Trade the Dark Well for Vrndavana Forest
Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.24
Honolulu, May 24, 1976
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Take a testHonolulu, May 24, 1976
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Prabhupada: (leads chanting,
etc.)
tasya pravayasah putra
dasa tesam tu yo 'vamah
balo narayano namna
pitros ca dayito bhrsam
[SB 6.1.24]
So he was engaged in maintaining the family. Everyone is engaged like that. Cats and dogs also do that. It is not very extraordinary thing. Sometimes they say, "It is my duty." Yes, it is duty, but the prime duty is to solve the real problems: how to stop mrtyu, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi [Bg. 13.9]. That we forget. Minor duties we take priority. That is the present situation. They do not know that there is life after death, and according to our karma, we are getting the next life. This morning we were discussing, Krsna is always ready. Automatically it is going on. Karanam guna sango 'sya [Bg. 13.22]. As you desire according to the contamination of different modes of material nature, immediately the body's ready. Immediately after death.
So everyone is engaged in so-called duties but forget the real duty. This is called maya. By the spell of maya we forget what is the objective of life, what is the aim of life. This is called maya. We are thinking this is our duty. No. Real duty in the human form of life is here is a chance whether you want to go to home to back to Godhead or again you want to go to hell, the repetition of birth and death. That is your choice. Otherwise why there are so many scriptures, religious system, all over the world? It is not only in India. According to the capacity of understanding, in every civilized human society there is a system called religion. It may be Hindu religion, Christian religion or Buddha religion -- these are major religious systems -- but the aim is how to make a solution of the problems of life. That... But because they do not seriously discuss nowadays the religious propensity, tendency of the human society decrease. It has become a also money-making business. The priestly order, they think that "As others make some money by working hard, by professional or by doing some business or working, so we shall also earn some money by showing the church or temple or the mosque." They have taken it like that.
Therefore people have lost faith in religion. This is the reason. Because those who are in charge of the religious department, the brahmanas, those who are in charge of religion, the priestly order or the maulanis (?) or the brahmanas, they're the same order, their duty is to keep people enlightened in the real mission of life. That is their duty. But if they're also doing the same thing, sense gratification, how long they can cheat others? Therefore people have lost faith in religion. This is the reason. But that is not good. Because the system of religion has become polluted, we should not give up religion. That is our prime duty. Karamayi tasya eka bhusesya (?). What is the difference between animal and man? The animal has no religion. They have no religion. Eating, sleeping, sex and defense. Ahara-nidra-bhaya-maithunam ca, samanyam etat. This is very easy to understand. The dog is eating; I am eating. Dog is sleeping; I am sleeping. Dog is enjoying sex; I am also enjoying sex. Dog is also afraid; I am also afraid. So what is the difference between dog and me? The only difference is that dog has no religion; I've got religion. So if I give up religion, life of religiosity, then I am equal to dharmena hinah pasubhih samanah.
So this Ajamila, on account of bad association with prostitute, he lost his character and he became thief, cheater, somehow or other being punished. So in this way, while he was maintaining his children and family, then the time of death came. That will not wait, that "I have not finished my duty, family duty. Please wait few years more." "Oh, that is not possible." So kalo... Atyagat. Kalo atyagat mahan rajan astasiti ayusah samah. He became very old, eighty-eight years old, astasiti. Asta means eight, asiti means eighty-eight. In this way, astasitya ayusah samah. So at that time he had ten sons. Tasya pravayasah putrah. He begot so many children, number is ten. So putra, how many? Dasa, ten, ten children he had. Tesam tu yah avamah. Out of the ten sons, the youngest son, tesam tu yah avamah balah, the child, narayanah namna, he kept the name Narayana, Narayana dasa, just like we give name to an initiate. So this is his great fortune. He gave the youngest son the name Narayana. Naturally father, mother becomes affectionate to the youngest baby. So by way of calling the young child, he was chanting "Narayana." This is very good system, that if you keep the name of your children Narayana, Govinda, Krsna, Rama, then you will get some chance to chanting this Hare Krsna. Therefore in India still the system is they keep some name which is with reference to Krsna. He has got thousands of names, so you can keep one name so that you have the opportunity of repeating, chanting the holy name of the Lord.
So balah narayanah sakrt, pitroh ca dayitam bhrsam. [break] So he was very dear to the parents, innocent child, kala-bhasini, talking broken languages, "mommy," "mama," that is very sweet. One becomes attached to this voice: "Oh, how my child is talking." Niriksamana tat lilam. And the child is walking, the child is doing something, coming to the mother, capturing. This lila, this pastime, niriksamanah tan lila mumude, it was very, very pleasing. Jaratho bhrsam. In this way,
bhunjanah prapiban sa kalam
balakam sneha-yantritah
bhojayan payayan mudho
na vedagatam antakam
He was very busy in enjoying the child's, how you would say, pastimes, and feeding him and taking him. In this way he was very much pleased, "My life is go like this." But the time of death, bhojayan payayan mudho na vedagatam antakam. Antakam means the last day of life. Antakam means death. So death is called maya. You are thinking, "Now I have arranged everything. Things are going very nicely. Now I'm very happy." But, all of a sudden, the death comes. That you cannot avoid. All of a sudden. That is... Death is described in the Bhagavad-gita. What is that death? That death is Krsna, urdhva. That is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavad-gita: mrtyu sarva-haras ca aham. That means death will come, your all asset, your so-called children, your family, your bank balance, your friends, your country, your leadership, your pride and everything will be taken. That will be taken by Krsna. The atheist class who does not believe in God, he'll see God at the end of life when he cannot do anything. But before that, if he sees God, then his life is saved. Tattva deham punar janma naiti mam eti. But that they'll not accept. "What is God? I don't care for... There is no God." "All right. Wait. God will come." (laughter) And at that time he said that the Hiranyakasipu, he always defied the son's, the small child, five-years-old boy, his only fault was he was chanting Hare Krsna. And even the father, what to speak of others. Therefore we say that "Don't think that Krsna consciousness will go without any difficulty. There will be so many difficulties. Even your father will be angry." This is the history.
So this father, Hiranyakasipu, he defied God: "Who is God? I am God. Take my (indistinct)." The child said, "My dear father, you are not God." He would never address his father as "father." He addressed him "the best of the asuras." "My dear best of the asuras," tat sadhu manye asura-varya dehinam. After all, the relationship is father and son. So one day the father took him, "My dear son, what you have learned, the best thing, from your teachers? Tell me." "Yes, I'll tell you." "What is that?" Tat sadhu manye asura-varya. He never addressed "father." "O the best of the asuras." Asura-varya means "the best of the asura." Tad sadhu manye: "I think that is very good thing." "What is that?" Tad sadhu manye asura-varya dehinam sada samudvigna-dhiyam asad-grahat [SB 7.5.5]. "All these people, they're simply full of anxieties." That's a fact. Who's not full of anxieties? Those who are in this material world, who can say, "No, I have no anxiety"? That is not possible. Either you become President Nixon or in the street beggar, there is anxiety. At any moment danger will come. But they are busy.
So the child said, "My dear best of the asuras, I think that is the best thing for the persons who have accepted this material body, asad graha..." Why anxiety? The anxiety is because this material body. I am thinking of "I may be hot." Oh, what's that hot? The hot means body. The soul is never hot. The soul is eternal, na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. That they do not know. They think this body, "I'm this body. I'll be hot, I'll die, I'll this," and so on and so many. Simply anxiety: "How I shall protect my body? How I shall protect my bodily relationship?" everything in connection with the body. Everything asat. The body's asat, perishable, temporary. So whatever you have got in relationship with this body -- my country, my society, my bank balance, my money, my wife, children -- everything in the body, they're also temporary. So they are very, very anxiety. Tat sadhu manye. So "I want to relieve them from this anxiety." What is that? Tad sadhu manye asura-varya dehinam sada samudvigna-dhiyam asad-grahat. Then, what you advise? Hitvatma-patam grham andha-kupam. He's fallen in this dark region of black well, this family life. Hitvatma-patam grham andha-kupam. Grha, we can take this material world, even up to the sky, that is also another bondage, either in society, or in country, or in this body, or within this material universe -- wherever you want -- that is andha-kupa, dark well. So he advises, "Give up this darkness," hitvatma-patam , "because it will kill you." In this dark well you'll be killed. Just like, the dark well, we are put into the dark well, you'll be killed. Hitvatma patam grham andha-kupam, vanam gato yad dharim asrayeta [SB 7.5.5]. That is the first... You should give up this dark well and go to the forest. Vanam. Come to Vrndavana. Vanam means forest. We have constructed very nice temple. Come there. And vanam gato yad dharim asrayeta [SB 7.5.5]. Vanam gato means to come to the forest.
So what is business? The business is to take shelter of Krsna. Then he'll be free from all these things. Vanam gato yad. Otherwise like monkey, descendants of monkey, if you go... The monkeys are in the forest, but they do not take shelter of Hari. So their simply going to the forest is no use. One has to take shelter of the lotus feet of Krsna. Vanam gato yad dharim asraya. Therefore Krsna has made this Vrndavana. Anyone goes there, he gets shelter of Krsna's lotus feet, and his life becomes successful.
Thank you very much. (end)
© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
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