In this material world we are making so many plans for permanent settlement, but unfortunately, we are meeting with just the opposite result. That is in our experience. There is very nice song sung by a Vaisnava poet. He says, sukhere lagiya e baro bhaginu anale puria ghare (?). "I constructed this house for living happily. Unfortunately, it was set in fire, so everything is finished." That is going on. In the material world we are making so many plans for living very comfortably, peacefully, eternally. But that is not possible. People do not understand it. They are seeing, experiencing from sastra, from scripture we are getting instruction, that nothing is imperishable. Everything is perishable in the material world, and we are actually seeing also that perishable agents are always ready. Just like the fire. In New York City, at least, within twenty-four hours, there are at least ten or fifteen places where fire is going on. And your fire brigade is running on just trying to protect you from fire. The house regulation is all for fire, "How we are protected from fire." Then it will be allowed, certificate of occupation, "You can live." In other words, that fire is always ready to vanish everything, but artificially, somehow or other, we are trying to protect ourself from fire. But we do not take it for granted that this material nature is so made that it will set in fire everything, however we may be strong in protecting ourself. That is the nature. So however we may make plans to live very happily, the nature's law is that it will destroy.

So this material nature is very powerful. You cannot protect from the onslaught of material nature. Therefore Prahlada Maharaja advising us that you try to achieve the permanent. The permanent is the soul. God is permanent. And there is a world, a sky, which is also permanent. So why not transfer yourself to that permanent sky, permanent association, permanent life, permanent supreme knowledge? What we are seeking here in imperfectness? But people have no information. Some of them, they do not believe in it. Some of them are callous. This is our unfortunate condition. But it is neither false nor it is fiction. It is actual fact, truth, real truth, Absolute Truth. Param satyam dhimahi. Srimad-Bhagavata presents the objective as the Supreme Truth, param satyam. Param satyam dhimahi: "I offer my obeisances to the Absolute Truth, param satyam." And what is that param satyam? Nirasta-kuhakam. Nirasta-kuhakam means "which is devoid of all illusion." Here everything is full of illusion. I am thinking, planning something, and at any moment, oh, it is all vanished, all finished.

Now everything we are planning, sukhaya, for matter of happiness, and duhkha-moksaya, and to get rid of all miseries. This is our plan. Sukhaya duhkha-moksaya sankalpah, our determination; iha, in this world; karminah, those who are working. That determination is to make life happy and avoid distress. That is the plan. Sadapnotihaya. But that is simply plan-making within our mind. Actually, it is never achieved. It is never achieved.

Now we are desiring so many things, kaman kamyair kamayate. Kaman means desirable, and kamayate, we hanker after such desirables, kamyaih, being too much eager, greedy, for fulfilling those objects. Yad-artham iha purusah sa vai dehas tu. And what is that kama? What are those desirables? The desirables are simply for making this body perfect. Not perfectcomfortable. Perfect it cannot be, but as far as possible... We are manufacturing nice cushions for sitting comfortably, nice bedroom, buy nice motorcars, and... Everything for this body. The ultimate aim is to make this body comfortable. That's all. But Prahlada Maharaja says that the body itself, dehah, sa vai dehas tu parakyo bhanguro. Either you make your position secure and comfortable in this life or next life... Next life means there are many religious rituals which assures in your next life very comfortable life, very, I mean to say, long duration of life in other planets. So either you make arrangement in this life or in the next life, in the material world, if you make your next life in the spiritual world, then that is a different question. But so far we are materially concerned, either we make comfortable life in this life or in the next. But the body itself is ksana-bhangurah, it is perishable. It is perishable. Sa vai dehas tu parakyo bhanguro yaty upaiti.

They were all sons of big chieftains and ministers, and he was himself the son of the king, Hiranyakasipu. Therefore he was speaking from his own standard. He says that kim u vyavahitapatya-daragara-dhanadayah. Apatya means we are expanding. We are single. Now we are expanding by our children, apatya. And dara means wife. The Sanskrit word stri... Stri means woman, and the root meaning of stri means "which expands." As soon as you have got wife, you expand yourself. You are one, and as soon as you get your wife, you become three, four, five. So stri means that helps me expanding. That is the root meaning. So Prahlada Maharaja says that what is the use by expanding your attachment to this material world by children? Apatya-dara. Daragara. Dara means wife, and agara means house. Daragara-dhanadayah. Dhanadayah means riches. These are our expanding processes. And rajya, kingdom. Rajya. Kosa. Kosa means treasury. These are concerned with government. Government wants to expand. Rajya, kosa, and gaja. Gaja means elephant. The royal orders, they keep elephants. Especially in India, those who are princely order, they must keep at least dozens of elephants, and many thousands of horses. That is royal opulence. So rajya-kosa-gajamatya. Amatya means minister, and bhrtya, bhrtya means servants, and apta mean friends. That means, in other words, Prahlada Maharaja says that there is no necessity of expanding these material opulences. (end)