ŚrīŚukadeva Gosvāmī said: Bhadraśravā, the son of Dharmarāja, rules the tract of land known as Bhadrāśva-varṣa. Just as Lord Śiva worships Saṅkarṣaṇa in Ilāvṛta-varṣa, Bhadraśravā, accompanied by his intimate servants and all the residents of the land, wor ships the plenary expansion of Vāsudeva known as Hayaśīrṣa. Lord Hayaśīrṣa is very dear to the devotees, and He is the director of all religious principles. Fixed in the topmost trance, Bhadraśravā and his associates offer their respectful obeisances to the Lord and chant the following prayers with careful pro nunciation.(1) The ruler Bhadraśravā and his intimate associates utter the following prayer: We of fer our respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of all re ligious principles, who cleanses the heart of the conditioned soul in this material world. Again and again we offer our respectful obeisances unto Him.(2)

Alas! How wonderful it is that the foolish materialist does not heed the great dan ger of impending death! He knows that death will surely come, yet he is nevertheless callous and neglectful. If his father dies, he wants to enjoy his father’s property, and if his son dies, he wants to enjoy his son’s possessions as well. In either case, he heedlessly tries to enjoy ma terial happiness with the acquired money.(3) O unborn one, learned Vedic scholars who are ad vanced in spiritual knowledge certainly know that this material world is perishable, as do other logicians and philosophers. In trance they realize the factual position of this world, and they preach the truth as well. Yet even they are sometimes bewildered by Your illusory energy. This is Your own wonderful pastime. There fore, I can understand that Your illusory energy is very wonderful, and I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.(4)

O Lord, although You are completely detached from the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this material world and are not directly affected by these ac tivities, they are all attributed to You. We do not wonder at this, for Your inconceivable en ergies perfectly qualify You to be the cause of all causes. You are the active principle in eve rything, although You are separate from every thing. Thus we can realize that everything is happening because of Your inconceivable en ergy.(5) At the end of the millennium, igno rance personified assumed the form of a de mon, stole all the Vedas and took them down to the planet of Rasātala. The Supreme Lord, however, in His form of Hayagrīva retrieved the Vedas and returned them to Lord Brahmā when he begged for them. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, whose de termination never fails.(6) Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva resides in the tract of land known as Hari-varṣa. In the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, I shall describe to you how Prahlāda Mahārāja caused the Lord to as sume the form of Nṛsiṁhadeva. Prahlāda Mahārāja, the topmost devotee of the Lord, is a reservoir of all the good qualities of great per sonalities. His character and activities have de livered all the fallen members of his demoniac family. Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva is very dear to this exalted personality. Thus Prahlāda Mahārāja, along with his servants and all the denizens of Hari-varṣa, worships Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva by chanting the following mantra.(7)

I offer my re spectful obeisances unto Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possess nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demonlike desires for fruitive ac tivity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world.(8) May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be paci fied. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devo tional service they will think of each other’s welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the ser vice of the supreme transcendence, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.(9) My dear Lord, we pray that we may never feel attraction for the prison of family life, consisting of home, wife, children, friends, bank balance, relatives and so on. If we do have some attachment, let it be for devotees, whose only dear friend is Kṛṣṇa. A person who is ac tually self-realized and who has controlled his mind is perfectly satisfied with the bare neces sities of life. He does not try to gratify his senses. Such a person quickly advances in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, whereas others, who are too attached to material things, find advance ment very difficult.(10)

By associating with persons for whom the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Mukunda, is the all in all, one can hear of His powerful activities and soon come to understand them. The activities of Mukunda are so potent that simply by hearing of them one immediately associates with the Lord. For a person who constantly and very eagerly hears narrations of the Lord’s powerful activities, the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead in the form of sound vibrations, enters within his heart and cleanses it of all contamination. On the other hand, although bathing in the Ganges diminishes bodily contaminations and infec tions, this process and the process of visiting holy places can cleanse the heart only after a long time. Therefore who is the sane man who will not associate with devotees to quickly per fect his life?(11) All the demigods and their ex alted qualities, such as religion, knowledge and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. On the other hand, a person devoid of devotional service and engaged in material activities has no good qualities. Even if he is adept at the practice of mystic yoga or the hon est endeavor of maintaining his family and rel atives, he must be driven by his own mental speculations and must engage in the service of the Lord’s external energy. How can there be any good qualities in such a man?(12)

Just as aquatics always desire to remain in the vast mass of water, all conditioned living entities naturally desire to remain in the vast existence of the Supreme Lord. Therefore if someone very great by material calculations fails to take shelter of the Supreme Soul but instead be comes attached to material household life, his greatness is like that of a young, low-class cou ple. One who is too attached to material life loses all good spiritual qualities.(13) Therefore, O demons, give up the so-called happiness of family life and simply take shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, which are the actual shelter of fearlessness. Entanglement in family life is the root cause of material attachment, in defatigable desires, moroseness, anger, despair, fear and the desire for false prestige, all of which result in the repetition of birth and death.(14)

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: In the tract of land called Ketumāla-varṣa, Lord Viṣṇu lives in the form of Kāmadeva, only for the satisfac tion of His devotees. These include Lakṣmījī [the goddess of fortune], the Prajāpati Saṁvatsara and all of Saṁvatsara’s sons and daughters. The daughters of Prajāpati are con sidered the controlling deities of the nights, and his sons are considered the controllers of the days. The Prajāpati’s offspring number 36,000, one for each day and each night in the lifetime of a human being. At the end of each year, the Prajāpati’s daughters become very agitated upon seeing the extremely effulgent disc of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus they all suffer miscarriages.(15) In Ketumāla-varṣa, Lord Kāmadeva [Pra dyumna] moves very graciously. His mild smile is very beautiful, and when He increases the beauty of His face by slightly raising His eyebrows and glancing playfully, He pleases the goddess of fortune. Thus He enjoys His transcendental senses.(16)

Accompanied dur ing the daytime by the sons of the Prajāpati [the predominating deities of the days] and accom panied at night by his daughters [the deities of the nights], Lakṣmīdevī worships the Lord dur ing the period known as the Saṁvatsara in His most merciful form as Kāmadeva. Fully ab sorbed in devotional service, she chants the fol lowing mantras.(17) Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Hṛṣīkeśa, the controller of all my senses and the origin of everything. As the supreme master of all bodily, mental and intel lectual activities, He is the only enjoyer of their results. The five sense objects and eleven senses, including the mind, are His partial man ifestations. He supplies all the necessities of life, which are His energy and thus nondifferent from Him, and He is the cause of everyone’s bodily and mental prowess, which is also non different from Him. Indeed, He is the husband and provider of necessities for all living enti ties. The purpose of all the Vedas is to worship Him. Therefore let us all offer Him our respect ful obeisances. May He always be favorable to ward us in this life and the next.(18)

My dear Lord, You are certainly the fully in dependent master of all the senses. Therefore all women who worship You by strictly observ ing vows because they wish to acquire a hus band to satisfy their senses are surely under il lusion. They do not know that such a husband cannot actually give protection to them or their children. Nor can he protect their wealth or du ration of life, for he himself is dependent on time, fruitive results and the modes of nature, which are all subordinate to You.(19) He alone who is never afraid but who, on the contrary, gives complete shelter to all fearful persons can actually become a husband and protector. Therefore, my Lord, You are the only husband, and no one else can claim this position. If You were not the only husband, You would be afraid of others. Therefore persons learned in all Vedic literature accept only Your Lordship as everyone’s master, and they think no one else a better husband and protector than You.(20) My dear Lord, You automatically ful fill all the desires of a woman who worships Your lotus feet in pure love. However, if a woman worships Your lotus feet for a particu lar purpose, You also quickly fulfill her desires, but in the end she becomes broken-hearted and laments. Therefore one need not worship Your lotus feet for some material benefit.(21)

O su preme unconquerable Lord, when they become absorbed in thoughts of material enjoyment, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, as well as other demigods and demons, undergo severe pen ances and austerities to receive my benedic tions. But I do not favor anyone, however great he may be, unless he is always engaged in the service of Your lotus feet. Because I always keep You within my heart, I cannot favor any one but a devotee.(22) O infallible one, Your lotus palm is the source of all benediction. Therefore Your pure devotees worship it, and You very mercifully place Your hand on their heads. I wish that You may also place Your hand on My head, for although You already bear my insignia of golden streaks on Your chest, I regard this honor as merely a kind of false prestige for me. You show Your real mercy to Your devotees, not to me. Of course, You are the supreme absolute controller, and no one can understand Your motives.(23)

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: In Ramyaka varṣa, where Vaivasvata Manu rules, the Su preme Personality of Godhead appeared as Lord Matsya at the end of the last era [the Cākṣuṣa-manvantara]. Vaivasvata Manu now worships Lord Matsya in pure devotional ser vice and chants the following mantra.(24) I of fer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is pure transcend ence. He is the origin of all life, bodily strength, mental power and sensory ability. Known as Matsyāvatāra, the gigantic fish incarnation, He appears first among all the incarnations. Again I offer my obeisances unto Him.(25) My dear Lord, just as a puppeteer controls his dancing dolls and a husband controls his wife, Your Lordship controls all the living en tities in the universe, such as the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras. Although You are in everyone’s heart as the supreme witness and commander and are outside everyone as well, the so-called leaders of societies, commu nities and countries cannot realize You. Only those who hear the vibration of the Vedic man tras can appreciate You.(26) My Lord, from the great leaders of the universe, such as Lord Brahmā and other demigods, down to the polit ical leaders of this world, all are envious of Your authority. Without Your help, however, they could neither separately nor concertedly maintain the innumerable living entities within the universe. You are actually the only main tainer of all human beings, of animals like cows and asses, and of plants, reptiles, birds, moun tains and whatever else is visible within this material world.(27)

O almighty Lord, at the end of the millennium this planet earth, which is the source of all kinds of herbs, drugs and trees, was inundated by water and drowned beneath the devastating waves. At that time, You pro tected me along with the earth and roamed the sea with great speed. O unborn one, You are the actual maintainer of the entire universal crea tion, and therefore You are the cause of all liv ing entities. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.(28) Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: In Hiraṇmaya-varṣa, the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, lives in the form of a tortoise [kūrma-śarīra]. This most dear and beautiful form is always worshiped there in devotional service by Ary amā, the chief resident of Hiraṇmaya-varṣa, along with the other inhabitants of that land. They chant the following hymns.(29)

O my Lord, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who have assumed the form of a tortoise. You are the reservoir of all transcendental qual ities, and being entirely untinged by matter, You are perfectly situated in pure goodness. You move here and there in the water, but no one can discern Your position. Therefore I of fer my respectful obeisances unto You. Be cause of Your transcendental position, You are not limited by past, present and future. You are present everywhere as the shelter of all things, and therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You again and again.(30) My dear Lord, this visible cosmic manifes tation is a demonstration of Your own creative energy. Since the countless varieties of forms within this cosmic manifestation are simply a display of Your external energy, this virāṭ-rūpa [universal body] is not Your real form. Except for a devotee in transcendental consciousness, no one can perceive Your actual form. There fore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.(31)

My dear Lord, You manifest Your different energies in countless forms: as living entities born from wombs, from eggs and from perspiration; as plants and trees that grow out of the earth; as all living entities, both moving and standing, including the demigods, the learned sages and the pitās; as outer space, as the higher planetary system containing the heavenly planets, and as the planet earth with its hills, rivers, seas, oceans and islands. In deed, all the stars and planets are simply mani festations of Your different energies, but origi nally You are one without a second. Therefore there is nothing beyond You. This entire cos mic manifestation is therefore not false but is simply a temporary manifestation of Your in conceivable energy.(32)

O my Lord, Your name, form and bodily features are expanded in countless forms. No one can determine exactly how many forms exist, yet You Yourself, in Your incarnation as the learned scholar Ka piladeva, have analyzed the cosmic manifesta tion as containing twenty-four elements. There fore if one is interested in Sāṅkhya philosophy, by which one can enumerate the different truths, he must hear it from You. Unfortunately, nondevotees simply count the different ele ments and remain ignorant of Your actual form. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.(33) Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Dear King, the Su preme Lord in His boar incarnation, who ac cepts all sacrificial offerings, lives in the north ern part of Jambūdvīpa. There, in the tract of land known as Uttarakuru-varṣa, mother earth and all the other inhabitants worship Him with unfailing devotional service by repeatedly chanting the following Upaniṣadic mantra.(34)

O Lord, we offer our respectful obeisances unto You as the gigantic person. Simply by chanting mantras, we shall be able to understand You fully. You are yajña [sacrifice], and You are the kratu [ritual]. Therefore all the ritualistic cere monies of sacrifice are part of Your transcen dental body, and You are the only enjoyer of all sacrifices. Your form is composed of transcen dental goodness. You are known as tri-yuga be cause in Kali-yuga You appeared as a con cealed incarnation and because You always fully possess the three pairs of opulences.(35) By manipulating a fire-generating stick, great saints and sages can bring forth the fire lying dormant within wood. In the same way, O Lord, those expert in understanding the Ab solute Truth try to see You in everythingeven in their own bodies. Yet you remain concealed. You are not to be understood by indirect pro cesses involving mental or physical activities. Because You are self-manifested, only when You see that a person is wholeheartedly en gaged in searching for You do You reveal Yourself. Therefore I offer my respectful obei sances unto You.(36)

The objects of material enjoyment [sound, form, taste, touch and smell], the activities of the senses, the control lers of sensory activities [the demigods], the body, eternal time and egotism are all creations of Your material energy. Those whose intelli gence has become fixed by perfect execution of mystic yoga can see that all these elements re sult from the actions of Your external energy. They can also see Your transcendental form as Supersoul in the background of everything. Therefore I repeatedly offer my respectful obei sances unto You.(37) O Lord, You do not de sire the creation, maintenance or annihilation of this material world, but You perform these ac tivities for the conditioned souls by Your crea tive energy. Exactly as a piece of iron moves under the influence of a lodestone, inert matter moves when You glance over the total material energy.(38) My Lord, as the original boar within this universe, You fought and killed the great demon Hiraṇyakṣa. Then You lifted me [the earth] from the Garbhodaka Ocean on the end of Your tusk, exactly as a sporting elephant plucks a lotus flower from the water. I bow down before You.(39)

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, Lord Viṣṇu, the enjoyer of all sacrifices, ap peared as Vāmanadeva in the sacrificial arena of Bali Mahārāja. Then He extended His left foot to the end of the universe and pierced a hole in its covering with the nail of His big toe. Through the hole, the pure water of the Causal Ocean entered this universe as the Ganges River. Having washed the lotus feet of the Lord, which are covered with reddish powder, the water of the Ganges acquired a very beauti ful pink color. Every living being can immedi ately purify his mind of material contamination by touching the transcendental water of the Ganges, yet its waters remain ever pure. Be cause the Ganges directly touches the lotus feet of the Lord before descending within this uni verse, she is known as Viṣṇupadī. Later she re ceived other names like Jāhnavī and Bhāgīrathī. After one thousand millenniums, the water of the Ganges descended to Dhruva loka, the topmost planet in this universe. There fore all learned sages and scholars proclaim Dhruvaloka to be Viṣṇupada [“situated on Lord Viṣṇu’s lotus feet”].(1)

Dhruva Mahārāja, the famous son of Mahārāja Uttānapāda, is known as the most exalted devotee of the Supreme Lord because of his firm determination in exe cuting devotional service. Knowing that the sa cred Ganges water washes the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu, Dhruva Mahārāja, situated on his own planet, to this very day accepts that water on his head with great devotion. Because he con stantly thinks of Kṛṣṇa very devoutly within the core of his heart, he is overcome with ecstatic anxiety. Tears flow from his half-open eyes, and eruptions appear on his entire body.(2) The seven great sages [Marīci, Vasiṣṭha, Atri and so on] reside on planets beneath Dhruvaloka. Well aware of the influence of the water of the Gan ges, to this day they keep Ganges water on the tufts of hair on their heads. They have con cluded that this is the ultimate wealth, the per fection of all austerities, and the best means of prosecuting transcendental life. Having ob tained uninterrupted devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they neglect all other beneficial processes like religion, eco nomic development, sense gratification and even merging into the Supreme. Just as jñānīs think that merging into the existence of the Lord is the highest truth, these seven exalted personalities accept devotional service as the perfection of life.(3)

After purifying the seven planets near Dhruvaloka [the polestar], the Ganges water is carried through the spaceways of the demigods in billions of celestial air planes. Then it inundates the moon [Can draloka] and finally reaches Lord Brahmā’s abode atop Mount Meru.(4) On top of Mount Meru, the Ganges divides into four branches, each of which gushes in a different direction [east, west, north and south]. These branches, known by the names Sītā, Ala kanandā, Cakṣu and Bhadrā, flow down to the ocean.(5) The branch of the Ganges known as the Sītā flows through Brahmapurī atop Mount Meru, and from there it runs down to the nearby peaks of the Kesarācala Mountains, which stand almost as high as Mount Meru itself. These mountains are like a bunch of filaments around Mount Meru. From the Kesarācala Mountains, the Ganges falls to the peak of Gandhamādana Mountain and then flows into the land of Bhadrāśva-varṣa. Finally it reaches the ocean of salt water in the west.(6)

The branch of the Ganges known as Cakṣu falls onto the summit of Mālyavān Mountain and from there cascades onto the land of Ketumāla varṣa. The Ganges flows incessantly through Ketumāla-varṣa and in this way also reaches the ocean of salt water in the west.(7) The branch of the Ganges known as Bhadrā flows from the northern side of Mount Meru. Its wa ters fall onto the peaks of Kumuda Mountain, Mount Nīla, Śveta Mountain and Śṛṅgavān Mountain in succession. Then it runs down into the province of Kuru and, after crossing through that land, flows into the saltwater ocean in the north.(8) Similarly, the branch of the Ganges known as Alakanandā flows from the southern side of Brahmapurī [Brahma sadana]. Passing over the tops of mountains in various lands, it falls down with fierce force upon the peaks of the mountains Hemakūṭa and Himakūṭa. After inundating the tops of those mountains, the Ganges falls down onto the tract of land known as Bhārata-varṣa, which she also inundates. Then the Ganges flows into the ocean of salt water in the south. Persons who come to bathe in this river are fortunate. It is not very difficult for them to achieve with every step the results of performing great sacrifices like the Rājasūya and Aśvamedha yajñas.(9)

Many other rivers, both big and small, flow from the top of Mount Meru. These rivers are like daughters of the mountain, and they flow to the various tracts of land in hundreds of branches.(10) Among the nine varṣas, the tract of land known as Bhārata-varṣa is understood to be the field of fruitive activities. Learned scholars and saintly persons declare the other eight varṣas to be meant for very highly elevated pious per sons. After returning from the heavenly plan ets, they enjoy the remaining results of their pi ous activities in these eight earthly varṣas.(11) In these eight varṣas, or tracts of land, human beings live ten thousand years according to earthly calculations. All the inhabitants are al most like demigods. They have the bodily strength of ten thousand elephants. Indeed, their bodies are as sturdy as thunderbolts. The youthful duration of their lives is very pleasing, and both men and women enjoy sexual union with great pleasure for a long time. After years of sensual pleasurewhen a balance of one year of life remainsthe wife conceives a child. Thus the standard of pleasure for the residents of these heavenly regions is exactly like that of the human beings who lived during Tretā yuga.(12)

In each of those tracts of land, there are many gardens filled with flowers and fruits according to the season, and there are beauti fully decorated hermitages as well. Between the great mountains demarcating the borders of those lands lie enormous lakes of clear water filled with newly grown lotus flowers. Aquatic birds such as swans, ducks, water chickens, and cranes become greatly excited by the fragrance of lotus flowers, and the charming sound of bumblebees fills the air. The inhabitants of those lands are important leaders among the demigods. Always attended by their respective servants, they enjoy life in gardens alongside the lakes. In this pleasing situation, the wives of the demigods smile playfully at their hus bands and look upon them with lusty desires. All the demigods and their wives are constantly supplied with sandalwood pulp and flower gar lands by their servants. In this way, all the res idents of the eight heavenly varṣas enjoy, at tracted by the activities of the opposite sex.(13) To show mercy to His devotees in each of these nine tracts of land, the Supreme Person ality of Godhead known as Nārāyaṇa expands Himself in His quadruple principles of Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. In this way He remains near His devotees to accept their service.(14)

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: In the tract of land known as Ilāvṛta-varṣa, the only male person is Lord Śiva, the most powerful demigod. Goddess Durgā, the wife of Lord Śiva, does not like any man to enter that land. If any foolish man dares to do so, she immediately turns him into a woman. I shall explain this later [in the Ninth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam].(15) In Ilāvṛta varṣa, Lord Śiva is always encircled by ten bil lion maidservants of Goddess Durgā, who min ister to him. The quadruple expansion of the Supreme Lord is composed of Vāsudeva, Pra dyumna, Aniruddha and Saṅkarṣaṇa. Saṅkarṣaṇa, the fourth expansion, is certainly transcendental, but because His activities of de struction in the material world are in the mode of ignorance, He is known as tāmasī, the Lord’s form in the mode of ignorance. Lord Śiva knows that Saṅkarṣaṇa is the original cause of his own existence, and thus he always medi tates upon Him in trance by chanting the fol lowing mantra.(16) The most powerful Lord Śiva says: O Su preme Personality of Godhead, I offer my re spectful obeisances unto You in Your expan sion as Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa. You are the reservoir of all transcendental qualities. Although You are unlimited, You remain unmanifest to the nondevotees.(17)

O my Lord, You are the only worshipable person, for You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of all op ulences. Your secure lotus feet are the only source of protection for all Your devotees, whom You satisfy by manifesting Yourself in various forms. O my Lord, You deliver Your devotees from the clutches of material exist ence. Nondevotees, however, remain entangled in material existence by Your will. Kindly ac cept me as Your eternal servant.(18) We cannot control the force of our anger. Therefore when we look at material things, we cannot avoid feeling attraction or repulsion for them. But the Supreme Lord is never affected in this way. Although He glances over the material world for the purpose of creating, maintaining and de stroying it, He is not affected, even to the slightest degree. Therefore, one who desires to conquer the force of the senses must take shel ter of the lotus feet of the Lord. Then he will be victorious.(19)

For persons with impure vision, the Supreme Lord’s eyes appear like those of someone who indiscriminately drinks intoxi cating beverages. Thus bewildered, such unin telligent persons become angry at the Supreme Lord, and due to their angry mood the Lord Himself appears angry and very fearful. How ever, this is an illusion. When the wives of the serpent demon were agitated by the touch of the Lord’s lotus feet, due to shyness they could proceed no further in their worship of Him. Yet the Lord remained unagitated by their touch, for He is equipoised in all circumstances. Therefore who will not worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead?(20) Lord Śiva contin ued: All the great sages accept the Lord as the source of creation, maintenance and destruc tion, although He actually has nothing to do with these activities. Therefore the Lord is called unlimited. Although the Lord in His in carnation as Śeṣa holds all the universes on His hoods, each universe feels no heavier than a mustard seed to Him. Therefore, what person desiring perfection will not worship the Lord?(21)

From that Supreme Personality of Godhead appears Lord Brahmā, whose body is made from the total material energy, the reser voir of intelligence predominated by the pas sionate mode of material nature. From Lord Brahmā, I myself am born as a representation of false ego known as Rudra. By my own power I create all the other demigods, the five ele ments and the senses. Therefore, I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than any of us and under whose control are situated all the demigods, material elements and senses, and even Lord Brahmā and I my self, like birds bound by a rope. Only by the Lord’s grace can we create, maintain and anni hilate the material world. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Be ing.(22-23) The illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead binds all of us condi tioned souls to this material world. Therefore, without being favored by Him, persons like us cannot understand how to get out of that illu sory energy. Let me offer my respectful obei sances unto the Lord, who is the cause of crea tion and annihilation.(24)

King Parīkṣit said to Śukadeva Gosvāmī: O brāhmaṇa, you have already informed me that the radius of Bhū-maṇḍala extends as far as the sun spreads its light and heat and as far as the moon and all the stars can be seen.(1) My dear Lord, the rolling wheels of Mahārāja Pri yavrata’s chariot created seven ditches, in which the seven oceans came into existence. Because of these seven oceans, Bhū-maṇḍala is divided into seven islands. You have given a very general description of their measurement, names and characteristics. Now I wish to know of them in detail. Kindly fulfill my desire.(2) When the mind is fixed upon the Supreme Per sonality of Godhead in His external feature made of the material modes of naturethe gross universal formit is brought to the platform of pure goodness. In that transcendental position, one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, who in His subtler form is self-effulgent and beyond the modes of nature. O my lord, please describe vividly how that form, which covers the entire universe, is per ceived.(3)

The great ṛṣi Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, there is no limit to the expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s material energy. This material world is a transformation of the material qualities [sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa], yet no one could possibly ex plain it perfectly, even in a lifetime as long as that of Brahmā. No one in the material world is perfect, and an imperfect person could not de scribe this material universe accurately, even after continued speculation. O King, I shall nevertheless try to explain to you the principal regions, such as Bhūloka, with their names, forms, measurements and various symp toms.(4) The planetary system known as Bhū maṇḍala resembles a lotus flower, and its seven islands resemble the whorl of that flower. The length and breadth of the island known as Jambūdvīpa, which is situated in the middle of the whorl, are one million yojanas [eight mil lion miles]. Jambūdvīpa is round like the leaf of a lotus flower.(5) In Jambūdvīpa there are nine divisions of land, each with a length of 9,000 yojanas [72,000 miles]. There are eight mountains that mark the boundaries of these di visions and separate them nicely.(6)

Amidst these divisions, or varṣas, is the varṣa named Ilāvṛta, which is situated in the middle of the whorl of the lotus. Within Ilāvṛta-varṣa is Su meru Mountain, which is made of gold. Sumeru Mountain is like the pericarp of the lotuslike Bhū-maṇḍala planetary system. The moun tain’s height is the same as the width of Jambūdvīpaor, in other words, 100,000 yojanas [800,000 miles]. Of that, 16,000 yojanas [128,000 miles] are within the earth, and there fore the mountain’s height above the earth is 84,000 yojanas [672,000 miles]. The moun tain’s width is 32,000 yojanas [256,000 miles] at its summit and 16,000 yojanas at its base.(7) Just north of Ilāvṛta-varṣaand going further northward, one after anotherare three moun tains named Nīla, Śveta and Śṛṅgavān. These mark the borders of the three varṣas named Ra myaka, Hiraṇmaya and Kuru and separate them from one another. The width of these moun tains is 2,000 yojanas [16,000 miles]. Length wise, they extend east and west to the beaches of the ocean of salt water. Going from south to north, the length of each mountain is one tenth that of the previous mountain, but the height of them all is the same.(8) Similarly, south of Ilāvṛta-varṣa and extend ing from east to west are three great mountains named (from north to south) Niṣadha, He makūṭa and Himālaya. Each of them is 10,000 yojanas [80,000 miles] high. They mark the boundaries of the three varṣas named Hari varṣa, Kimpuruṣa-varṣa and Bhārata-varṣa [In dia].(9)

In the same way, west and east of Ilāvṛta-varṣa are two great mountains named Mālyavān and Gandhamādana respectively. These two mountains, which are 2,000 yojanas [16,000 miles] high, extend as far as Nīla Mountain in the north and Niṣadha in the south. They indicate the borders of Ilāvṛta-varṣa and also the varṣas known as Ketumāla and Bhadrāśva.(10) On the four sides of the great mountain known as Sumeru are four moun tainsMandara, Merumandara, Supārśva and Kumudawhich are like its belts. The length and height of these mountains are calculated to be 10,000 yojanas [80,000 miles].(11) Standing like flagstaffs on the summits of these four mountains are a mango tree, a rose apple tree, a kadamba tree and a banyan tree. Those trees are calculated to have a width of 100 yojanas [800 miles] and a height of 1,100 yojanas [8,800 miles]. Their branches also spread to a radius of 1,100 yojanas.(12)

O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, best of the Bharata dynasty, between these four mountains are four huge lakes. The water of the first tastes just like milk; the water of the sec ond, like honey; and that of the third, like sug arcane juice. The fourth lake is filled with pure water. The celestial beings such as the Siddhas, Cāraṇas and Gandharvas, who are also known as demigods, enjoy the facilities of those four lakes. Consequently they have the natural per fections of mystic yoga, such as the power to become smaller than the smallest or greater than the greatest. There are also four celestial gardens named Nandana, Caitraratha, Vaibhrājaka and Sarvatobhadra.(13-14) The best of the demigods, along with their wives, who are like ornaments of heavenly beauty, meet together and enjoy within those gardens, while their glories are sung by lesser demigods known as Gandharvas.(15) On the lower slopes of Mandara Mountain is a mango tree named Devacūta. It is 1,100 yoja nas high. Mangoes as big as mountain peaks and as sweet as nectar fall from the top of this tree for the enjoyment of the denizens of heaven.(16) When all those solid fruits fall from such a height, they break, and the sweet, fragrant juice within them flows out and be comes increasingly more fragrant as it mixes with other scents. That juice cascades from the mountain in waterfalls and becomes a river called Aruṇodā, which flows pleasantly through the eastern side of Ilāvṛta.(17)

The pi ous wives of the Yakṣas act as personal maid servants to assist Bhavānī, the wife of Lord Śiva. Because they drink the water of the river Aruṇodā, their bodies become fragrant, and as the air carries away that fragrance, it perfumes the entire atmosphere for eighty miles around.(18) Similarly, the fruits of the jambū tree, which are full of pulp and have very small seeds, fall from a great height and break to pieces. Those fruits are the size of elephants, and the juice gliding from them becomes a river named Jambū-nadī. This river falls a distance of 10,000 yojanas, from the summit of Me rumandara to the southern side of Ilāvṛta, and floods the entire land of Ilāvṛta with juice.(19) The mud on both banks of the river Jambū nadī, being moistened by the flowing juice and then dried by the air and the sunshine, produces huge quantities of gold called Jāmbū-nada. The denizens of heaven use this gold for various kinds of ornaments. Therefore all the inhabit ants of the heavenly planets and their youthful wives are fully decorated with golden helmets, bangles and belts, and thus they enjoy life.(20 21) On the side of Supārśva Mountain stands a big tree called Mahākadamba, which is very celebrated. From the hollows of this tree flow five rivers of honey, each about five vyāmas wide. This flowing honey falls incessantly from the top of Supārśva Mountain and flows all around Ilāvṛta-varṣa, beginning from the west ern side. Thus the whole land is saturated with the pleasing fragrance. (22)

The air carrying the scent from the mouths of those who drink that honey perfumes the land for a hundred yojanas around.(23) Similarly, on Kumuda Mountain there is a great banyan tree, which is called Śatavalśa be cause it has a hundred main branches. From those branches come many roots, from which many rivers are flowing. These rivers flow down from the top of the mountain to the north ern side of Ilāvṛta-varṣa for the benefit of those who live there. Because of these flowing rivers, all the people have ample supplies of milk, yo gurt, honey, clarified butter [ghee], molasses, food grains, clothes, bedding, sitting places and ornaments. All the objects they desire are suf ficiently supplied for their prosperity, and therefore they are very happy.(24) The resi dents of the material world who enjoy the prod ucts of these flowing rivers have no wrinkles on their bodies and no grey hair. They never feel fatigue, and perspiration does not give their bodies a bad odor. They are not afflicted by old age, disease or untimely death, they do not suf fer from chilly cold or scorching heat, nor do their bodies lose their luster. They all live very happily, without anxieties, until death.(25)

There are other mountains beautifully ar ranged around the foot of Mount Meru like the filaments around the whorl of a lotus flower. Their names are Kuraṅga, Kurara, Kusumbha, Vaikaṅka, Trikūṭa, Śiśira, Pataṅga, Rucaka, Niṣadha, Sinīvāsa, Kapila, Śaṅkha, Vaidūrya, Jārudhi, Haṁsa, Ṛṣabha, Nāga, Kālañjara and Nārada.(26) On the eastern side of Sumeru Mountain are two mountains named Jaṭhara and Devakūṭa, which extend to the north and south for 18,000 yojanas [144,000 miles]. Sim ilarly, on the western side of Sumeru are two mountains named Pavana and Pāriyātra, which also extend north and south for the same dis tance. On the southern side of Sumeru are two mountains named Kailāsa and Karavīra, which extend east and west for 18,000 yojanas, and on the northern side of Sumeru, extending for the same distance east and west, are two mountains named Triśṛṅga and Makara. The width and height of all these mountains is 2,000 yojanas [16,000 miles]. Sumeru, a mountain of solid gold shining as brilliantly as fire, is surrounded by these eight mountains.(27) In the middle of the summit of Meru is the township of Lord Brahmā. Each of its four sides is calculated to extend for ten million yojanas [eighty million miles]. It is made entirely of gold, and therefore learned scholars and sages call it Śātakaumbhī.(28) Surrounding Brahmapurī in all directions are the residences of the eight principal governors of the planetary systems, beginning with King Indra. These abodes are similar to Brahmapurī but are one fourth the size.(29)

Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: The son of Mahārāja Bharata known as Sumati fol lowed the path of Ṛṣabhadeva, but in the Age of Kali some unscrupulous people will imagine him to be Lord Buddha himself. These people, who will actually be atheistic and of bad char acter, will interpret the Vedic principles in an imaginary, infamous way to support their activ ities. Thus these sinful people will accept Su mati as Lord Buddhadeva and propagate the theory that everyone should follow the princi ples of Sumati. In this way they will be carried away by mental concoction.(1) From Sumati, a son named Devatājit was born by the womb of his wife named Vṛddhasenā.(2) Thereafter, in the womb of Āsurī, the wife of Devatājit, a son named Devadyumna was begotten. Devadyumna begot in the womb of his wife, Dhenumatī, a son named Parameṣṭhī. Parameṣṭhī begot a son named Pratīha in the womb of his wife, Suvarcalā.(3)

King Pratīha personally propagated the principles of self-re alization. In this way, not only was he purified, but he became a great devotee of the Supreme Person, Lord Viṣṇu, and directly realized Him.(4) In the womb of his wife Suvarcalā, Pratīha begot three sons, named Pratihartā, Prastotā and Udgātā. These three sons were very expert in performing Vedic rituals. Prati hartā begot two sons, named Aja and Bhūmā, in the womb of his wife, named Stutī.(5) In the womb of his wife, Ṛṣikulyā, King Bhūmā begot a son named Udgītha. From Udgītha’s wife, Devakulyā, a son named Prastāva was born, and Prastāva begot a son named Vibhu through his wife, Niyutsā. In the womb of his wife, Ratī, Vibhu begot a son named Pṛthuṣeṇa. Pṛthuṣeṇa begot a son named Nakta in the womb of his wife, named Ākūti. Nakta’s wife was Druti, and from her womb the great King Gaya was born. Gaya was very famous and pious; he was the best of saintly kings. Lord Viṣṇu and His ex pansions, who are meant to protect the uni verse, are always situated in the transcendental mode of goodness, known as viśuddha-sattva. Being the direct expansion of Lord Viṣṇu, King Gaya was also situated in the viśuddha-sattva. Because of this, Mahārāja Gaya was fully equipped with transcendental knowledge. Therefore he was called Mahāpuruṣa.(6)

King Gaya gave full protection and security to the citizens so that their personal property would not be disturbed by undesirable elements. He also saw that there was sufficient food to feed all the citizens. [This is called poṣaṇa.] He would sometimes distribute gifts to the citizens to satisfy them. [This is called prīṇana.] He would sometimes call meetings and satisfy the citizens with sweet words. [This is called upalālana.] He would also give them good in structions on how to become first-class citi zens. [This is called anuśāsana.] Such were the characteristics of King Gaya’s royal order. Be sides all this, King Gaya was a householder who strictly observed the rules and regulations of household life. He performed sacrifices and was an unalloyed pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He was called Mahāpuruṣa because as a king he gave the citi zens all facilities, and as a householder he exe cuted all his duties so that at the end he became a strict devotee of the Supreme Lord. As a dev otee, he was always ready to give respect to other devotees and to engage in the devotional service of the Lord. This is the bhakti-yoga pro cess. Due to all these transcendental activities, King Gaya was always free from the bodily conception. He was full in Brahman realization, and consequently he was always jubilant. He did not experience material lamentation. Alt hough he was perfect in all respects, he was not proud, nor was he anxious to rule the king dom.(7)

My dear King Parīkṣit, those who are learned scholars in the histories of the Purāṇas eulogize and glorify King Gaya with the fol lowing verses.(8) The great King Gaya used to perform all kinds of Vedic rituals. He was highly intelligent and expert in studying all the Vedic literatures. He maintained the religious principles and possessed all kinds of opulence. He was a leader among gentlemen and a servant of the devotees. He was a totally qualified ple nary expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore who could equal him in the performance of gigantic ritualistic ceremo nies?(9) All the chaste and honest daughters of Mahārāja Dakṣa, such as Śraddhā, Maitrī and Dayā, whose blessings were always effective, bathed Mahārāja Gaya with sanctified water. Indeed, they were very satisfied with Mahārāja Gaya. The planet earth personified came as a cow, and, as though she saw her calf, she deliv ered milk profusely when she saw all the good qualities of Mahārāja Gaya. In other words, Mahārāja Gaya was able to derive all benefits from the earth and thus satisfy the desires of his citizens. However, he personally had no de sire.(10)

Although King Gaya had no personal desire for sense gratification, all his desires were fulfilled by virtue of his performance of Vedic rituals. All the kings with whom Mahārāja Gaya had to fight were forced to fight on religious principles. They were very satis fied with his fighting, and they would present all kinds of gifts to him. Similarly, all the brāhmaṇas in his kingdom were very satisfied with King Gaya’s munificent charities. Conse quently the brāhmaṇas contributed a sixth of their pious activities for King Gaya’s benefit in the next life.(11) In Mahārāja Gaya’s sacrifices, there was a great supply of the intoxicant known as soma. King Indra used to come and become intoxicated by drinking large quantities of soma-rasa. Also, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu [the yajña-puruṣa] also came and personally accepted all the sacrifices offered unto Him with pure and firm devotion in the sacrificial arena.(12)

When the Supreme Lord is pleased by a person’s actions, automat ically all the demigods, human beings, animals, birds, bees, creepers, trees, grass and all other living entities, beginning with Lord Brahmā, are pleased. The Supreme Personality of God head is the Supersoul of everyone, and He is by nature fully pleased. Nonetheless, He came to the arena of Mahārāja Gaya and said, “I am fully pleased.”(13) In the womb of Gayantī, Mahārāja Gaya be got three sons, named Citraratha, Sugati and Avarodhana. In the womb of his wife Ūrṇā, Citraratha begot a son named Samrāṭ. The wife of Samrāṭ was Utkalā, and in her womb Samrāṭ begot a son named Marīci. In the womb of his wife Bindumatī, Marīci begot a son named Bindu. In the womb of his wife Saraghā, Bindu begot a son named Madhu. In the womb of his wife named Sumanā, Madhu begot a son named Vīravrata. In the womb of his wife Bhojā, Vīravrata begot two sons named Manthu and Pramanthu. In the womb of his wife Satyā, Manthu begot a son named Bhauvana, and in the womb of his wife Dūṣaṇā, Bhauvana begot a son named Tvaṣṭā. In the womb of his wife Virocanā, Tvaṣṭā begot a son named Viraja. The wife of Viraja was Viṣūcī, and in her womb Viraja begot one hundred sons and one daugh ter. Of all these sons, the son named Śatajit was predominant.(14-15) There is a famous verse about King Viraja. “Because of his high quali ties and wide fame, King Viraja became the jewel of the dynasty of King Priyavrata, just as Lord Viṣṇu, by His transcendental potency, decorates and blesses the demigods.”(16)

When King Parīkṣit asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī about the direct meaning of the material forest, Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied as follows: My dear King, a man belonging to the mercantile community [vaṇik] is always in terested in earning money. Sometimes he enters the forest to acquire some cheap commodities like wood and earth and sell them in the city at good prices. Similarly, the conditioned soul, being greedy, enters this material world for some material profit. Gradually he enters the deepest part of the forest, not really knowing how to get out. Having entered the material world, the pure soul becomes conditioned by the material atmosphere, which is created by the external energy under the control of Lord Viṣṇu. Thus the living entity comes under the control of the external energy, daivī māyā. Liv ing independently and bewildered in the forest, he does not attain the association of devotees who are always engaged in the service of the Lord. Once in the bodily conception, he gets different types of bodies one after the other un der the influence of material energy and im pelled by the modes of material nature [sattva guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa]. In this way the conditioned soul goes sometimes to the heavenly planets, sometimes to the earthly planets and sometimes to the lower planets and lower species. Thus he suffers continuously due to different types of bodies. These suffer ings and pains are sometimes mixed. Some times they are very severe, and sometimes they are not. These bodily conditions are acquired due to the conditioned soul’s mental specula tion. He uses his mind and five senses to ac quire knowledge, and these bring about the dif ferent bodies and different conditions. Using the senses under the control of the external en ergy, māyā, the living entity suffers the miser able conditions of material existence. He is ac tually searching for relief, but he is generally baffled, although sometimes he is relieved after great difficulty. Struggling for existence in this way, he cannot get the shelter of pure devotees, who are like bumblebees engaged in loving ser vice at the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu.(1)

In the forest of material existence, the uncontrolled senses are like plunderers. The conditioned soul may earn some money for the advance ment of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but unfortunately the uncontrolled senses plunder his money through sense gratification. The senses are plunderers because they make one spend his money unnecessarily for seeing, smelling, tast ing, touching, hearing, desiring and willing. In this way the conditioned soul is obliged to grat ify his senses, and thus all his money is spent. This money is actually acquired for the execu tion of religious principles, but it is taken away by the plundering senses.(2) My dear King, family members in this material world go under the names of wife and children, but actually they behave like tigers and jackals. A herdsman tries to protect his sheep to the best of his abil ity, but the tigers and foxes take them away by force. Similarly, although a miserly man wants to guard his money very carefully, his family members take away all his assets forcibly, even though he is very vigilant.(3)

Every year the plowman plows over his grain field, completely uprooting all weeds. Nonetheless, the seeds lie there and, not being completely burned, again come up with the plants sown in the field. Even after being plowed under, the weeds come up densely. Similarly, the gṛhastha-āśrama [family life] is a field of fruitive activity. Unless the de sire to enjoy family life is completely burned out, it grows up again and again. Even though camphor may be removed from a pot, the pot nonetheless retains the aroma of camphor. As long as the seeds of desire are not destroyed, fruitive activities are not destroyed.(4) Sometimes the conditioned soul in house hold life, being attached to material wealth and possessions, is disturbed by gadflies and mos quitoes, and sometimes locusts, birds of prey and rats give him trouble. Nonetheless, he still wanders down the path of material existence. Due to ignorance he becomes lusty and engages in fruitive activity. Because his mind is ab sorbed in these activities, he sees the material world as permanent, although it is temporary like a phantasmagoria, a house in the sky.(5)

Sometimes in this house in the sky [gandharva pura] the conditioned soul drinks, eats and has sex. Being overly attached, he chases after the objects of the senses just as a deer chases a mi rage in the desert.(6) Sometimes the living en tity is interested in the yellow stool known as gold and runs after it. That gold is the source of material opulence and envy, and it can enable one to afford illicit sex, gambling, meat-eating and intoxication. Those whose minds are over come by the mode of passion are attracted by the color of gold, just as a man suffering from cold in the forest runs after a phosphorescent light in a marshy land, considering it to be fire.(7) Sometimes the conditioned soul is ab sorbed in finding residential quarters or apart ments and getting a supply of water and riches to maintain his body. Absorbed in acquiring a variety of necessities, he forgets everything and perpetually runs around the forest of material existence.(8)

Sometimes, as if blinded by the dust of a whirlwind, the conditioned soul sees the beauty of the opposite sex, which is called pramadā. Being thus bewildered, he is raised upon the lap of a woman, and at that time his good senses are overcome by the force of pas sion. He thus becomes almost blind with lusty desire and disobeys the rules and regulations governing sex life. He does not know that his disobedience is witnessed by different demi gods, and he enjoys illicit sex in the dead of night, not seeing the future punishment await ing him.(9) The conditioned soul sometimes personally appreciates the futility of sense en joyment in the material world, and he some times considers material enjoyment to be full of miseries. However, due to his strong bodily conception, his memory is destroyed, and again and again he runs after material enjoyment, just as an animal runs after a mirage in the de sert.(10)

Sometimes the conditioned soul is very aggrieved by the chastisement of his ene mies and government servants, who use harsh words against him directly or indirectly. At that time his heart and ears become very saddened. Such chastisement may be compared to the sounds of owls and crickets.(11) Due to his pi ous activities in previous lives, the conditioned soul attains material facilities in this life, but when they are finished, he takes shelter of wealth and riches, which cannot help him in this life or the next. Because of this, he ap proaches the living dead who possess these things. Such people are compared to impure trees, creepers and poisonous wells.(12) Some times, to mitigate distresses in this forest of the material world, the conditioned soul receives cheap blessings from atheists. He then loses all intelligence in their association. This is exactly like jumping in a shallow river. As a result one simply breaks his head. He is not able to miti gate his sufferings from the heat, and in both ways he suffers. The misguided conditioned soul also approaches so-called sādhus and svāmīs who preach against the principles of the Vedas. He does not receive benefit from them, either in the present or in the future.(13)

In this material world, when the conditioned soul can not arrange for his own maintenance, despite exploiting others, he tries to exploit his own fa ther or son, taking away that relative’s posses sions, although they may be very insignificant. If he cannot acquire things from his father, son or other relatives, he is prepared to give them all kinds of trouble.(14) In this world, family life is exactly like a blazing fire in the forest. There is not the least happiness, and gradually one becomes more and more implicated in un happiness. In household life, there is nothing favorable for perpetual happiness. Being impli cated in home life, the conditioned soul is burned by the fire of lamentation. Sometimes he condemns himself as being very unfortu nate, and sometimes he claims that he suffers because he performed no pious activities in his previous life.(15)

Government men are always like carnivorous demons called Rākṣasas [man eaters]. Sometimes these government men turn against the conditioned soul and take away all his accumulated wealth. Being bereft of his life’s reserved wealth, the conditioned soul loses all enthusiasm. Indeed, it is as though he loses his life.(16) Sometimes the conditioned soul imagines that his father or grandfather has again come in the form of his son or grandson. In this way he feels the happiness one some times feels in a dream, and the conditioned soul sometimes takes pleasure in such mental con coctions.(17) In household life one is ordered to execute many yajñas and fruitive activities, especially the vivāha-yajña [the marriage cere mony for sons and daughters] and the sacred thread ceremony. These are all the duties of a gṛhastha, and they are very extensive and trou blesome to execute. They are compared to a big hill over which one must cross when one is at tached to material activities. A person desiring to cross over these ritualistic ceremonies cer tainly feels pains like the piercing of thorns and pebbles endured by one attempting to climb a hill. Thus the conditioned soul suffers unlimit edly.(18)

Sometimes, due to bodily hunger and thirst, the conditioned soul becomes so dis turbed that he loses his patience and becomes angry with his own beloved sons, daughters and wife. Thus, being unkind to them, he suffers all the more.(19) Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued speaking to Mahārāja Parīkṣit: My dear King, sleep is exactly like a python. Those who wan der in the forest of material life are always de voured by the python of sleep. Being bitten by this python, they always remain in the darkness of ignorance. They are like dead bodies thrown in a distant forest. Thus the conditioned souls cannot understand what is going on in life.(20) In the forest of the material world, the con ditioned soul is sometimes bitten by envious enemies, which are compared to serpents and other creatures. Through the tricks of the en emy, the conditioned soul falls from his pres tigious position. Being anxious, he cannot even sleep properly. He thus becomes more and more unhappy, and he gradually loses his intel ligence and consciousness. In that state he be comes almost perpetually like a blind man who has fallen into a dark well of ignorance.(21)

The conditioned soul is sometimes attracted to the little happiness derived from sense gratifi cation. Thus he has illicit sex or steals another’s property. At such a time he may be arrested by the government or chastised by the woman’s husband or protector. Thus simply for a little material satisfaction, he falls into a hellish con dition and is put into jail for rape, kidnapping, theft and so forth.(22) Learned scholars and transcendentalists therefore condemn the mate rialistic path of fruitive activity because it is the original source and breeding ground of material miseries, both in this life and in the next.(23) Stealing or cheating another person out of his money, the conditioned soul somehow or other keeps it in his possession and escapes punish ment. Then another man, named Devadatta, cheats him and takes the money away. Simi larly, another man, named Viṣṇumitra, steals the money from Devadatta and takes it away. In any case, the money does not stay in one place. It passes from one hand to another. Ulti mately no one can enjoy the money, and it re mains the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.(24)

Being unable to protect him self from the threefold miseries of material ex istence, the conditioned soul becomes very mo rose and lives a life of lamentation. These threefold miseries are miseries suffered by mental calamity at the hands of the demigods [such as freezing wind and scorching heat], miseries offered by other living entities, and miseries arising from the mind and body them selves.(25) As far as transactions with money are concerned, if one person cheats another by a farthing or less, they become enemies.(26) In this materialistic life, there are many dif ficulties, as I have just mentioned, and all of these are insurmountable. In addition, there are difficulties arising from so-called happiness, distress, attachment, hate, fear, false prestige, illusion, madness, lamentation, bewilderment, greed, envy, enmity, insult, hunger, thirst, trib ulation, disease, birth, old age and death. All these combine together to give the materialistic conditioned soul nothing but misery.(27)

Sometimes the conditioned soul is attracted by illusion personified (his wife or girlfriend) and becomes eager to be embraced by a woman. Thus he loses his intelligence as well as knowledge of life’s goal. At that time, no longer attempting spiritual cultivation, he be comes overly attached to his wife or girlfriend and tries to provide her with a suitable apart ment. Again, he becomes very busy under the shelter of that home and is captivated by the talks, glances and activities of his wife and chil dren. In this way he loses his Kṛṣṇa conscious ness and throws himself in the dense darkness of material existence.(28) The personal weapon used by Lord Kṛṣṇa, the disc, is called hari-cakra, the disc of Hari. This cakra is the wheel of time. It expands from the beginning of the atoms up to the time of Brahmā’s death, and it controls all activities. It is always revolving and spending the lives of the living entities, from Lord Brahmā down to an insignificant blade of grass. Thus one changes from infancy, to childhood, to youth and maturity, and thus one approaches the end of life. It is impossible to check this wheel of time. This wheel is very exacting because it is the personal weapon of the Supreme Personal ity of Godhead. Sometimes the conditioned soul, fearing the approach of death, wants to worship someone who can save him from im minent danger. Yet he does not care for the Su preme Personality of Godhead, whose weapon is the indefatigable time factor. The condi tioned soul instead takes shelter of a man-made god described in unauthorized scriptures. Such gods are like buzzards, vultures, herons and crows. Vedic scriptures do not refer to them. Imminent death is like the attack of a lion, and neither vultures, buzzards, crows nor herons can save one from such an attack. One who takes shelter of unauthorized man-made gods cannot be saved from the clutches of death.(29)

The pseudo svāmīs, yogīs and incarnations who do not believe in the Supreme Personality of Godhead are known as pāṣaṇḍīs. They them selves are fallen and cheated because they do not know the real path of spiritual advance ment, and whoever goes to them is certainly cheated in his turn. When one is thus cheated, he sometimes takes shelter of the real followers of Vedic principles [brāhmaṇas or those in Kṛṣṇa consciousness], who teach everyone how to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to the Vedic rituals. How ever, being unable to stick to these principles, these rascals again fall down and take shelter among śūdras who are very expert in making arrangements for sex indulgence. Sex is very prominent among animals like monkeys, and such people who are enlivened by sex may be called descendants of monkeys.(30) In this way the descendants of the monkeys intermingle with each other, and they are generally known as śūdras. Without hesitating, they live and move freely, not knowing the goal of life. They are captivated simply by seeing the faces of one another, which remind them of sense gratifica tion. They are always engaged in material ac tivities, known as grāmya-karma, and they work hard for material benefit. Thus they forget completely that one day their small life spans will be finished and they will be degraded in the evolutionary cycle.(31)

Just as a monkey jumps from one tree to another, the conditioned soul jumps from one body to another. As the mon key is ultimately captured by the hunter and is unable to get out of captivity, the conditioned soul, being captivated by momentary sex pleas ure, becomes attached to different types of bod ies and is encaged in family life. Family life af fords the conditioned soul a festival of momen tary sex pleasure, and thus he is completely un able to get out of the material clutches.(32) In this material world, when the conditioned soul forgets his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and does not care for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he simply engages in dif ferent types of mischievous and sinful activi ties. He is then subjected to the threefold mis eries, and, out of fear of the elephant of death, he falls into the darkness found in a mountain cave.(33)

The conditioned soul suffers many miserable bodily conditions, such as being af fected by severe cold and strong winds. He also suffers due to the activities of other living be ings and due to natural disturbances. When he is unable to counteract them and has to remain in a miserable condition, he naturally becomes very morose because he wants to enjoy material facilities.(34) Sometimes conditioned souls ex change money, but in due course of time, en mity arises because of cheating. Although there may be a tiny profit, the conditioned souls cease to be friends and become enemies.(35) Sometimes, having no money, the conditioned soul does not get sufficient accommodations. Sometimes he doesn’t even have a place to sit, nor does he have the other necessities. In other words, he falls into scarcity, and at that time, when he is unable to secure the necessities by fair means, he decides to seize the property of others unfairly. When he cannot get the things he wants, he simply receives insults from oth ers and thus becomes very morose.(36)

Although people may be enemies, in order to ful fill their desires again and again, they some times get married. Unfortunately, these mar riages do not last very long, and the people in volved are separated again by divorce or other means.(37) The path of this material world is full of material miseries, and various troubles disturb the conditioned souls. Sometimes he loses, and sometimes he gains. In either case, the path is full of danger. Sometimes the condi tioned soul is separated from his father by death or other circumstances. Leaving him aside he gradually becomes attached to others, such as his children. In this way, the conditioned soul is sometimes illusioned and afraid. Sometimes he cries loudly out of fear. Sometimes he is happy maintaining his family, and sometimes he is overjoyed and sings melodiously. In this way he becomes entangled and forgets his sep aration from the Supreme Personality of God head since time immemorial. Thus he traverses the dangerous path of material existence, and on this path he is not at all happy. Those who are self-realized simply take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in order to get out of this dangerous material existence. With out accepting the devotional path, one cannot get out of the clutches of material existence. The conclusion is that no one can be happy in material life. One must take to Kṛṣṇa con sciousness.(38)

Saintly persons, who are friends to all living entities, have a peaceful consciousness. They have controlled their senses and minds, and they easily attain the path of liberation, the path back to Godhead. Being unfortunate and attached to the miserable material conditions, a materialistic person can not associate with them.(39) There were many great saintly kings who were very expert in per forming sacrificial rituals and very competent in conquering other kingdoms, yet despite their power they could not attain the loving service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is because those great kings could not even con quer the false consciousness of “I am this body, and this is my property.” Thus they simply cre ated enmity with rival kings, fought with them and died without having discharged life’s real mission.(40)

When the conditioned soul ac cepts the shelter of the creeper of fruitive activ ity, he may be elevated by his pious activities to higher planetary systems and thus gain liber ation from hellish conditions, but unfortunately he cannot remain there. After reaping the re sults of his pious activities, he has to return to the lower planetary systems. In this way he per petually goes up and comes down.(41) Having summarized the teachings of Jaḍa Bharata, Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King Parīkṣit, the path indicated by Jaḍa Bharata is like the path followed by Garuḍa, the carrier of the Lord, and ordinary kings are just like flies. Flies cannot follow the path of Garuḍa, and to date none of the great kings and victorious lead ers could follow this path of devotional service, not even mentally.(42)

\While in the prime of life, the great Mahārāja Bharata gave up every thing because he was fond of serving the Su preme Personality of Godhead, Uttamaśloka. He gave up his beautiful wife, nice children, great friends and an enormous empire. Alt hough these things were very difficult to give up, Mahārāja Bharata was so exalted that he gave them up just as one gives up stool after evacuating. Such was the greatness of His Maj esty.(43) Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, the activities of Bharata Mahārāja are wonderful. He gave up everything difficult for others to give up. He gave up his kingdom, his wife and his family. His opulence was so great that even the demigods envied it, yet he gave it up. It was quite befitting a great person ality like him to be a great devotee. He could renounce everything because he was so at tracted to the beauty, opulence, reputation, knowledge, strength and renunciation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is so attractive that one can give up all desirable things for His sake. Indeed, even liberation is considered insignificant for those whose minds are attracted to the loving service of the Lord.(44)

Even though in the body of a deer, Mahārāja Bharata did not forget the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore when he was giving up the body of a deer, he loudly uttered the following prayer: “The Supreme Personal ity of Godhead is sacrifice personified. He gives the results of ritualistic activity. He is the protector of religious systems, the personifica tion of mystic yoga, the source of all knowledge, the controller of the entire creation, and the Supersoul in every living entity. He is beautiful and attractive. I am quitting this body offering obeisances unto Him and hoping that I may perpetually engage in His transcendental loving service.” Uttering this, Mahārāja Bha rata left his body.(45)

Devotees interested in hearing and chanting [śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam] regularly discuss the pure characteristics of Bharata Mahārāja and praise his activities. If one submissively hears and chants about the all-auspicious Mahārāja Bha rata, one’s life span and material opulences cer tainly increase. One can become very famous and easily attain promotion to the heavenly planets, or attain liberation by merging into the existence of the Lord. Whatever one desires can be attained simply by hearing, chanting and glorifying the activities of Mahārāja Bharata. In this way, one can fulfill all his material and spiritual desires. One does not have to ask any one else for these things, for simply by studying the life of Mahārāja Bharata, one can attain all desirable things.(46)

Jaḍa Bharata, who had fully realized Brahman, continued: My dear King Rahūgaṇa, the living entity wanders on the path of the material world, which is very difficult for him to traverse, and he accepts repeated birth and death. Being captivated by the material world under the influence of the three modes of material nature (sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa), the living entity can see only the three fruits of activities under the spell of ma terial nature. These fruits are auspicious, inaus picious and mixed. He thus becomes attached to religion, economic development, sense grat ification and the monistic theory of liberation (merging with the Supreme). He works very hard day and night exactly like a merchant who enters a forest to acquire some articles to sell later for profit. However, he cannot really achieve happiness within this material world.(1)

King Rahūgaṇa, in this forest of ma terial existence there are six very powerful plunderers. When the conditioned soul enters the forest to acquire some material gain, the six plunderers misguide him. Thus the conditioned merchant does not know how to spend his money, and it is taken away by these plunder ers. Like tigers, jackals and other ferocious an imals in a forest that are ready to take away a lamb from the custody of its protector, the wife and children enter the heart of the merchant and plunder him in so many ways.(2) In this forest there are dense bowers composed of thickets of bushes, grass and creepers. In these bowers the conditioned soul is always disturbed by cruelly biting mosquitoes [envious people]. Sometimes he sees an imaginary palace in the forest, and sometimes he is bewildered by seeing a fleeting fiend or ghost, which appears like a meteor in the sky.(3) My dear King, the merchant on the forest path of the material world, his intelli gence victimized by home, wealth, relatives and so forth, runs from one place to another in search of success. Sometimes his eyes are cov ered by the dust of a whirlwindthat is to say, in his lust he is captivated by the beauty of his wife, especially during her menstrual period. Thus his eyes are blinded, and he cannot see where to go or what he is doing.(4)

Wandering in the forest of the material world, the condi tioned soul sometimes hears an invisible cricket making harsh sounds, and his ears be come very much aggrieved. Sometimes his heart is pained by the sounds of owls, which are just like the harsh words of his enemies. Some times he takes shelter of a tree that has no fruits or flowers. He approaches such a tree due to his strong appetite, and thus he suffers. He would like to acquire water, but he is simply illusioned by a mirage, and he runs after it.(5) Sometimes the conditioned soul jumps into a shallow river, or being short of food grains, he goes to beg food from people who are not at all charitable. Sometimes he suffers from the burning heat of household life, which is like a forest fire, and sometimes he becomes sad to have his wealth, which is as dear as life, plundered by kings in the name of heavy income taxes.(6) Some times, being defeated or plundered by a supe rior, powerful agent, a living entity loses all his possessions. He then becomes very morose, and lamenting their loss, he sometimes be comes unconscious. Sometimes he imagines a great palatial city in which he desires to live happily with his family members and riches. He thinks himself fully satisfied if this is possible, but such so-called happiness continues only for a moment.(7)

Sometimes the merchant in the forest wants to climb the hills and mountains, but due to insufficient footwear, his feet are pricked by small stone fragments and by thorns on the mountain. Being pricked by them, he be comes very aggrieved. Sometimes a person who is very attached to his family becomes overwhelmed with hunger, and due to his mis erable condition he becomes furious with his family members.(8) The conditioned soul in the material forest is sometimes swallowed by a python or crushed. At such a time he is left ly ing in the forest like a dead person, devoid of consciousness and knowledge. Sometimes other poisonous snakes bite him. Being blind to his consciousness, he falls down into a dark well of hellish life with no hope of being res cued.(9) Sometimes, in order to have a little in significant sex enjoyment, one searches after debauched women. In this attempt, one is in sulted and chastised by the women’s kinsmen. This is like going to take honey from a beehive and being attacked by the bees. Sometimes, af ter spending lots of money, one may acquire another woman for some extra sense enjoy ment. Unfortunately, the object of sense enjoy ment, the woman, is taken away or kidnapped by another debauchee.(10)

Sometimes the liv ing entity is busy counteracting the natural dis turbances of freezing cold, scorching heat, strong wind, excessive rainfall and so forth. When he is unable to do so, he becomes very unhappy. Sometimes he is cheated in business transactions one after another. In this way, by cheating, living entities create enmity among themselves.(11) On the forest path of material existence, sometimes a person is without wealth and due to this does not have a proper home, bed or sitting place, nor proper family enjoyment. He therefore goes to beg money from others, but when his desires are not ful filled by begging, he wants to borrow or steal the property of others. Thus he is insulted in so ciety.(12) Due to monetary transactions, relationships become very strained and end in enmity. Some times the husband and wife walk on the path of material progress, and to maintain their rela tionship they work very hard. Sometimes due to scarcity of money or due to diseased condi tions, they are embarrassed and almost die.(13)

My dear King, on the forest path of material life, first a person is bereft of his father and mother, and after their death he becomes at tached to his newly born children. In this way he wanders on the path of material progress and is eventually embarrassed. Nonetheless, no one knows how to get out of this, even up to the moment of death.(14) There were and are many political and social heroes who have conquered enemies of equal power, yet due to their igno rance in believing that the land is theirs, they fight one another and lay down their lives in battle. They are not able to take up the spiritual path accepted by those in the renounced order. Although they are big heroes and political lead ers, they cannot take to the path of spiritual re alization.(15) Sometimes the living entity in the forest of material existence takes shelter of creepers and desires to hear the chirping of the birds in those creepers. Being afraid of roaring lions in the forest, he makes friends with cranes, herons and vultures.(16)

Being cheated by them, the living entity in the forest of the material world tries to give up the association of these so called yogīs, svāmīs and incarnations and come to the association of real devotees, but due to misfortune he cannot follow the instructions of the spiritual master or advanced devotees; therefore he gives up their company and again returns to the association of monkeys who are simply interested in sense gratification and women. He derives satisfaction by associating with sense gratifiers and enjoying sex and in toxication. In this way he spoils his life simply by indulging in sex and intoxication. Looking into the faces of other sense gratifiers, he be comes forgetful and thus approaches death.(17)

When the living entity becomes exactly like a monkey jumping from one branch to another, he remains in the tree of household life without any profit but sex. Thus he is kicked by his wife just like the he-ass. Unable to gain release, he remains helplessly in that position. Sometimes he falls victim to an incurable disease, which is like falling into a mountain cave. He becomes afraid of death, which is like the elephant in the back of that cave, and he remains stranded, grasping at the twigs and branches of a creeper.(18) O killer of enemies, Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa, if the conditioned soul somehow or other gets out of his dangerous position, he again returns to his home to enjoy sex life, for that is the way of attachment. Thus, under the spell of the Lord’s material energy, he contin ues to loiter in the forest of material existence. He does not discover his real interest even at the point of death.(19)

My dear King Rahūgaṇa, you are also a victim of the external energy, being situated on the path of attraction to material pleasure. So that you may become an equal friend to all living entities, I now ad vise you to give up your kingly position and the rod by which you punish criminals. Give up at traction to the sense objects and take up the sword of knowledge sharpened by devotional service. Then you will be able to cut the hard knot of illusory energy and cross to the other side of the ocean of nescience.(20) King Rahūgaṇa said: This birth as a human being is the best of all. Even birth among the demigods in the heavenly planets is not as glo rious as birth as a human being on this earth. What is the use of the exalted position of a dem igod? In the heavenly planets, due to profuse material comforts, there is no possibility of as sociating with devotees.(21) It is not at all won derful that simply by being covered by the dust of your lotus feet, one immediately attains the platform of pure devotional service to Adhokṣaja, which is not available even to great demigods like Brahmā. By associating with you just for a moment, I am now freed from all argument, false prestige and lack of discrimina tion, which are the roots of entanglement in the material world. Now I am free from all these problems.(22)

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the great personalities, whether they walk on the earth’s surface as children, young boys, avadhūtas or great brāhmaṇas. Even if they are hidden under different guises, I offer my re spects to all of them. By their mercy, may there be good fortune in the royal dynasties that are always offending them.(23) Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, O son of mother Uttarā, there were some waves of dissatisfaction in the mind of Jaḍa Bharata due to his being insulted by King Rahūgaṇa, who made him carry his palanquin, but Jaḍa Bharata neglected this, and his heart again became calm and quiet like an ocean. Alt hough King Rahūgaṇa had insulted him, he was a great paramahaṁsa. Being a Vaiṣṇava, he was naturally very kindhearted, and he there fore told the King about the constitutional po sition of the soul. He then forgot the insult be cause King Rahūgaṇa pitifully begged pardon at his lotus feet. After this, he began to wander all over the earth, just as before.(24)

After receiving lessons from the great devotee Jaḍa Bharata, King Rahūgaṇa of the state of Sauvīra became completely aware of the constitutional position of the soul. He thus gave up the bodily conception completely. My dear King, who ever takes shelter of the servant of the servant of the Lord is certainly glorified because he can without difficulty give up the bodily concep tion.(25) King Parīkṣit then told Śukadeva Gosvāmī: My dear lord, O great devotee sage, you are omniscient. You have very nicely de scribed the position of the conditioned soul, who is compared to a merchant in the forest. From these instructions intelligent men can un derstand that the senses of a person in the bod ily conception are like rogues and thieves in that forest, and one’s wife and children are like jackals and other ferocious animals. However, it is not very easy for the unintelligent to under stand the purport of this story because it is dif ficult to extricate the exact meaning from the allegory. I therefore request Your Holiness to give the direct meaning.(26)

King Rahūgaṇa said: O most exalted per sonality, you are not different from the Su preme Personality of Godhead. By the influ ence of your true self, all kinds of contradiction in the śāstras have been removed. In the dress of a friend of a brāhmaṇa, you are hiding your transcendental blissful position. I offer my re spectful obeisances unto you.(1) O best of the brāhmaṇas, my body is filled with dirty things, and my vision has been bitten by the serpent of pride. Due to my material conceptions, I am diseased. Your nectarean instructions are the proper medicine for one suffering from such a fever, and they are cooling waters for one scorched by the heat.(2) Whatever doubts I have about a particular subject matter I shall ask you about later. For the time being, these mysterious yoga instructions you have given me for self-realization appear very difficult to understand. Please repeat them in a simple way so that I can understand them. My mind is very inquisitive, and I want to understand this clearly.(3)

O master of yogic power, you said that fatigue resulting from moving the body here and there is appreciated by direct percep tion but actually there is no fatigue. It simply exists as a matter of formality. By such inquir ies and answers, no one can come to the con clusion of the Absolute Truth. Because of your presentation of this statement, my mind is a lit tle disturbed.(4) The self-realized brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharata said: Among the various material combina tions and permutations, there are various forms and earthly transformations. For some reason, these move on the surface of the earth and are called palanquin carriers. Those material trans formations which do not move are gross mate rial objects like stones. In any case, the material body is made of earth and stone in the form of feet, ankles, calves, knees, thighs, torso, throat and head. Upon the shoulders is the wooden palanquin, and within the palanquin is the so called King of Sauvīra. The body of the King is simply another transformation of earth, but within that body Your Lordship is situated and falsely thinking that you are the King of the state of Sauvīra.(5-6)

It is a fact, however, that these innocent peo ple carrying your palanquin without payment are certainly suffering due to this injustice. Their condition is very lamentable because you have forcibly engaged them in carrying your palanquin. This proves that you are cruel and unkind, yet due to false prestige you were thinking that you were protecting the citizens. This is ludicrous. You were such a fool that you could not have been adored as a great man in an assembly of persons advanced in knowledge.(7) All of us on the surface of the globe are living entities in different forms. Some of us are moving and some not moving. All of us come into existence, remain for some time and are annihilated when the body is again mingled with the earth. We are all simply dif ferent transformations of the earth. Different bodies and capacities are simply transfor mations of the earth that exist in name only, for everything grows out of the earth and when everything is annihilated it again mingles with the earth. In other words, we are but dust, and we shall but be dust. Everyone can consider this point.(8)

One may say that varieties arise from the planet earth itself. However, although the uni verse may temporarily appear to be the truth, it ultimately has no real existence. The earth was originally created by a combination of atomic particles, but these particles are impermanent. Actually the atom is not the cause of the uni verse, although some philosophers think so. It is not a fact that the varieties found in this ma terial world simply result from atomic juxtapo sition or combination.(9) Since this universe has no real ultimate existence, the things within itshortness, differences, grossness, skinniness, smallness, bigness, result, cause, living symp toms, and materialsare all imagined. They are all pots made of the same substance, earth, but they are named differently. The differences are characterized by the substance, nature, predis position, time and activity. You should know that all these are simply mechanical manifesta tions created by material nature.(10)

What, then, is the ultimate truth? The answer is that nondual knowledge is the ultimate truth. It is devoid of the contamination of material quali ties. It gives us liberation. It is the one without a second, all-pervading and beyond imagina tion. The first realization of that knowledge is Brahman. Then Paramātmā, the Supersoul, is realized by the yogīs who try to see Him with out grievance. This is the second stage of reali zation. Finally, full realization of the same su preme knowledge is realized in the Supreme Person. All learned scholars describe the Su preme Person as Vāsudeva, the cause of Brah man, Paramātmā and others.(11) My dear King Rahūgaṇa, unless one has the opportunity to smear his entire body with the dust of the lotus feet of great devotees, one cannot realize the Absolute Truth. One cannot realize the Abso lute Truth simply by observing celibacy [brah macarya], strictly following the rules and regu lations of householder life, leaving home as a vānaprastha, accepting sannyāsa, or undergo ing severe penances in winter by keeping one self submerged in water or surrounding oneself in summer by fire and the scorching heat of the sun. There are many other processes to under stand the Absolute Truth, but the Absolute Truth is only revealed to one who has attained the mercy of a great devotee.(12)

Who are the pure devotees mentioned here? In an assembly of pure devotees, there is no question of dis cussing material subjects like politics and soci ology. In an assembly of pure devotees, there is discussion only of the qualities, forms and pas times of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is praised and worshiped with full attention. In the association of pure devotees, by con stantly hearing such topics respectfully, even a person who wants to merge into the existence of the Absolute Truth abandons this idea and gradually becomes attached to the service of Vāsudeva.(13) In a previous birth I was known as Mahārāja Bharata. I attained perfection by becoming completely detached from material activities through direct experience, and through indirect experience I received understanding from the Vedas. I was fully engaged in the service of the Lord, but due to my misfortune, I became very affectionate to a small deer, so much so that I neglected my spiritual duties. Due to my deep affection for the deer, in my next life I had to accept the body of a deer.(14)

My dear heroic King, due to my past sincere service to the Lord, I could remember everything of my past life even while in the body of a deer. Because I am aware of the falldown in my past life, I al ways keep myself separate from the association of ordinary men. Being afraid of their bad, ma terialistic association, I wander alone unnoticed by others.(15) Simply by associating with ex alted devotees, anyone can attain perfection of knowledge and with the sword of knowledge can cut to pieces the illusory associations within this material world. Through the associ ation of devotees, one can engage in the service of the Lord by hearing and chanting [śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam]. Thus one can revive his dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness and, sticking to the culti vation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, return home, back to Godhead, even in this life.

The brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharata said: My dear King, although you are not at all experi enced, you are trying to speak like a very expe rienced man. Consequently you cannot be con sidered an experienced person. An experienced person does not speak the way you are speaking about the relationship between a master and a servant or about material pains and pleasures. These are simply external activities. Any ad vanced, experienced man, considering the Ab solute Truth, does not talk in this way.(1) My dear King, talks of the relationship between the master and the servant, the king and the subject and so forth are simply talks about material ac tivities. People interested in material activities which are expounded in the Vedas are intent on performing material sacrifices and placing faith in their material activities. For such people, spiritual advancement is definitely not mani fest.(2)

A dream becomes automatically known to a person as false and immaterial, and simi larly one eventually realizes that material hap piness in this life or the next, on this planet or a higher planet, is insignificant. When one real izes this, the Vedas, although an excellent source, are insufficient to bring about direct knowledge of the truth.(3) As long as the mind of the living entity is contaminated by the three modes of material nature (goodness, passion and ignorance), his mind is exactly like an in dependent, uncontrolled elephant. It simply ex pands its jurisdiction of pious and impious ac tivities by using the senses. The result is that the living entity remains in the material world to enjoy and suffer pleasures and pains due to material activity.(4) Because the mind is ab sorbed in desires for pious and impious activi ties, it is naturally subjected to the transfor mations of lust and anger. In this way, it be comes attracted to material sense enjoyment. In other words, the mind is conducted by the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. There are eleven senses and five material ele ments, and out of these sixteen items, the mind is the chief. Therefore the mind brings about birth in different types of bodies among demi gods, human beings, animals and birds. When the mind is situated in a higher or lower posi tion, it accepts a higher or lower material body.(5)

The materialistic mind covering the living entity’s soul carries it to different species of life. This is called continued material exist ence. Due to the mind, the living entity suffers or enjoys material distress and happiness. Be ing thus illusioned, the mind further creates pi ous and impious activities and their karma, and thus the soul becomes conditioned.(6) The mind makes the living entity within this mate rial world wander through different species of life, and thus the living entity experiences mun dane affairs in different forms as a human be ing, demigod, fat person, skinny person and so forth. Learned scholars say that bodily appear ance, bondage and liberation are caused by the mind.(7) When the living entity’s mind be comes absorbed in the sense gratification of the material world, it brings about his conditioned life and suffering within the material situation. However, when the mind becomes unattached to material enjoyment, it becomes the cause of liberation. When the flame in a lamp burns the wick improperly, the lamp is blackened, but when the lamp is filled with ghee and is burning properly, there is bright illumination. Similarly, when the mind is absorbed in material sense gratification, it causes suffering, and when de tached from material sense gratification it brings about the original brightness of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.(8)

There are five working senses and five knowledge-acquiring senses. There is also the false ego. In this way, there are eleven items for the mind’s functions. O hero, the objects of the senses [such as sound and touch], the organic activities [such as evacuation] and the different types of bodies, society, friendship and person ality are considered by learned scholars the fields of activity for the functions of the mind.(9) Sound, touch, form, taste and smell are the objects of the five knowledge-acquiring senses. Speech, touch, movement, evacuation and sexual intercourse are the objects of the working senses. Besides this, there is another conception by which one thinks, “This is my body, this is my society, this is my family, this is my nation,” and so forth. This eleventh func tion of the mind is called the false ego. Accord ing to some philosophers, this is the twelfth function, and its field of activity is the body.(10) The physical elements, nature, the original cause, culture, destiny and the time el ement are all material causes. Agitated by these material causes, the eleven functions transform into hundreds of functions and then into thou sands and then into millions. But all these trans formations do not take place automatically by mutual combination. Rather, they are under the direction of the Supreme Personality of God head.(11)

The individual soul bereft of Kṛṣṇa consciousness has many ideas and activities created in the mind by the external energy. They have been existing from time immemo rial. Sometimes they are manifest in the wak ening state and in the dream state, but during deep sleep [unconsciousness] or trance, they disappear. A person who is liberated in this life [jīvan-mukta] can see all these things viv idly.(12) There are two kinds of kṣetrajñathe living entity, as explained above, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is explained as follows. He is the all-pervading cause of crea tion. He is full in Himself and is not dependent on others. He is perceived by hearing and direct perception. He is self-effulgent and does not experience birth, death, old age or disease. He is the controller of all the demigods, beginning with Lord Brahmā. He is called Nārāyaṇa, and He is the shelter of living entities after the an nihilation of this material world. He is full of all opulences, and He is the resting place of everything material. He is therefore known as Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of God head. By His own potency, He is present within the hearts of all living entities, just as the air or vital force is within the bodies of all beings, moving and nonmoving. In this way He con trols the body. In His partial feature, the Su preme Personality of Godhead enters all bodies and controls them.(13-14)

My dear King Rahūgaṇa, as long as the conditioned soul ac cepts the material body and is not freed from the contamination of material enjoyment, and as long as he does not conquer his six enemies and come to the platform of self-realization by awakening his spiritual knowledge, he has to wander among different places and different species of life in this material world.(15) The soul’s designation, the mind, is the cause of all tribulations in the material world. As long as this fact is unknown to the conditioned living entity, he has to accept the miserable condition of the material body and wander within this universe in different positions. Because the mind is affected by disease, lamentation, illu sion, attachment, greed and enmity, it creates bondage and a false sense of intimacy within this material world.(16) This uncontrolled mind is the greatest enemy of the living entity. If one neglects it or gives it a chance, it will grow more and more powerful and will become victorious. Although it is not factual, it is very strong. It covers the constitutional position of the soul. O King, please try to conquer this mind by the weapon of service to the lotus feet of the spiritual master and of the Supreme Per sonality of Godhead. Do this with great care.(17)