Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.10 Prabhupada: atha me deva sammoham apakrastum tvam arhasi yo ’vagraho ’ham mametity etasmin yojitas tvaya So Devahuti is accepting or accepted her son Kapiladeva as guru, and now she is placing the problem and how to solve it. So to go to guru means to solve the material problem. Not temporary problem, “I have got some disease. Give me some mantra so that I may cure,” or “I am in poverty. Give me some mantra where I can get money.” Not like that. “To deliver me from the sammoha, illusion, aham mameti [SB 5.5.8].” This material life is sammoha, aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. Atha… The material life begins: pumsah striya mithuni-bhavam etam. This material life is described in four lines. What is this material life? Now, pumsah striya mithuni-bhavam etam. Etam, this material life, is nothing but an attraction of sex. Pumsah striya. The man is after woman, and woman is after man. This is material life, beginning. Everywhere, not only human society. Even in bird society, dog society, cat society, or demigods’ society—everywhere you’ll see the sex attraction. Pumsah striya mithuni-bhavam etam tayor mitho hrdaya-granthim ahuh. And… They are seeking, and as soon as they are joined together to satisfy the sex desire, their the, I mean to say, attraction becomes more and more tight. Then ato grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittair janasya moho ’yam aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. So as soon as they are combined, they require one house or apartment or cottage or nest. Something must be private. Atah grha-ksetra. Then to work, to earn livelihood, one must have some land. Either you construct skyscraper building or till it for get some food grain. Atah grha-ksetra, suta. Then without children, married life is frustrated. Putra-hinam grham sunyam. Married life without children is void. Avidyam jivanam sunyam. If one is not educated, his life is vacate, or vacant. Avidyam jivanam sunyam disah sunya abandhavah. And if you go to some foreign country, if there is no deva, temple, God’s temple, or friend, that is also useless. And putra-hinam grham sunyam. And if you have no children, the so-called married life is also void. And sarva-sunya daridrata. And if you are poor, in poverty, then everything is zero. Even if you have got a wife, or even if you have got education, even you have got friend, everything is… That is Canakya Pandita’s advice. So this family life is attraction. Grha-ksetra, then suta, children. Then apta, relatives. In this way, janasya moho ’yam aham mameti [SB 5.5.8], he becomes entangled in this material life. But that is moha. That is not fact. It is moha in this sense because we have to change this body. In this body I have created something, grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittaih, and at the time of death, as Krsna says, mrtyuh sarva-haras ca aham. Krsna takes away everything as death. Your grha, your house, your land, your wife, your children, your friend, your reputation—everything is taken away. And then you have to begin another life. Tatha dehantara-praptih. You are not dead. You are living eternally. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20] This body is finished, you have to accept another body. And that you do not know what kind of body you’ll get. There are so many bodies. Jalaja nava-laksani sthavara laksa-vimsati: 8,400,000 forms of body. So you have to enter some of the, some of them, one of them. So in this way our life is going on. But temporarily, if we are situated in a position, “This is my wife, this is my children, this is my house, this is my country, this is my nation, this is my, mine…” Aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. This illusion. You’ll not be allowed to stay in these circumstances of aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. That’s a fact. Everything will be taken away, but we are attached to this. This is material life. Therefore Devahuti proposes, “Sir,…” Yah avagrahah. This false conception of life, aham mameti… [SB 5.5.8]. “I am American,”“I am Indian,” “I am Hindu,” “I am Muslim,” “I am Christian…” Or “I am brahmana,” “I am ksatriya…” This avagraha… It is called upadhi, designation: “For the time being.” Just like you become minister for five years or three years. Or president. Just like Nixon was president; now he’s not president. So this is an upadhi. You are Indian, American, this, that—they are all upadhis. Therefore if we are attached, if we are attached to the upadhi, that is called avagraha. Aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. And according to the upadhi, I become attached to “me” and “mine”—“I am this,” “I am that,” and “It is mine, it is…” But actually, they are all illusion. Fact it is. If you suppose… Just like the president was five years very powerful. Now he’s dragged down. Then what is the value? What is the value? So it may be for five years or fifty years or utmost hundred years. Or a million years. Just like Brahma. But they are all temporary. In the eternal time, five years or ten years or hundred years or five million years, they are all limited. They are not eternal. But we are eternal. We living entities, we are eternal. So why we should be illusioned by the noneternal? That is called illusion. That is called jnana, that “I learn from Bhagavad-gita that ‘I am eternal. There is no birth and there is no death.’ Na jayate na mriyate va kadacit. Kadacit, at any time. Not that it has begun now. No. Never we are born. Na hanyate hanyamane… [Bg. 2.20]. So this is the fact. So why I shall be interested in something noneternal?” This is called knowledge. If I am eternal and my position is to enjoy life… Anandamayo ’bhyasat. By nature, I am part and parcel of Krsna. Krsna is sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1], and Krsna says, mamaivamso jiva-bhutah [Bg. 15.7]. So qualitatively I am also sac-cid-ananda. So why I am enjoying this temporary life for ten years or twenty years or two hundred years? This is called knowledge. Etaj jnanam. Other jnanam, they are not jnanam. I have said many times. They are arts, silpa, to live for some time and make some artistic way of living condition and forget my real problem—janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosanudarsan am. So for this purpose one should approach guru. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta [SB 11.3.21]. One who is actually interested for spiritual life, he should inquire about a guru. Not as a fashion, that “I may… Let me keep one guru and…” No. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam. Just like Devahuti is doing. Uttamam, something beyond this darkness. Tama means darkness, and ut means above. Uttama. That is uttama. So one who is interested… Uttama life means the spiritual life. Tama life means this material life. Tamasi ma jyotir gama. If you can transcend this darkness, the world of darkness, and if you come to the world of light, that is required. So Devahuti, in the previous verse, accepted her son, Kapiladeva: pumsam isvaro vai bhavan kila lokasya tamasandhasya…, lokasya tamasandhasya caksuh surya ivoditah. “You are just like the sun. Sun, when the morning the sun is arisen, then all darkness immediately gone. Similarly, You have arisen…” God, Krsna, or His incarnation, when They come, the darkness of this material world, illusion, is dissipated. Just like Krsna. When Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, came, the darkness, illusion, Arjuna’s illusion, was counteracted. He was also thinking aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. “Why shall I fight with my relatives, the other side?” So this was darkness, aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. Because either you maintain or…, or you love this illusory position, that is sammoham. This very word is used here: atha me deva sammoham apakrastum tvam arhasi. Sammoha. Samyag-rupena moham. Sammoha. The, the material life, aham mameti [SB 5.5.8], we have created some situation, “my” and “mine,” all this is false, illusion. “Although it is false, we are so much attached to it. So You require to dissipate that.” Apakrastum. This misconception. That is the business of guru. ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah This is guru. Guru’s business is that we are in the darkness of this illusion, “my” and “mine.” The whole world is going on. They fight between nation and nation, between society and society, community and community, brother and brother, father and mother, or so many… Simply this aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. “This much mine. Why (they) are interfering in my business? There must be fight.” This illusion is going on. But we do not belong to any one of them. It is temporary. Just like in a railway compartment, if there is some crowd, somebody fights, “Why… Why… Why you have pushed me? Why you have taken my seat?” And there is very big fight. And somebody tolerates that “I shall sit here for two hours or for three hours. Why shall I fight?” This is one mentality. And another mentality is that he knows that for the two hours or three hours or some other hours he’ll remain in that compartment, but there is fight, because aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. But two hours’ seat, he’s thinking, “It is my permanent seat. Why you should intrude upon my seat?” This is going on. Nobody will be allowed to stay here in this material world. He will have to change the body, his position. Duhkhalayam asasvatam [Bg. 8.15]. And so long you’ll remain here, you’ll have to fight, struggle for existence. This is material life. And at the same time, if you make compromise, that “Never mind, it is full of miseries. I shall stay here,” no, you cannot be allowed. You’ll be kicked out. Duhkhalayam asasvatam [Bg. 8.15]. This is the material world. So… And we have got very much attachment for this material world. We cannot… Therefore according to Vedic system there is compulsory renunciation. “Get out, please, immediately.” Pancasordhvam vanam vrajet. “You are now past fifty years. That’s all right. You have falsely fought in this material world, aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. Now stop this business. Come out.” This is Vedic civilization. As soon as you are fifty years, you may… Just like children, they play on the beach, making sand house and so on. Now, the father, when the time is up: “Now, my dear children, stop this business. Come out. Come here, home.” So we have to do that. So this is the business of guru, to teach the student detachment, that “This world is not your place. Your place is Vaikunthaloka.” Krsna comes for this purpose. Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata [Bg. 4.7]. This is dharmasya glanih. When we become too much attached with this material world, that is called dharmasya glanih. What is dharma? Dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam [SB 6.3.19]. Dharma means the order of the Supreme Person. That is dharma. The order of the Supreme Person is, I mean to say, open to everyone. Nobody can say that “I do not know what is the order of the Supreme.” “I do not carry out,” that is another thing. But the order of the Supreme is there. Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru: [Bg. 18.65] “Just become My devotee. Always think of Me.” Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji: “You worship Me. You haven’t got to worship anyone else.” Mam ekam. The order is open. But we’ll not do it. That is another thing. We’ll not accept. But still, Krsna comes. When this dharma is disobeyed, Krsna comes. Therefore Krsna says to Arjuna that “Because you are My friend, I am just talking to You the most confidential dharma. Because I have spoken to you in so many ways, but because you are My intimate friend, so I am talking to you now the most essential part of dharma.” What is that? “Now, whatever I have said, you can give up.” Sarva-dharman parityajya [Bg. 18.66]. “I have explained to you about so many yoga systems, but this is the real yoga system: sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. Bas.” So this dharma is taught by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His incarnations, by His devotee, by saintly persons. This is real dharma. But we do not take it. That is another thing. But if we take it, then we become benefited. So here it is said, “You are my spiritual master, although You are my son. But I accepted You as my spiritual master. I know You can deliver me from this darkness of ignorance.” So atha deva sammoham apakrastum: “I am attached to this material world. That is illusion.” Sammoham apakrastum: “Now You dissipate this sammoham.” So guru means repeatedly his business is to enlighten the disciple how to become detached to this material world. Simply detachment will not help you. The other philosophy, Sunyavadi, that you make zero this material detachment… No. That is not possible. We have got… Because we are anandamaya, we want ananda, sac-cid-ananda. Actually, we are searching after eternal life, sat. That is sat, eternal life. And cit means knowledge. And ananda… Sac-cid-ananda. We are seeking that. Partially, if we simply understand eternity, that will not help us. We must have blissful knowledge. So the Mayavadis, those who are impersonalists, they want to make these material varieties of life zero. Because they are very much disgusted with this material life. So jagan mithya. They say, “This is mithya. This is false.” But we say that it is not mithya. It is… Mithya means false. It is not false. It is truth, but you are using it in a false way. That is our philosophy. This is the expansion of energy of Krsna. So this energy, you are not utilizing for Krsna, but you are utilizing the energy for your sense gratification. That is mistake. But otherwise, how it can be false? It is not false. It is creation of God. Mama… Krsna says, bhumir apo ’nalo vayuh kham mano buddhih, bhinna prakrtir me astadha. Me. It is Krsna’s energy. How Krsna’s energy can be false? If Krsna is truth, Krsna’s energy is also truth. But it may… Just like the cloud. You cannot say the cloud is false. Cloud is fact, although it is temporary. The cloud does not remain in the sky permanently; it appears and again disappears. But when it appears there is rain, there is reaction of the rain, vegetation on the ground, on the field. How you can say it is false? But it is temporary. That is actual philosophy. So this material world is not false, as the Mayavadi philosopher says. Brahma satyam jagan mithya. Jagat is not mithya. It is fact, but we are using it in the way for our sense gratification. That is false. But the material world is not false. Our Krsna consciousness movement is just to teach people how to use it properly. That is Krsna consciousness movement. Just like we are using this microphone. It is not false, but we are utilizing it for spreading Krsna consciousness. And if you use it for something else, for some political propaganda or some other propaganda, then it is false. But if you use it for propagating Krsna consciousness, it is not false. Therefore the conclusion is the microphone is not false. Its use is false. So if you properly use, that is wanted. Krsna consciousness movement is for that purpose. Isavasyam idam sarvam. Everything Krsna’s. Everything of the Supreme Personality, belonging to Him. Actually, that is the fact. So if we misuse it for our purpose or for our sense gratification, that is false. So here Devahuti is requesting Bhagavan Kapiladeva that “I am in this illusion, aham mameti [SB 5.5.8], by false conception of life. Kindly You dissipate this illusion because You are my guru.” Yah avagrahah aham mameti iti etasmin yojitas tvaya: “You can say that ‘How I am engaged in these material activities…’ ” That is also, the chance is given, the opportunity is given by Krsna. Krsna is very kind. He says, ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham [Bg. 4.11]. If you want Krsna to give you material advantages, He’ll give you. Take it. And if you want from Krsna again revival of your spiritual life, then He will give you. Therefore Krsna says, ye yatha mam prapadyante. Krsna is very kind. Just like a kind father, he says sometimes, “My dear boy, you don’t do this.” But if the boy, if the son persists, “All right, you can do it at your risk.” This is going on. This is going on. krsna-bahirmukha hana bhoga vancha kare nikata-stha maya tare japatiya dhare Maya means when we forget Krsna and we want to enjoy this material world to the best capacity, means as far as we can do with our senses, Krsna gives us opportunity. Krsna gives us opportunity, and therefore so many varieties of life. If somebody wants to eat without any discrimination anything… There are many persons, even in the so-called civilized world, they eat anything and everything. But that is misuse of life. Human life is meant for eating Krsna’s prasadam, not anything and everything. That is not human life. Human life is meant for eating… Yajna-sistasinah santo mucyante sarva-kilbisaih. Because this material life is all sinful life. Because everything belongs to Krsna, and we are possessing things for my satisfaction. This is sinful. Criminal. Suppose if your property I use for my sense gratification, it is criminal. Similarly, everything belongs to Krsna. Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram [Bg. 5.29]. Krsna says, “I am the proprietor.” So if you don’t acknowledge that, if you use this world for your sense gratification, then you are criminal. Therefore it is said that you offer yajna, offer to Krsna. Then you take it. Yajna-sistasinah santo mucyante sarva-kilbisaih. You bring things… You have to eat. That’s a fact. Krsna is giving you opportunity of eating nice things: food grains, fruits, flowers, milk, so many things. So you prepare, offer to Krsna. That is called yajna. Yajna means satisfaction of the Supreme Person. That is called yajna. So yajnarthe karmano ’nyatra loko ’yam karma-bandhanah [Bg. 3.9] If you do not work for performing yajna, then you are becoming entangled. Yajnarthe karmano ’nyatra loko ’yam karma-bandhanah [Bg. 3.9]. And if you perform yajna and then you enjoy… Tena tyaktena bhunjithah. We require our, I mean to say, maintenance of life and soul. That is, that is a fact. But tena tyaktena bhunjithah. You enjoy everything which is given to you as prasadam, as remnants, as mercy. This is Vaisnava life. Vaisnava life means they do not… What is this temple? The temple is they are being trained up how to accept the remnants of foodstuff of Krsna. We don’t cook for ourself. If we cook for ourself, then, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, it is said, ye pacanty atma-karanat, bhunjate te tv agham papah. They are simply eating sinful things. And people are doing that. They do not offer to Krsna, and they eat whatever they like. The result is that you have misused this opportunity of human life, to understand Krsna and go back to home, back to Godhead, so that you’ll be happy eternally. You’ll be freed from this entanglement of bhutva bhutva praliyate. You enjoy one duration of life; again you have to give it up. Then you accept another duration of life. Bhutva bhutva praliyate. This human life is meant for getting rid of this business, taking birth and dying, taking birth and dying. This is meant. This is… This opportunity’s given, but if you do not use it properly, you use it as cats and dogs and hogs, then the…, by nature’s law, you will get the body next life cats and dogs and hogs. You eat even stool. Because you had no discrimination in eating, the “All right, you can now eat…” the pig’s body, hog’s body you get, and eat even up to stool. That opportunity is given. And you have sex life with your mother and sister. You see hog’s life. They have no sex discrimination. They do not discriminate, “It is…, she is my mother,” or “She is my sister.” No. So this is hog’s life. Therefore sastra says that “Don’t be foolish to lead a life like hogs.” Nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye [Bhag. 5.5.1]. The material civilization should not be like that. What is that? Now, simply for sense gratification. Nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kaman. That sense gratification is also not very easy. People are working so hard. They are stealing even, risking life. So many things they are… This is not very easygoing life. Kastan kaman. Everything is studied by sastra. Arhate vid-bhujam ye. This kind of life is meant for the hogs. So human life is not meant for like that. Human life is meant for tapasya. Tapo divyam putraka yena suddhyet sattvam, suddhyet. You have to purify your existence. Now our existence is not purified. We get this contaminated body and change it; again another contaminated body, another… Just like one man is suffering from disease: one contamination, then another contamination, another… This is not life. You purify yourself. And that purification begins when you accept the life of austerities, tapah, tapasya. Tapasya means voluntarily accepting some… This is not inconvenience. Just like in our society it is enjoined, the students, they should voluntarily accept the principle: no illicit sex life, no meat-eating, no fish-eating, no, nothing of the sort, no intoxication, and no gambling. This is tapasya. Especially for these European and American students, they are, from the beginning of their life, they are accustomed to these habits. But they have voluntarily given up on my word. And that is guru’s business. So to purify so that he may be saved from this illusion—he must be purified—so this little inconvenience for higher happiness, that is desired, that is required. Tapo divyam putraka yena suddhyet sattvam yasmad brahma-saukhyam anantam. Anantam. You are after happiness, but you do not know how to enjoy happiness. That you do not know. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita. Sukham atyantikam yat tad atindriya-grahyam. Atindriya. Not these false senses. We want sense enjoyment, but not these covered senses. We are spiritual. We have got spiritual body. That body is now covered with this material garment; therefore it is covered. The senses are covered. With covered senses, you cannot enjoy actually. The senses must be open. That means you can enjoy life when your senses are open, not covered by this material body. That is recommended. One who is interested in Krsna consciousness… It is said, sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. Nirmalam means purified. You have to become purified. And sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam. Now we are in, covered, by this material body, means I am covered by so many designations: “I am American,” “I am Indian,” “I am Hindu,” “I am Muslim.” These are all coverings, material. So we have to get free, freedom from this covering. You should not think that “I am American” or “Indian” or this or that. As Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised, jivera svarupa haya nitya-krsna-dasa [Cc. Madhya 20.108-109]. When you understand simply that “I am eternal servant of Krsna,” that is sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam [Cc. Madhya 19.170], nirmalam. And with that conception of life, hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate. Hrsikena means when your senses are now clean, without any covering, then with that senses, when you try to satisfy Krsna, hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam… [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. Krsna’s name is another, Hrsikesa. Senayor ubhayor madhye hrsikesa sthapaya me acyuta. The Hrsikesa name is there. Hrsikesa means actually Krsna is the master of the senses. We are not proprietor of the senses. Krsna is the proprietor of the senses. So when our senses are purified and we apply them… After all, our senses are employed for satisfaction of somebody, myself or somebody else. Actually, somebody else. That is kama, krodha, lobha, moha, matsarya. That is illusion. We are not serving ourself; we are serving our lusty desires, kama, krodha. I am angry; therefore I am killing somebody. So that is not mine. But I am servant of the anger. I am servant; I am not master. If I would have been master, then I could control my anger. But I am not. I am servant of anger. I am servant of lusty desires. So I am servant, but this servitude should be transferred to Krsna. That is perfection of life. sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate [Cc. Madhya 19.170] That is bhakti. And if you sta…, if you are situated in that transcendental position, bhakti, then you can understand Krsna. Bhaktya mam abhijanati [Bg. 18.55] Not by so-called speculation. No. That is not possible. Otherwise Krsna would have said, “By jnana, by yoga, by karma, one could understand Me.” Krsna says “No” clearly. Bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah [Bg. 18.55]. If you want to know Krsna as He is, then you have to accept this process of bhakti, and that bhakti means sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. You should not consider yourself… So this Krsna consciousness movement is actually, factually the movement for unity of the whole world. And that is actually beginning. It is actually being happened. All classes of men, from all groups of men, all religious societies or nation, they are joining this movement. They are joining. Actually there is the possibility. The United Nations could not unite the nations, but if you push on this Krsna consciousness movement, all people of different dimensions, of different nations, different religions, they will join. That is required. So otherwise, we are in the moha, illusion. So it is the business of guru to dissipate this illusion, darkness, and enlighten the student to the real life. ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah He is guru. Thank you very much. (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bombay, November 10, 1974