Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.23 Dayananda: “My dear Lord, people in general want to be elevated to the higher planetary system for long duration of life, opulence, enjoyment. I have seen all of them through the activities of my father. When my father was very angry and laughing sarcastically upon the demigods, immediately they fell down simply by seeing the movement of his eyebrows. Such my father is now finished within a moment.” Prabhupada: drsta maya divi vibho ’khila-dhisnya-panam ayuh sriyo vibhava icchati yan jano ’yam ye ’smat pituh kupita-hasa-vijrmbhita-bhru-visphurjitena lulitah sa tu te nirastah So this is experience, drsta… Everyone has experience what is the situation of this material world. Every day we have seen big, big leaders, ministers. Just like in the history of the world there were so many big, big men—Hitler, Napoleon, this Churchill, Gandhi, Nehru. But all their powers, position, in one minute it becomes vanquished. There is no question… They are so proud, they do not believe in God, but when the death comes, they cannot argue anything. The death orders, “Immediately vacate”—finished. You have to vacate. At that time their power, opulence, position—nothing can help. So Krsna says, therefore… The atheist class of men who do not believe in God, decry the authority of God, for them… Of course, everyone dies, but for them, mrtyuh sarva-haras caham: Krsna comes as death and takes away everything in their possession. But foolish persons, they do not see still. God says, Krsna says, that “This death I am.” Still they’ll not. And it is a fact. When Krsna comes as death, as Hiranyakasipu, he was atheist, did not believe in God, but when God, Nrsimhadeva came, then he was vanquished, everything, within a second. Nirastah. Sa tu te nirastah. So we have to see like that, the omnipotency, the power of Krsna, how it is working. But the difficulty is that we are so foolish, pasyann api na pasyati. Although we are having daily experience, still, we do not see. This is is position. dehapatya-kalatradisu (atma-sainyesv) asatsv api pramatta tasya nidhanam pasyann api na pasyati We are making our plan that “I shall be happy in this way. I have got this body, so let me make this body very strong, go in the beach and run on the beach to make the body very strong.” There are so many other methods to keep the body very strong. Deha, apatya. Maintain the children very nicely. Dehapatya-kalatra, wife. Decorate the wife very nicely. “In this way I shall be happy. Let me keep my body fit, let my children grow very nicely, wife be decorated with ornaments, with sari, and I will see and will be happy.” No. You cannot remain. Even if you arrange like that, you cannot remain. Krsna says, “One day I shall come as death, and not only I shall take you out of the scene, but I shall take away all your possessions.” Mrtyuh sarva-haras caham. So Prahlada Maharaja, although a child only, but because he is devotee, he experienced. He’s experienced that “My father was so strong that even the denizens of heavenly planets, Indra, Candra, Varuna and others, they are all afraid of Hiranyakasipu. If by austerity, penance, he got so much power that even the chiefs of the higher planetary system, they were afraid of…” Vijrmbhita-bhru. “Hiranyakasipu will stare his eyes and move his eyebrow. The other demigods, they’ll be afraid, such powerful.” Ye asmat pituh. Ye, the chiefs of the higher planetary system, they have got very long duration of life. In the higher planetary system, everyone has got hundred years maximum period of life, but as I was explaining, everything is relative. The ant’s hundred years of life is not equal to my hundred years of life. It is relative. Similarly, the demigods’ hundred years of life is not equal to our hundred years of life. Everything relative—speed. Just like when the sputniks… In the beginning the sput, sputniks were in the outer space. Generally, to go around the world, it takes twenty-five hours. But because the speed was greater, so the sputnik surrounded the whole world in one hour, twenty-five minutes. So in the higher planetary system, the time, everything is relative. This is relative world. So these demigods, their one day equal to our six months. Our six months equal to their one day. Such one day, then thirty days, one month; then twelve months, one year. Such ten thousand years, their duration of life. Such ten thousand years. So just imagine what is their duration of… Ayuh. And so far strength is concerned, that, the Indra is in charge of thunderbolt, so when Indra throws the the thunderbolts to scatter the cloud, we have experience how terrible sound it is. So they have got so long duration of life, strength, administrative power and so many things. Still, they were afraid of Hiranyakasipu, still… In spite of possessing so much big, big possessions. Akhila-dhisnya-panam ayuh sriyo vibhava. And everyone, icchati, everyone desires. “If I could live so many years like Brahma”—everyone is aspiring. Therefore they want to be promoted to the higher planetary system for which they perform yajna to be promoted. In this life they struggle, the karmis. They struggle to become prime minister and Birla and this and that. And again, for the next life, they make provision. Therefore they want to give some charity, yajna-dana-ta… Yajna, performing yajna. Yajna-dana-ta… Tapasya. Hiranyakasipu also underwent severe type of austerity, and he got benediction from Brahma that “You’ll not be killed by any man, any demigod, any animal. You’ll not be killed in the sky or the water or the land,” so many ways. But Brahma did not give him the benediction of becoming immortal. He first of all wanted, “Make me immortal.” So “That is not possible because I am… Myself is not immortal. How can I give you?” So he took indirectly how to become immortal. And by austerity he got all these powers so that even the demigods were afraid of him. But Prahlada Maharaja said that “Such a big powerful demon as my father, he is also finished in one minute. One minute. And therefore…” Ye asmat pituh. The demigods were afraid of, very much afraid. Therefore when he was killed everyone became very pleased. There(fore) Prahlada Maharaja said that “Nobody is unhappy on account of death of my father.” He said, modeta sadhur api vrscika-sarpa-hatya: “My father was exactly like scorpion and snake, so killing of such animal, living entity, is pleasing to everyone, even sadhu. Even bhaktas, they also become pleased.” They do not want anyone is killed or anyone is done something harmful. Bhakta never desires. But they also take pleasure when the vrscika, the scorpion, and the snake is killed. You have got experience. There was a snake in my bathroom. So you all sadhus became very alert to kill it, (laughter) although you are sadhu. So that is natural. When there is snake, there is no question of sadhu or asadhu. Kill him. Sadhur api, very nice. Modeta sadhur api vrscika-sarpa-hatya. So Prahlada Maharaja is Vaisnava. He could understand that “Everything in this material world, even the possession of my father, will be finished. There is no doubt. So what is the use of possessing such thing which will be finished?” Antavanta ime deha nityasyoktah saririnah [Bg. 2.18]. This is intelligent person decision, that “Everything in this material world, this body, or anything in relativity with this body will be finished.” Krsna says and the devotees know it. Therefore they do not want anything of this material possession. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaches us to develop that mentality. “Don’t want anything, material possession. It is… However it may be long duration, but it will be finished. But you are eternal. Nityasyoktah saririnah. You are the owner of this body. You are eternal.” So we should be searching after eternal happiness, eternal life, eternal engagement. That is success of life. And if we hanker after temporary things, that is not very good intelligence. Therefore bhakti means when one is convinced that “Anything of this material world cannot make me happy.” That is… That conviction is the beginning of pure devotion. Anyabhilasita-sunyam [BRS 1.1.11]. You have to make zero everything material. That can be possible as we advance in Krsna consciousness. Then bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra syat [SB 11.2.42]. You haven’t got to… The jnanis, yogis, they try to detach from this material things by speculation, by knowledge. Brahma satyam jagan mithya. By speculating, jagan mithya, “This world is false. Brahman, atma, spirit soul is satya, the truth,” they do. But it is not possible. Simply by speculating, it is not possible. You have to engage yourself in bhakti. brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati samah sarvesu bhutesu mad-bhaktim labhate param [Bg. 18.54] These are the processes to reach the platform of bhakti, devotion. But if you do not stick to the devotional platform, you’ll fall down. However you may try to become detached from material things, unless you are fully engaged in bhakti, then by bhakti you’ll be able to realize God realization. Bhaktya mam abhijanati [Bg. 18.55] Simply by bhakti one can understand. And as soon as one understands Krsna, then viraktir anyatra syat. Then you’ll be detached. Yad avadhi mama cetah krsna-padaravinde nava-nava-dhama… When our pleasure exchange will be done between Krsna and ourself, then we shall be detached. Otherwise not. Otherwise it is not possible. Daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya [Bg. 7.14]. So Prahlada Maharaja is realizing that anything, material possession, it has no value. It may have some value, temporary, but there is risk also. For some temporary enjoyment, there is so many risk. The enjoyment… The highest enjoyment in the material world is sex. So for some temporary happiness we may enjoy sex, but there are many, what is called, after results. That is not very happy. Yan-maithunadi-grhamedhi-sukham hi tuccham [SB 7.9.45]. After result is very bad. Either illicit sex or legal sex, the after result is not good. There are so many aftereffects. Even if you live… Of course, that is the Vedic training, that dharmaviruddha-kamah, sex life not against Vedic injunction. Vedic injunction is that “Do not waste your semina unnecessarily. Only you have sex life for begetting nice children, good population,” that much order. So even it is done according to the Vedic principle, still, there are so many sufferings— you have to take care of the children; you have to educate them; you have to see that they are well raised. So many. So that is also botheration. But if you can remain brahmacari, oh, you avoid this botheration. Devotees: Jaya! Jaya Prabhupada! Prabhupada: So trpyanti neha krpana bahu-duhkha-bhajah. Either illicit sex or legal sex, there are many, many sufferings. But those who are krpana, miser… Miser means one who cannot use the benefit he has got, this human form of life. They know there are so many aftereffects. Na trpyanti. They are not satisfied. Trpyanti neha krpana bahu-duhkha-bhajah kandutivan manasijam visaheta-dhirah. So the whole Krsna consciousness movement is how to become dhira, selflessness. Then life is successful. And anyway, don’t be involved, entangled, with these material things. There are… This morning we were calculating that there are… As many atoms, so many living entities are also there. Sankhya, sankhyatanam, the word. Sankhya. Sankhya means number. As many numbers of atoms are there, so many number of living entities are there, and there is struggle here. So in this human life the chance is how to get out of this material atomic combination and go back to home, back to Godhead. This is the chance. So we have to follow the examples of Prahlada Maharaja, and there are… He’s mahajana. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah. Let us try to follow Prahlada Maharaja’s instruction and make our life successful. Thank you very much. (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Mayapur, March 1, 1976