“Prahlada Maharaja replied: Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclinations toward Krishna are never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.5.30)

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श्रीप्रह्राद उवाच
मतिर्न कृष्णे परत: स्वतो वा
मिथोऽभिपद्येत गृहव्रतानाम्
अदान्तगोभिर्विशतां तमिस्रं
पुन: पुनश्चर्वितचर्वणानाम्

śrī-prahrāda uvāca
matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā
mitho ’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām
adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām

A person happens to glance at different publications and periodicals of the religious genre, specifically those rooted in the Vedic tradition. They have an open mind. They take an interest in the principles, in the philosophy, in the presentation.

At the same time, they cannot help but notice a pattern. There is a kind of predictability to the show. The sequence, from beginning to end, appears to be the same. In that light, they offer the following criticism:

“You reach the same conclusion. Every single time. It does not matter the premise. You could be talking about science, technology, work, play, sleep, or even history. Everything circles back to this need for devotional service, bhakti-yoga.

“It reminds me of that author who wrote maybe one hundred fictional tales with the same storyline. Someone rising to the top when they started at the bottom. Rags to riches. The books sold well; they were popular.

“But how can you keep doing the same thing? Does that not indicate a lack of intelligence? How does every premise automatically reach the same conclusion? It defies common sense. Why do you feel the need to keep repeating the same message?”

The short response is lifted from a teaching of Prahlada Maharaja. He says that those without the devotional consciousness, who lack the connection to the Supreme Lord, who fail to realize that their svartha, self-interest, is at the destination of Lord Vishnu, are essentially chewing that which has been chewed.

We can review several endeavors in the typical life experience, which have a beginning and a conclusion, to see that there is already so much which resembles a record placed on the turntable and playing on repeat.

1. The professional sports season

“Have you ever noticed that as soon as the season ends, with the champions hoisting the trophy, all the talk is about the upcoming season? What will happen next? Will this player retire? Will that coach move to a different team?

“Umm, what about the recently concluded proceedings? Those were not worth anything? You people are basically resetting everything, pretending that the past did not happen. You keep erasing the board and writing over it again, only to erase it and reset.”

2. The night at the movies

“You are going to make me sit through that again? Really? It is the same story every time. Some person is in trouble. They are in difficult circumstances. They have to deal with tragedy. Others are bullying them. They feel trapped.

“Then, all of a sudden, there is a transformation. The victim becomes the hero. They triumph against all odds. These are scripted performances, after all. The writers know what audiences like. To me, it appears that the audience prefers predictability, in a constantly repeating storyline.”

3. The trip to the shopping mall

“Why are you so concerned with buying new clothes? You have a mountain of shirts and pants sitting in the closet at home. That walk-in closet has no more space in which to roam. You can barely make your way through it. This is the result of your many past shopping trips. Give it a rest, already.”

4. The visit to the playground

“It is a good thing children do not know better. Otherwise, they would get bored. They would see that they are basically wasting their time. They are giving some much needed relief to the adults. They climb up the slide only to fly back down. They feel a thrill along the way, but they soon forget and move on to something else.”

5. The span of life

It is to this area that Prahlada attaches his teachings. The Vedic principle is that the individual is spirit soul. That spark of spirit has certain properties. One of them is eternality. The individual can never be killed. It never takes birth. It always exists.

न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्
नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतो ऽयं पुराणो
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे

na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ‘yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre

“For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.20)

As such, the different stays within the material world are like cycles of manifestation and destruction. Chewing the chewed is experiencing the same thing, in lifetime after lifetime, with no end in sight. Even if the destruction of the cosmic manifestation is around the corner, the same will repeat in the future.

भूत-ग्रामः स एवायं
भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते
रात्र्य्-आगमे ऽवशः पार्थ
प्रभवत्य् अहर्-आगमे

bhūta-grāmaḥ sa evāyaṁ
bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate
rātry-āgame ‘vaśaḥ pārtha
prabhavaty ahar-āgame

“Again and again the day comes, and this host of beings is active; and again the night falls, O Partha, and they are helplessly dissolved.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.19)

It may seem like those who have taken to devotional service are repeating the same tasks, writing the same objectives, and reviewing the same principles on a recurring basis. The difference is that their efforts are dedicated to the one who is inexhaustible and original.

तस्मात् सर्वात्मना राजन् हरि: सर्वत्र सर्वदा
श्रोतव्य: कीर्तितव्यश्च स्मर्तव्यो भगवान्नृणाम्

tasmāt sarvātmanā rājan
hariḥ sarvatra sarvadā
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca
smartavyo bhagavān nṛṇām

“O King, it is therefore essential that every human being hear about, glorify and remember the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, always and everywhere.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 2.2.36)

As Shrimad Bhagavatam explains, the Supreme Personality of Godhead should be worshiped everywhere and all the time. The two Sanskrit words are sarvatra and sarvada. It is something to be experienced; it cannot be merely explained through an esoteric presentation. The tendency for that connection is embedded within the living being. If they follow through, even with some assistance in the beginning, with a persistent plea from the spiritual guides, then soon the nava-yauvanam feature to God and devotion to Him will be revealed.

In Closing:

Not to be rude,
But you’re chewing the chewed.

Already that sensation felt,
Like loosening and tightening the belt.

Bhakti following a different way,
Even with the same words to pray.

Like an experience fresh and new,
Something you can experience too.

Categories: the five

Tags: god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion