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Maya inflicts the miseries of material life upon the jiva. If a person artificially tries to be something he is not, then he can expect only misery

Expressions researched:
"maya inflicts the miseries of material life upon the jiva. If a person artificially tries to be something he is not, then he can expect only misery"

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Lord Caitanya further explains that when the jīva forgets his eternal position as a servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he becomes eternally conditioned and illusioned. Thus māyā inflicts the miseries of material life upon the jīva. If a person artificially tries to be something he is not, then he can expect only misery.
Renunciation Through Wisdom 3.4:

The profound esoteric conclusions Lord Caitanya revealed in a few aphorisms of instruction to Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī are only partially discussed in all the works of Śrī Aurobindo. In language full of complex syntax and obscure terms, Śrī Aurobindo tries to express the knowledge that is easily available through the practice of vaidhi-bhakti, devotional service rendered according to regulations given by the authorized spiritual master and the scriptures. Because of his high-flown literary style, and for other technical reasons, Śrī Aurobindo's writings are not easily understood by the ordinary reading public, and so his literature is, in a sense, ineffectual.

Lord Caitanya discusses in detail the jīva's eternal constitutional position as Lord Kṛṣṇa's servant, and how the jīva is put into illusion, or māyā, when he tries to be the supreme enjoyer. Lord Caitanya further explains that when the jīva forgets his eternal position as a servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he becomes eternally conditioned and illusioned. Thus māyā inflicts the miseries of material life upon the jīva. If a person artificially tries to be something he is not, then he can expect only misery. In this regard we recall a short story we read as a child in school that tells of a crow who tried to become a peacock. The creator and master of this universe is its rightful owner as well. Thus He is the sole enjoyer of everything. But if one among the creator's many servants tries to usurp His position and play the role of the Lord and enjoyer, how can he expect anything but suffering?

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.87.30), one of the four Kumāras, Sanandana, recites to an assembly of sages in Janaloka the prayers the personified Vedas previously recited to the Supreme Lord. One of the prayers is as follows:

aparimitā dhruvās tanu-bhṛto yadi sarva-gatās
tarhi na śāsyateti niyamo dhruva netarathā
ajani ca yan-mayaṁ tad avimucya niyantṛ bhavet
samam anujānatāṁ yad amataṁ mata-duṣṭatayā

If the countless living entities were all-pervading and possessed forms that never changed, You could not possibly be their absolute ruler, O immutable one. But since they are Your localized expansions and their forms are subject to change, You do control them. Indeed, that which supplies the ingredients for the generation of something is necessarily its controller because a product never exists apart from its ingredient cause. It is simply illusion for someone to think that he knows the Supreme Lord, who is equally present in each of His expansions, since whatever knowledge one gains by material means must be imperfect.

Page Title:Maya inflicts the miseries of material life upon the jiva. If a person artificially tries to be something he is not, then he can expect only misery
Compiler:Mayapur
Created:02 of Aug, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=1, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1