desert, mirage in

But the Mayavadis, they cannot understand. They think that in the spiritual world there is no more such relationship as master, friend, or father and son, or beloved and the lover. There is no such thing. But here in the sastra we see that that is real life. This is not real life. It is shadow. In the Bhagavad-gita in the Fifteenth Chapter it has been described as shadow. urdhva-mūlam adhah-sakham asvattham prahur avyayam [Bg 15.1]. Asvattham. We have got experience of banyan tree. It is very durable. It stands for many, many hundreds of years. Therefore this material world has been compared with the asvattham, asvattham tree, very durable and very expansive. It goes on increasing, increasing.    (More...)

Similarly, actual life... Our life means we are enjoying some rasa, some relationship. I enjoy in the family with my children. There is some rasa. They are calling me "father"; I am enjoying. Or somebody is calling me as "son"; I am enjoying. Some woman is calling me "husband"; I am enjoying. Some woman I am calling, "wife." Some person I am calling "servant," and he is calling me... This relationship we enjoy. But this enjoyment is shadow. This is not real enjoyment. We have no information.    (More...)

There is spiritual world. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita that paras tasmat tu bhavaḥ anyaḥ [Bg 8.20]: "There is another bhava, nature." What is the nature? Sarvesu nasyatsu na vinasyati: "When the material world, this cosmic manifestation, the phenomenal world, will be finished, that will stay. That will not be finished." There are many example. Just like mirage in the desert: sometimes you see there is vast mass of water in the desert. The animal runs after the water, being thirsty, but there is no water. Therefore the animal dies. But human being should not be like the animal. They should raise their standard. They have got special consciousness. They can raise their standard of understanding by these literatures, Vedic literatures given by God. Vyasadeva is incarnation of Krsna, so he has given us the Vedic literature. Therefore his name is Vedavyasa, incarnation of God, Vedavyasa. Maha-muni-krte kim va paraiḥ [SB 1.1.2].    (More...)

So when we are attached to the shadow, that is called ignorance, illusion. This is illusion. So here in the material world we are all engaged in shadow attachment. Therefore it is called illusion. Maya-mohitam. Daivi hy esa guna-mayi [Bg 7.14]. So this is going on, life after life. We are after shadow. Tejo-vari-mrsa mrdam yatha vinimayaḥ. They, just like in the desert you will find exactly a vast water, pool, and the animal runs after the... It is called phantasmagoria? No?    (More...)

Prabhupada: Mirage, yes. So running after it, running after it, the shadow is also going ahead and the animal also running. So there is no water. He becomes more and more exhausted. Then he dies. This is the example. So here in this material world we are running after the shadow enjoyment. And running, running, running, running, somebody is exhausted and dies. The karmis, they have no knowledge. They have been described as mūḍhas. They are running after shadow, shadow, that's all. And the jnanis, they understand that "This is shadow, mithya." So shadow means there is reality also. Shadow means... Without reality, how there can be shadow? So they are searching after that reality. Brahma satyam jagan mithya. They understand, "This is shadow. Find out where is water." So the jnanis are also in the darkness, because they do not know where is water. They simply know that because it is shadow, therefore there must be somewhere the reality. This is jnani, or yogi. And bhakta, they know where is real water. That's all. This is the difference. The karmis are like animals. They are after shadow water, running, running, running, exhausted and finished. That is karmi. And jnani, they understand that "This is shadow, but there is reality." But they do not know where is that reality. But a devotee knows that "This is shadow, but it is shadow of the reality," and they know where is that reality. Like this, this is the difference.    (More...)

So Kaviraja Gosvami, after offering his respectful obeisances to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and describing the purpose of His incarnation, he is now trying to describe Nityananda. Sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda. Panca-tattva, one after another... First of all Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, then Nityananda Prabhu, then Advaita Prabhu, then Gadadhara, and then srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda. He is summarizing the obeisances to the Panca-tattva. Now, what is the identification of Nityanandakhya-Rama? Rama, Balarama, and Baladeva, Sahkarsana-there are so many names of Sri Baladeva. In the Upanisad it is said, nayam atma bala-hinena labhyo [Munḍaka Upanisad 3.2.4]: "Self-realization is not possible without being strengthened by the mercy of Balarama." Sometimes they take it foolishly, that "Without being very strong bodily, nobody can realize self." But that is not the fact. Nayam atma pravacanena labhya na medhaya na bahuna srutena [Munḍaka Upanisad 3.2.3]. This is the Vedic injunction. That bala-hinena means without being favored by Nityananda Prabhu, Balarama.    (More...)

So this whole material creation is like that. The creator of this universe, Krsna, He says, duḥkhalayam asasvatam [Bg 8.15]: "This is the place for suffering." And you are seeking after happiness. Just like in the prison house: it is the place for suffering, and if you want to be comfortable, this is called maya. Maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimūḍhan [SB 7.9.43]. The whole world is running after happiness what is not possible. Therefore they have been described as vimūḍhan, rascal. We sometimes use this word very frequently, "rascals," and they become angry. But actually that is the description, "rascals." All these so-called civilized men, so-called civilized men, they are not men even. They're all animals. But in the sastra, they have been described as dvi-pada-pasu. They are animals, but they have got two legs. That's all. That is the difference. Animals, generally, they have four legs, catus-pada, but these animals are two-legged. That is the difference. They're animals because... The same example: In the desert there is no water, and the animal is running after it. Why he's called animal? Because he does not understand that "In the desert, how there can be water?"    (More...)

So this Krsna consciousness movement means to become trained up sufficiently how to enter Krsna's great family. In Krsna's family there is no sannyasi. Have you seen, anyone, a sannyasi in Vrndavana? At least in the books? Sannyasa means to make this material life sannyasa, finished, "No more this. Renounce." Just like Caitanya Mahaprabhu did. He renounced His material family life. He had very nice wife, young wife, and He was young man, twenty-four years old, and there was very affectionate mother. He had very good position in the society, Nimai Panḍita. Yesterday you showed one play called Chand Kazi. So He was so influential that simply by His calling, hundreds and thousands of men immediately joined to go to the Chand Kazi's house to perform kirtana. So just imagine what was His social position, so popular, leader. He had very good position. As a learned scholar, He was known as Nimai Panḍita. Beautiful, very beautiful body, Gaurasundara. Very beautiful wife. Very honored brahmana, Jagannatha Misra's son, grandson of Nilambara Cakravarti; very social, aristocratic position. But still, He gave up everything.    (More...)

Therefore it is said, etavan eva loka 'smin pumsam niḥsreyasa udayaḥ. Udayaḥ means rising. Just like sūryodayaḥ. In the darkness... At night, we are in the darkness. In the morning there will be sūryodayaḥ, and then there will be light. So this is conclusion, that in this material world we are simply struggling for existence with a hope, future hope, that "We shall be happy by this plan." But it will never be possible. Simply you will be bewildered. Just like the animal goes to the desert, and he sees mirage, a shadow of water in the desert. He is thirsty. He goes to the water, and the water goes again, farther away. And he jumps over, jumps over. In this way, being thirsty and in the hot sand he dies. This is called maya-maricika. Our struggle for existence is like that. We are thinking, "Let me go little farther, and we shall be happy." But actually, where is the water? There is no water in the desert. But those who are less intelligent, like animal, they seek happiness here in this material world, just like the animal running after water in the desert. Maya-maricika. So these attachments, this false attachment, has to be given up. And that is possible when we engage ourself in the bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga.    (More...)