Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.16 Pradyumna: Translation: “Due to ignorance, the materialistic person does not know anything about his real self-interest, the auspicious path in life. He is simply bound to material enjoyment by lusty desires, and all his plans are made for this purpose. For temporary sense gratification, such a person creates a society of envy, and due to this mentality, he plunges into the ocean of suffering. Such a foolish person does not even know about this.” Prabhupada: lokah svayam sreyasi nasta-drstir yo ’rthan samiheta nikama-kamah anyonya-vairah sukha-lesa-hetor ananta-duhkham ca na veda mudhah This is the description of the material world. Anyonya-vairah: simply envious of one another. This is material world: I am envious of you; you are envious of me. You can extend this familywise, societywise, communitywise, nationalwise, but the basic principle is enviousness, nothing else. Therefore in the beginning of the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is explained that who are fit for accepting this Bhagavata principle. Dharmah projjhita-kaitava atra paramo nirmatsaranam. This is meant for the persons who are no more envious, for them. Those who are envious, they have no entrance in the principles of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Paramo nirmat… Because the whole world is based on the principle of enviousness. Anyonya-vairah. And what is the meaning of this enviousness? Sukha-lesa-hetu, temporary happiness. Temporary happiness. Now, especially in the modern world… Not only modern world, always. That is the nature of this material world. How much fighting is going on between nation to nation, person to person, community to community. There are so many codes, legal codes. The people go there, fight with one another. Then the United Nation… What is that United Nation? I have already explained many times, assembly of barking dogs. That’s all. United Nation. They will never unite. They will go there and barking. Many times we have seen their enviousness. Krsna says that sarva-loka-mahesvaram: “I am the proprietor of all planets.” But we are claiming, “This is my country,” “This is India, my country,” “This is Pakistan,” “This is America,” “This is Russia,” and fighting. And the proprietor is there; he is claiming that “This is not yours. It is mine.” Still they are. Because why? Ananta-duhkham ca na veda mudhah. Rascals. He has no right. Unnecessarily he or they are claiming right and fighting. You have to do it, because we are placed in a condition of suffering. Daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya [Bg. 7.14]. I have given this example many times. Just like in the school the teacher engages two naughty boys to catch the ears of one another. And he is pulling the ear; he is also pulling the ear. There is competition of pulling the ear. So nature engages them. Jagat ahita ugra-karma. They have manufactured this ugra-karma world for the annihilation of this world. Russia has discovered the nuclear… What is that? Nuclear weapon? And the Americans, they are finding out the opportunity so, to drop the bomb here and there, and everything will be destroyed. They do not know what is the aim of life. Simply they are engaged in ugra-karma and creating enmity, anyonya-vairah sukha-lesa-hetoh. Maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan [SB 7.9.43]. Prahlada Maharaja has also said that soce tato vimukha-cetasah: “I am simply thinking of these rascals,” vimudhan. Here it is said, “mudha,” and Prahlada Maharaja says, “vimudha,” visesa-rupena, “particularly mudha.” Prahlada Maharaja, Vaisnava, he has no problem. A Vaisnava has no problem. Prahlada Maharaja says, “I have no problem, my Lord,” to Nrsimhadeva. Naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaranyas tvad-virya-gayana-mahamrta-magna-cittah. A devotee will be simply satisfied if he has got the opportunity of reading, reciting Srimad-Bhagavatam anywhere, any part of the world, sitting down underneath a tree. One who has got education, he can read Srimad-Bhagavatam. But even one has no education—he cannot read—still he has no problem. He can chant: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. So he can enjoy anywhere. There is a practical example in this connection. While Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was touring in the southern India, in the Ranganatha temple He saw one brahmana. He was reading Bhagavad-gita. So many persons were coming and criticizing him, “Well, brahmana, how you are reading Bhagavad-gita?” So he did not reply. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu approached him and He saw the brahmana was reading Bhagavad-gita and tears gliding down. So He could understand that “Here is a pure devotee.” So He asked him, “Well, brahmana, what you are reading?” So he said, “Sir, I cannot read. I am illiterate. I am illiterate and I cannot read what is Bhagavad-gita, especially Sanskrit.” His neighbors were criticizing him. They knew that “This brahmana is illiterate, and he is making a show of reading Bhagavad-gita.” So they were criticizing. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He could understand that “Here is a pure devotee.” So He asked him that “What you are reading?” He said frankly, “Sir, I cannot read. I have no education. Illiterate.” “Then? It appears that you are reading something. And if you are illiterate, why you are reading Bhagavad-gita?” “No, my Guru Mmaharaja said. He knew that I am illiterate, but still, my Guru Maharaja said that ‘You read every day the slokas of Bhagavad-gita.’ So on account of his order, although I do not know anything what is written there, I am trying to read.” “Oh, that’s very nice. You are carrying the order of your Guru Maharaja. But it appears that you are crying also. How you are crying if you cannot read?” “Yes, Sir, that’s… Because as soon as I take this Bhagavad-gita in my hand I see the picture that Arjuna is asking Krsna to place his chariot in the warfield, and Krsna is driving the chariot by his order. So this is creating some feeling in me: ‘Oh, Krsna is so kind, so nice, that although He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is carrying the order of His devotee as servant.’ When I feel this, I cry: ‘Oh, how Krsna is kind. How Krsna is merciful.’ ” So immediately Caitanya Mahaprabhu embraced him: “You are reading Bhagavad-gita. It is not the literacy or education or knowing grammar and putting jugglery of words. That is not reading. If one feels what is the purport of Bhagavad-gita, that is reading Bhagavad-gita.” So it does not depend on literary career. A devotee is simply satisfied if he can think of Krsna. Krsna wants that. Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65]. Krsna never said that “You become a great pandita or grammarian to read Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam.” That, if you can, if you have, you can. Otherwise, anyone, even a child, can do this, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65]. One can come into this temple and offer obeisances. That will also do. Therefore a devotee can be satisfied in any condition of life, provided he can think of Krsna’s lotus feet. That’s all. That much. So therefore Prahlada Maharaja said that “I have no problem.” Naivodvije para duratyaya. “I have no problem to cross over the ocean of nescience. That solution is already there. Wherever I am, I shall think of Your lotus feet. That’s all.” “But you appear to be unhappy.” “Yes, I am unhappy.” “Why?” Soce tato vimukha-cetasah: “I am thinking of these rascals who have rejected Your instruction in the Bhagavad-gita.” Soce tato vimukha-cetasah. And they are busy. Like monkeys and dogs they are busy. You will see they are very busy, going here, going there, going there. Just like monkey, jumping from one tree to another, jumping. Wherever he is standing, he will move his arm, everything. But people know that “Here is a monkey.” He may appear to be very busy, but people will immediately take a stick: “Go away! Go away! Go away!” So our business is like that. We are making big, big plans to be happy like the monkeys. Therefore here it is said that arthan samiheta nikama-kamah. So it is the duty of everyone to do something for his welfare. But here the beginning is lokah svayam sreyasi nasta-drstih: “These rascals, they are blind to their real interest.” Sreyas means real interest, and preyas means immediate profit. So nikama-kamah, sense gratification, is very nice immediately. “I enjoy sex life. This is very nice. Why shall I chant Hare Krsna? Let me enjoy sex.” Sreyasi. And preyasi: “This is pleasure.” And it is not pleasure; therefore nasta-drstih. He does not know that this sense pleasure is not his actual pleasure. It is creating different types of miserable conditions. Nasta-drstih. He has no eyes. Arthan samiheta nikama-kamah. Based on… He does not know, either it is legal sex or illegal sex. There are two kinds of sex life, legal and illegal. Legal is married life sex. That is taken as legal. And without marriage, like cats and dogs in the street or here and there, that is illegal. So legal sex life is still allowed. Just like Krsna says, dharmaviruddha-kamo ’smi. If there is legal sex, one man and woman, married, and only for progeny they get into sex life, that is allowed in the sastra. But illegal, illicit sex is most abominable. But either illicit or legal, there are so many sufferings. So many sufferings. Illegal—now they are giving opportunity, abortion, killing the child, and so on, go to the hospital. That is also. And behind that, the killing the child, a very sinful, he has to suffer. He does not know. Ananta-duhkham ca na veda mudhah. He’s taking the risk of suffering life after life. Those who are killing the child within the womb, they will be punished. They will also enter within the womb of the mother, and somebody will kill, and again he will enter another mother’s womb; again he’ll be killed. So as many child he has killed, he has to go to the womb of the mother to another womb, another. He will never see the light of the world. He’ll be killed. This is the punishment. This is the punishment. But he does not know. Ananta-duhkham ca na veda mudhah. He does not know how the laws of nature is working, life for life. You have no right to kill any life. Even an ant you cannot kill even. You cannot kill even. If you kill, then you have to suffer. These are not stories. These are not stories. There are many incidences in the sastra. Just like Vidura. He was Yamaraja, incarnation of Yamaraja, but he was cursed by a muni to become a sudra. Why? Now, one muni was brought in the court of Yamaraja, and he was to be punished by like punishment, sula, piercing the lancet through the rectum and it will come out. So the muni asked Yamaraja that “Why you have put me into this tribulation, this punishment? What is my fault?” The Yamaraja explained that “In your childhood you pierced with a nail through the rectum of an ant. Therefore you must be punished like this.” Just see. In childhood playing he pierced. Sometimes we have seen, the children do that. That is also counted. You cannot do any harm to any animal, any living being. You cannot do. But these rascals are regularly killing. Although they have got this human form of body, although they have got intelligence, scientific intelligence, and so-called, but they do not know how nature’s law is working. They do not care to know. They say these are all mythology. But not mythology. It is not mythology. Na veda mudhah. They do not know what is the law of nature, that ananta-duhkham. So we should be very, very careful. We are implicating step by step. Padam padam yad vipadam. They do not know. This material world means at every step we are creating another difficulty. Padam padam yad vipadam. Samasrita ye pada-pallava-plavam mahat-padam. [break] Krsna. Bhavambudhir vatsa-padam. For Him the great ocean of nescience becomes just like vatsa-padam, the water containing with the hoofprints of calves. That is called vatsa-padam. And this place, padam padam yad vipadam. This material world, where there is danger in every step, it is not for them. It is not for them. Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has warned that niskincanasya bhagavad-bhajanonmukhasya. Anyone who is desirous of rendering service, dedicates life for the service of Bhagavan, Krsna… Krsna demands that. Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. For such person, one who has decided, “Yes, I shall fully surrender to Krsna,” for such person, niskincanasya… Surrender means he has finished his all material business. No more. No more business. That is called niskincana. Kincana means “something,” and niskincana means that something also nothing. Anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam [BRS 1.1.11]. There are so many achievement by karma, jnana, yoga, and so many things. But bhakti means finish this, all this nonsense business, karma, jnana, yoga. Simply surrender to Krsna. Anukulyena krsnanu-silanam [Madhya 19.167]. So for such persons… That is niskincana. Eta saba chadi, haya niskincana, ekanta bhave naya, krsnaika-sarana.(?). In Caitanya-caritamrta… So we have to become niskincana, no more material business, no more. That is called niskincanasya. Who can take this niskincana? Bhagavad-bhajanonmukhasya. Unless one is eager to serve the Lord, nobody can be niskincana. Everyone is a kincana, “Something mine, something mine, something mine.” So for such person, niskincanasya bhagavad-bhajanonmukhasya param param jigamisor bhava-sagarasya… Why bhagavad-bhajana is required? Yes, it is most essential, sreya. Sreyasi nasta-drstih. We do not know. Krsna says that “If you do not come to Me, if you do not accept Me, then,” nivartante mrtyu-samsara-vartmani, “you will continue the cycle of birth and death.” And that means ananta-duhkham, ananta-duhkham, one life after one life, one life after one life. This will go on. So we should be very, very careful that this human form of life should not be wasted even for a moment. That is real life. There is, by, one sloka by Rupa Gosvami. Avyartha-kalatvam [Cc.Madhya 23.18-19]. A devotee should always be alert to see, “Whether this time, one moment passed, whether I have wasted it or I have utilized it?” That is, should be, the point. Ayusah ksana eko ’pi na labhya svarna-kotibhih. This is also material estimation, that one moment of our life cannot be returned in exchange of millions of dollars, even from material point of view. And those who are advancing in spiritual life, how much careful they should be. Therefore Rupa Gosvami has given the formula, avyartha-kalatvam. Not a single moment may be wasted without chanting Hare Krsna. Thank you very much. (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Vrndavana, November 4, 1976