CHAPTER EIGHT
Let There Be Calamities
When a devotee is in danger, he thinks, "Now Krishna has appeared before me as danger." In His form of Nrisimhadeva, the Lord was dangerous to the demon Hiranyakasipu, but the same Nrisimhadeva was the supreme friend to the devoted Prahlada Maharaja. God is never dangerous to the devotee, and the devotee is never afraid of dangers, because he is confident that the danger is but another feature of God. "Why should I be afraid?" the devotee thinks. "I am surrendered to Him."
Therefore Kuntidevi says, vipadah santu: "Let there be calamities." Vipadah santu tah sasvat: "Let all those calamities happen again and again." Because she knows how to remember Krishna at times of danger, she is welcoming danger. "My dear Lord," she says, "I welcome dangers, because when dangers come I can remember You." When Prahlada Maharaja's father was putting him into dangerous predicaments, Prahlada was always thinking of Krishna. So if we are put into a dangerous position and that danger gives us an impetus to remember Krishna, that is welcome: "Oh, I am getting this opportunity to remember Krishna." Why is this welcome? It is welcome because seeing Krishna or remembering Krishna means advancing in spiritual life so that we will not have to suffer any more of these dangers. Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti so 'rjuna (Bg. 4.9). If one becomes advanced in Krishna consciousness, the result will be that after giving up the body (tyaktva deham) one will not have to take birth again in this material world (punar janma naiti). This is to be desired.
Suppose I am very comfortable at the present moment. My body may be comfortable, but there will be death, and then another birth. After giving up my present body, if I get the body of a cat or a dog, what is the meaning of my comfortable position? Death is sure, and after death one must surely accept another body. We may not know what kind of body we shall get, but we can know from the sastra, the Vedic literature. The sastra says that according to our particular mentality, we will get a particular kind of body. Although I may be in a comfortable position, if I keep myself in the mentality of a dog, I shall get my next life as a dog. Therefore, what is the value of this comfortable position? I may be in a comfortable position for twenty years, thirty years, fifty years, or at the utmost one hundred years. Yet if, when I give up this body, my mentality causes me to become a cat, a dog, or a mouse, what is the benefit of this comfortable position? But people do not consider this. They think, especially in the present age, "I am now in a comfortable position. I have enough money and a good estate. I have ample comforts and enough food. When this body is finished, I am not going to take birth again, so as long as I am living, let me enjoy life." This is the modern philosophy of hedonism, but it does not correspond to the facts.
Kunti, however, is aware of birth and death, and she is anxious not to repeat this process. This is indicated by the words apunar bhava-darsanam [SB 1.8.25]. If one always sees Krishna, one is in Krishna consciousness, for Krishna consciousness means always thinking of Krishna. One's consciousness should be absorbed in Krishna thought. Therefore the spiritual master gives different varieties of engagements to devotees in Krishna consciousness. For example, under the direction of the spiritual master the devotees may sell books in Krishna consciousness. But if the devotees think that the energy invested in selling books should be diverted into selling jewelry, that is not a very good idea. Then they would become nothing more than jewelers. We should be very much careful not to be diverted from Krishna consciousness. Even if there is danger or suffering in Krishna consciousness, we should tolerate it. We should even welcome such danger, and we should pray in appreciation to Krishna.
How should we pray? Tat te 'nukampam susamikshamanah: [SB 10.14.8] "My dear Lord, it is Your great mercy that I have been put into this dangerous position." That is the viewpoint of a devotee. He doesn't regard danger as danger. Rather, he thinks, "It is Krishna's mercy." What kind of mercy? Bhunjana evatma-kritam vipakam: "Because of my past activities, I was meant to suffer very much. But You are mitigating that suffering and giving me only a little." In other words, by the grace of Krishna a devotee may receive only token punishment.
-----------------------------------------------
Therefore Kuntidevi says, vipadah santu: "Let there be calamities." Vipadah santu tah sasvat: "Let all those calamities happen again and again." Because she knows how to remember Krishna at times of danger, she is welcoming danger. "My dear Lord," she says, "I welcome dangers, because when dangers come I can remember You." When Prahlada Maharaja's father was putting him into dangerous predicaments, Prahlada was always thinking of Krishna. So if we are put into a dangerous position and that danger gives us an impetus to remember Krishna, that is welcome: "Oh, I am getting this opportunity to remember Krishna." Why is this welcome? It is welcome because seeing Krishna or remembering Krishna means advancing in spiritual life so that we will not have to suffer any more of these dangers. Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti so 'rjuna (Bg. 4.9). If one becomes advanced in Krishna consciousness, the result will be that after giving up the body (tyaktva deham) one will not have to take birth again in this material world (punar janma naiti). This is to be desired.
Suppose I am very comfortable at the present moment. My body may be comfortable, but there will be death, and then another birth. After giving up my present body, if I get the body of a cat or a dog, what is the meaning of my comfortable position? Death is sure, and after death one must surely accept another body. We may not know what kind of body we shall get, but we can know from the sastra, the Vedic literature. The sastra says that according to our particular mentality, we will get a particular kind of body. Although I may be in a comfortable position, if I keep myself in the mentality of a dog, I shall get my next life as a dog. Therefore, what is the value of this comfortable position? I may be in a comfortable position for twenty years, thirty years, fifty years, or at the utmost one hundred years. Yet if, when I give up this body, my mentality causes me to become a cat, a dog, or a mouse, what is the benefit of this comfortable position? But people do not consider this. They think, especially in the present age, "I am now in a comfortable position. I have enough money and a good estate. I have ample comforts and enough food. When this body is finished, I am not going to take birth again, so as long as I am living, let me enjoy life." This is the modern philosophy of hedonism, but it does not correspond to the facts.
Kunti, however, is aware of birth and death, and she is anxious not to repeat this process. This is indicated by the words apunar bhava-darsanam [SB 1.8.25]. If one always sees Krishna, one is in Krishna consciousness, for Krishna consciousness means always thinking of Krishna. One's consciousness should be absorbed in Krishna thought. Therefore the spiritual master gives different varieties of engagements to devotees in Krishna consciousness. For example, under the direction of the spiritual master the devotees may sell books in Krishna consciousness. But if the devotees think that the energy invested in selling books should be diverted into selling jewelry, that is not a very good idea. Then they would become nothing more than jewelers. We should be very much careful not to be diverted from Krishna consciousness. Even if there is danger or suffering in Krishna consciousness, we should tolerate it. We should even welcome such danger, and we should pray in appreciation to Krishna.
How should we pray? Tat te 'nukampam susamikshamanah: [SB 10.14.8] "My dear Lord, it is Your great mercy that I have been put into this dangerous position." That is the viewpoint of a devotee. He doesn't regard danger as danger. Rather, he thinks, "It is Krishna's mercy." What kind of mercy? Bhunjana evatma-kritam vipakam: "Because of my past activities, I was meant to suffer very much. But You are mitigating that suffering and giving me only a little." In other words, by the grace of Krishna a devotee may receive only token punishment.
-----------------------------------------------
Written by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
No comments:
Post a Comment