We have become so much dull or foolish that we do not know what is bhayaṁ tīvram. Tīvram means very fierce, and bhayam, fierce fearfulness, very strong. And we are entangled in this very strong fearfulness, but we have become so dull by the spell of māyā that we don't care for it. Just imagine: At the time of death there are so many troubles, very fierceful. Sometimes a person is dying, he is attacked with coma, and he is lying unconscious. Big, big politicians, Mr. Such-and-such, prime minister, and this and that, but he is lying unconscious in coma for seven days. And we do not know, but he is going very fierceful test. He is dreaming so many things that sometimes he is crying. He cannot express. Especially those who are very sinful, they die in that way. So this is not finished. Then, after death, you have to enter in the womb of the mother. That is another fierceful stage. You become packed up in a bag, and the bag is filled up or surrounded by stool, urine, worms. And you have to remain there, airtight packed, for ten months.
This is actual fact. We have forgotten. Therefore we are not afraid of. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that your real trouble is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). You have to accept your birth within the womb of your mother in a packed-up condition, body developing. The germs, the worms within the urine, stool, biting very delicate skin. You cannot make any adjustment, simply moving. And if one is little pious, he can pray to God, "Please get me relief from this condition. Now I shall worship You." This is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, this consciousness. There is consciousness. After seven months, there is consciousness. Then, some way or other, you get out of the womb of your mother. Then there are so many troubles—crying. The child is crying, crying, almost dependent on mother's mercy. The mother sometime cannot understand what the child wants. Some ant is biting, and mother is thinking that she is hungry. But actually it is not hungry, but it cannot say that, "One ant is biting on my back," and he is crying. There are worms, there are mosquitoes and there are bugs, and lying in the stool, in urine. Cannot say.
So these things you have to pass. And again disease, again old age, and again death and again birth. This is bhayaṁ tīvram. But the . . . we have become . . . by the spell of māyā, by illusion, we are thinking, "Now we are making very much progress." What progress you have made? Have you stopped birth, death, old age and disease? These troubles are awaiting. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam. You should always think that "I am waiting for the miserable condition." It is already miserable condition. Even in living time there are threefold miseries. Even you sit down peacefully, then the mosquito will bite you, bugs will bite you, and you will get some letter from some enemy. So even if you cannot sit down peacefully . . . if you think, "Now I am sitting at my home very peacefully"—so many things will disturb you one after another. That is called tīvram, bhayaṁ tīvram.
But we are so bold that we are not afraid of it. That is foolishness. If we become overbold, "I don't care for these things," that is foolishness. Mūḍha. Therefore they are called mūḍhas. There are . . . he is awaiting so many troubles in birth, death, old age and disease. Therefore, the atheist class, they want to forget this. They think that there is no life after death. Just like I have given several times the example: the rabbit, when there is some enemy—it will immediately kill him—and he closes the eyes so that there is no enemy. So similarly, we are . . . we have become so foolish about this birth, cycle of birth and death, and we do not ever think that how to get out of this birth and death and threefold misery of this material world. That means the whole subject matter of suffering is this material body. Because we are accepting this body, therefore there are so many troubles. Therefore the solution is how to stop this acceptance of material body again and again. That is intelligence. That is intelligence.
That you cannot get by material adjustment, by your so-called scientific education, advancement of civilization. It is not possible. Therefore here it is said, nānyatra mad bhagavataḥ pradhāna-puruṣeśvarāt: "Without coming under My shelter, there is no possibility." There is no possibility. Therefore Kṛṣṇa, out of compassion, He comes when we completely become dull and rascal, we forget the sufferings of this material life, and we think that we are very nicely situated. "I have got so much bank balance, and I will live very happily. I have got so nice wife and so many children. Now my problem is solved." (chuckling) No, sir, your problem is not solved. Real problem is not solved. This temporary, you may have some facilities. This is called māyā. Māyayāpahṛta-jñāna. The real business of human life is to, as we have several times discussed, is to discuss about the problems of life and inquire about the Brahman. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. That is real business of life.
But we are not interested. Mūḍha. We are thinking that, "We are very happy. Now things will go on like this. I will never die." Śeṣāḥ sthāvaram icchanti kim āścaryam ataḥ param. Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja was asked by Dharmarāja, "What is the most wonderful thing in this world?" He replied, "This is the most wonderful thing." What is that? Now:
- ahany ahani lokāni
- gacchantīha yamālayam
- śeṣāḥ sthāvaram icchanti
- kim āścaryam ataḥ param
- (Mahābhārata, Vana-parva 313.116)
"Every minute, every second, they are going to Yamarāja; means dying. But those who are living, they are thinking, 'This death will not happen to me. He is simply dying. My friend is dying. My father is dying. That's all right. But I am eternal. I will not die.' " He thinks like that. Otherwise you should have been prepared, "Oh, I will have to die. Then what is the after death?"
So the atheist class, they try to forget, that "After death, there is no life." This is atheism. There is life, sir. Kṛṣṇa says, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). How you can say there is no life? There is life, but you do not know. Kṛṣṇa says that after this human life . . . He does not say that you get such-and-such life. He simply says, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ: "You will get another body." Now, He does not say what kind of body. The question should be, "All right, then what kind of body I am going to get?" That depends on your work. You can see in your front, there are so many dogs. They are barking day and night. They have no food. They have no shelter. And anyone sees, he beats him with a stick or some stone. There is no shelter, no food. You can get a life like that also. You can get a life like a tree, standing before you for five hundred years. Or you can get a life even like a demigod if you are pious.