Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.1.28-29
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · Radhadesh · 2011
Chapters
Reading Srimad Bhagavatam fifth canto verses
Sri Shiradabhina Bhagit Shakti James, Sri Shira Bhadish Bhakama Gicha, Sri Bhita. Umana Bhagavad Sudevaya Narunceva A dud já mudareshava deswarešu I told the severe, bag du damage okay, bactiba di na sticky Yam praka Jantamana Veta Muteta Krityamaipayanakatara Java, Putreitamayatayota venedus, tam sara butayamatos mi.
Reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto 5, Chapter 1, the activities of Mahārāja Priyāvrata, text 28 and 29. Nyasyam, ja, ati, jayayam, jayam, ja, utra, utra, s sam, mama shamata e tevantara
adhipathaya nyaasyamati jayamtrayaputrasamutamastama taiti mantara Happy also in the wife in the wife Tryam Three Putra sans dever puttama sahraivatta sans Uttama tamasa andrai bata.
Manuanbattara manu of the Manvantara Millennium Adipataya Adipata Rulers Translation In his other wife, Maharaja Briavratha, got three sons named Uttama, Tamasa and Raivata.
All of them later took charge of the Manvantara millennials
Lifespan and succession of Manvantara Manus
Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda. In one day of Brahmā, there are 14 Manvantaras. The duration of one manvantara, the lifespan of one manu is 71 yugas and each yuga is 4,320,000
yes almost all the manas selected to rule the manvantaras came from the family of Maharaja Priya Ratha. Three of them are particularly mentioned here in namely Uttama, Tamasa Narayakam text 29 evamupa
shaman yeshu swa damajesh Atha Jagatipatir Jagatim Parbujami Ekadasha Parivattaramyahatila Purushakaraaras Sambrita Dordanda Yugatidita Yugalati Dita Modi Guna Stamita Viramita Dharma Pratipaksha Bahismatyas Chandinam Edhamana Pramoda Pratarana Yasinya Vrida, Pramusita, Hasabaloka, Ruchira, Kseveliv, Paraman Ampuyamana Viveka Iva Anavabhuyamana Eva Mahamana Bhupuja Something like this.
Translation. After Kali, Mahavira and Savana were completely trained in the Paramahasa stage of life, Maharaja Kriyavata ruled the universe for eleven Arbuddhas of years.
Whenever he was determined to fix his arrow upon his bowstring with his two powerful arms, all opponents of the regulative principles of religious life would flee from his presence in fear of the unparalleled prowess he displayed in ruling the universe.
He greatly loved his wife Bartheshmati.
And with the increase of days, their exchange of love also increased by her feminine behavior as she dressed herself, walked, got up, smiled, laughed, and glanced about Quinbadhish Mati increased his energy.
Thus, although he was a great soul, he appeared lost in the feminine conduct of his wife.
Maintaining social order through varnasrama dharma
He behaved with her just like an ordinary man, but actually he was a great soul.
In this law, the word Dharma Praty Paksha, opponents of religious principles, referred not to a particular faith, but to our Nashama Dharma, the division of society socially and spiritually
into four varnas, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra and four āśramas, brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa. To maintain proper social order and help the citizens gradually progress towards
the goal of life, namely spiritual understanding, the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma Dharma must be accepted.
From this verse, Maharaja Priyavrata appears to have been so strict in maintaining it would immediately flee from his presence as soon it would immediately flee from his presence as soon as the king warned him by fighting or administering light punishment.
Indeed, Mahārāja Priyavrata would not have to fight for simply because of his strong determination, they dared not disobey the rules and regulations of varṇāśrama-dharma. It is said that unless human society is regulated by varṇāśrama-dharma, it is no better than a bestial society of cats and dogs.
Mahārāja Priyavrata therefore strictly maintained varṇāśrama-dharma by his extraordinary, unparalleled prowess. To maintain such a life of strict vigilance, one needs encouragement from his wife.
In the varṇāśrama-dharma system, certain classes such as brāhmaṇas and sannyāsīs do not need encouragement from the opposite sex.
Kṣatriyas and gṛhasthas, however, actually need the encouragement from their wives in order to execute their duties.
Indeed, the gṛhastha kṣatriya cannot properly execute his responsibilities without the association of his wives. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally admitted that a gṛhastha must live with a wife.
Ksantrias were even allowed to have many wives to encourage them in discharging their duties of government. The association of a good wife is necessary in a life of karma and political affairs.
To execute his duties properly, therefore Maharaj took advantage of his good wife, Parishmati, who was always very expert in pleasing her great husband by properly dressing herself, smiling, and exhibiting her feminine bodily features.
Queen Barhismati always kept Maharaja Priyavrata very encouraged and thus he executed his governmental duty very properly.
In this verse, the word diva has twice been used to indicate that Maharaja Priyavrata acted exactly like an attached husband and thereby seemed to have lost his sense of human responsibility.
Actually, however, he was fully conscious of his position as a spirit soul. Although he seemingly behaved like an attached karma-yogi husband, Maharaj does rule the universe for eleven arbudas of years.
One arbuda consists of 100 million years and Maharaj ruled the universe for eleven such arbudas.
Acting according to nature and karma
Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Prabhupāda, Śrīvāsādi-gaura- vṛnda, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa... Sankirtanae Babitaram Vi Javaram Bidharma Padamandeja So we are reading very instructive story of Maharaj Yayāti-gāthā.
Where he is described as somebody who had a very strong desire for enunciation due to the association with Narada Muni.
But despite of his strong desire for renunciation, and in spite of his readiness to renounce this world, he was ordered by Lord Brahmā, his grandfather, to rule the planet Earth. And he ruled it for a pretty long period of time.
Eleven arbudas, each arbuda is hundred million of years, so it's quite a long one billion something years.
So uh um and the purport of the story is that very important purport for every one of us is that one has to be situated in the position which is most suitable for him and develop bhakti or his devotional service or relationship with God from this position only, not trying to artificially occupy positions which does not really belong to him.
This is a simple principle which is very difficult to realize in our life because of the ego factor.
What is being described and depicted here is that he had some prarabda karma and even though the process of bhakti, the method of bhakti is powerful enough to destroy all kinds of karma, including prarabda karma, still, it is more suitable and more advisable to use prarabda karma and to exhaust prarabda karma.
Through the normal process and simultaneously develop the transcendental side of one's personality.
This is a very difficult sometimes to understand because when we achieve faith in God and understanding that we have to go to Him in a straight way without looking by sides.
And this here so much clarification of Bhakti in our scriptures that Bhakti is the fastest and the most direct and so on and so forth and it's uh elevated and you don't have to take the staircase to get to the top floor, just push the button, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, you're
there, you are. So even though we hear so much modification of bhakti and it's all true, still there is a reality of our mind and body. And prarabda karma is a very stubborn thing which is speaking to us.
And even though there's no doubt about it, we can exhaust this prarabda karma through the process of bhakti. Actually, there's no need. And it may be a disturbance in the society.
Cosmic structure and levels of consciousness
We have seen how this premature renunciation or renunciation which was not really based on a proper understanding of one's personality uh created havoc in people's life.
So the important point of this particular chapter and the whole, in fact, the whole fifth Canto in the overall scheme of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, fifth Canto describes the topic of this Mahapurana, which is called stanam.
And stanam literally means position or place. It is described in the end of the chapter, the second Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that there are ten topics of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
And these ten topics, according to some of the commentators of Srimad Bhagavatam,
divided among the cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and the first two cantos are introduction to the whole world and then third canto is Sarga or primary creation, second canto is Visarga or Secondary Creation and then sorry the third canto is Sarga fourth canto
is Visarga. And the fifth canto is sthānam. And sthānam means position, or one can translate literally as the structure of the universe.
But in reality, it's not just the structure of universe, but rather the structure of human consciousness. There is a very important very principle, Yathā brahmāṇḍe tathā piṇḍe, or yathā piṇḍe tathā brahmāṇḍe.
So whatever we have in macrocosm or in the universe, we have the same in our body. And in fact, in the body we have a certain structure which more or less represents the structure of the universe.
With the certain levels of consciousness, as we know from haṭha yoga, that there are seven chakras, and a chakra represents a certain level of consciousness.
Some people live primarily in their mūlādhāra chakra by eating, sleeping, making and defending. The lowest chakra. Some people sometimes they go a little up to the second chakra.
Some people live for the level of the third chakra.
And from the fourth on uh uh normally people don't leave because the higher chakras or higher levels of consciousness can be awakened only through sadhana or spiritual practices.
And the fifth canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes the planetary system, different planetary system, which represents basically the levels of consciousness, of the development of consciousness.
It's not just arbitrary, there are different grades of planetary system.
And each and every planetary system which is there in the universe, certain living beings inhabit them because it suits their level of spiritual development or their level of development of their consciousness.
So and therefore this particular
chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is very proper introduction to the whole fifth canto. Because the idea of the fifth canto is to show that you occupy the place which is which is suitable to you.
And you try to develop your spiritual consciousness from this position where you are in now, not from some other place.
Developing stable identity for spiritual growth
And uh this introductory chapter to the fifth uh canto describes uh this particular point uh very properly in the story of Mahārāja Priyavrata that we have to really understand where you stand and at the same time do your spiritual activities simultaneously.
And of course, a great deal of uh attention is being given in this particular chapter by Śrīla Prabhupāda to our vā-rṇāśrama system. And again and again and again Śrīla Prabhupāda tirelessly repeats and sometimes we just feel little bored.
You know, I know I know brāhmaṇa and kṣatriya and Vaiśya and śūdra and it's absolutely irrelevant to my present position. We are living in this day and age where everyone is equal.
From the great French Revolution where this slogan was there, uh everyone is equal. Of course it's a big cheating. It's the biggest cheating which is there. But somehow or other everyone buys into this cheating.
In our best to bother my people. And um the problem, of course, is
to somehow rather and Prabhupāda not without reason uh is saying about this varṇāśrama, varṇāśrama, varṇāśrama, varṇāśrama and he stresses this he says this that this is very interestingly. He stresses this in the tour.
He says that it is said that unless human society is regulated by varṇāśrama-dharma, it's no better than best of society of cats and dogs. Um and um uh no this is not the point.
To maintain proper social order and help the citizens gradually progress towards the goal of life, namely spiritual understanding, the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma must be accepted.
So Prabhupāda stresses it again and again, and we have to very clearly understand how this mechanism of varṇāśrama works and what is there for me uh how I should apply the principles of varṇāśrama in my own life.
Of course we can wait when some great ācārya successor of Śrīla Prabhupāda will establish varṇāśrama system all over the place. Will establish the varṇāśrama communities and everyone will be happily engaged in their personal duties, but it may take a few thousands of years before it ends.
So basically, uh and Prabhupāda is not saying it from the theoretical platform, he's saying it for us, and we have to understand what is there varṇāśrama system for me? What does it mean for me?
And basically very simple point which we have to understand about varṇāśrama system is that it creates a strong and properly formed ego of a person.
The main point of varṇāśrama system, of varṇāśrama institution, is to help somebody to form a proper false idea. We know that our material ego is false, but if the false identity which we anyway have is properly formed according to our constitution, according to our material position and situation, then it's helpful.
And if this ego is not properly formed and we are confused as everyone in this day and age because everyone is totally completely confused due to the you know printing press which was invented by Gutenberg and ever since proliferated all kinds of literatures.
So the point is that we have to have the properly formed false identity in order to develop the real spiritual identity. And that's the point which Prabhupāda is making so clearly.
And one has to understand very naturally the question arises why do I need to engage my time and energy into forming my false identity if I will have to discard it anyway. What is the use of this false identity?
Metaphor of rising from fallen ground
What is the use of this whole gigantic institution of varṇāśrama-dharma? If it's false anyway, from beginning to end.
And the simple answer for this difficult question is given in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam where a beautiful metaphor is given.
And the beautiful metaphor is like this: if you are fallen on the earth and you want to stand up, in order to stand up, you have to take shelter of what? Of the earth itself.
You have to take the proper situation on the earth in order to get up. Otherwise you will remain fallen. Let's imagine a hypothetical situation.
You fell down miserably and you are there on the earth and you hate this fallen condition on the earth. And you really want to get up.
But because you so much hate this fallen condition on the earth, you refuse to just touch this ground and you just try to get out, no chance no chance because even though you're fallen
Even though you are in this position, you have to take the proper shelter or proper how to say properly, you have to properly situate in this fallen condition in order to go further and go in order to go up.
And that's the very important point of this particular chapter
and the whole varṇāśrama system because if you're fallen and you refuse uh to uh form your ego then uh what will happen uh you will try to develop the spiritual identity or spiritual life from this confused state of material situation where you don't know who you are, you don't know what you are supposed to do in this life, you don't know what is your beauty, you don't know what the life is all about, and you just say Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, I just love you. Please take me as soon as possible from this mess which I made.
This has nothing to do with bhakti. First of all, because you're full of different desires which are still unfulfilled.
And you are just completely desperate and you know that you cannot fulfill these desires and you just hope that you know you will fulfill these desires in the spiritual world. This is one mistake.
And another mistake is that we mistake desire for liberation from the mess with bhakti, which has nothing to do with bhakti. You actually cannot care less about Krishna.
Your own identity is not formed properly and you can only enter into the relationship, into meaningful relationship with other people, if your identity is proper and you understand who you are and what you are supposed to do in this relationship.
There is no question of you to develop meaningful relationship with Krishna because you are just completely dysfunctional and you cannot enter into any relationship, not to speak in the relationship with God.
And at the same time you pretend that you are pure devotee and you have nothing to do with this material world.
So this is this is this is a miserable attempt to develop bhakti without really taking shelter of material nature.
Yes, we are the material nature. Yes, this is a fallen condition. Yes, this is a false condition of our life. Yes, it has nothing to do with our spiritual identity.
But to develop properly spiritual identity we have to really understand what is our position and use this position in the service of the Lord.
Controlling and enjoying through false ego
And in the meantime, by using this position in the service of the Lord, or using everything which we have in the service of the Lord, develop our spiritual identity, which is a very difficult task in itself.
So here in this particular verse, it is very interestingly described in this particular prose, uh piece of prose of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śukadeva Gosvāmī very interestingly describes the activities of Mahārāja Priyavrata. uh which he uh hold on for eleven one billion hundred million uh years for a long time and basically there are two activities which I mentioned here.
He enjoyed and he controlled. And we know Krishna when he describes the activities of a demon or identity of a demon, he says, iskoraham ahamboghi. Siddhaham Balavansukin.
And he mentions these two basic or primary activities of ego. If we take ego or false ego. The false ego has two uh basic traits.
I am, I am I am, and I means I'm the control I am the controller of my environment, and my means I am the enjoyer of my possessions.
And therefore, when Krishna explains the mentality of the demon, he also mentions the same thing. He says, īśvaro 'ham ahaṃ bhogī. I am īśvara and I am bhogī. I am the controller and I am enjoyer.
So this is two ego traits or two aspects of the false ego.
And if we look in this piece of prose and this verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the explanation of Śrīla Prabhupada, we can see how basically the basic principle of varṇāśrama-dharma and how it works.
These two tendencies of ego. And the whole varṇāśrama-dharma is about ego. It's about people. I'm a brāhmaṇa, I'm a kṣatriya, I'm a Vaiṣṇava, I'm a śūdra, I'm a vaiśya, I'm a brahmacārī, I'm sannyāsī, this and that.
But it is explained here in this verse how you take this position of ego and this desires of ego, these impetuses of ego, tendencies of ego, and you use this in the service of the Lord.
In order to purify yourself from these tendencies. These two tendencies which are there, the tendency to control, which is there within every one of us. We all have desire to control.
Every one of us is either Īśvara or Īśvarī. Doesn't matter which press we have desire to control. And we have the desire the desire to enjoy. And it is said here very clearly and very simply, we know this principle.
That Maharaj Vyavrata he used his desire to control in the service of the Lord by establishing the proper principles of society or by administrating the society in the proper way, or basically helping others to conduct their life properly.
This desire to control if we take it in a a general sense of course, Mahārāja Priyavrata was a kṣatriya and he had a specific duty of a kṣatriya to rule over others.
But if we take this desire to control in a general sense, then this desire to control should be employed uh to control and regulate our own life.
If you are big īśvara, and every one of us is a big īśvara and we try to manifest these tendencies in a very glorious and splendorous way so that everyone notices it. So here is the application of it.
Channeling material desires in divine service
You want to be īśvara, first of all, you have to become īśvara of your own life, conduct your life properly, according to the rules and regulations of the human society, according to proper conduct of the human being and uh this will be the proper use of this controlling tendency and then there is another uh tendency which is there, the tendency to enjoy or the tendency to be inspired.
Actually what is this tendency to enjoy? You want to be inspired. And that's why we need the opposite sex.
Śrīla Prabhupāda says that the association of the opposite sex is needed for our encouragement, for our emotional uplivement.
Because when we have an opposite sex next to us, we feel very animal, we feel like doing something very great because there's always one spectator who can appreciate what we do.
You know it's it's always this this emotional kind of need is there. But this and this is the tendency to enjoy.
And if we use again this tendency to enjoy properly in the sense that we this inspiration which is coming to us from the association with the opposite sex or whatever, we use properly again in the service of the world then this is a great use of this energy.
You can sometimes see, you know, sometimes brahmacārīs or over their own. And you can very nicely distinguish them because they have very gloomy look in their faces.
They're totally completely lost and they don't know what to do. And no inspiration is coming and prasāda doesn't inspire anymore. Sometimes Sunday feast inspires a little bit, but not so much.
Because no inspiration, no encouragement. Because nobody is there to appreciate the temple commander so I do something for him. Not really. What is the use?
But But here it is very clearly and very beautifully explained the human psychology of the needs of the human ego.
If the ego is properly situated and if somebody is properly developing himself in the proper environment of the proper social structure then he can be controller in his own right so to speak by getting strengths to control his own life and direct his own life in a proper way.
And he can be inspired by the proper association with the wife. Wife, the role of the wife. A great role of the wife is to inspire the man. There is a nice saying that behind every great man there is a great woman.
And her greatness is actually manifested through the men. Men are men are little foolish to them. They need to be up front. Women they know, they have to be behind behind the scene.
But actually, only because of their inspiration uh and encouragement uh men can do something.
Most of the men uh they need uh encouragement and inspiration from which they take or get from the chastity and from the feminine power, so to speak.
And by doing this, if one is properly established, one can be satisfied.
And the satisfaction, material satisfaction, has a very tremendous effect upon our consciousness and tremendous impetus for development of our spiritual consciousness because no matter how materially we
are satisfied, and this properly situated ego which is there, it gets knowledgement, gets satisfaction. If somebody is in his proper position, he will be heavy materially, no doubt about it.
But then he will realize the very important fact that no matter how heavy materially, it just doesn't satisfy my soul. It just doesn't bring me complete satisfaction and I need to go beyond this.
The problem with improper social situation is that one still cherishes and maintains the hope, and he tries to hide this hope that he would get in some other it just didn't work out.
But you know if I had some other wife, you know I had four of them, but the fifth one probably would be the best.
You know, all these crazy ideas which which people have, you know, I I know people, they are just tirelessly getting married again and again and again.
They are 70 years old and they still have great hopes for why? Because because everything is messed up. And because nobody is happy and because nobody is satisfied.
And therefore, it just sucks out our energy from our spiritual practices. It's just a big black hole.
And in this big black hole all the energy which can be used for our spiritual development goals there and uh and it's just that so
therefore what is extremely important and distressed here, and you have to get your material life together, and there's only one way to get your material life together and to get some happiness together is to understand your own nature and to act accordingly with your nature.
Not to try to imitate. If you're a woman just be woman, there is no need to be man and to drive trucks. It's not the proper position for a woman. If you're mad, just be mad, don't try to be moon, there's no need for this.
And you know, just use your material nature and develop your material nature.
Try to develop material nature to the fullest extent because if we have prarabda karma and we do have prarabda karma it means that we will not be able to dedicate 100% of our energy to the spiritual development.
Some part of our energy will have to be dedicated to our material development and if we don't engage it properly. We will just completely destroy ourselves.
Because this energy will have a destructive effect upon our consciousness and upon our mind. So So this is a this is an important lesson which is there and
in this way and when you develop your proper nature, proper ego, proper material nature and proper material abilities by being meaningfully engaged in some duties, applicational duties, then ultimately you will be able to transcend this and develop your spiritual identity.
In the tenth canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is a very interesting question which is asked by Vāsudeva Mahārāja. And at Kurukṣetra. When all the inhabitants of Bhārata came to Kurukṣetra to perform the solar eclipse.
Usually the custom is there that this is just a pretext to be engaged in some spiritual activity. You know, solar eclipse, yes, very inauspicious. We have to do some yagya.
But again, even yajña itself is a pretext to be engaged in some discourse.
The sages are there, the brahmanas are there, and the householders come and there is a lot of time and they spend time asking questions and getting answers.
So Mahārāja Vāsudeva at Kurukṣetra, he asks a very important question. He says, how can I be engaged in activity in this world without getting entangled into this activity? How can I engage in activity?
Because I know that if I engage in any activity, it creates some desire in myself. And desire means perpetuation of the same activity.
I engaged in some activity, the activity itself creates some desire, and this desire will push me to again be engaged in some other activity and this other activity will push me to have some other desire, this other desire group and this is a vicious circle.
Three human desires in the Upanisads
So Vāsudeva asked this question, you know, he says, please tell me how can I be engaged in the activity and not get any desire.
And the very interesting concept which is given there by the sages is actually very instructive to us. This answer is based on one Upaniṣadic statement.
In Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, there is a description of human psychology and human nature. And it is said in Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad that there are three kinds of desires which every human being has. One is desire for wealth.
Does anyone have such desire? So you're still human beings.
You are already in the higher wealth, but you know So it is said that there is a desire for art for wealth, for prosperity, for economic development, for being nicely situated, for having some jacuzzi and stuff.
So this is one desire. Another desire is the desire is the desire of opposite sex of the wife and children and husband and nice family life. Nice, happy beautiful family life. That anyone have desire? No. I'm sure no.
This is the second kind of desire.
And the third kind of desire is desire of the next life nice heavenly situation in the next life you know some future when this Maya calendar will work out and then we will have some nice situation.
So basically this said in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad that all desires which we have they are they fall into one of these categories. And while answering the question of Vasudev,
when Vasudev asked this question, basically the sages have to uh tell him what kind of activity he has to perform to get rid of these desires. And uh the answer which the sages give is interesting.
The sages says if you want to get rid of the desire for artha for the wealth. Yes, you have to be engaged in some work. You have to earn money.
But in order to purify your heart from this craving for economic prosperity and economic development and so on so forth,
you have to engage your money which you will earn, hard earned money, into dāna and yajña. You have to give donations, you have to give some charity, you have to do that.
And you have to be engaged in yajña, you have to do yajña, you have to do sacrifice, you have to spend your money on this. You have to understand.
And gradually, gradually, by doing this, you will purify yourself from this.
And uh and if you want and that's interesting, if you want to get rid of the desire uh to have nice family life. If you want to get rid of the desire to have a nice family life, you should have a nice family life.
This is the only way we get many up to you in that one. Many people you get You need to have nice have a nice friend in life.
And um And if you want to get rid of the sub kind of desire, desire for a better future, it is said very wisely it is said, you have to engage, to be engaged into into thinking about the power of time.
You know, how the time is powerful and how no position in this material world can give you any permanent situation here. So this was the answer which was given by the sages to Maharaja Vasudev.
Internal detachment while performing external duties
And basically here the similar kind of answer is given to the same question.
It is said that Maharaja Priyavrata by developing his proper identity and by engaging his material personality he was doing everything which every normal human being would do.
But Prabhupada he points out that twice in the last line of this prose the word eva as if is used It is said Iva Anababhyumana as if he was less intelligent.
You know, if you look at his life, if you had some, you know hidden camera in his home, you would see him being engaged with his wife and his wife would dress nicely and his wife would smile and his wife would uh you know pad him on the head and his wife would put some ornaments and marajar would be very inspiring with you I have to do something great for such a nice body.
But it is said uh that Giva he was just doing this because he knew that this is the way to engage my material uh structure, my material kind of identity into this.
And it is said the Eva Mahamana Bhuji. as if he wanted to enjoy. But the specific word which is used here, mahamaha. He was a great song. So his greatness was that he was not really tangled internally into this.
Yes, externally, it looked like he was completely entangled into this, but internally he knew I am the spirit, so I will never find happiness in this. No way, no chance.
Just not possible because my real identity is spiritual idea. And I'm using my material identity to create the proper environment for my spiritual identity to develop. And that's why it is it is says, eva buja.
The externally it was seen that he was trying to enjoy. Internally he was not trying to enjoy. Internally his whole energy was dedicated to his internal development and this whole entourage was not really a hindrance for me.
Balancing spiritual progress with material stability
Anyway, that's basically I'm supposed to finish now, right? Thank you very much for all those questions, Maharaj. Uh, what you said now on the end, uh, about this, uh, this internal identity and external identity.
And before you were you were talking about um develop uh developing this false identity.
I still do not understand because we as as devotees we are encouraged to develop from the beginning a very strong spiritual identity. So how to combine that? The point is there. We are encouraged, no doubt about it.
We are encouraged to develop and to dedicate our strength and energy to develop our spiritual identity.
But the point is that if our material identity is not developed or is not satisfied, then it will be difficult for us 100% to concentrate on developing our material, our spiritual identity. That's the only point.
Our energy will be wasted or dissipated. Our mind will be distracted because if we are confused, the confused person who has weak material personality has weak ego, and this weak and painful ego will
react very properly on a different environmental stimulus of different see what if somebody has a properly developed material ego, he is satisfied, he is stable, he has some dignity, he is secure.
If somebody doesn't have properly formed material ego, there will be a great deal of insecurity in his personality. And this insecurity will manifest as oversensitivity.
You know, it's actually he will be internally very fearful because of the insecurity.
And because he is not doing properly, he doesn't know, he doesn't know what is the future, he's very insecure because his situation is not proper, his tunnel is not proper. He doesn't have a very proper place to stand on.
And due to this insecurity, he will be overly sensitive. He will be paranoid. He will look at everyone, everyone will try to inflict some pain into me, hurt me, this and that, and we know this personality.
And his whole mental energy and his whole mental concentration will be dissipated and wasted into these things. You know, he will always be disturbed. If you have a proper position, you're much more powerful, much more uh concentrated, much more you know kind of dedicated to uh what you're supposed to do.
If you are if you not properly situated, then you will be insecure and this insecurity will just you you will just you know you will be you you will not have the steady determination in spiritual practices, that's it.
That's what it is. And that's the role of one national institution of proper social structure. Proper social structure basically means that I develop uh
myself and I I develop a great deal of stability or security within myself. Immunity from all this external disturbance. And uh from this position it's much easier for me to uh concentrate on the spiritual development.
Did I ask? Yes, and and in case if some someone always has taste for for chanting and that's fine, that's great.
You know if there is i i if they have if they can concentrate as well see again, if we are on a level where uh we can care less about uh material situation and we are not disturbed by the material environment and by the people who are trying to disturb us, that's fine.
There's no need to do this. It means that you are on a certain level.
And Prabhupada says this, that certain section of the societies like sannyāsīs, they don't need them in energy near to them to encourage them. They are encouraged as well.
They are on the contrary they are discouraged when they have C Show. So if i i if if it's your level, that's no problem.
If you're not disturbed by all this material, if you don't feel insecure, if you feel very secure and you can concentrate on the spiritual practice, fine, this is your level.
But if you feel some insecurity, there is a good reason to think that maybe you have to change some of your material position.
Addressing desperation and turning toward God
Even though you are engaged in spiritual practice but still you feel some kind of instability, over-sensitivity, then it's probably good to look into this side of your nature.
In this context, in context of this class, uh understands that Krishna is friend of most materially impoverished or that Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu is a friend of most violent because this appears, it's confused, and it appears the most fallen condition of the soul.
Maybe it encourages the soul actually to turn more to creation that it's so confused all below that it's not. But not always.
Usually when you are so disturbed, you you know you don't have a very clear feeling of God's presence in your life. You can acquire this feeling of God's watchful and kind presence in your life if you're not disturbed.
When you're disturbed, usually people employ material means to get rid of the disturbance. So that's what we see.
You know, if you have very clear presence then then then it's fine, but you know, to even to start doing this you need some kind of basic security so to speak. But you know, if it helps fine. If it does help.
But you know, usually people they become desperate and in their desperation they don't approach God oftentimes.
But again, see if we take our culture in our culture there is a lot of confused fallen people and we see that they usually don't approach God.
But in the culture of āśrama where this notion of God is very prominent and built into the system uh from the very beginning, then uh all kinds of reverses they can uh be they can have you know positive effect on the people.
But if the culture is very chaotic, and chaotic culture means that there is no God in charge.
The external chaos is coming from this understanding that there's nobody who is who makes any sense out of it, you know, who needs it. Then it's difficult uh to really uh you know take proper use of this polar condition.
It's possible what you say. Usually detrimental. thank you very much. But we have the sum of uh bees, yeah.