ERROR: Your browser does not support scripts.

kvacit—sometimes; ksina-dhanah—not having sufficient money; sayya-asana-asana-adi—accommodations for sleeping, sitting or eating; upabhoga—of material enjoyment; vihinah—being bereft; yavat—as long as; apratilabdha—not achieved; manoratha—by his desire; upagata—obtained; adane—in seizing by unfair means; avasita-matih—whose mind is determined; tatah—because of that; tatah—from that; avamana-adini—insults and punishment; janat—from the people in general; abhilabhate—he gets.

Sometimes, having no money, the conditioned soul does not get sufficient accommodations. Sometimes he doesn’t even have a place to sit, nor does he have the other necessities. In other words, he falls into scarcity, and at that time, when he is unable to secure the necessities by fair means, he decides to seize the property of others unfairly. When he cannot get the things he wants, he simply receives insults from others and thus becomes very morose.

evam vitta-vyatisanga-vivrddha-vairanubandho ’pi purva-vasanaya mitha udvahaty athapavahati.

It is said that necessity knows no law. When the conditioned soul needs money to acquire life’s bare necessities, he adopts any means. He begs, borrows or steals. Instead of receiving these things. he is insulted and chastised. Unless one is very well organized, one cannot accumulate riches by unfair means. Even if one acquires riches by unfair means, he cannot avoid punishment and insult from the government or the general populace. There are many instances of important people’s embezzling money, getting caught and being put in prison. One may be able to avoid the punishment of prison, but one cannot avoid the punishment of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who works through the agency of material nature. This is described in Bhagavad-gita (7.14): daivi hy esa guna-mayi mama maya duratyaya. Nature is very cruel. She does not excuse anyone. When people do not care for nature, they commit all kinds of sinful activities, and consequently they have to suffer.

SB5.14.37

TEXT 37

evam—in this way; vitta-vyatisanga—because of monetary transactions; vivrddha—increased; vaira-anubandhah—having relationships of enmity; api—although; purva-vasanaya—by the fructifying results of previous impious activities; mithah—with each other; udvahati—become united by means of the marriage of sons and daughters; atha—thereafter; apavahati—they give up the marriage or get a divorce.

Although people may be enemies, in order to fulfill their desires again and again, they sometimes get married. Unfortunately, these marriages do not last very long, and the people involved are separated again by divorce or other means.

As stated previously, every conditioned soul has the propensity to cheat, even in marriage. Everywhere in this material world, one conditioned soul is envious of another. For the time being, people may remain friends, but eventually they become enemies again and fight over money. Sometimes they marry and then separate by divorce or other means. On the whole, unity is never permanent. Due to the cheating propensity, both parties always remain envious. Even in Krsna. consciousness, separation and enmity take place due to the prominence of material propensities.

SB5.14.38

TEXT 38

etasmin samsaradhvani nana-klesopasarga-badhita apanna-vipanno yatra yas tam u ha vavetaras tatra visrjya jatam jatam upadaya socan muhyan bibhyad-vivadan krandan samhrsyan gayan nahyamanah sadhu-varjito naivavartate ’dyapi yata arabdha esa nara-loka-sartho yam adhvanah param upadisanti.

etasmin—on this; samsara—of miserable conditions; adhvani—path; nana—various; klesa—by miseries; upasarga—by the troubles of material existence; badhitah—disturbed; apanna—sometimes having gained; vipannah—sometimes having lost; yatra—in which; yah—who; tam—him; u ha vava—or; itarah—someone else; tatra—thereupon; visrjya—giving up; jatam jatam—newly born; upadaya—accepting; socan—lamenting; muhyan—being illusioned; bibhyat—fearing; vivadan—sometimes exclaiming loudly; krandan—sometimes crying; samhrsyan—sometimes being pleased; gayan—singing; nahyamanah—being bound; sadhu-varjitah—being away from saintly persons; na—not; eva—certainly; avartate—achieves; adya api—even until now; yatah—from whom; arabdhah—commenced; esah—this; nara-loka—of the material world; sa-arthah—the self-interested living entities; yam—whom (the Supreme Personality of Godhead); adhvanah—of the path of material existence; param—the other end; upadisanti—saintly persons indicate.

The path of this material world is full of material miseries, and various troubles disturb the conditioned souls. Sometimes he loses, and sometimes he gains. In either case, the path is full of danger. Sometimes the conditioned soul is separated from his father by death or other circumstances. Leaving him aside he gradually becomes attached to others, such as his children. In this way, the conditioned soul is sometimes illusioned and afraid. Sometimes he cries loudly out of fear. Sometimes he is happy maintaining his family, and sometimes he is overjoyed and sings melodiously. In this way he becomes entangled and forgets his separation from the Supreme Personality of Godhead since time immemorial. Thus he traverses the dangerous path of material existence, and on this path he is not at all happy. Those who are self-realized simply take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in order to get out of this dangerous material existence. Without accepting the devotional path, one cannot get out of the clutches of material existence. The conclusion is that no one can be happy in material life. One must take to Krsna consciousness.

yad idam yoganusasanam na va etad avarundhate yan nyasta-danda munaya upasama-sila uparatatmanah samavagacchanti.

By thoroughly analyzing the materialistic way of life, any sane man can understand that there is not the least happiness in this world. However, due to continuing on the path of danger from time immemorial and not associating with saintly persons, the conditioned soul, under illusion, wants to enjoy this material world. Material energy sometimes gives him a chance at so-called happiness, but the conditioned soul is perpetually being punished by material nature. It is therefore said: dandya-jane raja yena nadite cubaya (Cc. Madhya 20.118). Materialistic life means continuous unhappiness, but sometimes we accept happiness as it appears between the gaps. Sometimes a condemned person is submerged in water and hauled out. Actually all of this is meant for punishment, but he feels a little comfort when he is taken out of the water. This is the situation with the conditioned soul. All the sastras therefore advise that one associate with devotees and saintly people.

‘sadhu-sanga’, ‘sadhu-sanga’——sarva-sastre kaya
lava-matra sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi haya

(Cc. Madhya 22.54)

Even by a little association with devotees, the conditioned soul can get out of this miserable material condition. This Krsna consciousness movement is therefore trying to give everyone a chance to associate with saintly people. Therefore all the members of this Krsna consciousness society must themselves be perfect sadhus in order to give a chance to fallen conditioned souls. This is the best humanitarian work.

SB5.14.39

TEXT 39

yat—which; idam—this ultimate abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yoga-anusasanam—only to be achieved by practicing devotional service; na—not; va—either; etat—this path of liberation; avarundhate—obtain; yat—therefore; nyasta-dandah—persons who have given up envying others; munayah—saintly persons; upasama-silah—who are now situated in a most peaceful existence; uparata-atmanah—who have control over the mind and senses; samavagacchanti—very easily obtain.

Saintly persons, who are friends to all living entities, have a peaceful consciousness. They have controlled their senses and minds, and they easily attain the path of liberation, the path back to Godhead. Being unfortunate and attached to the miserable material conditions, a materialistic person cannot associate with them.

The great saint Jada Bharata described both the miserable condition and the means to get out. The only way out of it is association with devotees, and this association is very easy. Although unfortunate people also get this opportunity, due to their great misfortune they cannot take shelter of pure devotees, and consequently they continuously suffer. Nonetheless, this Krsna consciousness movement insists that everyone take to this path by adopting the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. The preachers of Krsna consciousness go from door to door to inform people how they can be relieved from the miserable conditions of material life. As stated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija: by the mercy of Krsna and guru, one can get the seed of devotional service. If one is a little intelligent he can cultivate Krsna consciousness and be freed from the miserable conditions of material life.

SB5.14.40

TEXT 40

yad api dig-ibha-jayino yajvino ye vai rajarsayah kim tu param mrdhe sayirann asyam eva mameyam iti krta-vairanubandhayam visrjya svayam upasamhrtah.

yat api—although; dik-ibha-jayinah—who are victorious in all directions; yajvinah—expert in performing great sacrifices; ye—all of whom; vai—indeed; raja-rsayah—very great saintly kings; kim tu—but; param—only this earth; mrdhe—in battle; sayiran—lying down; asyam—on this (earth); eva—indeed; mama—mine; iyam—this; iti—considering in that way; krta—on which is created; vaira-anu-bandhayam—a relationship of enmity with others; visrjya—giving up; svayam—his own life; upasamhrtah—being killed.

There were many great saintly kings who were very expert in performing sacrificial rituals and very competent in conquering other kingdoms, yet despite their power they could not attain the loving service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is because those great kings could not even conquer the false consciousness of “I am this body, and this is my property.” Thus they simply created enmity with rival kings, fought with them and died without having discharged life’s real mission.

The real mission of life for the conditioned soul is to reestablish the forgotten relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and engage in devotional service so that he may revive Krsna consciousness after giving up the body. One doesn’t have to give up his occupation as a brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra or whatever. In any position, while discharging his prescribed duty, one can develop Krsna consciousness simply by associating with devotees who are representatives of Krsna and who can teach this science. Regretfully, the big politicians and leaders in the material world simply create enmity and are not interested in spiritual advancement. Material advancement may be very pleasing to an ordinary man, but ultimately he is defeated because he identifies himself with the material body and considers everything related to it to be his property. This is ignorance. Actually nothing belongs to him, not even the body. By one’s karma, one gets a particular body, and if he does not utilize his body to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all his activities are frustrated. The real purpose of life is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.13):

atah pumbhir dvija-srestha
varnasrama-vibhagasah
svanusthitasya dharmasya
samsiddhir hari-tosanam

It really doesn’t matter what activity a man engages in. If he can simply satisfy the Supreme Lord, his life is successful.

SB5.14.41

TEXT 41

karma-vallim avalambya tata apadah kathancin narakad vimuktah punar apy evam samsaradhvani vartamano nara-loka-sartham upayati evam upari gato ’pi.

karma-vallim—the creeper of fruitive activities; avalambya—taking shelter of; tatah—from that; apadah—dangerous or miserable condition; kathancit—somehow or other; narakat—from the hellish condition of life; vimuktah—being freed; punah api—again; evam—in this way; samsara-adhvani—on the path of material existence; vartamanah—existing; nara-loka-sa-artham—the field of self-interested material activities; upayati—he enters; evam—thus; upari—above (in the higher planetary systems); gatah api—although promoted.

When the conditioned soul accepts the shelter of the creeper of fruitive activity, he may be elevated by his pious activities to higher planetary systems and thus gain liberation from hellish conditions, but unfortunately he cannot remain there. After reaping the results of his pious activities, he has to return to the lower planetary systems. In this way he perpetually goes up and comes down.

In this regard Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu says:

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija

(Cc. Madhya 19.151)

Even if one wanders for many millions of years, from the time of creation until the time of annihilation, one cannot get free from the path of material existence unless one receives shelter at the lotus feet of a pure devotee. As a monkey takes shelter of the branch of a banyan tree and thinks he is enjoying, the conditioned soul, not knowing the real interest of his life, takes shelter of the path of karma-kanda, fruitive activities. Sometimes he is elevated to the heavenly planets by such activities, and sometimes he again descends to earth. This is described by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as brahmanda bhramite. However, if by Krsna’s grace one is fortunate enough to come under the shelter of the guru, by the mercy of Krsna he receives lessons on how to execute devotional service to the Supreme Lord. In this way he receives a clue of how to get out of his continuous struggle up and down within the material world. Therefore the Vedic injunction is that one should approach a spiritual master. The Vedas declare: tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. Similarly in Bhagavad-gita (4.34) the Supreme Personality of Godhead advises:

tad viddhi pranipatena
pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam
jnaninas tattva-darsinah

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.3.21) gives similar advice:

tasmad gurum prapadyeta
jijnasuh sreya uttamam
sabde pare ca nisnatam
brahmany upasamasrayam

“Any person who seriously desires to achieve real happiness must seek out a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of his spiritual master is that he must have realized the conclusion of the scriptures by deliberation and be able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, are to be understood as bona fide spiritual masters.” Similarly, Visvanatha Cakravarti, a great Vaisnava, also advises, yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah: ** ”By the mercy of the spiritual master one receives the mercy of Krsna.” This is the same advice given by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija). This is essential. One must come to Krsna consciousness, and therefore one must take shelter of a pure devotee. Thus one can become free from the clutches of matter.

SB5.14.42

TEXT 42

tasyedam upagayanti——

arsabhasyeha rajarser

tasya—of Jada Bharata; idam—this glorification; upagayanti—they sing; arsabhasya—of the son of Rsabhadeva; iha—here; raja-rseh—of the great saintly King; manasa api—even by the mind; maha-atmanah—of the great personality Jada Bharata; na—not; anuvartma arhati—able to follow the path; nrpah—any king; maksika—a fly; iva—like; garutmatah—of Garuda, the carrier of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Having summarized the teachings of Jada Bharata, Sukadeva Gosvami said: My dear King Pariksit, the path indicated by Jada Bharata is like the path followed by Garuda, the carrier of the Lord, and ordinary kings are just like flies. Flies cannot follow the path of Garuda, and to date none of the great kings and victorious leaders could follow this path of devotional service, not even mentally.

As Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (7.3):

manusyanam sahasresu
kascid yatati siddhaye
yatatam api siddhanam
kascin mam vetti tattvatah

“Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.” The path of devotional service is very difficult, even for great kings who have conquered many enemies. Although these kings were victorious on the battlefield, they could not conquer the bodily conception. There are many big leaders, yogis, svamis and so-called incarnations who are very much addicted to mental speculation and who advertise themselves as perfect personalities, but they are not ultimately successful. The path of devotional service is undoubtedly very difficult to follow, but it becomes very easy if the candidate actually wants to follow the path of the mahajana. In this age there is the path of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who appeared to deliver all fallen souls. This path is so simple and easy that everyone can take to it by chanting the holy name of the Lord.

harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha

[Adi 17.21]

We are very satisfied that this path is being opened by this Krsna consciousness movement because so many European and American boys and girls are taking this philosophy seriously and gradually attaining perfection.

SB5.14.43

TEXT 43

yo dustyajan dara-sutan

suhrd rajyam hrdi-sprsah

jahau yuvaiva malavad

uttamasloka-lalasah

yah—the same Jada Bharata who was formerly Maharaja Bharata, the son of Maharaja Rsabhadeva; dustyajan—very difficult to give up; dara-sutan—the wife and children or the most opulent family life; suhrt—friends and well-wishers; rajyam—a kingdom that extended all over the world; hrdi-sprsah—that which is situated within the core of one’s heart; jahau—he gave up; yuva eva—even as a young man; mala-vat—like stool; uttama-sloka-lalasah—who was so fond of serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead, known as Uttamasloka.

While in the prime of life, the great Maharaja Bharata gave up everything because he was fond of serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Uttamasloka. He gave up his beautiful wife, nice children, great friends and an enormous empire. Although these things were very difficult to give up, Maharaja Bharata was so exalted that he gave them up just as one gives up stool after evacuating. Such was the greatness of His Majesty.

The name of God is Krsna, because He is so attractive that the pure devotee can give up everything within this material world on His behalf. Maharaja Bharata was an ideal king, instructor and emperor of the world. He possessed all the opulences of the material world, but Krsna is so attractive that He attracted Maharaja Bharata from all his material possessions. Yet somehow or other, the King became affectionate to a little deer and, falling from his position, had to accept the body of a deer in his next life. Due to Krsna’s great mercy upon him, he could not forget his position, and he could understand how he had fallen. Therefore in the next life, as Jada Bharata, Maharaja Bharata was careful not to spoil his energy, and therefore he presented himself as a deaf and dumb person. In this way he could concentrate on his devotional service. We have to learn from the great King Bharata how to become cautious in cultivating Krsna consciousness. A little inattention will retard our devotional service for the time being. Yet any service rendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is never lost: svalpam apy asya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat (Bg. 2.40). A little devotional service rendered sincerely is a permanent asset. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.17):

tyaktva sva-dharmam caranambujam harer
bhajann apakvo ’tha patet tato yadi
yatra kva vabhadram abhud amusya kim
ko vartha apto ’bhajatam sva-dharmatah

Somehow or other, if one is attracted to Krsna, whatever he does in devotional service is a permanent asset. Even if one falls down due to immaturity or bad association, his devotional assets are never lost. There are many examples of this—Ajamila, Maharaja Bharata, and many others. This Krsna consciousness movement is giving everyone a chance to engage in devotional service for at least some time. A little service will give one an impetus to advance and thus make one’s life successful.

In this verse the Lord is described as Uttamasloka. Uttama means “the best,” and sloka means “reputation.” Lord Krsna is full in six opulences, one of which is reputation. Aisvaryasya samagrasya viryasya yasasah sriyah. Krsna’s reputation is still expanding. We are spreading the glories of Krsna by pushing forward this Krsna consciousness movement. Krsna’s reputation, five thousand years after the Battle of Kuruksetra, is still expanding throughout the world. Every important individual within this world must have heard of Krsna, especially at the present moment, due to the Krsna consciousness movement. Even people who do not like us and want to suppress the movement are also somehow or other chanting Hare Krsna. They say, “The Hare Krsna people should be chastised.” Such foolish people do not realize the true value of this movement, but the mere fact that they want to criticize it gives them a chance to chant Hare Krsna, and this is its success.

SB5.14.44

TEXT 44

yo dustyajan ksiti-suta-svajanartha-daran

prarthyam sriyam sura-varaih sadayavalokam

naicchan nrpas tad-ucitam mahatam madhudvit-

sevanurakta-manasam abhavo ’pi phalguh

yah—who; dustyajan—very difficult to give up; ksiti—the earth; suta—children; sva-jana-artha-daran—relatives, riches and a beautiful wife; prarthyam—desirable; sriyam—the goddess of fortune; sura-varaih—by the best of the demigods; sa-daya-avalokam—whose merciful glance; na—not; aicchat—desired; nrpah—the King; tat-ucitam—this is quite befitting him; mahatam—of great personalities (mahatmas); madhu-dvit—of Lord Krsna, who killed the demon Madhu; seva-anurakta—attracted by the loving service; manasam—of those whose minds; abhavah api—even the position of liberation; phalguh—insignificant.

Sukadeva Gosvami continued: My dear King, the activities of Bharata Maharaja are wonderful. He gave up everything difficult for others to give up. He gave up his kingdom, his wife and his family. His opulence was so great that even the demigods envied it, yet he gave it up. It was quite befitting a great personality like him to be a great devotee. He could renounce everything because he was so attracted to the beauty, opulence, reputation, knowledge, strength and renunciation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. Krsna is so attractive that one can give up all desirable things for His sake. Indeed, even liberation is considered insignificant for those whose minds are attracted to the loving service of the Lord.

This verse confirms Krsna’s all-attractiveness. Maharaja Bharata was so attracted to Krsna that he gave up all his material possessions. Generally materialistic people are attracted by such possessions.

ato grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittair
janasya moho ’yam aham mameti

(Bhag. 5.5.8)

“One becomes attracted to his body, home, property, children, relatives and wealth. In this way one increases life’s illusions and thinks in terms of ‘I and mine.’ ” The attraction for material things is certainly due to illusion. There is no value in attraction to material things, for the conditioned soul is diverted by them. One’s life is successful if he is absorbed in the attraction of Krsna’s strength, beauty and pastimes as described in the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Mayavadis are attracted to merging into the existence of the Lord, but Krsna is more attractive than the desire to merge. The word abhavah means “not to take birth again in this material world.” A devotee doesn’t care whether he is going to be reborn or not. He is simply satisfied with the Lord’s service in any condition. That is real mukti.

iha yasya harer dasye
karmana manasa gira
nikhilasv apy avasthasu
jivan-muktah sa ucyate

“One who acts to serve Krsna with his body, mind, intelligence and words is a liberated person, even within this material world.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.187) A person who always desires to serve Krsna is interested in ways to convince people that there is a Supreme Personality of Godhead and that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is Krsna. That is his ambition. It doesn’t matter whether he is in heaven or in hell. This is called uttamasloka-lalasa.

SB5.14.45

TEXT 45

yajnaya dharma-pataye vidhi-naipunaya

yogaya sankhya-sirase prakrtisvaraya

narayanaya haraye nama ity udaram

hasyan mrgatvam api yah samudajahara