SB 7.9.43 – Carrying a False Burden

Giriraj Swami:

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

We are reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Seven, Chapter Nine, ”Prahlāda Pacifies the Lord With Prayers.”

TEXT 43

naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaraṇyās

tvad-vīrya-gāyana-mahāmṛta-magna-cittaḥ

śoce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyārtha-

māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān

TRANSLATION

O best of the great personalities, I am not at all afraid of material existence, for wherever I stay I am fully absorbed in thoughts of Your glories and activities. My concern is only for the fools and rascals who are making elaborate plans for material happiness and maintaining their families, societies and countries. I am simply concerned with love for them.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Throughout the entire world, everyone is making big, big plans to adjust the miseries of the material world, and this is true at present, in the past and in the future. Nonetheless, although they make elaborate political, social and cultural plans, they have all been described herein as vimūḍha — fools. The material world has been described in Bhagavad-gītā as duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam — temporary and miserable — but these fools are trying to turn the material world into sukhālayam, a place of happiness, not knowing how everything acts by the arrangement of material nature, which works in her own way.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni

guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ

ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā

kartāham iti manyate

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Bg. 3.27)

There is a plan for material nature, personally known as Durgā, to punish the demons. Although the asuras, the godless demons, struggle for existence, they are directly attacked by the goddess Durgā, who is well equipped with ten hands with different types of weapons to punish them. She is carried by her lion carrier, or the modes of passion and ignorance. Everyone struggles very hard to fight through the modes of passion and ignorance and conquer material nature, but at the end everyone is vanquished by nature’s laws.

There is a river known as Vaitaraṇī between the material and spiritual worlds, and one must cross this river to reach the other side, or the spiritual world. This is an extremely difficult task. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14), daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā: “This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome.” The same word duratyaya, meaning “very difficult,” is used here. Therefore one cannot surpass the stringent laws of material nature except by the mercy of the Supreme Lord. Nonetheless, although all materialists are baffled in their plans, they try again and again to become happy in this material world. Therefore they have been described as vimūḍha — first-class fools. As for Prahlāda Mahārāja, he was not at all unhappy, for although he was in the material world, he was full of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious, trying to serve the Lord, are not unhappy, whereas one who has no assets in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and is struggling for existence is not only foolish but extremely unhappy also. Prahlāda Mahārāja was happy and unhappy simultaneously. He felt happiness and transcendental bliss because of his being Kṛṣṇa conscious, yet he felt great unhappiness for the fools and rascals who make elaborate plans to be happy in this material world.

COMMENT

So Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva appeared and killed Hiraṇyakaśipu the demonic father of Prahlada Maharaja, and the Lord was so angry that no one would come forward to pacify Him. Even Lakshmiji, the Goddess of fortune who always resides on the Lord’s chest was afraid, what to speak of the various demigods who are in charge of various affairs in the material universe—nobody could pacify the Lord, only Prahlada could do so. Therefore the demigods and other great personalities assembled there, requested Prahlada Maharaja that, ”You pray to the Lord to make him relieved.” So here, Prahlada offers his prayer unto Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, and he says that, ”I am not afraid.”

All the demigods were afraid; they were afraid of Hiraṇyakaśipu. And after Hiraṇyakaśipu they were afraid of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva and His anger. But Prahlada Maharaja says, naivodvije, that “I am not afraid O Lord (Duratyaya-vaitaraṇyās)—I am not afraid of material existence. And because I am not afraid of material existence, I am not afraid of anything within the material world, even the greatest demon like Hiraṇyakaśipu.” Then Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva may say: “Why are you not afraid? Everyone else is afraid. Why you are not afraid?” tvad-vīrya-gāyana-mahāmṛta-magna-cittaḥ — “Because wherever I am I can absorb myself in chanting and hearing your glories. I can immerse myself in the nectarean ocean of hearing and chanting your glories. Therefore I am not afraid.”

In other words, everyone within the material world is afraid. Especially we are afraid of harm to our body, which has expanded into other fears—harm to my family, harm to my residents, harm to my position, to my reputation—we are all afraid. Everyone within the material world is full of fear. What will happen to me? If this happens, what will happen to me? What will happen to my family? What will happen to my future? Srila Prabhupada said that anxiety comes from worrying over the future. And we all worry about the future because we identify with the body. Even if we have theoretical knowledge I am not the body, but practically we identify with the body. So, we are always in anxiety, we are always in fear—what will happen to me? What will happen to my family? What will happen to my body? What will happen to my future?

So anxiety comes from worrying over the future of the body and the expansions of the body. And we are all suffering from such fear and anxiety. But Prahlada Maharaja says, ”Naivodvije,” that ”I am not afraid.” Because he does not identify with the body and he does not expect happiness through the body, through his friends, through his relations, through his place of residence, through his position in society—he doesn’t expect happiness from the body or the extensions of the body. But he realizes real happiness in relation to Krishna. Because I am not the body, I am the soul, part and parcel of Krishna, so my real relationship is not with the body. My real relationship is with Krishna. And I can experience real happiness only in relation to Krishna, not in relation to the body or the world. So, Prahlada Maharaja has practical realization that wherever he is, he can immerse himself in the great ocean of Krishna’s transcendental glory.

So, he is not afraid, he has no anxiety about anything, about his own happiness. But still he has some anxiety. So Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva may ask that, “You don’t have any anxiety about material existence, you are not afraid of the material world, you are not afraid of your father and I have already killed your father, so what is your anxiety?” Prahlada Maharaja says, “Yes, (śoce) I do have one anxiety, tato vimukha-cetasa indriyārtha – I am in anxiety and I lament—vimukha-cetasa, that there are fools and rascals who are not inclined to You. In fact they are the opposite, they are against you.” And instead of wanting to serve you, they engage in indriyārtha, sense gratification for illusory happiness, māyā-sukhāya.

One great Vaishnava poet, Govinda dasa, he also prayed. . . He put himself in the position of us and he prayed that, “I am always suffering, I am always suffering serving some bad master.” To live means to serve. So to be a materialistic person means to serve other materialistic persons who are bad masters. And of course the worst masters are our own lust, anger, greed, and so on. Generally we are all engaged in serving our lust. So Govinda dasa says that, “For the sake of serving some bad masters I have undergone so much suffering.” Śīta ātapa bāta bariṣaṇa—that for the sake of serving my masters, bad masters, I have suffered heat, cold, and I have gone out in the rain, gone out in the sun. I have suffered so many miserable conditions. Why? Just for the sake of serving some bad masters.” Another great Vaishnava prayed, ”My Dear Lord, for so many years I have been serving so many unwanted lusty desires. I have been the servant of lust and lust has been such a bad master, that no matter how much I have tried to serve my lust, he has never been satisfied. My lust has always demanded more and more and more and more. And not only has my lust not been satisfied with my service, but my lust has not relieved me from my service also. So, he insists that I serve him, but he is never satisfied with my service. But still he will not leave me. But now, O Master of the Yadu dynasty, now, I have decided I do not want to serve my lust anymore. But I want to serve You, so kindly accept me and engage me in Your service.

So, we should know from hearing, and from experiencing also that we cannot be happy by trying to satisfy our lust or selfish desires because our lust is never satisfied. So Prahlada Maharaja says that people who want to satisfy their lust, which can never be satisfied, are vimudha, mudha means foolish and ”vi” means especially—they are especially foolish. Because Lord Krishna Himself has said, ”duḥkhālayam aśāśvataṁ,” that the material world is a place of misery. And they are so foolish they want to change the place of misery into a place of happiness—they are very foolish. Everyone in the material world must die, but they are so foolish they want to live happily forever in the material world, although the material world itself is temporary. So they are vimūḍha—greatly foolish.

So, Prahlada Maharaja knows that unless they give up the service of bad masters like lust, they cannot be happy. But to give up service is not possible; you cannot give up service all together. So, you have to give up the service of lust, the service of maya, in favor of the service of Krishna. The people are not doing it and therefore Prahlada is lamenting. He is lamenting that people are so foolish—they are trying to become happy in the material world and everyone knows that the material world is a place of misery. But they are so foolish they want to make it a place of happiness. The world is made to punish the fallen conditioned souls. The world is a prison and Durga is the superintendent of the prison, and she punishes the prisoners with her trident which represents the threefold miseries of material existence. So everyone in the material world is forced to suffer. They don’t want to suffer, but they are forced to suffer. But they are so foolish that they make plans how to be happy. And they take responsibility not only for themselves, but for others also and thus they always carry a big burden – bharam, the false burden of responsibility—taking care of one’s family, or society, or nation. False burden. We all do it.

Srila Prabhupada used to cite the example of Napoleon. In France there is one structure of Arc de Triomphe—Arch of Triumph. And the structure says, ”Napoleon is France and France is Napoleon.” So, every leader, especially national leader, he thinks that, The country is depending on me. I have taken responsibility and I must take care of the country. Without me everything will fall, everything will fail. Yes, Napoleon is France, and France is Napoleon, but Napoleon is dead and gone and France is still there. So, we think that, Without me everything will be finished. If I don’t go to the office, the business will be finished. If I don’t take care of the family, the family will be finished.

Even Srila Prabhupada presented himself that he was thinking the same way. He had to take care of his wife and children; he had to get his daughter married. Srila Prabhupada was ordered by his guru Maharaja to preach, and in his own way he was preaching in India, but his guru Maharaja wanted him to leave India and preach throughout the whole world. So Srila Prabhupada used to dream sometimes that his guru Maharaja was calling him, “Come on, leave the family, join me, go out, preach Krishna consciousness.” And Srila Prabhupada would wake up very upset that, “Guru Maharaja is calling me. But how can I leave my wife? How can I leave my family?” The attachment is so strong. But one day Srila Prabhupada left. Never returned. And he said that if you think that, Gradually I will leave them. That is not possible, gradually we cannot leave. He was thinking that, Well, first at least let me get my daughter married. Of course, basically he was thinking that, Who will take care of my family? So, getting the daughter married is part of taking care of the family. Who will take care of the family. And then Srila Prabhupada thought that, If I die, then who will take care of the family? So, then everyone will say God will take care of the family. Srila Prabhupada reasoned that, If God will take care of the family after I die, why not now? And sannyasa is considered civil death, civil suicide. So, if I die now socially or materially, God will also take care.

There is one story of Sridhra Swami. The original commentator on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The great commentator on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He was living in the jungle as a simple householder. As the time came he felt he should take sannyasa, he should leave his wife and devote himself fully to the service of the Lord. But his wife was carrying a child, so he thought, All right, let me wait until the child is born and then I will leave. So, the time came and the child was born, but in the course of the delivery the wife died. Now, he was left alone with a newborn baby. Just then he happened to look up in a tree and some chicks, baby birds, were just coming out of the shell of the egg. And one little baby bird came out of the shell, and just then a worm that was on a branch above fell into the mouth of the baby bird. Then he thought that, How it has come that the worm has fallen into the mouth?” It has come by God’s arrangement. That actually, we are not maintaining anyone, God is maintaining everyone. So he took sannyasa. Of course as it is, or as it happened by God’s arrangement, by Krishna’s arrangement, the king happened to come into the same forest with his party and they discovered the baby and he was actually raised by the king, became a great general or king of India.

So the idea is, bharam, we carry a false burden. ”I have to take care of my wife, I have to take care of my children, I have to take care of my community, I have to take care of my country,” as if everything depended on us. Without us everything will be finished. But no. Everything depends on God. We may come and go and everything will continue by the grace of the Lord. But because of the false burdens we have no time for Krishna. So many people we ask, “Can you chant Hare Krishna?” ”I have no time, maybe one round, two rounds, but I have no time.” ”Can you read Srila Prabhupada books?” ”I have no time, I have to take care of my family.” ”Can you come to the temple?” ”I have no time, maybe once a week, once a month, once a year on Janmastami—I have no time. I am a big man, I have to take care of my workers, I have two thousand workers. If I didn’t go to the office and take care of the business, what would happen to them? They would have no job. I have no time to come to the temple.” So this is bharam—false responsibility, the burden of false responsibilities. Because people carry the burden of false responsibilities, they are pushed down, they are pushed down—they are not able to come up.

Once Srila Prabhupada told the story, that later we performed as a play in Boston. But the purport of the story is that some person is carrying rocks on his back and there is actually no reason for him to carry the rocks. But he thinks that he has to carry them. So, his friend sees him and says: “Why are you carrying the rocks?” “I have to carry them.” But the purport is that we are carrying a false burden. We don’t have to carry it, but we think we have to carry it and we suffer. The false burden pushes us down and gives us great pain. So bharam udvahato—they are lifting the false burden or responsibility. Lifting means they have taken the responsibility, which is illusory and they have to make so much effort to fulfill the responsibility. There is no time for Krishna, no energy, and then they become old—they have time, they have no energy. Or, whatever energy they had they spent on making money and maintaining the family. And now when they can’t do any work, they have time but they have no energy—they have missed the purpose of human life.

So Prahlada Maharaja for himself is not at all unhappy, he is very happy, but he is unhappy when he thinks about the fools and rascals in maya—for carrying the heavy burden of false responsibility, for being crushed by the heavy burden of false responsibilities. They are trying to make duḥkhālayam into sukhālayam, so they are both foolish; they are trying to do something which is not possible to do and they are unhappy. Prahlada Maharaja is unhappy also, not for himself; personally he is very happy because he is Krishna conscious. But he is unhappy for the fools and rascals. And they are making plans how to live in the material world forever and enjoy. And Prahlada Maharaja is making plans how to save these poor fools and rascals. So, that is the mood of the Vaisnava compassionate devotee—that for himself he has no problem, because he is Krishna conscious. He can live anywhere and be Krishna conscious and be happy. But para-duhkha-dukhi—he feels unhappy when he sees that others are unhappy. But he doesn’t just sit idle and feel sorry for them, he actually makes plans how to do something for them, how to engage them in Krishna consciousness, and he works to make the plans into reality.

So, this is the main activity of the Vaisnava. Because his main activity in one sense, is chanting and hearing the glories of the Lord, but really his main activity is how to deliver the fallen souls. And Srila Prabhupada was in the same mood as Prahlada Maharaja—how to reclaim the fallen souls? And therefore at the age of seventy when most men are retired and sitting at home with the grandchildren, he left India and went to America and began the Krishna consciousness movement there. He established the Krishna consciousness movement to do the same work that he did, namely to reclaim the fallen souls and bring them to the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. So, that will be explained in the next verse, which we will discuss next time.

Hare Krishna.

So, are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: He is asking if it is possible for anyone to change their destiny, or is it fixed before his birth?

In one sense the answer is no. Destiny means our karma and our karma is fixed, we cannot escape it. If we have committed some sin in the past, we have to suffer. And if we have performed some pious activity, we have to enjoy. So both are fixed. Enjoyment, our happiness is fixed and our distress is fixed. So Prahlada Maharaja says also, that because our happiness is fixed by our destiny, and our distress is also fixed by our destiny, we should not labor, we should not endeavor ‘how to increase my happiness and how to decrease my distress,’ because both are already fixed. So we should not waste time falsely trying to increase our happiness or reduce our distress. So, we should use our time and energy to cultivate Krishna consciousness. If we become Krishna conscious, then whether there is external happiness or external distress, it doesn’t matter. Because we are in Krishna consciousness and we are feeling bliss in the service of the Lord.

So, nobody wants distress, nobody wants problems, but automatically the problems come—automatically the distress comes. No one goes to the temple to say, “Dear Lord, give me problems, give me misery.” Nobody prays for it, but it comes, it comes automatically. You can’t stop it. So just as the problems come automatically without any endeavors, just as the miseries comes automatically without any endeavor, so the happiness will also come automatically without any endeavor. Both will come automatically. So it is just an illusion that by our efforts we can increase our happiness or decrease our distress—both will come as destined, as picked for us. One thing we can do, is become Krishna conscious. And if we become Krishna conscious we make the complete solution to all material problems. We get out of the material world all together—we go back home back to Godhead. So, that is what we should be doing. And if we surrender to Krishna, then we become free from our karma. Without surrender to Krishna we are bound by our karma. And whatever happiness is destined, it will come without any effort. Just as much as whatever distress is destined will come without any effort. We should not waste time and just surrender to Krishna and serve Him.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: As a result of our good and bad activities coming in the present birth or the next birth.

According to the Mahābhārata we get half in the present birth and half in the next birth. You might think, Well let me commit sinful activities, I will enjoy in this life, and next life we will see. . .” But this life also you have to suffer. Sometimes the suffering comes immediately—you eat too much, or you eat the wrong thing, and immediately the reaction comes with upset stomach. You cannot escape the laws of nature or the laws of God. So, if we violate the law we will be punished. You eat too much, you will be punished.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: He says that devotees can perceive anarthas as anarthas and reject them. But ordinary people do not see anarthas as anarthas and they embrace them. So, is it possible for someone to continue life after life embracing the anarthas?

It is possible and therefore Prahlada Maharaja wants to make a plan how to enlighten them, how to deliver them. The Lord Himself comes, Krishna Himself comes and preaches Bhagavad-gītā. Without hearing from the devotee one cannot become enlightened. Simply suffering is no guarantee that one will become enlightened. They never realize why they are suffering, they never change. They have to make efforts if we are really concerned about them—we have to make efforts to deliver them.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: [Unintelligible] So, he says is it true in every case. No, it is natural in every case. It is specifically true if the opulence is misused. Maharaja Yudhisthira had so much opulence, but he had no material attachment. He engaged the opulence in the service of the Lord. So, whatever Krishna has given us, if we take it as facility to serve Krishna, then there is no problem.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada was an example for us. That if we are too attached to family and neglect our real duty to Krishna, then Krishna may take away our attachment. Out of his causeless mercy to allow us to take full shelter of Him and His servants. Our principle is yukta-vairāgya, anāsaktasya viṣaya- without being attached to the objects of the senses; we can use material things in the service of the Lord. But the main thing is to be without attachment. If we are without that attachment, we can use any material thing to serve Krishna. But if we have attachment, and we use the material thing for sense gratification, Krishna may take it away. Because He knows that sense gratification is bad for us. When the child is eating something that is bad for him, the parent may take it away—that is the mercy of the parent. And then give him something better. If the child is eating something dirty, so the parent will take away the dirty thing and give him some nice sandeśa. Like that, we want to eat something dirty, but Krishna takes it away from us and gives us something better.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: At the end of Bhagavad-gītā Lord Krishna says: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja—give up everything and surrender to Me. But Krishna has not told how to surrender to Him.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Yes. So, therefore Bhagavad-gītā is the beginning book. Bhagavad-gītā is meant to bring us to the point of surrender to Krishna. But the complete process how to surrender to Krishna is given in further books, like The Nectar of Devotion, which gives details how to surrender to Krishna from beginning to end. So you are right. Bhagavad-gītā is the beginning book. Then, Nectar of Devotion, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: What are the duties of a grihastha devotee?

Well, the duty is to become Krishna conscious. Now, there are other duties but the other duties also depend on Krishna consciousness. The Bhāgavatam says that the duty of the husband is to deliver the wife from the repetition of birth and death. The duty of the father and the mother is to deliver the children from the repetition of birth and death. So, without being Krishna conscious, no one can be delivered from birth and death—that is the duty. The material things will come, food, clothing, and shelter will be there. But the real duty is to be Krishna conscious, and to make the family members Krishna conscious. Otherwise one is not doing his duty as a husband, or as a father, or as a mother. So we can work, and we can earn to keep the body and soul together. We want the body and soul to stay together, because we want to serve Lord Krishna. So, we don’t neglect the basic necessities of life. We accept the basic necessities, but again not in the spirit of enjoyment. Only for the purpose of maintaining the body and soul together for the sake of serving Lord Krishna.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: There are many forms of God, so does it make any difference which form we worship?

Any form of God is as good as any other form provided they are actually forms of Lord Krishna. So that includes—there is a list in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that includes Rama, Nṛsiṁha, Vishnu, and so on. but there are others who are not direct expansions of the Lord like Brahma, Shiva, Durga, Ganesh. So, worshipping them is not the same as worshipping the Lord. And therefore Krishna says that, “Those who worship the demigods go to the demigods, and those who worship Me come to Me.” The demigods are in the material world. And as we know the material world is a place of misery and it is temporary. But Krishna lives in the spiritual world, which is eternal and full of bliss, and full of knowledge. So, we want to go to Krishna. So, if you want to go to Krishna you have to worship Krishna. If you worship the demigods, you will go to the demigods, but you will still be within the material world and you will have to suffer: ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ‘rjuna – from the highest planet of Brahmaloka down to the lowest planet in the material world, all are places of misery, where the repetition of birth and death takes place.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: The difference is they are doing it, and you are not. Otherwise, there is no difference. If you are chanting Hare Krishna, you don’t need to say oṁ namaḥ śivāya. You just chant Hare Krishna.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Very good question – is krishna-bhakti the result of one’s destiny, or the result of human efforts? How do we get krishna-bhakti?

Actually, krishna-bhakti is the result of neither. Krishna-bhakti is the result of mercy. Without receiving the mercy of the Lord and the devotee, one cannot get krishna-bhakti.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Mercy is not destiny—mercy is given by the will of the Lord, by the will of the devotee. The Lord is free; the Lord is not bound by our destiny, the Lord is free. His mercy is also free—He can give it to whom He likes. But then again the Lord is equal to all. So, the Lord wants equally that everyone should be Krishna conscious. Great devotees like Prahlada Maharaja want equally that everyone should become Krishna conscious. They may be fools, they may be rascals, vimudha, but still he wants that they should be Krishna conscious.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Effort is very important. We should make the effort to follow the instructions of saintly persons like Prahlada Maharaja, especially for us—Srila Prabhupada. So, the instructions of the devotee are also the mercy of the devotee. So, we have to take the mercy. Means we have to follow the instruction, and that is where our effort comes in. So both. Yes. We cannot be successful by our own efforts alone, we need mercy. But we also cannot just expect everything to come by mercy and not make any effort. So we have to make our effort. The mercy comes in the form of the instructions, and then we have to make the effort to follow the instructions. 

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, every human being has the potential for devotional service. So when we take birth as human beings we should take to devotional service and then preach it for others. And therefore Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said very clearly: bhārate-bhūmite manuṣya-janma haila yārajanma sārthaka kari’ kara para-upakāra—that one who has taken birth as a human being should make his life successful by becoming Krishna conscious. And then he should do good to others by giving them Krishna consciousness—this is the duty of every human being. 

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!