The Vaiṣṇava can take the sufferings for you, but you should be sane, that "Why I shall put such and such Vaiṣṇava into suffering for my sinful activity? Let me stop this sinful activity." That is intelligent. Not that "I give the suffering portion to Christ, and let me go on committing all sinful activities." That is not . . . but that will not be. That is not a fact. Suppose one is very pet son of his father, and he commits murder, and if he thinks, "If there is any punishment my father will suffer," will it be done? Will it be done? When he is arrested, if he says, "No, you can release me. You can arrest my father, because I am very pet son of my father," so will the government will do that, that you have committed murder and your father will be arrested? No. This is quite unreasonable. You have committed murder, you must be hanged—nor your father nor your son nor your brother. This is the law. So that is the law. If you commit sinful life, then you must suffer, not anyone else. But we are thinking like that, that "Let me go on doing all nonsense, and somebody for me will suffer." No, that is not the law.
So here Parīkṣit Mahārāja does not raise such foolish question that "Who is suffering for . . ." He is suffering. One who has committed sinful life, he must suffer. That is the law. So the answer is, Śukadeva Gosvāmī,
- na ced ihaivāpacitiṁ yathāṁhasaḥ
- kṛtasya kuryāt mana-ukta-pāṇibhiḥ
- dhruvaṁ sa vai pretya narakān upaiti
- ye kīrtitā me bhavatas tigma-yātanāḥ
- (SB 6.1.7)
So Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied, "My dear king, the sinful activities must be atoned." There are three processes: karma, jñāna, bhakti. So yoga is within the jñāna. To improve our condition there are different processes. One is called karma. Just like generally people are trying to elevate his position, economic condition, working day and night very hard. Similarly, we can also work very hard for our future happiness. We can promote ourself in the heavenly planets and we can degrade ourself to the hellish planets also—both ways.