Srimad Bhagavatam – day 286
Perhaps at some point the realization that chasing sensory pleasures is a mere waste of energy may dawn upon him. However due to his intense bodily-identification and the seeming realness of this visible world this tiny realization disappears instantly and again he once again continues to chase sensory pleasures which are nothing but mirages.
The more he focuses upon sensory pleasures, the more he sinks into the mire. He thus continues to sink to lower and lower depths. ‘This one last desire I shall fulfill and then I shall give it up completely’ he says for every desire that arises in his mind. ‘After this desire is fulfilled I shall stop’ he thinks, however even before that desire is fulfilled 10 new desires would have arisen in his mind. He then seeks to fulfill these 10 desires before giving them up completely, however each of these 10 desires give birth to 10 more desires. Now he has to fulfill these 100 desires. In this way they multiply endlessly.
True dispassion means to give up the single desire as soon as it originates! It means to stop it in the first place. However no one is willing to do so. ‘Just today I will eat this dish and then give it up forever and ever. Today for the last time I will enjoy this dish’ they say. But then the desire continues to exist in the mind.
Many times enemies, who are like terrible owls, abuse the person directly with hurtful words. Full of vengeance they heartlessly condemn him on his face. At other times, like invisible crickets they abuse him indirectly or behind his back. Hearing these accusations and his heart and ears are aggrieved.
Due to enjoyments he would have completely exhausted his previous balance of merit. He is now reduced to a living corpse. Miserly persons do not part with their wealth for acquiring comforts either in this world or in the next. They can be compared to the poisonous tummi plants, poisonous trees, creepers and to wells which contain poisoned water. The human being, who has exhausted all his merit, serves such miserly greedy persons.
At times he befriends the wicked. Due to their association his mind becomes impure and corrupt. With this corrupted mind he adheres to the path which goes against the tenets of Vedas. This is like trying to swim in a shallow river. By jumping in the person only breaks his head. Similarly, by adhering to the path which goes against the tenets of Vedas, the individual loses both in this world and the next. He will be only left grieving.
At such times when the enemies torture him, he will be left penniless. Deprived even of food he exploits his own father and son for his sustenance.
House is like an eternal burning forest fire in which true happiness can never be found. In it there are no objects that give real happiness. In fact it eternally bestows inauspicious results that continually shower sorrows. Although it appears to shower happiness, it actually showers sorrows. The human being strives for such house. Obtaining it, he is continually burnt in its blazing fire. He is left grieving. Due to this he is dejected.
At times fortune does not favour him. Even the rich turn into demons and loot him completely. When his wealth, which he had considered dearer than his life, is stolen he loses all hope in life. All his enthusiasm is drained and he can be compared to a living corpse.
Sometimes this trader day-dreams and imagines about certain objects or situations. Such objects exist purely in his imagination. They lack physical existence. The truth is that father, grand-father and all other relationships are as imaginary as those objects. Foolishly the ignorant man believes them to be real. Just like the transitory happiness experienced during dream, at times he experiences fleeting happiness.
Desiring to complete all the actions prescribed for the house-holder’s stage of life is akin to climbing an arduous mountain. This is because of the extensiveness of the obligatory duties specified. The house-holder who desires to complete these actions develops deep attachment towards worldly transactions. Just like the trader who agonizes due to the thorns and pebbles that come in his way when he attempts to climb the mountain, this individual agonizes.
It is impossible to withstand the intense pangs of hunger. This fire called hunger has the capacity to burn down patience. At such times he loses his temper upon his family members.
He who is totally engrossed in frutitive activities during the day falls prey to the python called sleep during nights. Sinking into the dark forest called spiritual ignorance he is like the corpse that has been discarded in the uninhabited forests. In such state of deep sleep he is unaware of his surroundings.
At times his enemies, who can be compared to wild poisonous creatures, pluck his tooth called self-respect. With this his peace is completely stolen. Lacking mental peace he cannot even sleep properly. As such he loses his intelligence and discrimination. Just as a blind man falls into the deep well he falls into the well called ignorance.
He desperately chases insignificant desires which are compared to drops of honey. He desires another’s wife or another’s wealth. The king, the property owner or the lady’s husband awards him a capital punishment like death sentence. He then falls into the endless pit called hell. He suffers in jail.
Mahatmas therefore emphatically state that this path of good and sinful actions (frutitive activities) is the birth place for samsāra. The trader who has stolen the wealth of others gets released from jail or escapes punishment. However others steal his wealth from him. Some other dacoits loot the wealth from the people who had stolen from him. This cycle of looting continues. Wealth does not stay consistently in any place. It moves from hand to hand and in the process causes grief to the people who lose it.
In this world the individual suffers at times from heat, cold and other ādidaivika afflictions. At other times he suffers due to the wrath of nature and other ādibhoutika afflictions. Sometimes he undergoes bodily sufferings known as ādhyātmika afflictions. He cannot escape from these afflictions and as such endlessly laments.
Trivikramāya namah