Canto
7
Chapter 7: What Prahlâda Learned in the Womb
(1) Nârada Muni said [to Yudhishthhira, see 7.1: 13]: 'Thus being questioned by the daitya sons spoke he, the Asura who was a great devotee of the Lord, smiling to them remembering what I had told him. (2) S'rî Prahlâda said: 'When our father left for Mandarâcala to do his austerities, were the godly of a great war effort against the Dânavâs. (3) 'Thanks heaven is because of his own sins the sinner, who was always oppressing everyone, now like a serpent eaten by the ants [see: 7.3: 15-16 ]', so the ones of Indra said. (4-5) Hearing how by their great display of violence one after the other was killed by them, fled the asura leaders in fear in all directions. In their great haste and desire to stay alive they forgot about their wives, children and wealth, homes, relatives, animals and the articles of their households. (6) In the heat of their victory plundered the Suras the king's palace, while Indra to that occasion captured the queen, my mother.
(7) The devarishi who happened to arrive there on the spot saw how she on the road, in great fear crying like a kurarî [an osprey], was led away. (8) He said: 'O King of the Suras, you shouldn't drag this one away, she's innocent, release her right away, o greatest of fortune, she is the chaste wife of someone else!'
(9) Indra said: 'She carries the seed of the sura enemy in her womb, let her remain in our custody until she delivers. With that objective realized I will release her.
(10) Nârada said: 'There is nothing wrong with this child, you should see him as a great devotee, the very best even; he, being such a stout servant, will not find his death by your hand.'
(11) Thus speaking to him, released Indra her out of respect for the devarishi his words, out of respect for someone dear to the Eternal One. In their devotion they circumambulated her and then returned to their heaven. (12) Thereafter took the rishi my mother to his âs'rama reassuring her: 'Stay here my child, until the arrival of your husband.' (13) As he so said lived she thus with the devarishi with nothing to fear from anywhere for as long as the penance of the daitya leader was not completed. (14) For the welfare of the child she was expecting was the faithful woman in her desire to deliver it, there unto Nârada of service with great dedication. (15) The rishi as the man in control gave out of compassion her, in fact the both of us, instructions on the truth of dharma and spiritual knowledge, especially pointing it out to me without a tinge of material interest [compare 1.2: 7]. (16) That all was, indeed because it happened such a long time ago and because of my mothers female disposition, forgotten by her, but I, blessed by the sage, did not and even today has the recollection of it not left me [see also B.G. 9: 32]. (17) You yourselves too can have it from me if you believe in my words; provided a firm faith is the intelligence of the very best there just as well for women and small children as it is there for me [see also B.G. 18: 55]. (18) Like in due course of time from the Controller of all Forms with flowers and fruits the body of a tree can be seen, can with one's body the six conditions be observed [of being born, existing as a person, growing, transforming, dwindling and dying] that one undergoes beginning with one's birth, but that does not apply to the soul [see also B.G. 2: 20]. (19-20) The soul is eternal, does not dwindle, is pure, the individual, the knower of the field, the original foundation, the unchanging, self-illumined, actual cause, pervading all, independent and unmoving. From these twelve symptoms of the soul is a conscious person impelled to give up the false conception of 'I' and 'mine' that originates from the illusion of everything that belongs to having a body [see also 6.4: 24]. (21) Just as gold locked up in the stones, that by the golddiggers in different ways are won in the goldmines, by the experts easily is extracted, can from within the fields of organic bodies [see also B.G. 13: 1-4] likewise by spiritual processes the experts in telling the difference between matter and soul obtain the brahmin goal. (22) The teachers of example speak of eight types of material energy [B.G. 7: 4] to which there are exactly three modes and sixteen modifications [consciousness, the senses of action and perception and the elements, see also 1.3: 1]; it is the individual living entity, the person, that connects all these. (23) The body that moving about and standing alone is but a combination of all of them together is thus of the dual and in this matter is it the [original of the] person that one must look for when one says 'not this, not that' [neti neti], which is the way to give up on what is not the soul. (24) Being in touch with matter and being apart from it are, when they with the mindfulness to the soul are purified by mature discrimination, thus the ones reticent who are of serious analysis with the creation, maintenance and destruction. (25) Of the intelligence there are the waking state, the dreaming, and the deep sleep; the One by whom those various modalities are perceived, that One apart from all, is the Original Person of Transcendence. (26) One should understand the constitutional position of the soul in the out of intelligence [neti neti] refuting of the dividedness produced by the different actions of the three modes of nature which are alike scents that are carried by the air [see also B.G. 3: 42]. (27) This ocean of matter rooting in ignorance that is without factual meaning, is of the living entity the door behind which he is confined by the operating modes of nature, like being caught in a dream.
(28) Therefore from the bottom of your heart you must burn the weeds of all karma of being conditioned by the modes of nature, in the yoga realizing the cessation of the stream of consciousness. (29) To that is of the thousands of processes this one, as offered by the supreme of devotion that [through the Lord and the devotee] relates to the Supreme Controller, the one process which, once followed, soon brings the peace [consider also B.G. 18: 66, and the footnote]. (30-31) Properly attend to a guru with faith and devotion, offer all that was gained, be of association with the holy and the devoted and of worship unto the Controller, take heed of the relevant discourses, sing about His qualities and activities, meditate on the feet and observe the rules exercising respect for the deities. (32) Hari, the Supreme Lord is situated in all living beings; being of the highest esteem for all those creatures and for what drives them is one of understanding for the Supreme Controller. (33) Thus having subdued the six symptoms [of sensual weaknesses: lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness and jealousy] is the devotional service rendered unto the Controller, Vâsudeva, the Supreme Lord, of which the peace and love is obtained. (34) When hearing about the uncommon activities and might of His exploits and His qualities as evinced by the pastimes of His different appearances, will of great jubilation there be horripilation, tears, a faltering voice and loud aloud chanting, shouting and dancing. (35) Like when one is haunted by a ghost are there sometimes laughs, exclamations, meditative moods, exercises of respect towards other living beings, prolonged heavy breathing and utterances like: 'O Lord, Master of the World, Nârâyana!'; thus is one free from shame absorbed in thoughts about the True Self. (36) This way engaged is one, thus thinking in love about the ultimate, liberated from all obstacles on one's path and is one in one's body and mind harmonized; the so very powerful seed of desire has then been burned by the exercise of bhakti of which one achieves the One Beyond it All [**]. (37) Constantly being in touch with Him, Adhokshaja, is the contaminated mind of an embodied being in this world and the repetitious of its material existence brought to a full stop; the advanced all know of that spiritual heaven of happiness and therefore, from the core of your heart, sing in devotion for your heart's true Controller [see also B.G. 18: 54].
(38) And what would be the problem of that, o asura sons; what would in one's own exercise of always having a place for Him in one's heart, with Him always there as the Soul to one's soul and the Friend Unlimited, all together be the need of providing for all that the sensual pleasure would require [compare 7.6: 19 and B.G. 9: 26]? (39) Wealth, women, one's animals, children and all that, houses, land, elephants, a treasury, all the luxury, all that economy and sense gratification is to the one whose lifespan is but short, the one who inevitably dies, lost in a second; how much pleasure can a thing so temporary bring? (40) Likewise are the higher destinations that are achieved by great sacrifice, all perishable, however more comfortable they might be; they are not free from disturbances and therefore is He of whom one has never seen or heard any fault, with the bhakti as it is explained, the Supreme Ruler to be worshiped for self-realization [see also B.G. 8: 16]. (41) From the material knowledge which is there for the purpose of the many activities in this world, one thinks oneselves highly advanced, but again and again is the unfailing result of a man waging like this to have arrived at the opposite. (42) The determination of the karmi [the person sweating for results] to be happy, to be liberated from misery out here, is an ambition that always leads to the unhappiness that conceals the [lasting] happiness which follows from not craving the money. (43) The desirables one wishes for in the willful actions for which the living being entered the world, result indeed in the physical body that one has, but perishable as it is, is it one's enemy when one tries to leave it for what it is in order to embrace the spirit. (44) What more is there to say, ultimately is one separated from the children, wife, home, wealth and all, the realm, the treasury, the elephant, the ministers and servants and relatives, on which one based one's self-esteem. (45) What is the value of all of this to the soul? Most trivial with the perishable body appear these things to be necessary, but they are useless for the ocean full of the nectar of eternal happiness.
(46) Let it be clear that all that someone in a material body in this world does for his personal benefit, o asura sons, beginning with lusting after sex, with the temporary leads to the heavy suffering that is the result of the workload of one's karma. (47) For the embodied one begins the karma with the body that one acquired as a consequence of the way one acted; because of that karma one acquires another body, and that repetition one indeed owes to one's ignorance. (48) Therefore depends all the regulation of one's income and desires for sense gratification, as well as the religion thereto, on the glorification of the Soul above the soul, the Lord divinely indifferent who is the Controller [of the Time and the karma]. (49) Of all living beings is He the Lord, the original source, the one pulling the strings, the Beloved, who by His different energies has created them in being the Individual Soul of all individual entities together. (50) Whether god or demon, man or ghost or a singer of heaven, in rendering service at Mukunda's feet do we all become equally fulfilled by all of His! (51-52) Being a perfect brahmin, a fine godly person or a saint, o asura descendants, will not suffice for pleasing Mukunda, nor do good conduct or vast learning. Neither will charity or austerity, worship, cleanliness or vows; the Lord is satisfied by unalloyed devotional service, the rest is but outer appearance [see also B.G. 9: 30 and 1.2: 8]. (53) Execute therefore, unto Hari the Supreme Lord the bhakti, o dânavâ sons, for He, omnipresent as the Soul and Controller of all beings alive, is alike one's own self. (54) O Daityas, the ghosts and demons, the women and the laborers, the cowherds, the birds, the animals and all the sinners, without any doubt can all arrive at and be part of the qualities of the Infallible One, of Acyuta [see also B.G. 4: 9]. (55) Of the living entity in this world is the following considered to be the real transcendental self-interest: to care for association in the unalloyed devotion unto Govinda [He as the blessing of the cows] who is found everywhere [see also bhajan 1 and 2].
Source texts:
What Prahlâda Learned in the Womb
Nârada Muni said [to Yudhishthhira]: 'Thus being questioned by the daitya sons spoke he, the Asura who was a great devotee of the Lord, smiling to them remembering what I had told him.Nârada Muni said: Although Prahlâda Mahârâja was born in a family of asuras, he was the greatest of all devotees. Having thus been questioned by his class friends, the sons of the asuras, he remembered the words spoken to him by me and replied to his friends as follows. (Vedabase)
S'rî Prahlâda said: 'When our father left for Mandarâcala to do his austerities, were the godly of a great war effort against the Dânavâs.
Prahlâda Mahârâja said: When our father, Hiranyakas'ipu, went to Mandarâcala Mountain to execute severe austerities, in his absence the demigods, headed by King Indra, made a severe attempt to subdue all the demons in warfare. (Vedabase)
'Thanks heaven is because of his own sins the sinner, who was always oppressing everyone, now like a serpent eaten by the ants [see: 7.3: 15-16] ', so the ones of Indra said.
"Alas, as a serpent is eaten by small ants, so the troublesome Hiranyakas'ipu, who always inflicted miseries upon all types of people, has now been defeated by the reactions of his own sinful activities." Saying this, the demigods, headed by King Indra, arranged to fight the demons. (Vedabase)
Hearing how by their great display of violence one after the other was killed by them, fled the asura leaders in fear in all directions. In their great haste and desire to stay alive they forgot about their wives, children and wealth, homes, relatives, animals and the articles of their households.
When the great leaders of the demons, who were being killed one after another, saw the unprecedented exertion of the demigods in fighting, they began to flee, scattering themselves in all directions. Simply to protect their lives, they hastily fled from their homes, wives, children, animals and household paraphernalia. Paying no heed to all these, the demons simply fled. (Vedabase)
In the heat of their victory plundered the Suras the king's palace, while Indra to that occasion captured the queen, my mother.
The victorious demigods plundered the palace of Hiranyakas'ipu, the King of the demons, and destroyed everything within it. Then Indra, King of heaven, arrested my mother, the Queen. (Vedabase)
The devarishi who happened to arrive there on the spot saw how she on the road, in great fear crying like a kurarî [an osprey], was led away.
As she was being led away, crying in fear like a kurari captured by a vulture, the great sage Nârada, who at that time had no engagement, appeared on the scene and saw her in that condition. (Vedabase)
He said: 'O King of the Suras, you shouldn't drag this one away, she's innocent, release her right away, o greatest of fortune, she is the chaste wife of someone else!'
Nârada Muni said: O Indra, King of the demigods, this woman is certainly sinless. You should not drag her off in this merciless way. O greatly fortunate one, this chaste woman is the wife of another. You must immediately release her. (Vedabase)
Indra said: 'She carries the seed of the sura enemy in her womb, let her remain in our custody until she delivers. With that objective realized I will release her.'
King Indra said: In the womb of this woman, the wife of the demon Hiranyakas'ipu, is the seed of that great demon. Therefore, let her remain in our custody until her child is delivered, and then we shall release her. (Vedabase)
Nârada said: 'There is nothing wrong with this child, you should see him as a great devotee, the very best even; he, being such a stout servant, will not find his death by your hand.'
Nârada Muni replied: The child within this woman's womb is faultless and sinless. Indeed, he is a great devotee, a powerful servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore you will not be able to kill him. (Vedabase)
Thus speaking to him, released Indra her out of respect for the devarishi his words, out of respect for someone dear to the Eternal One. In their devotion they circumambulated her and then returned to their heaven.
When the great saint Nârada Muni had thus spoken, King Indra, being respectful to Nârada's words, immediately released my mother. Because of my being a devotee of the Lord, all the demigods circumambulated her. Then they returned to their celestial kingdom. (Vedabase)
Thereafter took the rishi my mother to his âs'rama reassuring her: 'Stay here my child, until the arrival of your husband.'
Prahlâda Mahârâja continued: The great saint Nârada Muni brought my mother to his âs'rama and assured her of all protection, saying, "My dear child, please remain at my âs'rama until the arrival of your husband." (Vedabase)
As he so said lived she thus with the devarishi with nothing to fear from anywhere for as long as the penance of the daitya leader was not completed.
After accepting the instructions of Devarshi Nârada, my mother stayed in his care, without fear from any direction, as long as my father, the King of the Daityas, had not become free from his severe austerities. (Vedabase)
For the welfare of the child she was expecting was the faithful woman in her desire to deliver it, there unto Nârada of service with great dedication.
My mother, being pregnant, desired the safety of her embryo and desired to give birth after her husband's arrival. Thus she stayed at Nârada Muni's âs'rama, where she rendered service unto Nârada Muni with great devotion. (Vedabase)
The rishi as the man in control gave out of compassion her, in fact the both of us, instructions on the truth of dharma and spiritual knowledge, especially pointing it out to me without a tinge of material interest [compare 1.2: 7].
Nârada Muni delivered his instructions both to me, who was within the womb, and to my mother, who was engaged in rendering him service. Because he is naturally extremely kind to the fallen souls, being in a transcendental position, he gave instructions on religion and transcendental knowledge. These instructions were free from all material contamination. (Vedabase)
That all was, indeed because it happened such a long time ago and because of my mothers female disposition, forgotten by her, but I, blessed by the sage, did not and even today has the recollection of it not left me [see also B.G. 9: 32].
Because of the long duration of time that has passed and because of her being a woman and therefore less intelligent, my mother has forgotten all those instructions; but the great sage Nârada blessed me, and therefore I could not forget them. (Vedabase)Text 17
You yourselves too can have it from me if you believe in my words; provided a firm faith is the intelligence of the very best there just as well for women and small children as it is there for me [see also B.G. 18: 55].
Prahlâda Mahârâja continued: My dear friends, if you can place your faith in my words, simply by that faith you can also understand transcendental knowledge, just like me, although you are small children. Similarly, a woman can also understand transcendental knowledge and know what is spirit and what is matter. (Vedabase)
Like in due course of time from the Controller of all Forms with flowers and fruits the body of a tree can be seen, can with one's body the six conditions be observed [of being born, existing as a person, growing, transforming, dwindling and dying] that one undergoes beginning with one's birth, but that does not apply to the soul [see also B.G. 2: 20].
Just as the fruits and flowers of a tree in due course of time undergo six changes--birth, existence, growth, transformation, dwindling and then death--the material body, which is obtained by the spirit soul under different circumstances, undergoes similar changes. However, there are no such changes for the spirit soul. (Vedabase)
The soul is eternal, does not dwindle, is pure, the individual, the knower of the field, the original foundation, the unchanging, self-illumined, actual cause, pervading all, independent and unmoving. From these twelve symptoms of the soul is a conscious person impelled to give up the false conception of 'I' and 'mine' that originates from the illusion of everything that belongs to having a body [see also 6.4: 24].
"Âtmâ" refers to the Supreme Lord or the living entities. Both of them are spiritual, free from birth and death, free from deterioration and free from material contamination. They are individual, they are the knowers of the external body, and they are the foundation or shelter of everything. They are free from material change, they are self-illuminated, they are the cause of all causes, and they are all-pervading. They have nothing to do with the material body, and therefore they are always uncovered. With these transcendental qualities, one who is actually learned must give up the illusory conception of life, in which one thinks, "I am this material body, and everything in relationship with this body is mine." (Vedabase)
Just as gold locked up in the stones, that by the golddiggers in different ways are won in the goldmines, by the experts easily is extracted, can from within the fields of organic bodies [see also B.G. 13: 1-4] likewise by spiritual processes the experts in telling the difference between matter and soul obtain the brahmin goal.
An expert geologist can understand where there is gold and by various processes can extract it from the gold ore. Similarly, a spiritually advanced person can understand how the spiritual particle exists within the body, and thus by cultivating spiritual knowledge he can attain perfection in spiritual life. However, as one who is not expert cannot understand where there is gold, a foolish person who has not cultivated spiritual knowledge cannot understand how the spirit exists within the body. (Vedabase)
The teachers of example speak of eight types of material energy [B.G. 7: 4] to which there are exactly three modes and sixteen modifications [consciousness, the senses of action and perception and the elements, see also 1.3: 1]; it is the individual living entity, the person, that connects all these.
The Lord's eight separated material energies, the three modes of material nature and the sixteen transformations [the eleven senses and the five gross material elements like earth and water]--within all these, the one spiritual soul exists as the observer. Therefore all the great âcâryas have concluded that the individual soul is conditioned by these material elements. (Vedabase)
The body that moving about and standing alone is but a combination of all of them together is thus of the dual and in this matter is it the [original of the] person that one must look for when one says 'not this, not that' [neti neti], which is the way to give up on what is not the soul.
There are two kinds of bodies for every individual soul--a gross body made of five gross elements and a subtle body made of three subtle elements. Within these bodies, however, is the spirit soul. One must find the soul by analysis, saying, "This is not it. This is not it." Thus one must separate spirit from matter. (Vedabase)
Being in touch with matter and being apart from it are, when they with the mindfulness to the soul are purified by mature discrimination, thus the ones reticent who are of serious analysis with the creation, maintenance and destruction.
Sober and expert persons should search for the spirit soul with minds purified through analytical study in terms of the soul's connection with and distinction from all things that undergo creation, maintenance and destruction. (Vedabase)
Of the intelligence there are the waking state, the dreaming, and the deep sleep; the One by whom those various modalities are perceived, that One apart from all, is the Original Person of Transcendence.
Intelligence can be perceived in three states of activity--wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep. The person who perceives these three is to be considered the original master, the ruler, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Vedabase)
One should understand the constitutional position of the soul in the out of intelligence [neti neti] refuting of the dividedness produced by the different actions of the three modes of nature which are alike scents that are carried by the air [see also B.G. 3: 42].
As one can understand the presence of the air by the aromas it carries, so, under the guidance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one can understand the living soul by these three divisions of intelligence. These three divisions, however, are not the soul; they are constituted of the three modes and are born of activities. (Vedabase)
This ocean of matter rooting in ignorance that is without factual meaning, is of the living entity the door behind which he is confined by the operating modes of nature, like being caught in a dream.
Through polluted intelligence one is subjected to the modes of nature, and thus one is conditioned by material existence. Like a dreaming state in which one falsely suffers, material existence, which is due to ignorance, must be considered unwanted and temporary. (Vedabase)
Therefore from the bottom of your heart you must burn the weeds of all karma of being conditioned by the modes of nature, in the yoga realizing the cessation of the stream of consciousness.
Therefore, my dear friends, O sons of the demons, your duty is to take to Krishna consciousness, which can burn the seed of fruitive activities artificially created by the modes of material nature and stop the flow of the intelligence in wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep. In other words, when one takes to Krishna consciousness, his ignorance is immediately dissipated. (Vedabase)
To that is of the thousands of processes this one, as offered by the supreme of devotion that [through the Lord and the devotee] relates to the Supreme Controller, the one process which, once followed, soon brings the peace [consider also B.G. 18: 66, and the footnote].
Of the different processes recommended for disentanglement from material life, the one personally explained and accepted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead should be considered all-perfect. That process is the performance of duties by which love for the Supreme Lord develops. (Vedabase)
Properly attend to a guru with faith and devotion, offer all that was gained, be of association with the holy and the devoted and of worship unto the Controller, take heed of the relevant discourses, sing about His qualities and activities, meditate on the feet and observe the rules exercising respect for the deities.
One must accept the bona fide spiritual master and render service unto him with great devotion and faith. Whatever one has in one's possession should be offered to the spiritual master, and in the association of saintly persons and devotees one should worship the Lord, hear the glories of the Lord with faith, glorify the transcendental qualities and activities of the Lord, always meditate on the Lord's lotus feet, and worship the Deity of the Lord strictly according to the injunctions of the s'âstra and guru. (Vedabase)
Hari, the Supreme Lord is situated in all living beings; being of the highest esteem for all those creatures and for what drives them is one of understanding for the Supreme Controller.
One should always remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His localized representation as the Paramâtmâ, who is situated in the core of every living entity's heart. Thus one should offer respect to every living entity according to that living entity's position or manifestation. (Vedabase)
Thus having subdued the six symptoms [of sensual weaknesses: lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness and jealousy] is the devotional service rendered unto the Controller, Vâsudeva, the Supreme Lord, of which the peace and love is obtained.
By these activities [as mentioned above] one is able to cut down the influence of the enemies, namely lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness and jealousy, and when thus situated, one can render service to the Lord. In this way one surely attains the platform of loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Vedabase)
When hearing about the uncommon activities and might of His exploits and His qualities as evinced by the pastimes of His different appearances, will of great jubilation there be horripilation, tears, a faltering voice and loud aloud chanting, shouting and dancing.
One who is situated in devotional service is certainly the controller of his senses, and thus he is a liberated person. When such a liberated person, the pure devotee, hears of the transcendental qualities and activities of the Lord's incarnations for the performance of various pastimes, his hair stands on end on his body, tears fall from his eyes, and in his spiritual realization his voice falters. Sometimes he very openly dances, sometimes he sings loudly, and sometimes he cries. Thus he expresses his transcendental jubilation. (Vedabase)
Like when one is haunted by a ghost are there sometimes laughs, exclamations, meditative moods, exercises of respect towards other living beings, prolonged heavy breathing and utterances like: 'O Lord, Master of the World, Nârâyana!'; thus is one free from shame absorbed in thoughts about the True Self.
When a devotee becomes like a person haunted by a ghost, he laughs and very loudly chants about the qualities of the Lord. Sometimes he sits to perform meditation, and he offers respects to every living entity, considering him a devotee of the Lord. Constantly breathing very heavily, he becomes careless of social etiquette and loudly chants like a madman, "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna! O my Lord, O master of the universe!" (Vedabase)
This way engaged is one, thus thinking in love about the ultimate, liberated from all obstacles on one's path and is one in one's body and mind harmonized; the so very powerful seed of desire has then been burned by the exercise of bhakti of which one achieves the One Beyond it All [**].
The devotee is then freed from all material contamination because he constantly thinks of the Lord's pastimes and because his mind and body have been converted to spiritual qualities. Because of his intense devotional service, his ignorance, material consciousness and all kinds of material desires are completely burnt to ashes. This is the stage at which one can achieve the shelter of the Lord's lotus feet. (Vedabase)
Constantly being in touch with Him, Adhokshaja, is the contaminated mind of an embodied being in this world and the repetitious of its material existence brought to a full stop; the advanced all know of that spiritual heaven of happiness and therefore, from the core of your heart, sing in devotion for your heart's true Controller [see also B.G. 18: 54 ].
The real problem of life is the repetition of birth and death, which is like a wheel rolling repeatedly up and down. This wheel, however, completely stops when one is in touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, by the transcendental bliss realized from constant engagement in devotional service, one is completely liberated from material existence. All learned men know this. Therefore, my dear friends, O sons of the asuras, immediately begin meditating upon and worshiping the Supersoul within everyone's heart. (Vedabase)
And what would be the problem of that, o asura sons; what would in one's own exercise of always having a place for Him in one's heart, with Him always there as the Soul to one's soul and the Friend Unlimited, all together be the need of providing for all that the sensual pleasure would require [compare 7.6: 19 and B.G. 9: 26]?
O my friends, sons of the asuras, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His Supersoul feature always exists within the cores of the hearts of all living entities. Indeed, He is the well-wisher and friend of all living entities, and there is no difficulty in worshiping the Lord. Why, then, should people not engage in His devotional service? Why are they so addicted to unnecessarily producing artificial paraphernalia for sense gratification? (Vedabase)
Wealth, women, one's animals, children and all that, houses, land, elephants, a treasury, all the luxury, all that economy and sense gratification is to the one whose lifespan is but short, the one who inevitably dies, lost in a second; how much pleasure can a thing so temporary bring?
One's riches, beautiful wife and female friends, one's sons and daughters, one's residence, one's domestic animals like cows, elephants and horses, one's treasury, economic development and sense gratification--indeed, even the lifetime in which one can enjoy all these material opulences--are certainly temporary and flickering. Since the opportunity of human life is temporary, what benefit can these material opulences give to a sensible man who has understood himself to be eternal? (Vedabase)
Likewise are the higher destinations that are achieved by great sacrifice, all perishable, however more comfortable they might be; they are not free from disturbances and therefore is He of whom one has never seen or heard any fault, with the bhakti as it is explained, the Supreme Ruler to be worshiped for self-realization [see also B.G. 8: 16].
It is learned from Vedic literature that by performing great sacrifices one may elevate himself to the heavenly planets. However, although life on the heavenly planets is hundreds and thousands of times more comfortable than life on earth, the heavenly planets are not pure [nirmalam], or free from the taint of material existence. The heavenly planets are also temporary, and therefore they are not the goal of life. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, has never been seen or heard to possess inebriety. Consequently, for your own benefit and self-realization, you must worship the Lord with great devotion, as described in the revealed scriptures. (Vedabase)
From the material knowledge which is there for the purpose of the many activities in this world, one thinks oneselves highly advanced, but again and again is the unfailing result of a man waging like this to have arrived at the opposite.
A materialistic person, thinking himself very advanced in intelligence, continually acts for economic development. But again and again, as enunciated in the Vedas, he is frustrated by material activities, either in this life or in the next. Indeed, the results one obtains are inevitably the opposite of those one desires. (Vedabase)
The determination of the karmi [the person sweating for results] to be happy, to be liberated from misery out here, is an ambition that always leads to the unhappiness that conceals the [lasting] happiness which follows from not craving the money.
In this material world, every materialist desires to achieve happiness and diminish his distress, and therefore he acts accordingly. Actually, however, one is happy as long as one does not endeavor for happiness; as soon as one begins his activities for happiness, his conditions of distress begin. (Vedabase)
The desirables one wishes for in the willful actions for which the living being entered the world, result indeed in the physical body that one has, but perishable as it is, is it one's enemy when one tries to leave it for what it is in order to embrace the spirit.
A living entity desires comfort for his body and makes many plans for this purpose, but actually the body is the property of others. Indeed, the perishable body embraces the living entity and then leaves him aside. (Vedabase)
What more is there to say, ultimately is one separated from the children, wife, home, wealth and all, the realm, the treasury, the elephant, the ministers and servants and relatives, on which one based one's self-esteem.
Since the body itself is ultimately meant to become stool or earth, what is the meaning of the paraphernalia related to the body, such as wives, residences, wealth, children, relatives, servants, friends, kingdoms, treasuries, animals and ministers? They are also temporary. What more can be said about this? (Vedabase)
What is the value of all of this to the soul? Most trivial with the perishable body appear these things to be necessary, but they are useless for the ocean full of the nectar of eternal happiness.
All this paraphernalia is very near and dear as long as the body exists, but as soon as the body is destroyed, all things related to the body are also finished. Therefore, actually one has nothing to do with them, but because of ignorance one accepts them as valuable. Compared to the ocean of eternal happiness, they are most insignificant. What is the use of such insignificant relationships for the eternal living being? (Vedabase)
Let it be clear that all that someone in a material body in this world does for his personal benefit, o asura sons, beginning with lusting after sex, with the temporary leads to the heavy suffering that is the result of the workload of one's karma.
My dear friends, O sons of the asuras, the living entity receives different types of bodies according to his previous fruitive activities. Thus he is seen to suffer with reference to his particular body in all conditions of life, beginning with his infusion into the womb. Please tell me, therefore, after full consideration, what is the living entity's actual interest in fruitive activities, which result in hardship and misery? (Vedabase)
For the embodied one begins the karma with the body that one acquired as a consequence of the way one acted; because of that karma one acquires another body, and that repetition one indeed owes to one's ignorance.
The living entity, who has received his present body because of his past fruitive activity, may end the results of his actions in this life, but this does not mean that he is liberated from bondage to material bodies. The living entity receives one type of body, and by performing actions with that body he creates another. Thus he transmigrates from one body to another, through repeated birth and death, because of his gross ignorance. (Vedabase)
Therefore depends all the regulation of one's income and desires for sense gratification, as well as the religion thereto, on the glorification of the Soul above the soul, the Lord divinely indifferent who is the Controller [of the Time and the karma].
The four principles of advancement in spiritual life--dharma, artha, kâma and moksha--all depend on the disposition of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, my dear friends, follow in the footsteps of devotees. Without desire, fully depend upon the disposition of the Supreme Lord, worship Him, the Supersoul, in devotional service. (Vedabase)
Of all living beings is He the Lord, the original source, the one pulling the strings, the Beloved, who by His different energies has created them in being the Individual Soul of all individual entities together.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, is the soul and the Supersoul of all living entities. Every living entity is a manifestation of His energy in terms of the living soul and the material body. Therefore the Lord is the most dear, and He is the supreme controller. (Vedabase)
Whether god or demon, man or ghost or a singer of heaven, in rendering service at Mukunda's feet do we all become equally fulfilled by all of His!
If a demigod, demon, human being, Yaksha, Gandharva or anyone within this universe renders service to the lotus feet of Mukunda, who can deliver liberation, he is actually situated in the most auspicious condition of life, exactly like us [the mahâjanas, headed by Prahlâda Mahârâja]. (Vedabase)
Being a perfect brahmin, a fine godly person or a saint, o asura descendants, will not suffice for pleasing Mukunda, nor do good conduct or vast learning. Neither will charity or austerity, worship, cleanliness or vows; the Lord is satisfied by unalloyed devotional service, the rest is but outer appearance [see also B.G. 9: 30 and 1.2: 8].
My dear friends, O sons of the demons, you cannot please the Supreme Personality of Godhead by becoming perfect brâhmanas, demigods or great saints or by becoming perfectly good in etiquette or vast learning. None of these qualifications can awaken the pleasure of the Lord. Nor by charity, austerity, sacrifice, cleanliness or vows can one satisfy the Lord. The Lord is pleased only if one has unflinching, unalloyed devotion to Him. Without sincere devotional service, everything is simply a show. (Vedabase)
Execute therefore, unto Hari the Supreme Lord the bhakti, o dânavâ sons, for He, omnipresent as the Soul and Controller of all beings alive, is alike one's own self.
My dear friends, O sons of the demons, in the same favorable way that one sees himself and takes care of himself, take to devotional service to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present everywhere as the Supersoul of all living entities. (Vedabase)
O Daityas, the ghosts and demons, the women and the laborers, the cowherds, the birds, the animals and all the sinners, without any doubt can all arrive at and be part of the qualities of the Infallible One, of Acyuta [see also B.G. 4: 9].
O my friends, O sons of demons, everyone, including you (the Yakshas and Râkshasas), the unintelligent women, s'ûdras and cowherd men, the birds, the lower animals and the sinful living entities, can revive his original, eternal spiritual life and exist forever simply by accepting the principles of bhakti-yoga. (Vedabase)
Of the living entity in this world is the following considered to be the real transcendental self-interest: to care for association in the unalloyed devotion unto Govinda [He as the blessing of the cows] who is found everywhere [see also bhajan 1 and 2].
In this material world, to render service to the lotus feet of Govinda, the cause of all causes, and to see Him everywhere, is the only goal of life. This much alone is the ultimate goal of human life, as explained by all the revealed scriptures. (Vedabase)
* To this there is also a significant verse in the S'vetâs'vatara Upanishad 6.23:
yasya deve parâ bhaktir
yathâ deve tathâ gurau
tasyaite kathitâ hy arthâh
prakâs'ante mahâtmanah"Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed."
**: S'rîla Madhvâcârya writes as follows:
tad-bhâva-bhâvah tad yathâ svarûpam bhaktih
kecid bhaktâ vinrityanti gâyanti ca yathepsitam
kecit tushnîm japanty eva kecit s'obhaya-kârinah'The ecstatic condition of devotional service was completely exhibited by S'rî Caitanya Mahâprabhu, who sometimes danced, sometimes cried, sometimes sang, sometimes remained silent, and sometimes chanted the holy name of the Lord. That is perfect spiritual existence.'
For
this original translation a one-volume printed copy
has been used with an extensive commentary.
ISBN: o-91277-27-7
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