Why Are We Even In Shokadhama

By krishnasmercy on September 19, 2024 • ( 0 )

“For as long as there is not devotion to Shri Rama and the release of material desires, which are like an abode of grief, the living being should not expect to find welfare and peace of mind, even in a dream.” (Dohavali, 131)

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तब लगि कुसल न जीव कहुँ सपनेहुँ मन बिश्राम
जब लगि भजत न राम कहुँ सोकधाम तजि काम

taba lagi kusala na jīva kahum̐ sapanehum̐ mana biśrāma
jaba lagi bhajata na rāma kahum̐ sokadhāma taji kāma

“I am familiar with the assessment. This is a land of misery, featuring birth and death. Between those two endpoints, the experience is not pretty. It is one horror after another. The trouble is, we tend to think there is progress. We see hope on the horizon in renewing desires, in objectives to target, in dreams to pursue.

“The truth is that we will always be left unfulfilled. If we succeed in those pursuits, we will lament the lack of direction in the aftermath. If we fail, we will try again for success. It is like there is this slate which gets wiped clean on a regular basis. Irrespective of what we draw on that slate, depicting the events related to our choices, there is a reset to zero or nothing at some point in time.

“What can be more miserable than this? I see why Bhagavad-gita uses the two words duhkhalayam and ashashvatam. I understand why Goswami Tulsidas refers to this place as shokadhama. It is the resting place of misery. It is a dhama in the sense of a destination, a place that we have reached. The problem is that there is only shoka within this dhama.

“Why would anyone want to be here? There is a more important question. Why are we here? I realize that there is shoka everywhere. I want it to be ashoka. I no longer wish to stay here. I do not want shoka for others, either. I am fortunate in that I have at least come to my senses. I cannot guarantee that I will remain in knowledge moving forward. I can slip back into ignorance at any time.

“What about others? They think I am crazy when I tell them. I see them repeating the same activities, with the same resulting miseries. They go in that direction over and over. They are also miserly and envious. That is the height of stupidity, if you ask me. I can understand why Shri Hanuman lectures about the bubble-like body and how in this dangerous predicament no one should really be lamenting anyone else. You could extend that to say no wise person would ever envy anyone else.”

The appeal from the acharya basically begins from this point. We are all stuck in something like a prison. We are doing our time. This is the fate at the present moment. We can curse our luck. We can feel sorry for ourselves. We can try to trace out the exact history of our time spent here, in retrieving information of the many possible births we have already experienced, across a wide variety of species.

“The child cries to have the moon from the mother, and the mother gives the child a mirror to satisfy the crying and disturbing child with the reflection of the moon. Similarly, the crying child of the Lord is given over to the reflection, the material world, to lord it over as karmi and to give this up in frustration to become one with the Lord. Both these stages are dreaming illusions only. There is no necessity of tracing out the history of when the living entity desired this. But the fact is that as soon as he desired it, he was put under the control of atma-maya by the direction of the Lord.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 2.9.1 Purport)

The reality is that we are here. The explanation from the highest authorities is that the reason we first came here is the same reason for why we continue to remain here. It is desire. Because of its perverted nature, this desire is kama. This same Sanskrit word can also refer to lust and sex life.

The truth is that all three meanings are the same. Kama is desire within the material world, and the height of enjoyment in illusion, with its corresponding desire, is sex life. It is for this reason that people serious about spiritual life, in realizing their reason for being here and finding a permanent way out, try to control kama as much as possible.

This is the recommendation from Goswami Tulsidas. He says to set aside kama and worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His pleasure potency. In the absence of such devotion, to connecting with God the person, there is no chance of finding real happiness. Even if we dream it, the experience will continue to be shoka.