Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). You are trying to be unaffected by all kinds of sickness, but your real sickness is this material disease: you take birth, you die, you become old and you suffer from diseases. This is your real sickness. But who is caring for this? Where is the scientist who are investigating how to stop death, how to stop birth? They are, of course, investigating how to stop birth, but still, birth is going on. This sort of stopping birthdays, by killing the body, is not stopping, because the body is not the person. The real person is within the body. Within the body. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). We have explained. That they do not know. They are taking. . . No. By killing the body or by protecting the body, that is not the solution. The solution is that the living entity has infected itself with the material disease. It has to be cured. That is the whole purpose of Vedic civilization, how to cure your material disease.
So this cure of material disease have been described—we are discussing—first by atonement. So Parīkṣit Mahārāja did not like it very much because he saw, the atonement is like bathing of the elephant. By atonement we may be free from the infection, but again we do it. Karmaṇā. Then again. . . That is called karma-kāṇḍa, fruitive activities. Because the bīja, the seed of my sinful desires, that is not cured. For the time being. . . Just like go to the doctor. You are suffering from a severe disease, and he gives some medicine, takes his fees. That is my atonement, prāyaścitta. But it is no guarantee that I will not fall disease again. So this atonement like that. Many patients, they are suffering from some chronic disease, some venereal disease. They go to the doctor and they give injection, very costly medicine and so much suffering, but as soon as he cured, again he does the same thing so that he is attacked with venereal disease. So this is not very effective way of becoming. . .
Then it was suggested that people, because they are in darkness, āsuras, they do not know how to become immune from all diseases, therefore prāyaścittaṁ vimarśanam, he suggested, Śukadeva. Vimarśanam: he must be sober, that "I am suffering from some disease, and I am heavily paying the penalty to the doctor, and still I am doing the same thing?" So therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī suggested, prāyaścittaṁ vimarśanam. Vimarśanam means to become sober and think that "Why I cannot check my desire to do sinful activities?" Then he suggested to come to that understanding he requires good brain. Ordinary brain, they cannot understand that "Why I am forced to act sinfully, although after doing that I suffer? I have committed theft. I am suffer. . . I go to jail. Again I come out." So therefore it is called vimarśanam. So for vimarśanam—means to become sober—you require practicing the tapasya. That is also, we have discussed.
- tapasā brahmacaryeṇa
- śamena ca damena ca
- tyāgena satya-śaucābhyāṁ
- yamena niyamena vā
- (SB 6.1.13)
A series of practice. Then the brain will be clear. So this process also, not very safe. The example has been given that kṣipanty aghaṁ mahad api veṇu-gulmam ivānalaḥ (SB 6.1.14). It is something like burning, setting fire into the dry grass. And superficially it appears that all the grasses are now burned into ashes; there is no possibility of coming out. No. Therefore this very word is there, iva analaḥ. Although superficially, outside, it appears that everything is burned, but the root remains there. The root remains there, and as soon as there will be facility or there will be rainy season, the same grasses and twigs and other things will come out again, new growth. That is. . . Even after so much tapasya. . . There are many instances. Just like Viśvāmitra Muni. Viśvāmitra Muni was a king. He wanted to become a brāhmaṇa, and he practiced mystic yoga for many years. Still, he became a victim of a woman, Menakā. He was meditating, closing eyes, and Indra sent this woman, Menakā. And simply by hearing the sound of the bangles, ching-ching-ching, "Oh, there is woman. Yes, very nice," (laughter) all mystic yoga finished. Then he begot one daughter. That. . . her name is Śakuntalā, the famous beautiful daughter. So that history is there.
So the root of our material enjoyment cannot be taken away, cannot be uprooted by. . . The first process is called karma, and the second process is called jñāna, and the next, it is suggested, bhakti. So he is suggesting that kecit. People are more inclined to take to the. . . Those who are absolutely in the rotten condition of life, not for them, but those who are little above the rotten condition. . . Animals. Rotten condition of, means like animals, cats and dogs. Above them, human life, they take to pious activities or meditation or mystic yoga process, just to purify. So these processes are not sufficient. Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī is suggesting next, kecit. That kecit word is very significant. Kecit means somebody. Somebody. Who are the somebody? Kecit kevalayā bhaktyā (SB 6.1.15), pure devotional service. And how they become? Vāsudeva-parāyaṇāḥ. They become Kṛṣṇa conscious.