bhunje—I eat; bhuktva—after eating; atha—as such; kasmin cit—sometimes, in some place; diva—during the daytime; naktam—or at night; yadrcchaya—as it is available.

Sometimes I eat a very small quantity and sometimes a great quantity. Sometimes the food is very palatable, and sometimes it is stale. Sometimes prasada is offered with great respect, and sometimes food is given neglectfully. Sometimes I eat during the day and sometimes at night. Thus I eat what is easily available.

SB7.13.39

TEXT 39

ksaumam dukulam ajinam

ciram valkalam eva va

vase ’nyad api sampraptam

dista-bhuk tusta-dhir aham

SYNONYMS

ksaumam—clothing made of linen; dukulam—silk or cotton; ajinam—deerskin; ciram—loincloth; valkalam—bark; eva—as it is; va—either; vase—I put on; anyat—something else; api—although; sampraptam—as available; dista-bhuk—because of destiny; tusta—satisfied; dhih—mind; aham—I am.

TRANSLATION

To cover my body I use whatever is available, whether it be linen, silk, cotton, bark or deerskin, according to my destiny, and I am fully satisfied and unagitated.

SB7.13.40

TEXT 40

kvacic chaye dharopasthe

trna-parnasma-bhasmasu

kvacit prasada-paryanke

kasipau va parecchaya

SYNONYMS

kvacit—sometimes; saye—I lie down; dhara-upasthe—on the surface of the earth; trna—on grass; parna—leaves; asma—stone; bhasmasu—or a pile of ashes; kvacit—sometimes; prasada—in palaces; paryanke—on a first-class bedstead; kasipau—on a pillow; va—either; para—of another; icchaya—by the wish.

TRANSLATION

Sometimes I lie on the surface of the earth, sometimes on leaves, grass or stone, sometimes on a pile of ashes, or sometimes, by the will of others, in a palace on a first-class bed with pillows.

PURPORT

The learned brahmana’s description indicates different types of births, for one lies down according to one’s body. Sometimes one takes birth as an animal and sometimes as a king. When he takes birth as an animal he must lie down on the ground, and when he takes birth as a king or a very rich man he is allowed to lie in first-class rooms in huge palaces decorated with beds and other furniture. Such facilities are not available, however, at the sweet will of the living entity; rather, they are available by the supreme will (parecchaya), or by the arrangement of maya. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (18.61):

isvarah sarva-bhutanam
hrd-dese ’rjuna tisthati
bhramayan sarva-bhutani
yantrarudhani mayaya

“The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.” The living entity, according to his material desires, receives different types of bodies, which are nothing but machines offered by material nature according to the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By the will of the Supreme, one must take different bodies with different means for lying down.

SB7.13.41

TEXT 41

kvacit snato ’nuliptangah

suvasah sragvy alankrtah

rathebhasvais care kvapi

dig-vasa grahavad vibho

kvacit—sometimes; snatah—bathing very nicely; anulipta-angah—with sandalwood pulp smeared all over the body; su-vasah—dressing with very nice garments; sragvi—decorated with garlands of flowers; alankrtah—bedecked with various types of ornaments; ratha—on a chariot; ibha—on an elephant; asvaih—or on the back of a horse; care—I wander; kvapi—sometimes; dik-vasah—completely naked; graha-vat—as if haunted by a ghost; vibho—O lord.

O my lord, sometimes I bathe myself very nicely, smear sandalwood pulp all over my body, put on a flower garland, and dress in fine garments and ornaments. Then I travel like a king on the back of an elephant or on a chariot or horse. Sometimes, however, I travel naked, like a person haunted by a ghost.

SB7.13.42

TEXT 42

naham ninde na ca staumi

sva-bhava-visamam janam

etesam sreya asase

utaikatmyam mahatmani

SYNONYMS

na—not; aham—I; ninde—blaspheme; na—nor; ca—also; staumi—praise; sva-bhava—whose nature; visamam—contradictory; janam—a living entity or human being; etesam—of all of them; sreyah—the ultimate benefit; asase—I pray for; uta—indeed; aikatmyam—oneness; maha-atmani—in the Supersoul, the Parabrahman (Krsna).

TRANSLATION

Different people are of different mentalities. Therefore it is not my business either to praise them or to blaspheme them. I only desire their welfare, hoping that they will agree to become one with the Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna.

PURPORT

As soon as one comes to the platform of bhakti-yoga, one understands fully the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, is the goal of life (vasudevah samam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah). This is the instruction of all the Vedic literature (vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah [Bg. 15.15], sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]). There is no use in praising someone for material qualifications or blaspheming him for material disqualifications. In the material world, good and bad have no meaning because if one is good he may be elevated to a higher planetary system and if one is bad he may be degraded to the lower planetary systems. People of different mentalities are sometimes elevated and sometimes degraded, but this is not the goal of life. Rather, the goal of life is to become free from elevation and degradation and take to Krsna consciousness. Therefore a saintly person does not discriminate between that which is supposedly good and supposedly bad; rather, he desires for everyone to be happy in Krsna consciousness, which is the ultimate goal of life.

SB7.13.43

TEXT 43

vikalpam juhuyac cittau

tam manasy artha-vibhrame

mano vaikarike hutva

tam mayayam juhoty anu

vikalpam—discrimination (between good and bad, one person and another, one nation and another, and all similar discrimination); juhuyat—one should offer as oblations; cittau—in the fire of consciousness; tam—that consciousness; manasi—in the mind; artha-vibhrame—the root of all acceptance and rejection; manah—that mind; vaikarike—in false ego, identification of oneself with matter; hutva—offering as oblations; tam—this false ego; mayayam—in the total material energy; juhoti—offers as oblations; anu—following this principle.

The mental concoction of discrimination between good and bad should be accepted as one unit and then invested in the mind, which should then be invested in the false ego. The false ego should be invested in the total material energy. This is the process of fighting false discrimination.

This verse describes how a yogi can become free from material affection. Because of material attraction, a karmi cannot see himself. Jnanis can discriminate between matter and spirit, but the yogis, the best of whom are the bhakti-yogis, want to return home, back to Godhead. The karmis are completely in illusion, the jnanis are neither in illusion nor in positive knowledge, but the yogis, especially the bhakti-yogis, are completely on the spiritual platform. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (14.26):

mam ca yo ’vyabhicarena
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate

“One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down under any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.” Thus a devotee’s position is secure. A devotee is at once elevated to the spiritual platform. Others, such as jnanis and hatha-yogis, can only gradually ascend to the spiritual platform by nullifying their material discrimination on the platform of psychology and nullifying the false ego, by which one thinks, “I am this body, a product of matter.” One must merge the false ego into the total material energy and merge the total material energy into the supreme energetic. This is the process of becoming free from material attraction.

SB7.13.44

TEXT 44

atmanubhutau tam mayam

juhuyat satya-drn munih

tato niriho viramet

svanubhuty-atmani sthitah

atma-anubhutau—unto self-realization; tam—that; mayam—the false ego of material existence; juhuyat—should offer as an oblation; satya-drk—one who has actually realized the ultimate truth; munih—such a thoughtful person; tatah—because of this self-realization; nirihah—without material desires; viramet—one must completely retire from material activities; sva-anubhuti-atmani—in self-realization; sthitah—thus being situated.

A learned, thoughtful person must realize that material existence is illusion. This is possible only by self-realization. A self-realized person, who has actually seen the truth, should retire from all material activities, being situated in self-realization.

By an analytical study of the entire constitution of the body, one can surely come to the conclusion that the soul is different from all the body’s material constituents, such as earth, water, fire and air. Thus the difference between the body and soul can be realized by a person who is thoughtful (manisi or muni), and after this realization of the individual spirit soul one can very easily understand the supreme spirit soul. If one thus realizes that the individual soul is subordinate to the supreme spirit soul, he achieves self-realization. As explained in the Thirteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, there are two souls within the body. The body is called ksetra, and there are two ksetra jnas, or occupants of the body, namely the Supersoul (Paramatma) and the individual soul. The Supersoul and the individual soul are like two birds sitting on the same tree (the material body). One bird, the individual, forgetful bird, is eating the fruit of the tree, not caring for the instructions of the other bird, which is only a witness to the activities of the first bird, who is his friend. When the forgetful bird comes to understand the supreme friend who is always with him and trying to give him guidance in different bodies, he takes shelter at the lotus feet of that supreme bird. As explained in the yoga process, dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah [SB 12.13.1]. When one actually becomes a perfect yogi, by meditation he can see the supreme friend and surrender unto Him. This is the beginning of bhakti-yoga, or actual life in Krsna consciousness.

SB7.13.45

TEXT 45

svatma-vrttam mayettham te

suguptam api varnitam

vyapetam loka-sastrabhyam

bhavan hi bhagavat-parah

sva-atma-vrttam—the information of the history of self-realization; maya—by me; ittham—in this way; te—unto you; su-guptam—extremely confidential; api—although; varnitam—explained; vyapetam—without; loka-sastrabhyam—the opinion of the common man or common literatures; bhavan—your good self; hi—indeed; bhagavat-parah—having fully realized the Personality of Godhead.

Prahlada Maharaja, you are certainly a self-realized soul and a devotee of the Supreme Lord. You do not care for public opinion or so-called scriptures. For this reason I have described to you without hesitation the history of my self-realization.

A person who is actually a devotee of Krsna does not care about so-called public opinion and Vedic or philosophical literatures. Prahlada Maharaja, who is such a devotee, always defied the false instructions of his father and the so-called teachers who were appointed to teach him. Instead, he simply followed the instructions of Narada Muni, his guru, and thus he always remained a stalwart devotee. This is the nature of an intelligent devotee. The Srimad-Bhagavatam instructs, yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah [SB 11.5.32]. One who is actually very intelligent must join the Krsna consciousness movement, realizing his own self as an eternal servant of Krsna, and thus practice constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord—Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

SB7.13.46

TEXT 46

sri-narada uvaca

dharmam paramahamsyam vai

muneh srutvasuresvarah

pujayitva tatah prita

amantrya prayayau grham

sri-naradah uvaca—Sri Narada Muni said; dharmam—the occupational duty; paramahamsyam—of the paramahamsas, the most perfect human beings; vai—indeed; muneh—from the saintly person; srutva—thus hearing; asura-isvarah—the King of the asuras, Prahlada Maharaja; pujayitva—by worshiping the saintly person; tatah—thereafter; pritah—being very pleased; amantrya—taking permission; prayayau—left that place; grham—for his home.

Narada Muni continued: After Prahlada Maharaja, the King of the demons, heard these instructions from the saint, he understood the occupational duties of a perfect person [paramahamsa]. Thus he duly worshiped the saint, took his permission and then left for his own home.