Haunted Enjoyment

Haunted Enjoyment

Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.63
Vrndavana, August 30, 1975

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Prabhupada:

tan-nimitta-smara-vyaja
graha-grasto vicetasah
tam eva manasa dhyayan
sva-dharmad virarama ha
 [SB 6.1.63]

So the one word is very significant in this connection: graha-grasto vicetasah. Graha-grasto means ghostly haunted or influenced by bad star, graha-grasto. Sometimes we become... We are always graha-grasto in this material world. It is said by some Vaisnava poet, pisaci paile yena mati-cchana haya mayar grasta jivera sei dasa upajaya. Pisaci, ghostly haunted or inspired by the witches, when one becomes so, mati-cchana, he becomes bewildered and his intelligence becomes scattered. Mati-cchana. That is the condition of all living entities within this material world in different degrees. Everyone is ghostly haunted. And what is that ghostly haunted? That ghostly haunted, tan-nimitta-smara-vyaja. This Ajamila had seen one sudra and one sudrani were embracing, kissing, laughing, enjoying in lusty affairs. So he became tan-nimitta. By seeing these activities of the sudra and the sudrani, naturally the lusty desire is there, which I explained yesterday. It is called hrd-roga-kama. This kama, lusty desire, is a heart disease. So he was infected by the heart disease by seeing the scene, that one woman and man is embracing kissing, immediately.

So the nature's law is so nice or so perfect that by seeing only, you will be infected, by seeing only. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27]. We are put into such a position that every moment we are being affected by the three modes of material nature. Prakrteh kriyamanani. The prakrti, the nature, is working so expertly. Prakrteh kriyamanani. And karanam guna-sango 'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu [Bg. 13.22]. In this way our transmigration from one body to another, tatha dehantara-praptih [Bg. 2.13], it is due to this infection of contacting different material modes of nature. The whole world is going on. So therefore our business of human life is how to protect ourself from this infection of material nature. That should be the aim of human life, not that allow us to be infected more and more and become implicated in the cycle of birth and death, sometimes lower, sometimes higher. This is not intelligence. The intelligence is how to get out of it. In the lower animal forms of life the nature takes care. Jalaja nava-laksani sthavara laksa-vimsati, krmayo rudra-sankhyakah. From the aquatics to the plant life, then insect life, then bird life, then beast life, then we come to the human life. And that is also When we come to the civilized life we should not waste our time like animals or lower creatures.

Therefore another important thing is that those who are born in India, Bharatabhumi, they are to be considered the topmost. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said,

bharata-bhumite manusya-janma haile jara
janma sarthaka kari kara para-upakara
 [Cc. Adi 9.41]

This is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mission. Those who have taken birth in India, Bharatabhumi, they should make their life perfect by understanding the Vedic knowledge. And the Supreme Lord Krsna comes here to teach the Vedic knowledge. He left Bhagavad-gita. Then Vyasadeva developed the idea of Krsna consciousness from Bhagavad-gita, Vedanta-sutra, into Srimad Bhagavatam. Bhasyayam brahma-sutranam. So we have got this advantage, and we are giving up these advantages. First of all, the advantage is that we are born in India, and we have got the stock of knowledge left by great sages, rsis and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And you are not taking advantage of it. How much foolish we are becoming by so-called education, we should understand that. It is graha-grasta. We are thinking that... Our leaders are thinking that India, becoming too much religiously conscious, they have been poverty-stricken. No. That is not the fact. By Krsna's desire, by Krsna's will, everyone is provided. In the Vedas it is said, yo eko bahunam vidadhati kaman. The Supreme Lord is quite competent to provide, to supply the necessities of life to millions and millions of living entities. There is no question of scarcity of supply. Eko yo bahunam vidadhati kaman. In the forest there are millions of elephants. Who is supplying them food? Krsna is supplying. So there is no question of overpopulation. Overpopulation, there is no question of. If Krsna has overpopulation, He is competent to supply them food. But it is the nature's restriction. When we become godless, the nature's trouble will be there. Daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya [Bg. 7.14]. Just like the flood is going on in many parts of the world. So this is due to our sinful life. Nature is punishing. Adhidaivika. You cannot control. Nature will punish. Why nature is punishing? Because we are godless. That is nature's business. The more we become godless, the more we'll be punished by the laws of nature. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gita it is said, daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya. You cannot surpass. You make many scientific plans to overcome -- it is not possible. Then how it is possible? Mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti. Unless you surrender to Krsna That is your business.

Therefore Krsna openly says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. The Ajamila, he was brahmana, undoubtedly, but he fell a victim to maya. But you know the story of Haridasa. He was young man at that time, and one man instigated a prostitute, young prostitute, to deviate him, but she was unable. On the other hand, the prostitute became a Vaisnavi. This is the difference between a devotee and a nondevotee. A nondevotee cannot surpass the stringent laws of material nature. But a devotee can do that because a devotee is not affected by the influence of material nature. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita that,

mam cavyabhicarini
bhakti-yogena yah sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate
 [Bg. 14.26]

"Anyone who is strictly engaged in devotional service, he surpasses the influence of the laws of material..." Sa gunan samatitya etan. He can surpass. Sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate. This is the only way. Otherwise how these European and American boys and girls, they are living strictly under regulative principle -- no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no intoxication up to drinking tea, and no gambling? How they can surpass them? It is possible when one is a devotee, pure devotee. That is possible.

So this is the example. The Ajamila was trained up as a nice brahmana, but he was not still expert to become Vaisnava. Therefore... But still, the seed of Vaisnavism was there because a brahmana is trained up how to worship Visnu, how to worship Narayana. That is essential. So this boy was also trained up how to worship Narayana, Visnu. And it was beneficially at the last stage of his life. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat. Even if you practice little of devotional service, it can save you from the greatest danger of life. That actually happened in the life of Ajamila. So tan-nimitta. So in this age, especially Kali-yuga, it is very, very difficult to save oneself from these infections of life. We have got already... We have come to this material world to fulfill our lusty desires. Naturally whenever there is any lusty activities, our heart disease immediately becomes impeted, and the same thing happened to Ajamila. And graha-grasto vicetasah. Graha-grasta. Just like when we are haunted by ghost -- a ghost captures, then vicetasah, we are lost, lost of our our consciousness, our intelligence -- he became like that. Tam eva manasa dhyayan. Then, instead of meditating on Krsna, he began to meditate on the lusty affairs of the sudra and the sudrani.

Therefore, in the Kali-yuga the so-called meditation is a farce. Because we are always seeing these lusty affairs before our eyes, naturally when we close our eyes and meditate, instead of thinking of Krsna or Visnu, we shall think of woman and other things. Therefore it is not possible. In the Kali-yuga it is not possible. Krte yad dhyayato visnum [SB 12.3.52]. In the Satya-yuga it was possible, meditation on Visnu, not on other things. But now, in this Kali-yuga, we are infected with so many lusty desires that it is not possible. Therefore sastra said, krte yad dhyayato visnum tretayam majato makhaih. You can realize Visnu because Visnu is the ultimate goal of life. But we do not know it. Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum [SB 7.5.31]. So that Visnu meditation was possible in the krte, in the Satya-yuga, when a man used to live for hundred thousands of years. And then reduce. The next age it is ten thousand of years. Then again, in the next age, it is one thousands of years. And now it is reduced to one hundred years. So therefore it is said that,

krte yad dhyayato visnum
tretayam majato makhaih
dvapare paricaryayam
kalau tad dhari-kirtanat
 [SB 12.3.52]

In the Kali-yuga you perform perfect meditation by loudly chanting, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. This is the recommendation of the sastra -- not only one, but many sastras. In the Bhagavata also it is said,

kaler dosa-nidhe rajan
asti hy eko mahan gunah
kirtanad eva krsnasya
mukta-sangah param vrajet
 [SB 12.3.51]

So there are dangers in this material world. It is very dangerous place, padam padam yad vipadam [SB 10.14.58], every step, not only spiritually, materially also. Suppose you are out of this temple, there is every chance you may be dashed by a motorcar and die. So it is dangerous. Padam padam yad vipadam. So our motive of life should be how to get out of this dangerous position of life. How to get out of it, that should be the aim, not that to become more and more implicated in with this dangerous situation of life. That is not intelligence. The intelligence is how to get out of it. That is this movement, Krsna consciousness movement, how to get out of this dangerous position and go back to home, back to Godhead -- this is the mission. It is not that by spiritual advancement one gets material facilities to increase the income and increase the standard of sense enjoyment. This is karma-kandiya-vicara karma, to get the resultant action of our fruitive activities. And that is not very... They are called mudha. Those who are engaged in karma-kandiya entanglement, they are called mudha. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has commented on the word mudha described in the Srimad Bhagavad-gita. The mudha means karmis. Karmis, they work day, day and night, very hard. What is their aim? The aim is sense gratification. That is done by animals like dogs and hogs and asses. Nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye [SB 5.5.1]. This is the recommendation, that this life, human life, ayam deha, nrloke, in this Everyone has got a material body, but one who has got a material body in the human society, nrloke Kastan kaman na arhati. To work so hard simply to satisfy the senses is not desirable.

So modern civilization means that increase the activities of sense gratification. And especially... Of course in India, still there are peaceful land. But in the Western countries, from five o'clock in the morning we see on the streets thousands and thousands of motorcars. They are going to work, thousands and thousands. And they will come at night. This has begun also in India. We see in big, big cities like Calcutta and Bombay, they are coming early in the morning from home, and going, night, going at home at night, ten o'clock, eleven o'clock, and then sleep for two or three hours and again go to work. So there is a story. Just like a little child, because when his father comes back, he is asleep, and when the father goes out of home, he is asleep. So one night he saw one man is lying there. So he is asking his mother, "Who is this man? Who is this man?" Actually this is the position, that we are working day and... Bombay and Calcutta we have seen that they are hanging on the, what is called, local trains, and there are sometimes accidents.

So in this way, gradually, we are coming to very dangerous, I mean to say, pattern of living condition with the age, with the advancement of this age of Kali. And it is said that for earning our bread we have to work like an ass in this Kali-yuga. This is not civilization. The civilization is... That is really Vedic civilization, that ayam deha. Nayam deha nrloke kastan kaman. We should make our life so simple and easy that we can get our necessities of life without any hard labor and save time to advance in Krsna consciousness. That is perfect civilization. This is not perfect civilization. There is every chance of being influenced by these lusty desires, and that is going on, especially in the Western country. They lusty for fulfilling these lusty desires there are so many clubs at night, nightclubs, bottomless and topless and so many advertisements. This is not civilization. Civilization is peaceful life, and we should be satisfied in simple mode of life and always think of Krsna. Therefore Vrndavana life is like that, Vrndavana life, especially those who are engaged in devotional service. So we have opened this temple to give facility to the elderly section of the human being to come and live with us. We invite all elderly persons, especially retired person. They should come and live with us. We have got a nice guesthouse, and if required, we can construct many other guesthouses. At least those are retired Everyone should retire after fiftieth year. That is the injunction of the sastras, that pancasordhvam varam vrajet. After fifty years one should give up family life and vanam vrajet. Pancasordhvam vanam. Vanam means Vrndavana. Vanam vrajet. Similarly, Prahlada Maharaja has advised,

tat sadhu manye asura-varya dehinam
sada samudvigna-dhiyam asad-grahat
hitvatma-ghatam grham andha-kupam
vanam gato yad dharim asrayeta
 [SB 7.5.5]

Vanam gato. One should go in the vana, in Vrndavana. Then what to do there? Harim asrayeta. Otherwise, if we live in Vrndavana like monkeys and other animals, that will not be beneficial. Harim asrayeta. Come here, live here and take shelter of Hari. That is the ultimate goal. Therefore Hari personally says, Krsna, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. Harim asrayeta.

So we are not only inviting Indians throughout the whole world. Now we have got connection with the whole world. We invite everyone. At least after the age of fifty they should come here in Vrndavana. They should live peacefully and take shelter at the lotus feet of Krsna-Balarama and be happy in this life and get salvation in next life.

Thank you very much. (end)

 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.63 -- Vrndavana, August 30, 1975

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