Chapter
Seven Lord Krsna Instructs Uddhava
1. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O greatly
fortunate Uddhava, you have accurately revealed My desire to withdraw the Yadu
dynasty from the earth and return to My own abode in Vaikuntha. Thus Lord
Brahma, Lord Siva and all other planetary rulers are now praying for Me to
resume My residence in Vaikuntha.
2. Answering the prayer of Lord Brahma, I
descended within this world along with My plenary portion, Lord Baladeva, and
performed various activities on behalf of the demigods. I have now completed My
mission here.
3. Now due to the brahmanas’ curse the Yadu
dynasty will certainly perish by fighting among themselves; and on the seventh
day from today the ocean will rise up and inundate this city of Dvaraka.
4. O saintly Uddhava, in the near future I will
abandon this earth. Then, being overwhelmed by the age of Kali, the earth will
be bereft of all piety.
5. My dear Uddhava, you should not remain here on
the earth once I have abandoned this world. My dear devotee, you are sinless,
but in Kali-yuga the people will be addicted to all types of sinful activities;
therefore do not stay here.
6. Now you should completely give up all
attachment to your personal friends and relatives and fix your mind on Me. Thus
being always conscious of Me, you should observe all things with equal vision
and wander throughout the earth.
7. My dear Uddhava, the material universe that you
perceive through your mind, speech, eyes, ears and other senses is an illusory
creation that one imagines to be real due to the influence of maya. In fact,
you should know that all of the objects of the material senses are temporary.
8. One whose consciousness is bewildered by
illusion perceives many differences in value and meaning among material
objects. Thus one engages constantly on the platform of material good and evil
and is bound by such conceptions. Absorbed in material duality, such a person
contemplates the performance of compulsory duties, nonperformance of such
duties and performance of forbidden activities.
9. Therefore, bringing all your senses under
control and thus subduing the mind, you should see the entire world as situated
within the self, who is expanded everywhere, and you should also see this
individual self within Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
10. Being fully endowed with conclusive knowledge
of the Vedas and having realized the ultimate purpose of such knowledge in
practice, you will be able to perceive the pure self, and thus your mind will
be satisfied. At that time you will become dear to all living beings, headed by
the demigods, and you will never be hampered by any disturbance in life.
11. One who has transcended material good and evil
automatically acts in accordance with religious injunctions and avoids
forbidden activities. The self-realized person does this spontaneously, like an
innocent child, and not because he is thinking in terms of material good and
evil.
12. One who is the kind well-wisher of all living
beings, who is peaceful and firmly fixed in knowledge and realization, sees Me
within all things. Such a person never again falls down into the cycle of birth
and death.
13. Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: O King, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna, thus instructed His pure devotee Uddhava,
who was eager to receive knowledge from the Lord. Uddhava then offered
obeisances to the Lord and spoke as follows.
14. Sri Uddhava said: My dear Lord, You alone
award the results of yoga practice, and You are so kind that by Your own
influence You distribute the perfection of yoga to Your devotee. Thus You are
the Supreme Soul who is realized through yoga, and it is You who are the origin
of all mystic power. For my supreme benefit You have explained the procedure
for giving up the material world through the process of sannyasa, or
renunciation.
15. My dear Lord, O Supreme Soul, for those whose
minds are attached to sense gratification, and especially for those bereft of
devotion unto You, such renunciation of material enjoyment is most difficult to
perform. That is my opinion.
16. O my Lord, I myself am most foolish because my
consciousness is merged in the material body and bodily relations, which are
all manufactured by Your illusory energy. Thus I am thinking, “I am this body,
and all of these relatives are mine.” Therefore, my Lord, please instruct Your
poor servant. Please tell me how I can very easily carry out Your instructions.
17. My dear Lord, You are the Absolute Truth, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, and You reveal Yourself to Your devotees.
Besides Your Lordship, I do not see anyone who can actually explain perfect
knowledge to me. Such a perfect teacher is not to be found even among the
demigods in heaven. Indeed, all of the demigods, headed by Lord Brahma, are
bewildered by Your illusory potency. They are conditioned souls who accept
their own material bodies and bodily expansions to be the highest truth.
18. Therefore, O Lord, feeling weary of material
life and tormented by its distresses, I now surrender unto You because You are
the perfect master. You are the unlimited, all-knowing Supreme Personality of
Godhead, whose spiritual abode in Vaikuntha is free from all disturbances. In
fact, You are known as Narayana, the true friend of all living beings.
19. The Supreme Lord replied: Generally those
human beings who can expertly analyze the actual situation of the material
world are able to raise themselves beyond the inauspicious life of gross
material gratification.
20. An intelligent person, expert in perceiving
the world around him and in applying sound logic, can achieve real benefit
through his own intelligence. Thus sometimes one acts as one’s own instructing
spiritual master.
21. In the human form of life, those who are
self-controlled and expert in the spiritual science of Sankhya can directly see
Me along with all of My potencies.
22. In this world there are many kinds of created
bodies—some with one leg, others with two, three, four or more legs, and still
others with no legs—but of all these, the human form is actually dear to Me.
23. Although I, the Supreme Lord, can never be
captured by ordinary sense perception, those situated in human life may use
their intelligence and other faculties of perception to directly search for Me
through both apparent and indirectly ascertained symptoms.
24. In this regard, sages cite a historical
narration concerning the conversation between the greatly powerful King Yadu
and an avadhuta.
25. Maharaja Yadu once observed a certain brahmana
avadhuta, who appeared to be quite young and learned, wandering about
fearlessly. Being himself most learned in spiritual science, the King took the
opportunity and inquired from him as follows.
26. Sri Yadu said: O brahmana, I see that you are
not engaged in any practical religious activity, and yet you have acquired a
most expert understanding of all things and all people within this world.
Kindly tell me, sir, how did you acquire this extraordinary intelligence, and
why are you traveling freely throughout the world behaving as if you were a
child?
27. Generally human beings work hard to cultivate
religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and also knowledge of
the soul, and their usual motive is to increase the duration of their lives,
acquire fame and enjoy material opulence.
28. You, however, although capable, learned,
expert, handsome and most eloquent, are not engaged in doing anything, nor do
you desire anything; rather, you appear stupefied and maddened as if you were a
ghostly creature.
29. Although all people within the material world
are burning in the great forest fire of lust and greed, you remain free and are
not burned by that fire. You are just like an elephant who takes shelter from a
forest fire by standing within the water of the Ganges River,
30. O brahmana, we see that you are devoid of any
contact with material enjoyment and that you are traveling alone, without any
companions or family members. Therefore, because we are sincerely inquiring
from you, please tell us the cause of the great ecstasy that you are feeling
within yourself.
31. Lord Krsna continued: The intelligent King
Yadu, always respectful to the brahmanas, waited with bowed head as the
brahmana, pleased with the King’s attitude, began to reply.
32. The brahmana said: My dear King, with my
intelligence I have taken shelter of many spiritual masters. Having gained
transcendental understanding from them, I now wander about the earth in a
liberated condition. Please listen as I describe them to you.
33-35. O King, I have taken shelter of twenty-four
gurus, who are the following: the earth, air, sky, water, fire, moon, sun,
pigeon and python; the sea, moth, honeybee, elephant and honey thief; the deer,
the fish, the prostitute Pingala, the kurara bird and the child; and the young
girl, arrow maker, serpent, spider and wasp. My dear King, by studying their
activities I have learned the science of the self.
36. Please listen, O son of Maharaja Yayati, O
tiger among men, as I explain to you what I have learned from each of these
gurus.
37. A sober person, even when harassed by other
living beings, should understand that his aggressors are acting helplessly
under the control of God, and thus he should never be distracted from progress
on his own path. This rule I have learned from the earth.
38. A saintly person should learn from the
mountain to devote all his efforts to the service of others and to make the
welfare of others the sole reason for his existence. Similarly, as the disciple
of the tree, he should learn to dedicate himself to others.
39. A learned sage should take his satisfaction in
the simple maintenance of his existence and should not seek satisfaction
through gratifying the material senses. In other words, one should care for the
material body in such a way that one’s higher knowledge is not destroyed and so
that one’s speech and mind are not deviated from self-realization.
40. Even a transcendentalist is surrounded by
innumerable material objects, which possess good and bad qualities. However,
one who has transcended material good and evil should not become entangled even
when in contact with the material objects; rather, he should act like the wind.
41. Although a self-realized soul may live in
various material bodies while in this world, experiencing their various
qualities and functions, he is never entangled, just as the wind which carries
various aromas does not actually mix with them.
42. A thoughtful sage, even while living within a
material body, should understand himself to be pure spirit soul. Similarly, one
should see that the spirit soul enters within all forms of life, both moving
and nonmoving, and that the individual souls are thus all-pervading. The sage
should further observe that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as the
Supersoul, is simultaneously present within all things. Both the individual
soul and the Supersoul can be understood by comparing them to the nature of the
sky: although the sky extends everywhere and everything rests within the sky,
the sky does not mix with anything, nor can it be divided by anything.
43. Although the mighty wind blows clouds and
storms across the sky, the sky is never implicated or affected by these
activities. Similarly, the spirit soul is not actually changed or affected by
contact with the material nature. Although the living entity enters within a
body made of earth, water and fire, and although he is impelled by the three
modes of nature created by eternal time, his eternal spiritual nature is never
actually affected.
44. O King, a saintly person is just like water
because he is free from all contamination, gentle by nature, and by speaking
creates a beautiful vibration like that of flowing water. Just by seeing,
touching or hearing such a saintly person, the living entity is purified, just
as one is cleansed by contact with pure water. Thus a saintly person, just like
a holy place, purifies all those who contact him because he always chants the
glories of the Lord.
45. Saintly persons become powerful by execution
of austerities. Their consciousness is unshakable because they do not try to
enjoy anything within the material world. Such naturally liberated sages accept
foodstuffs that are offered to them by destiny, and if by chance they happen to
eat contaminated food, they are not affected, just like fire, which burns up
contaminated substances that are offered to it.
46. A saintly person, just like fire, sometimes
appears in a concealed form and at other times reveals himself. For the welfare
of the conditioned souls who desire real happiness, a saintly person may accept
the worshipable position of spiritual master, and thus like fire he burns to
ashes all the past and future sinful reactions of his worshipers by mercifully
accepting their offerings.
47. Just as fire manifests differently in pieces
of wood of different sizes and qualities, the omnipotent Supreme Soul, having
entered the bodies of higher and lower life forms created by His own potency,
appears to assume the identity of each.
48. The various phases of one’s material life,
beginning with birth and culminating in death, are all properties of the body
and do not affect the soul, just as the apparent waxing and waning of the moon
does not affect the moon itself. Such changes are enforced by the imperceptible
movements of time.
49. The flames of a fire appear and disappear at
every moment, and yet this creation and destruction is not noticed by the
ordinary observer. Similarly, the mighty waves of time flow constantly, like
the powerful currents of a river, and imperceptibly cause the birth, growth and
death of innumerable material bodies. And yet the soul, who is thus constantly
forced to change his position, cannot perceive the actions of time.
50. Just as the sun evaporates large quantities of
water by its potent rays and later returns the water to the earth in the form
of rain, similarly, a saintly person accepts all types of material objects with
his material senses, and at the appropriate time, when the proper person has
approached him to request them, he returns such material objects. Thus, both in
accepting and giving up the objects of the senses, he is not entangled.
51. Even when reflected in various objects, the
sun is never divided, nor does it merge into its reflection. Only those with
dull brains would consider the sun in this way. Similarly, although the soul is
reflected through different material bodies, the soul remains undivided and
nonmaterial.
52. One should never indulge in excessive
affection or concern for anyone or anything; otherwise one will have to
experience great suffering, just like the foolish pigeon.
53. There once was a pigeon who lived in the
forest along with his wife. He had built a nest within a tree and lived there
for several years in her company.
54. The two pigeons were very much devoted to
their household duties. Their hearts being tied together by sentimental
affection, they were each attracted by the other’s glances, bodily features and
states of mind. Thus, they completely bound each other in affection.
55. Naively trusting in the future, they carried
out their acts of resting, sitting, walking, standing, conversing, playing,
eating and so forth as a loving couple among the trees of the forest.
56. Whenever she desired anything, O King, the
she-pigeon would flatteringly cajole her husband, and he in turn would gratify
her by faithfully doing whatever she wanted, even with great personal
difficulty. Thus, he could not control his senses in her association.
57. Then the female pigeon experienced her first
pregnancy. When the time arrived, the chaste lady delivered a number of eggs
within the nest in the presence of her husband.
58. When the time was ripe, baby pigeons, with
tender limbs and feathers created by the inconceivable potencies of the Lord,
were born from those eggs.
59. The two pigeons became most affectionate to
their children and took great pleasure in listening to their awkward chirping,
which sounded very sweet to the parents. Thus with love they began to raise the
little birds who were born of them.
60. The parent birds became very joyful by
observing the soft wings of their children, their chirping, their lovely
innocent movements around the nest and their attempts to jump up and fly.
Seeing their children happy, the parents were also happy.
61. Their hearts bound to each other by affection,
the foolish birds, completely bewildered by the illusory energy of Lord Visnu,
continued to take care of the young offspring who had been born to them.
62. One day the two heads of the family went out
to find food for the children. Being very anxious to feed their offspring
properly, they wandered all over the forest for a long time.
63. At that time a certain hunter who happened to
be wandering through the forest saw the young pigeons moving about near their
nest. Spreading out his net he captured them all.
64. The pigeon and his wife were always anxious
for the maintenance of their children, and they were wandering in the forest
for that purpose. Having obtained proper food, they now returned to their nest.
65. When the lady pigeon caught sight of her own
children trapped within the hunter’s net, she was overwhelmed with anguish, and
crying out, she rushed toward them as they cried out to her in return.
66. The lady pigeon had always allowed herself to
be bound by the ropes of intense material affection, and thus her mind was
overwhelmed by anguish. Being in the grip of the illusory energy of the Lord,
she completely forgot herself, and rushing forward to her helpless children,
she was immediately bound in the hunter’s net.
67. Seeing his own children, who were more dear to
him than life itself, fatally bound in the hunter’s net along with his dearmost
wife, whom he considered equal in every way to himself, the poor male pigeon
began to lament wretchedly.
68. The male pigeon said: Alas, just see how I am
now destroyed! I am obviously a great fool, for I did not properly execute
pious activities. I could not satisfy myself, nor could I fulfill the purpose
of life. My dear family, which was the basis of my religiosity, economic
development and sense gratification, is now hopelessly ruined.
69. My wife and I were an ideal match. She always
faithfully obeyed me and in fact accepted me as her worshipable deity. But now,
seeing her children lost and her home empty, she has left me behind and gone to
heaven with our saintly children.
70. Now I am a wretched person living in an empty
home. My wife is dead; my children are dead. Why should I possibly want to
live? My heart is so pained by separation from my family that life itself has
become simply suffering.
71. As the father pigeon wretchedly stared at his
poor children trapped in the net and on the verge of death, pathetically
struggling to free themselves, his mind went blank, and thus he himself fell
into the hunter’s net.
72. The cruel hunter, having fulfilled his desire
by capturing the head pigeon, his wife and all of their children, set off for
his own home.
73. In this way, one who is too attached to family
life becomes disturbed at heart. Like the pigeon, he tries to find pleasure in
mundane sex attraction. Busily engaged in maintaining his own family, the
miserly person is fated to suffer greatly, along with all his family members.
74. The doors of liberation are opened wide to one
who has achieved human life. But if a human being simply devotes himself to
family life like the foolish bird in this story, then he is to be considered as
one who has climbed to a high place
only to trip and fall down.
Chapter
Eight The Story of Pingala
1. The saintly brahmana said: O King, the embodied
living entity automatically experiences unhappiness in heaven or hell.
Similarly, happiness will also be experienced, even without one’s seeking it.
Therefore a person of intelligent discrimination does not make any endeavor to
obtain such material happiness.
2. Following the example of the python, one should
give up material endeavors and accept for one’s maintenance food that comes of
its own accord, whether such food be delicious or tasteless, ample or meager.
3. If at any time food does not come, then a
saintly person should fast for many days without making endeavor. He should
understand that by God’s arrangement he must fast. Thus, following the example
of the python, he should remain peaceful and patient.
4. A saintly person should remain peaceful and
materially inactive, maintaining his body without much endeavor. Even though
possessed of full sensual, mental and physical strength, a saintly person
should not become active for material gain but rather should always remain
alert to his actual self-interest.
5. A saintly sage is happy and pleasing in his
external behavior, whereas internally he is most grave and thoughtful. Because
his knowledge is immeasurable and unlimited he is never disturbed, and thus in
all respects he is like the tranquil waters of the unfathomable and
unsurpassable ocean.
6. During the rainy season the swollen rivers rush
into the ocean, and during the dry summer the rivers, now shallow, severely
reduce their supply of water; yet the ocean does not swell up during the rainy
season, nor does it dry up in the hot summer. In the same way, a saintly
devotee who has accepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the goal of his
life sometimes will receive by providence great material opulence, and
sometimes he will find himself materially destitute. However, such a devotee of
the Lord does not rejoice in a flourishing condition, nor is he morose when
poverty-stricken.
7. One who has failed to control his senses
immediately feels attraction upon seeing a woman’s form, which is created by
the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord. Indeed, when the woman speaks with
enticing words, smiles coquettishly and moves her body sensuously, his mind is
immediately captured, and thus he falls blindly into the darkness of material
existence, just as the moth maddened by the fire rushes blindly into its
flames.
8. A foolish person with no intelligent
discrimination is immediately aroused at the sight of a lusty woman beautifully
decorated with golden ornaments, fine clothing and other cosmetic features.
Being eager for sense gratification, such a fool loses all intelligence and is
destroyed just like the moth who rushes into the blazing fire.
9. A saintly person should accept only enough food
to keep his body and soul together. He should go from door to door accepting
just a little bit of food from each family. Thus he should practice the
occupation of the honeybee.
10. Just as the honeybee takes nectar from all
flowers, big and small, an intelligent human being should take the essence from
all religious scriptures.
11. A saintly person should not think, “This food
I will keep to eat tonight and this other food I can save for tomorrow.” In
other words, a saintly person should not store foodstuffs acquired by begging.
Rather, he should use his own hands as his plate and eat whatever fits on them.
His only storage container should be his belly, and whatever conveniently fits
into his belly should be his stock of food. Thus one should not imitate the
greedy honeybee who eagerly collects more and more honey.
12. A saintly mendicant should not even collect
foodstuffs to eat later in the same day or the next day. If he disregards this
injunction and like the honeybee collects more and more delicious foodstuffs,
that which he has collected will indeed ruin him.
13. A saintly person should never touch a young
girl. In fact, he should not even let his foot touch a wooden doll in the shape
of a woman. By bodily contact with a woman he will surely be captured by
illusion, just as the elephant is captured by the she-elephant due to his
desire to touch her body.
14. A man possessing intelligent discrimination
should not under any circumstances try to exploit the beautiful form of a woman
for his sense gratification. Just as an elephant trying to enjoy a she-elephant
is killed by other bull elephants also enjoying her company, one trying to
enjoy a lady’s company can at any moment be killed by her other lovers who are
stronger than he.
15. A greedy person accumulates a large quantity
of money with great struggle and pain, but the person who has struggled so much
to acquire this wealth is not always allowed to enjoy it himself or give it in
charity to others. The greedy man is like the bee who struggles to produce a
large quantity of honey, which is then stolen by a man who will enjoy it
personally or sell it to others. No matter how carefully one hides his
hard-earned wealth or tries to protect it, there are those who are expert in
detecting the whereabouts of valuable things, and they will steal it.
16. Just as a hunter takes away the honey
laboriously produced by the honeybees, similarly, saintly mendicants such as
brahmacaris and sannyasis are entitled to enjoy the property painstakingly
accumulated by householders dedicated to family enjoyment.
17. A saintly person dwelling in the forest in the
renounced order of life should never listen to songs or music promoting
material enjoyment. Rather, a saintly person should carefully study the example
of the deer, who is bewildered by the sweet music of the hunter’s horn and is
thus captured and killed.
18. Becoming attracted to the worldly singing, dancing
and musical entertainment of beautiful women, even the great sage Rsyasrnga,
the son of Mrgi, fell totally under their control, just like a pet animal.
19. Just as a fish, incited by the desire to enjoy
his tongue, is fatally trapped on the fisherman’s hook, similarly, a foolish
person is bewildered by the extremely disturbing urges of the tongue and thus
is ruined.
20. By fasting, learned men quickly bring all of
the senses except the tongue under control, because by abstaining from eating
such men are afflicted with an increased desire to gratify the sense of taste.
21. Although one may conquer all of the other
senses, as long as the tongue is not conquered it cannot be said that one has
controlled his senses. However, if one is able to control the tongue, then one
is understood to be in full control of all the senses.
22. O son of kings, previously in the city of
Videha there dwelled a prostitute named Pingala. Now please hear what I have
learned from that lady.
23. Once that prostitute, desiring to bring a
lover into her house, stood outside in the doorway at night showing her
beautiful form.
24. O best among men, this prostitute was very
anxious to get money, and as she stood on the street at night she studied all
the men who were passing by, thinking, “Oh, this one surely has money. I know
he can pay the price, and I am sure he would enjoy my company very much.” Thus
she thought about all the men on the street.
25-26. As the prostitute Pingala stood in the
doorway, many men came and went, walking by her house. Her only means of
sustenance was prostitution, and therefore she anxiously thought, “Maybe this
one who is coming now is very rich...Oh, he is not stopping, but I am sure
someone else will come. Surely this man who is coming now will want to pay me
for my love, and he will probably give lots of money.” Thus, with vain hope,
she remained leaning against the doorway, unable to finish her business and go
to sleep. Out of anxiety she would sometimes walk out toward the street, and
sometimes she went back into her house. In this way, the midnight hour
gradually arrived.
27. As the night wore on, the prostitute, who
intensely desired money, gradually became morose, and her face dried up. Thus
being filled with anxiety for money and most disappointed, she began to feel a
great detachment from her situation, and happiness arose in her mind.
28. The prostitute felt disgusted with her
material situation and thus became indifferent to it. Indeed, detachment acts
like a sword, cutting to pieces the binding network of material hopes and
desires. Now please hear from me the song sung by the prostitute in that
situation.
29. O King, just as a human being who is bereft of
spiritual knowledge never desires to give up his false sense of proprietorship
over many material things, similarly, a person who has not developed detachment
never desires to give up the bondage of the material body.
30. The prostitute Pingala said: Just see how
greatly illusioned I am ! Because I cannot control my mind, just like a fool I
desire lusty pleasure from an insignificant man.
31. I am such a fool that I have given up the
service of that person who, being eternally situated within my heart, is
actually most dear to me. That most dear one is the Lord of the universe, who
is the bestower of real love and happiness and the source of all prosperity.
Although He is in my own heart, I have completely neglected Him. Instead I have
ignorantly served insignificant men who can never satisfy my real desires and
who have simply brought me unhappiness, fear, anxiety, lamentation and
illusion.
32. Oh, how I have uselessly tortured my own soul!
I have sold my body to lusty, greedy men who are themselves objects of pity.
Thus practicing the most abominable profession of a prostitute, I hoped to get
money and sex pleasure.
33. This material body is like a house in which I,
the soul, am living. The bones forming my spine, ribs, arms and legs are like
the beams, crossbeams and pillars of the house, and the whole structure, which
is full of stool and urine, is covered by skin, hair and nails. The nine doors
leading into this body are constantly excreting foul substances. Besides me,
what woman could be so foolish as to devote herself to this material body,
thinking that she might find pleasure and love in this contraption?
34. Certainly in this city of Videha I alone am
completely foolish. I neglected the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who awards
us everything, even our original spiritual form, and instead I desired to enjoy
sense gratification with many men.
35. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is absolutely the
most dear one for all living beings because He is everyone’s well-wisher and
Lord. He is the Supreme Soul situated in everyone’s heart. Therefore I will now
pay the price of complete surrender, and thus purchasing the Lord I will enjoy
with Him just like Laksmidevi.
36. Men provide sense gratification for women, but
all these men, and even the demigods in heaven, have a beginning and an end.
They are all temporary creations who will be dragged away by time. Therefore
how much actual pleasure or happiness could any of them ever give to their
wives?
37. Although I most stubbornly hoped to enjoy the
material world, somehow or other detachment has arisen in my heart, and it is
making me very happy. Therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, must
be pleased with me. Without even knowing it, I must have performed some
activity satisfying to Him.
38. A person who has developed detachment can give
up the bondage of material society, friendship and love, and a person who
undergoes great suffering gradually becomes, out of hopelessness, detached and
indifferent to the material world. Thus, due to my great suffering, such detachment
awoke in my heart; yet how could I have undergone such merciful suffering if I
were actually unfortunate? Therefore, I am in fact fortunate and have received
the mercy of the Lord. He must somehow or other be pleased with me.
39. With devotion I accept the great benefit that
the Lord has bestowed upon me. Having given up my sinful desires for ordinary
sense gratification, I now take shelter of Him, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.
40. I am now completely satisfied, and I have full
faith in the Lord’s mercy. Therefore I will maintain myself with whatever comes
of its own accord. I shall enjoy life with only the Lord, because He is the
real source of love and happiness.
41. The intelligence of the living entity is
stolen away by activities of sense gratification, and thus he falls into the
dark well of material existence. Within that well he is then seized by the
deadly serpent of time. Who else but the Supreme Personality of Godhead could
save the poor living entity from such a hopeless condition?
42. When the living entity sees that the entire
universe has been seized by the serpent of time, he becomes sober and sane and
at that time detaches himself from all material sense gratification. In that
condition the living entity is qualified to be his own protector.
43. The avadhuta said: Thus, her mind completely
made up, Pingala cut off all her sinful desires to enjoy sex pleasure with
lovers, and she became situated in perfect peace. Then she sat down on her bed.
44. Material desire is undoubtedly the cause of
the greatest unhappiness, and freedom from such desire is the cause of the
greatest happiness. Therefore, completely cutting off her desire to enjoy
so-called lovers, Pingala very happily went to sleep.
Chapter
Nine Detachment from All that Is Material
1. The saintly brahmana said: Everyone considers
certain things within the material world to be most dear to him, and because of
attachment to such things one eventually becomes miserable. One who understands
this gives up material possessiveness and attachment and thus achieves
unlimited happiness.
2. Once a group of large hawks who were unable to
find any prey attacked another, weaker hawk who was holding some meat. At that
time, being in danger of his life, the hawk gave up his meat and experienced actual
happiness.
3. In family life, the parents are always in
anxiety about their home, children and reputation. But I have nothing to do
with these things. I do not worry at all about any family, and I do not care
about honor and dishonor. I enjoy only the life of the soul, and I find love on
the spiritual platform. Thus I wander the earth like a child.
4. In this world two types of people are free from
all anxiety and merged in great happiness: one who is a retarded and childish
fool and one who has approached the Supreme Lord, who is beyond the three modes
of material nature.
5. Once a marriageable young girl was alone in her
house because her parents and relatives had gone that day to another place. At
that time a few men arrived at the house, specifically desiring to marry her.
She received them with all hospitality.
6. The girl went to a private place and began to
make preparations so that the unexpected male guests could eat. As she was
beating the rice, the conchshell bracelets on her arms were colliding and
making a loud noise.
7. The young girl feared that the men would
consider her family to be poor because their daughter was busily engaged in the
menial task of husking rice. Being very intelligent, the shy girl broke the
shell bracelets from her arms, leaving just two on each wrist.
8. Thereafter, as the young girl continued to husk
the rice, the two bracelets on each wrist continued to collide and make noise.
Therefore she took one bracelet off each arm, and with only one left on each
wrist there was no more noise.
9. O subduer of the enemy, I travel throughout the
surface of the earth learning constantly about the nature of this world, and
thus I personally witnessed the lesson of the young girl.
10. When many people live together in one place
there will undoubtedly be quarreling. And even if only two people live together
there will be frivolous conversation and disagreement. Therefore, to avoid
conflict, one should live alone, as we learn from the example of the bracelet
of the young girl.
11. Having perfected the yoga sitting postures and
conquered the breathing process, one should make the mind steady by detachment
and the regulated practice of yoga. Thus one should carefully fix the mind on
the single goal of yoga practice.
12. The mind can be controlled when it is fixed on
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Having achieved a stable situation, the
mind becomes free from polluted desires to execute material activities; thus as
the mode of goodness increases in strength, one can completely give up the
modes of passion and ignorance, and gradually one transcends even the material
mode of goodness. When the mind is freed from the fuel of the modes of nature,
the fire of material existence is extinguished. Then one achieves the
transcendental platform of direct relationship with the object of his
meditation, the Supreme Lord.
13. Thus, when one’s consciousness is completely
fixed on the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one no longer
sees duality, or internal and external reality. The example is given of the
arrow maker who was so absorbed in making a straight arrow that he did not even
see or notice the king himself, who was passing right next to him.
14. A saintly person should remain alone and
constantly travel without any fixed residence. Being alert, he should remain
secluded and should act in such a way that he is not recognized or noticed by
others. Moving without companions, he should not speak more than required.
15. When a person living in a temporary material
body tries to construct a happy home, the result is fruitless and miserable.
The snake, however, enters a home that has been built by others and prospers
happily.
16. The Lord of the universe, Narayana, is the
worshipable God of all living entities. Without extraneous assistance, the Lord
creates this universe by His own potency, and at the time of annihilation the
Lord destroys the universe through His personal expansion of time and withdraws
all of the cosmos, including all the conditioned living entities, within Himself.
Thus, His unlimited Self is the shelter and reservoir of all potencies. The
subtle pradhana, the basis of all cosmic manifestation, is conserved within the
Lord and is in this way not different from Him. In the aftermath of
annihilation the Lord stands alone.
17-18. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead
displays His own potency in the form of time and guides His material potencies,
such as the mode of goodness, into a neutral condition of equilibrium, He
remains as the supreme controller of that neutral state, called pradhana, as
well as of the living entities. He is also the supreme worshipable object for
all beings, including liberated souls, demigods and ordinary conditioned souls.
The Lord is eternally free from any material designation, and He constitutes
the totality of spiritual bliss, which one experiences by seeing the Lord’s
spiritual form. The Lord thus exhibits the fullest meaning of the word
“liberation.”
19. O subduer of the enemies, at the time of
creation the Personality of Godhead expands His own transcendental potency in
the form of time, and agitating His material energy, maya, composed of the
three modes of material nature, He creates the mahat-tattva.
20. According to great sages, that which is the
basis of the three modes of material nature and which manifests the variegated
universe is called the sutra or mahat-tattva. Indeed, this universe is resting
within that mahat-tattva, and due to its potency the living entity undergoes
material existence.
21. Just as from within himself the spider expands
thread through his mouth, plays with it for some time and eventually swallows
it, similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead expands His personal potency
from within Himself. Thus, the Lord displays the network of cosmic
manifestation, utilizes it according to His purpose and eventually withdraws it
completely within Himself.
22. If out of love, hate or fear an embodied soul
fixes his mind with intelligence and complete concentration upon a particular
bodily form, he will certainly attain the form that he is meditating upon.
23. O King, once a wasp forced a weaker insect to
enter his hive and kept him trapped there. In great fear the weak insect
constantly meditated upon his captor, and without giving up his body, he
gradually achieved the same state of existence as the wasp. Thus one achieves a
state of existence according to one’s constant concentration.
24. O King, from all these spiritual masters I
have acquired great wisdom. Now please listen as I explain what I learned from
my own body.
25. The material body is also my spiritual master
because it teaches me detachment. Being subject to creation and destruction, it
always comes to a painful end. Thus, although using my body to acquire
knowledge, I always remember that it will ultimately be consumed by others, and
remaining detached, I move about this world.
26. A man attached to the body accumulates money
with great struggle to expand and protect the position of his wife, children,
property, domestic animals, servants, homes, relatives, friends, and so on. He
does all this for the gratification of his own body. As a tree before dying
produces the seed of a future tree, the dying body manifests the seed of one’s
next material body in the form of one’s accumulated karma. Thus assuring the
continuation of material existence, the material body sinks down and dies.
27. A man who has many wives is constantly
harassed by them. He is responsible for their maintenance, and thus all the
ladies constantly pull him in different directions, each struggling for her
self-interest. Similarly, the material senses harass the conditioned soul,
pulling him in many different directions at once. On one side the tongue is
pulling him to arrange tasty food; then thirst drags him to get a suitable
drink. Simultaneously the sex organs clamor for satisfaction, and the sense of
touch demands soft, sensuous objects. The belly harasses him until it is
filled, the ears demand to hear pleasing sounds, the sense of smell hankers for
pleasant aromas, and the fickle eyes clamor for pleasing sights. Thus the
senses, organs and limbs, all desiring satisfaction, pull the living entity in
many directions.
28. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, expanding
His own potency, maya-sakti, created innumerable species of life to house the
conditioned souls. Yet by creating the forms of trees, reptiles, animals,
birds, snakes and so on, the Lord was not satisfied within His heart. Then He
created human life, which offers the conditioned soul sufficient intelligence
to perceive the Absolute Truth, and became pleased.
29. After many, many births and deaths one
achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one
the opportunity to attain the highest perfection. Thus a sober human being
should quickly endeavor for the ultimate perfection of life as long as his
body, which is always subject to death, has not fallen down and died. After
all, sense gratification is available even in the most abominable species of
life, whereas Krsna consciousness is possible only for a human being.
30. Having learned from my spiritual masters, I
remain situated in realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and, fully
renounced and enlightened by realized spiritual knowledge, wander the earth
without attachment or false ego.
31. Although the Absolute Truth is one without a
second, the sages have described Him in many different ways. Therefore one may
not be able to acquire very firm or complete knowledge from one spiritual
master.
32. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said:
Having thus spoken to King Yadu, the wise brahmana accepted obeisances and
worship from the King and felt pleased within himself. Then bidding farewell,
he left exactly as he had come.
33. O Uddhava, hearing the words of the avadhuta,
the saintly King Yadu, who is the forefather of our own ancestors, became free
from all material attachment, and thus his mind was evenly fixed on the
spiritual platform.
Chapter
Ten The Nature of Fruitive Activity
1. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Taking
full shelter in Me, with the mind carefully fixed in the devotional service of
the Lord as spoken by Me, one should live without personal desire and practice
the social and occupational system called varnasrama.
2. A purified soul should see that because the
conditioned souls who are dedicated to sense gratification have falsely
accepted the objects of sense pleasure as truth, all of their endeavors are
doomed to failure.
3. One who is sleeping may see many objects of
sense gratification in a dream, but such pleasurable things are merely
creations of the mind and are thus ultimately useless. Similarly, the living
entity who is asleep to his spiritual identity also sees many sense objects,
but these innumerable objects of temporary gratification are creations of the
Lord’s illusory potency and have no permanent existence. One who meditates upon
them, impelled by the senses, uselessly engages his intelligence.
4. One who has fixed Me within his mind as the
goal of life should give up activities based on sense gratification and should
instead execute work governed by the regulative principles for advancement.
When, however, one is fully engaged in searching out the ultimate truth of the
soul, one should not accept the scriptural injunctions governing fruitive
activities.
5. One who has accepted Me as the supreme goal of
life should strictly observe the scriptural injunctions forbidding sinful
activities and, as far as possible, should execute the injunctions prescribing
minor regulative duties such as cleanliness. Ultimately, however, one should
approach a bona fide spiritual master who is full in knowledge of Me as I am,
who is peaceful, and who by spiritual elevation is not different from Me.
6. The servant or disciple of the spiritual master
should be free from false prestige, never considering himself to be the doer.
He should be active and never lazy and should give up all sense of
proprietorship over the objects of the senses, including his wife, children,
home and society. He should be endowed with feelings of loving friendship toward
the spiritual master and should never become deviated or bewildered. The
servant or disciple should always desire advancement in spiritual
understanding, should not envy anyone and should always avoid useless
conversation.
7. One should see one’s real self-interest in life
in all circumstances and should therefore remain detached from wife, children,
home, land, relatives, friends, wealth and so on.
8. Just as fire, which burns and illuminates, is
different from firewood, which is to be burned to give illumination, similarly
the seer within the body, the self-enlightened spirit soul, is different from
the material body, which is to be illuminated by consciousness. Thus the spirit
soul and the body possess different characteristics and are separate entities.
9. Just as fire may appear differently as dormant,
manifest, weak, brilliant and so on, according to the condition of the fuel,
similarly, the spirit soul enters a material body and accepts particular bodily
characteristics.
10. The subtle and gross material bodies are
created by the material modes of nature, which expand from the potency of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Material existence occurs when the living
entity falsely accepts the qualities of the gross and subtle bodies as being
his own factual nature. This illusory state, however, can be destroyed by real
knowledge.
11. Therefore, by the cultivation of knowledge one
should approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead situated within oneself. By
understanding the Lord’s pure, transcendental existence, one should gradually
give up the false vision of the material world as independent reality.
12. The spiritual master can be compared to the
lower kindling stick, the disciple to the upper kindling stick, and the
instruction given by the guru to the third stick placed in between. The
transcendental knowledge communicated from guru to disciple is compared to the
fire arising from the contact of these, which burns the darkness of ignorance
to ashes, bringing great happiness both to guru and disciple.
13. By submissively hearing from an expert
spiritual master, the expert disciple develops pure knowledge, which repels the
onslaught of material illusion arising from the three modes of material nature.
Finally this pure knowledge itself ceases, just as fire ceases when the stock
of fuel has been consumed.
14-16. My dear Uddhava, I have thus explained to
you perfect knowledge. There are philosophers, however, who challenge My
conclusion. They state that the natural position of the living entity is to
engage in fruitive activities, and they see him as the enjoyer of the happiness
and unhappiness that accrue from his own work. According to this materialistic
philosophy, the world, time, the revealed scriptures and the self are all
variegated and eternal, existing as a perpetual flow of transformations.
Knowledge, moreover, cannot be one or eternal, because it arises from the
different and changing forms of objects; thus knowledge itself is always
subject to change. Even if you accept such a philosophy, My dear Uddhava, there
will still be perpetual birth, death, old age and disease, since all living
entities must accept a material body subject to the influence of time.
17. Although the performer of fruitive activities
desires perpetual happiness, it is clearly observed that materialistic workers
are often unhappy and only occasionally satisfied, thus proving that they are
not independent or in control of their destiny. When a person is always under
the superior control of another, how can he expect any valuable results from
his own fruitive actions?
18. It is observed within the material world that
sometimes even an intelligent person is not happy. Similarly, sometimes even a
great fool is happy. The concept of becoming happy through expertly performing
material activities is simply a useless exhibition of false egotism.
19. Even if people know how to achieve happiness
and avoid unhappiness, they still do not know the process by which death will
not be able to exert its power over them.
20. Death is not at all pleasing, and since
everyone is exactly like a condemned man being led to the place of execution,
what possible happiness can people derive from material objects or the
gratification they provide?
21. That material happiness of which we hear, such
as promotion to heavenly planets for celestial enjoyment, is just like that
material happiness we have already experienced. Both are polluted by jealousy,
envy, decay and death. Therefore, just as an attempt to raise crops becomes
fruitless if there are many problems like crop disease, insect plague or
drought, similarly, the attempt to attain material happiness, either on earth
or on the heavenly planets, is always fruitless because of innumerable
obstacles.
22. If one performs Vedic sacrifices and fruitive
rituals without any mistake or contamination, one will achieve a heavenly
situation in the next life. But even this result, which is only achieved by
perfect performance of fruitive rituals, will be vanquished by time. Now hear
of this.
23. If on earth one performs sacrifices for the
satisfaction of the demigods, he goes to the heavenly planets, where, just like
a demigod, he enjoys all of the heavenly pleasures he has earned by his
performances.
24. Having achieved the heavenly planets, the
performer of ritualistic sacrifices travels in a glowing airplane, which he
obtains as the result of his piety on earth. Being glorified by songs sung by
the Gandharvas and dressed in wonderfully charming clothes, he enjoys life
surrounded by heavenly goddesses.
25. Accompanied by heavenly women, the enjoyer of
the fruits of sacrifice goes on pleasure rides in a wonderful airplane, which
is decorated with circles of tinkling bells and which flies wherever he
desires. Being relaxed, comfortable and happy in the heavenly pleasure gardens,
he does not consider that he is exhausting the fruits of his piety and will
soon fall down to the mortal world.
26. Until his pious results are used up, the
performer of sacrifice enjoys life in the heavenly planets. When the pious
results are exhausted, however, he falls down from the pleasure gardens of
heaven, being moved against his desire by the force of eternal time.
27-29. If a human being is engaged in sinful,
irreligious activities, either because of bad association or because of his
failure to control his senses, then such a person will certainly develop a
personality full of material desires. He thus becomes miserly toward others,
greedy and always anxious to exploit the bodies of women. When the mind is so
polluted one becomes violent and aggressive and without the authority of Vedic
injunctions slaughters innocent animals for sense gratification. Worshiping
ghosts and spirits, the bewildered person falls fully into the grip of
unauthorized activities and thus goes to hell, where he receives a material
body infected by the darkest modes of nature. In such a degraded body, he
unfortunately continues to perform inauspicious activities that greatly
increase his future unhappiness, and therefore he again accepts a similar
material body. What possible happiness can there be for one who engages in
activities inevitably terminating in death?
30. In all the planetary systems, from the
heavenly to the hellish, and for all of the great demigods who live for one
thousand yuga cycles, there is fear of Me in My form of time. Even Brahma, who
possesses the supreme life span of 311,040,000,000,000 years, is also afraid of
Me.
31. The material senses create material
activities, either pious or sinful, and the modes of nature set the material
senses into motion. The living entity, being fully engaged by the material
senses and modes of nature, experiences the various results of fruitive work.
32. As long as the living entity thinks that the
modes of material nature have separate existences, he will be obliged to take
birth in many different forms and will experience varieties of material
existence. Therefore, the living entity remains completely dependent on
fruitive activities under the modes of nature.
33. The conditioned soul who remains dependent on
fruitive activities under the material modes of nature will continue to fear
Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, since I impose the results of one’s
fruitive activities. Those who accept the material concept of life, taking the
variegatedness of the modes of nature to be factual, devote themselves to
material enjoyment and are therefore always absorbed in lamentation and grief.
34. When there is agitation and interaction of the
material modes of nature, the living entities then describe Me in various ways
such as all-powerful time, the Self, Vedic knowledge, the universe, one’s own
nature, religious ceremonies and so on.
35. Sri Uddhava said: O my Lord, a living entity
situated within the material body is surrounded by the modes of nature and the
happiness and distress that are born of activities caused by these modes. How
is it possible that he is not bound by this material encirclement? It may also
be said that the living entity is ultimately transcendental and has nothing to
do with the material world. Then how is he ever bound by material nature?
36-37. O my Lord, Acyuta, the same living entity
is sometimes described as eternally conditioned and at other times as eternally
liberated. I am not able to understand, therefore, the actual situation of the
living entity. You, my Lord, are the best of those who are expert in answering
philosophical questions. Please explain to me the symptoms by which one can
tell the difference between a living entity who is eternally liberated and one
who is eternally conditioned. In what various ways would they remain situated,
enjoy life, eat, evacuate, lie down, sit or move about?
Chapter
Eleven The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Living Entities
1. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My
dear Uddhava, due to the influence of the material modes of nature, which are
under My control, the living entity is sometimes designated as conditioned and
sometimes as liberated. In fact, however, the soul is never really bound up or
liberated, and since I am the supreme Lord of maya, which is the cause of the
modes of nature, I also am never to be considered liberated or in bondage.
2. Just as a dream is merely a creation of one’s
intelligence but has no actual substance, similarly, material lamentation,
illusion, happiness, distress and the acceptance of the material body under the
influence of maya are all creations of My illusory energy. In other words,
material existence has no essential reality.
3. O Uddhava, both knowledge and ignorance, being
products of maya, are expansions of My potency. Both knowledge and ignorance
are beginningless and perpetually award liberation and bondage to embodied
living beings.
4. O most intelligent Uddhava, the living entity,
called jiva, is part and parcel of Me, but due to ignorance he has been suffering
in material bondage since time immemorial. By knowledge, however, he can be
liberated.
5. Thus, My dear Uddhava, in the same material
body we find opposing characteristics, such as great happiness and misery. That
is because both the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is eternally liberated,
as well as the conditioned soul are within the body. I shall now speak to you
about their different characteristics.
6. By chance, two birds have made a nest together
in the same tree. The two birds are friends and are of a similar nature. One of
them, however, is eating the fruits of the tree, whereas the other, who does
not eat the fruits, is in a superior position due to His potency.
7. The bird who does not eat the fruits of the
tree is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who by His omniscience perfectly
understands His own position and that of the conditioned living entity,
represented by the eating bird. That living entity, on the other hand, does not
understand himself or the Lord. He is covered by ignorance and is thus called
eternally conditioned, whereas the Personality of Godhead, being full of
perfect knowledge, is eternally liberated.
8. One who is enlightened in self-realization,
although living within the material body, sees himself as transcendental to the
body, just as one who has arisen from a dream gives up identification with the
dream body. A foolish person, however, although not identical with his material
body but transcendental to it, thinks himself to be situated in the body, just
as one who is dreaming sees himself as situated in an imaginary body.
9. An enlightened person who is free from the
contamination of material desire does not consider himself to be the performer
of bodily activities; rather, he knows that in all such activities it is only
the senses, born of the modes of nature, that are contacting sense objects born
of the same modes of nature.
10. An unintelligent person situated within the
body created by his previous fruitive activities thinks, “I am the performer of
action.” Bewildered by false ego, such a foolish person is therefore bound up
by fruitive activities, which are in fact carried out by the modes of nature.
11. An enlightened person fixed in detachment
engages his body in lying down, sitting, walking, bathing, seeing, touching,
smelling, eating, hearing and so on, but is never entangled by such activities.
Indeed, remaining as a witness to all bodily functions, he merely engages his
bodily senses with their objects and does not become entangled like an
unintelligent person.
12-13. Although the sky, or space, is the resting
place of everything, the sky does not mix with anything, nor is it entangled.
Similarly, the sun is not at all attached to the water in which it is reflected
within innumerable reservoirs, and the mighty wind blowing everywhere is not
affected by the innumerable aromas and atmospheres through which it passes. In
the same way, a self-realized soul is completely detached from the material
body and the material world around it. He is like a person who has awakened and
arisen from a dream. With expert vision sharpened by detachment, the
self-realized soul cuts all doubts to pieces through knowledge of the self and
completely withdraws his consciousness from the expansion of material variety.
14. A person is considered to be completely
liberated from the gross and subtle material bodies when all the functions of
his vital energy, senses, mind and intelligence are performed without material
desire. Such a person, although situ
