desert, mirage in

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 bhavah anyah [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 paraih [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 vinimayah. 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 mudhas. 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 this whole material creation is like that. The creator of this universe, Krsna, He says, duhkhalayam 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 vimudhan [SB 7.9.43]. The whole world is running after happiness what is not possible. Therefore they have been described as vimudhan, 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...)