“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)

Download as podcast episode (right click and save)

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

“I heard something recently from His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada that made me laugh.  He was explaining that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Shri Krishna, is so nice that if your desire is to put up a skyscraper building and then tear it down soon thereafter, you will get that opportunity.  For as many times as you want, in fact, across multiple lifetimes.  I found it funny because this touches on a sentiment I have mostly kept to myself.  It applies to professional sports, in particular, but you can witness the principle in play in all aspects of modern life.

“Take your favorite major city.  They have a baseball team.  They have an American football team.  They decide to build a brand new, state-of-the-art facility for the games.  Sufficient capacity. Plenty of parking.  In an area of town that will not cause problems with traffic.  The place will have a roof, in fact.  That roof will retract, when necessary.  A new playing surface.  This will be the place to go for live events.  Professional wrestling might host their annual extravaganza there.  The biggest names in music and entertainment will want to hold their meetings in that place.

“The place gets built. The dream becomes a reality. Now fast forward a few years.  Maybe a decade or two.  The sports franchises are complaining about their building, which they consider to be old and dilapidated.  They want a new facility and they want the local government to help fund it.  What will happen to the existing building?  Well, it will get torn down, of course.  Time is of the essence, since other franchises have already upgraded their facilities.  Beneath the surface, if privy to the conversations inside the boardrooms, the real reason for the hurry is luxury boxes.  The owners want to charge more money, for premium entertainment experiences.  These higher-end experiences can generate so much revenue that it might be enough to compensate for an off-year, where normal attendance is down due to the poor performance of the team. You see, the current building is limited in that capacity. It was built with the average fan in mind, not the wealthy.

“Hello, am I the only one who sees something wrong with this?  Millions of dollars is not enough for you?  Tear down a perfectly suitable building, just to turn a higher profit?  Why did you build it in the first place?  You see this with adults downgrading after their children move out of the house.  It is like nothing is sacred to them.  The building is a temporary vessel, to serve their temporary enjoyment.  What is your life experience, then?  You are here just to enjoy, like the animals? You don’t want to leave a lasting mark? You don’t want people to appreciate anything that you did?”

This explains the entire issue with samsara, which is like the continuous suffering that the living being experiences in the material world.  Amazingly, there is ample facility.  We get to stay here for as long as we want, like children repeatedly visiting the sandbox, brought there day after day by their loving parents.  The Supreme Lord is indeed the most merciful.  He does not limit.  He is unlimited, in fact.  Hence, one of His names is Ananta.

The logical question is if there is another way.  If we acknowledge that we are currently just moving rocks from one place to another, proud of our accomplishments, passing the time in a way that avoids sleep, depression, and sadness, what alternative is there?  How can we actually make our time in this world meaningful?

बिगरी जनम अनेक की सुधरै अबहीं आजु
होहि राम को नाम जपु तुलसी तजि कुसमाजु

bigarī janama aneka kī sudharai abahīṃ āju
hohi rāma ko nāma japu tulasī taji kusamāju

“The many past births you spoiled can be rectified right now, today, if you start chanting Shri Rama’s holy name and renounce bad association, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 22)

Goswami Tulsidas says that not only can we find liberation, but we can purify the previous time spent here.  In other words, if we find the highest realm of Vaikuntha, then our past mistakes will have been worth the effort.  All is well that ends well.  The human birth is the best opportunity to end the cycle, to stop the spinning wheel of suffering, the samsara-chakra.

ये तु सर्वाणि कर्माणि
मयि सन्न्यस्य मत्-पराः
अनन्येनैव योगेन
मां ध्यायन्त उपासते
तेषाम् अहं समुद्धर्ता
मृत्यु-संसार-सागरात्
भवामि न चिरात् पार्थ
मय्य् आवेशित-चेतसाम्

ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi
mayi sannyasya mat-parāḥ
ananyenaiva yogena
māṁ dhyāyanta upāsate
teṣām ahaṁ samuddhartā
mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt
bhavāmi na cirāt pārtha
mayy āveśita-cetasām

“For one who worships Me, giving up all his activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, who has fixed his mind upon Me, O son of Pritha, for him I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 12.6-7)

We will receive assistance in this endeavor.  The Supreme Lord extends a helping hand.  He actually delivers in a swift manner.  Whereas we spent so much time building something that we later tore down, the efforts in devotional service, in the connection that is true yoga, do not go to waste.  One step forward represents permanent progress.  This is the message of the Vaishnava saint.  They ask that we take this opportunity seriously.  We no longer need to extract taste out of something which has already been chewed.

In Closing:

Place perfect for building ground,
But later we’ll tear it down.

Desperate for upgrade indeed,
Thus in cycle to proceed.

For impact lasting with meaning,
And successful the time deeming.

To path of devotion take,
And samsara spinning forsake.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, karma, life, poem, poems, poetry