Srila Prabhupada speaks on: It Is Not Alright!

January 14, 2009

" It Is Not Alright! "

Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.22 Mayapur, February 29, 1976 listen

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Dayananda: Translation: " My dear Lord, the supreme great, You have created this material world of sixteen paraphernalia, but You are transcendental to such material qualities, or in other words, all these material qualities are under Your full control. You are never conquered by them. Therefore the time element is Your representation. O my Lord, the Supreme, nobody can conquer over You, but so far I am concerned, I am being crushed by the wheel of time, and therefore I am surrendering fully unto You. And now, therefore, kindly take me under the protection of Your lotus feet. "

Prabhupada:

sa tvam hi nitya-vijatma-gunah sva-dhamnakalo vasi-krta-visrjya-visarga-saktihcakre visrstam ajayesvara sodasarenispidyamanam upakarsa vibho prapannam [sB 7.9.22]

The same thing is repeatedly reminded. Maya... We are nispidyamanam. We are being crushed by the wheel of time with sixteen spokes. We are being crushed. At the same time, we are thinking that we are very happy. This is called maya. This is maya's grace, that in any condition of life, the suffering is very, very acute, but the living entity who is suffering, he thinks, " I am enjoying. " This is called maya. You have seen that the pig eats stool. And when we see, we say, " Ah! What is that? Oh! He is eating stool. " But he's thinking that he's enjoying. He is thinking he's enjoying. This is the covering influence of maya, praksepatmika-sakti. Otherwise how one can suffer? The worm in the stool is enjoying. If you take one worm from the stool and keep it aside, he'll again go to the stool. This is maya, praksepatmika-sak..., avaranatmika-sakti, covering. Maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan [sB 7.9.43].

Prahlada Maharaja will speak in later verses that soce tato vimukha-cetasah, maya-suhkhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan. A Vaisnava's concern is... He sees everything. Just like any common man can understand what kind of birth. Nana yoni bhraman kare, kadarya bhaksana kare. Very peculiar arrangement of the maya. We see sometimes in the airplane, even Indian, they're eating the intestine of the hog, enjoying. That is enjoying. There is a preparation called naphi in Burma. That preparation is made... Every householder has a big jug at the door, and any animal dies, he puts it in that. It is... The bad smell is so strong, if one opens, that whole neighborhood will be polluted, bad smell. So they keep it for some years, and when it is decomposed, the juice is coming, they strain the juice and keep it in bottle. That is called naphi. And when there is some festival, they give little, little, and people enjoy it. So, nana yoni bhraman kare, kadarya bhaksana kare. When my Guru Maharaja was alive, we had one temple, one of his, in Burma, in Rangoon. So when they were making puris with nice ghee, all the inhabitants will come, " Oh! What you are doing? What you are doing? (laughter) What you are doing? Intolerable. It is... " The flavor of ghee was intolerable, and the flavor of naphi is tolerable.

So nana yoni bhraman kare, kadarja bhaksan kare. Very peculiar condition we are in this material world. But do not think that when Krsna comes, He also is subjected to this suffering. No. That is isita. Just like there are many patients in the hospital, infectious disease, but that does not mean the doctors who are treating them, they are also infectious. No. They are not infectious. Similarly, when Krsna comes... Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata, tadatmanam srjamy aham [bg. 4.7]. So He is not subjected to this mayic influence. He's not subjected. Therefore it is said, tvam nitya-vijitatma-gunah. This material world is created by Him, composition of three material qualities -- sattva-guna, rajo-guna, tamo-guna -- but He does not belong to any one of them. The Mayavadi philosophers, they think that when God comes, incarnation, He also accepts the sattva-guna and therefore the form is there. Their conclusion is, " The Absolute Truth is formless, so when He accepts a form of this material world, He accepts this sattva-guna. " But that is not the fact. He's above sattva-guna even. Therefore it is said, nitya-vijita atma-gunah. Sva-dhamna. He comes with His own spiritual energy, sva-dhamna. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam also, in the beginning it is said, dhamna nirasta-kuhakam. Nirasta-kuhakam. Kuhakam means illusion. So the spiritual world, there is no such illusion or these three gunas. Therefore it is said, nirasta-kuhakam sva-dhamna. In the spiritual world there is no influence of these three gunas. That is in this material world. So when Krsna comes, He does not become affected or, rather, infected with these gunas. Nirguna... That is nirguna. Nirguna guna-bhokta ca. He's bhokta. He's bhokta or nirguna. Nirguna means spiritual guna, not material guna. When it is said, nirguna, " nirguna " means without any material quality. That is nirguna.

Sa tvam hi nitya-vijitatma-gunah sva-dhamna kalo vasi-krta. Kala, the time factor. We are under the kala, we conditioned souls, past, present future. Kala. Kala, time. Time has got three factors: past, present, future. So what is past, present, future for me, that may not be past, present, future for Brahma, or that may not be past, present, future for the ant. Every... This world is relative world. My past, present future is relative to me. My limited span of life, say a hundred years. So before hundred years, it is past. And after hundred years, it is future. And the present hundred years is present. But so far Brahma is concerned, his past, present, future is different. Our forty-three lakhs of years multiplied by one thousand -- his present day. That is his present day. Just like we have got this present day, beginning from six-thirty to five-thirty, that. So Brahma hasn't got such day. This six-thirty to five-thirty, say eleven hours, and Brahma, this eleven hours means our forty-three lakhs of years multiplied by one thousand. Sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmano viduh [bg. 8.17]. So in this way, relatively... Similarly, one ant, his one hundred years, he cannot imagine that so long period of man is one day. So everything is relative in our condition. But for Krsna, He's eternal. There is no such thing as past, present and future. Nityah sasvatah. We are also of the same quality, nityah sasvatah, but under the condition of material nature we are controlled, and this is going on by the time factor. Therefore Prahlada Maharaja is regretting, nispidyamanam: " I am being crushed by this time factor. " But we are thinking, " It is all right. " This is called ignorance. We are being crushed under this time factor, the wheel, time wheel, with sixteen spokes, senses. Manah-sasthanindriyani prakrti-sthani karsati, mamaivamso jiva-bhuta [bg. 15.7]. " These living entities, " Krsna said, " they are My part and parcel. " So they should remain with Him just like the fire and the spark. Unfortunately we have fallen down. And the result is nispidyamana, being crushed.

So if one is serious to be saved from this crushing process of time factor, then they should learn from Prahlada Maharaja. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. That... What is that? Nispidyamana upakarsa: " Kindly pick me up. " Vibho: " You are vibhu, most powerful, the great omnipotent. " " Yes, I am, all right. But why shall I pick it up? " Now, prapannam: " Now I surrender. I rebelled against You, and I was put into this wheel of time, and suffering one after another life. Now I have realized that I am in a precarious condition of life. " So nispidyamanam. This is called human life, when one understands... The animal life, they do not understand what is suffering. The cats and dogs, they are thinking they're living very happily. But in the human life they should come to the understanding that " Actually we are not living happily. We are being crushed by the wheel of time in so many ways. " Nispidyamanam. When this sense comes, then he is a human being. Otherwise he's animal. If he's thinking that he's all right... That is... Ninety-nine point nine percent people think that " I am all right. " Even in the most abominable condition of life, just like the hog and dog, still, he is thinking, " I am all right. " So long this ignorance will continue, he is simply animal. Yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke sva-dhih kalatradisu bhauma-ijya-dhih [sB 10.84.13]. This is going on. Atma-buddhih, tri-dhatuke. This body, which is made of kapha, pitta, vayu, everyone is thinking, " I am this body. " Whole world is going on. Simply we, a few members of the Krsna consciousness movement, we are going door to door and trying to convince them, " Sir, you are not this body. " They don't care for it. " I am. I am this body. I am Mr. John, " " I am Englishman, " " I am American, " " I'm Indian. " You say " I'm not this body. " So very difficult task. The Krsna consciousness movement, to push on, requires great patience, perseverance, tolerance. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu's order,

trnad api sunicenataror api sahisnunaamanina manadenakirtaniyah sada harih [Cc. Adi 17.31]

So those who have taken to Krsna consciousness preaching work, they should always know that things are not going to happen so easily. Maya is very, very strong. Very, very strong. But still, we have to struggle against maya. It is a declaration of war with the maya. Maya is keeping the living entities under her control, and we are trying to save the living entity from her un... That is the difference. Kalo vasi-krta-visrjya-visarga-saktih. This sakti, visarga-saktih, is very, very strong, but it is under the control. Although it is very, she is very, very strong, but she is under the control of Krsna. Mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram [bg. 9.10]. Although prakrti is acting so wonderfully... Very, very, I mean to say, great task she is performing, that immediately the cloud comes. Now it is so bright. Within a second a very big, dark cloud may come and cause devastation immediately. That is possible. These are the wonderful activities of Maya. But still, she is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We see this sun so big, fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth, and you see morning, how quickly it gets up, like this, immediately. The speed is sixteen thousand miles per second. So how it is being happenend? Yasyajnaya bhramati sambhrta-kala-cakro govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhaja... It is being done under the order of Govinda. So therefore He's vibhu. He is great. But we do not know how great He is. Therefore we foolishly accept some pretender, some fraud, as God. We do not know what is the meaning of God. But it is going on. We are fools. Andha yathandair upaniyamanas. We are blind, and another blind man lead us: " I am God. You are God. Everyone is God. " But God is not like that.

Here it is said that God is He who... Kalo vasi-krta-visrjya-visarga-saktih: " He keeps control over the time factor and the creative energy. " That is God. God is not so cheap that you'll find here and there. God is everywhere. That's a fact. But that is partial manifestation of His material energy. This is... Ekamsena sthito jagat.

athava bahunaitenakim jnatena tavarjunavistabhya aham...ekamsena sthito jagat [bg. 10.42]

He's there. Andantara-stham paramanu-cayantara-stham. He is within the atom. So when the same God, sa tvam, He comes, the foolish persons, they think that " Krsna is like one of us. " No. Avajananti mam mudha. One who thinks like that, that " Krsna is one of us. He is like a human being, like me or you, " he is mudha. Param bhavam ajananto [bg. 9.11]. He does not know what are the activities of God, what He can do, what He can undo.

So anyway, if by reading all these literatures, explanation, given by God Himself, we come to our senses that He is so great and so merciful, then it becomes possible to surrender unto Him. So for a fortunate person it takes even a second, because God Himself says,

sarva-dharman parityajyamam ekam saranam vrajaaham tvam sarva-papebhyomoksayisyami... [bg. 18.66]

So if one is intelligent, he takes immediately: " Oh, it is so nice. He'll give me all protection? Let me surrender. " Business finished in one second. But if he's a rascal, he wants to search out, make research work, then bahunam janmanam ante [bg. 7.19]. After many many births it will take... So best thing is, Prahlada Maharaja says, prapannam. Arjuna says, prapannam, sadhi mam prapannam. This is wanted. Be surrendered to the lotus feet of Krsna, and be saved from these clutches of maya.

Thank you very much. (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.22 -- Mayapur, February 29, 1976

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-- There's no reason to suffer in material existence any longer. All we have to do to become free forever from all suffering is take complete shelter of Lord Sri Krishna, the original person, the source of all existence. He is our ever well-wishing benefactor. He wants only the best for us because His love for us is unlimited. Even if we are caught up in heavy apparently unsolvable anxieties such as being eaten by a tiger, if we completely surrender ourselves to Lord Krishna, we will wake up from our nightmare and realize that it was only a dream. There was no tiger about to devour us. We will see that there is Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And there is His devotees. We will see that we are also one of His devotees and we can joyfully Him and His devotees for all of eternity in a state of ever-increasing ecstasy.

Chant:Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare HareHare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare