The learned brāhmaṇas, expert in Vedic ritualistic performances, were properly regretful, because if one does not develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all discharge of religious duties is simply a waste of time and energy. They continued to talk among themselves: "The external energy of Kṛṣṇa is so strong that it can create illusion to overcome even the greatest mystic yogī. Although we expert brāhmaṇas are considered to be the teachers of all other sections of human society, we also have been illusioned by the external energy. Just see how fortunate these women are! They have so devotedly dedicated their lives to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, that they could easily do what is ordinarily so difficult: they gave up their family connections, which are just like a dark well for the continuation of material miseries." Women in general, being very simple at heart, can very easily take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and when they develop love of Kṛṣṇa they can easily get liberation from the clutches of māyā, which are very difficult for even so-called intelligent and learned men to surpass.
Continuation of material existence
Expressions researched:
"continuation of birth and death"
|"continuation of birth, death"
|"continuation of material bondage"
|"continuation of material existence"
|"continuation of material miseries"
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
Because the Lord is the absolute Transcendence, all of His forms, names, pastimes, attributes, associates and energies are identical with Him. His transcendental energy acts according to His omnipotency. The same energy acts as His external, internal and marginal energies, and by His omnipotency He can perform anything and everything through the agency of any of the above energies. He can turn the external energy into internal by His will. Therefore by His grace the external energy, which is employed in illusioning those living beings who want to have it, subsides by the will of the Lord in terms of repentance and penance for the conditioned soul. And the very same energy then acts to help the purified living being make progress on the path of self-realization. The example of electrical energy is very appropriate in this connection. The expert electrician can utilize the electrical energy for both heating and cooling by adjustment only. Similarly, the external energy, which now bewilders the living being into continuation of birth and death, is turned into internal potency by the will of the Lord to lead the living being to eternal life. When a living being is thus graced by the Lord, he is placed in his proper constitutional position to enjoy eternal spiritual life.
SB Canto 3
There are different kinds of mystic yoga systems aiming for different phases of the Absolute Truth. The jñāna-yoga system aims at the impersonal Brahman effulgence, and the haṭha-yoga system aims at the localized personal aspect, the Paramātmā feature of the Absolute Truth, whereas bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, which is executed in nine different ways, headed by hearing and chanting, aims at complete realization of the Supreme Lord. There are different methods of self-realization. But here Devahūti especially refers to the bhakti-yoga system, which has already been primarily explained by the Lord. The different parts of the bhakti-yoga system are hearing, chanting, remembering, offering prayers, worshiping the Lord in the temple, accepting service to Him, carrying out His orders, making friendship with Him and ultimately surrendering everything for the service of the Lord. The word nirvāṇātman is very significant in this verse. Unless one accepts the process of devotional service, one cannot end the continuation of material existence. As far as jñānīs are concerned, they are interested in jñāna-yoga, but even if one elevates oneself, after a great performance of austerity, to the Brahman effulgence, there is a chance of falling down again to the material world. Therefore, jñāna-yoga does not actually end material existence. Similarly, regarding the haṭha-yoga system, which aims at the localized aspect of the Lord, Paramātmā, it has been experienced that many yogīs, such as Viśvāmitra, fall down. But bhakti-yogīs, once approaching the Supreme Personality of Godhead, never come back to this material world
Once one enters into the continuation of material existence, it is very difficult to get out. Therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes Himself or sends His bona fide representative, and He leaves behind scriptures like Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, so that the living entities hovering in the darkness of nescience may take advantage of the instructions, the saintly persons and the spiritual masters and thus be freed. Unless the living entity receives the mercy of the saintly persons, the spiritual master or Kṛṣṇa, it is not possible for him to get out of the darkness of material existence; by his own endeavor it is not possible.
SB Canto 5
Transmigration among the 8,400,000 species is due to the mind's being polluted by certain material qualities. Due to the mind, the soul is subjected to pious and impious activities. The continuation of material existence is like the waves of material nature. In this regard. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, māyāra vaśe, yāccha bhese', khāccha hābuḍubu, bhāi: "My dear brother, the spirit soul is completely under the control of māyā, and you are being carried away by its waves." This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā:
- prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
- guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
- ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
- kartāham iti manyate
"The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature." (BG 3.27) Material existence means being fully controlled by material nature. The mind is the center for accepting the dictations of material nature. In this way the living entity is carried away in different types of bodies continuously, millennium after millennium.
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
A man attached to the body accumulates money with great struggle to expand and protect the position of his wife, children, property, domestic animals, servants, homes, relatives, friends, and so on. He does all this for the gratification of his own body. As a tree before dying produces the seed of a future tree, the dying body manifests the seed of one's next material body in the form of one's accumulated karma. Thus assuring the continuation of material existence, the material body sinks down and dies.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
"My dear chaste and pious wife, I have tested, on the basis of strict chastity, your love for your husband, and you have passed the examination most successfully. I have purposely agitated you by speaking many words not applicable to your character, but I am surprised to see that not a pinch of your devotion to Me has been deviated from its fixed position. My dear wife, I am the bestower of all benedictions, even up to the standard of liberation from this material world, and it is I only who can stop the continuation of material existence and call one back home, back to Godhead. One whose devotion for Me is adulterated worships Me for some material benefit, just to keep himself in the world of material happiness, culminating in the pleasure of sex life. One who engages himself in severe penances and austerities just to attain this material happiness is certainly under the illusion of My external energy. Persons who are engaged in My devotional service simply for the purpose of material gain and sense gratification are certainly very foolish, for material happiness based on sex life is available in the most abominable species of life, such as the hogs and dogs. No one should try to approach Me for such happiness, which is available even if one is put into a hellish condition of life. It is better, therefore, for persons who are simply after material happiness and not after Me to remain in that hellish condition."
Light of the Bhagavata
This ultimate gain is possible to achieve in the human form of life. Permanent happiness is possible when one is free from material sources of happiness, for continuation of material bondage means continuation of the threefold miseries. Human life is meant for ending these miseries.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Everything is there, Kṛṣṇa is always with you. If you want to go back to home, back to Godhead, then Kṛṣṇa is ready to give you all instruction. "Yes, yena mām upayānti te." He gives instruction, "Yes, you do like this. Then you will finished, your, this material business, and after giving up this body, you'll come to Me." But if you want to continue this material existence, then vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya (BG 2.22), you have to accept one body; and when it is no more usable, then you have to give up this body and accept another body. This is continuation of material existence. But if you want to end it, if you are actually disgusted with this kind of business, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19), take birth once, again die, again take. But we are so shameless and so rubbish that we are not very much disgusted with this business.
General Lectures
Human life is meant for tapasya. That is not possible by the hogs and dogs. Tapasya, austerities. By austerities, by tapasya we can purify our existence. You are existing at the present moment because we are changing body, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralī... Therefore it is polluted existence. This is not pure existence. Pure existence is eternal life, blissfulness and knowledge, full of knowledge. That is pure life. So the human life is meant for purifying our existence. Stop this continuation of birth, death, old age and disease and live eternally blissful life of knowledge. That is the business of human life. But people do not take this fact very seriously. They have become so dull-headed. Now there is freedom from this continuation of birth, death, old age and disease, they cannot believe it. They cannot consider it. They think, "Ah, it is going on." So the modern civilization is quite different from the Vedic civilization. Vedic civilization means to make a solution of this problem: stop this process of birth, death, old age and disease. That is Vedic civilization. That is human civilization. And to become better hog, nicely dressed hog, that is not Vedic civilization. That is hog civilization.
| Page Title: | Continuation of material existence |
| Compiler: | Matea, Alakananda |
| Created: | 06 of Nov, 2009 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=5, CC=0, OB=3, Lec=2, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 10 |