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Material engagement means

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Nectar of Devotion

Material engagement means accepting a particular status for some time and then changing it.
Nectar of Devotion Preface: Mundane workers labor very hard day and night in order to relish a certain kind of rasa which is understood as sense gratification. The relish or taste of the mundane rasa does not long endure, and therefore mundane workers are always apt to change their position of enjoyment. A businessman is not satisfied by working the whole week; therefore, wanting a change for the weekend, he goes to a place where he tries to forget his business activities. Then, after the weekend is spent in forgetfulness, he again changes his position and resumes his actual business activities. Material engagement means accepting a particular status for some time and then changing it. This position of changing back and forth is technically known as bhoga-tyāga, which means a position of alternating sense enjoyment and renunciation. A living entity cannot steadily remain either in sense enjoyment or in renunciation. Change is going on perpetually, and we cannot be happy in either state, because of our eternal constitutional position. Sense gratification does not endure for long, and it is therefore called capala-sukha, or flickering happiness.

Lectures

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

Bhoga-tyāga. Bhoga and tyāga.
The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, December 26, 1972:

Pradyumna: A business man is not satisfied by working the whole week; therefore wanting a change for the weekend, he goes to a place where he tries to forget his business activities. Then, after the weekend is spent in forgetfulness, he again changes his position and resumes his actual business activities. Material engagement means accepting a particular status for some time and then changing it. This position of changing back and forth is technically known as bhoga-tyāga, which means..."

Prabhupāda: Bhoga-tyāga. Bhoga and tyāga. Go on.

Pradyumna: "...which means a position of alternating sense enjoyment and renunciation."

Prabhupāda: Yes, their position is sense enjoyment. If, by bhoga, they are not satisfied, then tyāga. Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. Give it, give it up. Again, by tyāga, when he does not find any sense pleasure, then again comes back: All right, come to social service, open hospital, open the school. Why are you coming again? You have given it up, tyāga, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. Why you are coming to mithyā again, to open school? That, that is going on. That is going on. Sometimes this is brahma... Jagan mithyā, everything is mithyā, and Brahman is satya. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. But when they cannot get Brahman, cannot realize Brahman, then again come to this bhoga. Bhoga. Pendulum. Bhoga, tyāga, bhoga, tyāga, bhoga, tyāga. You know that pendulum works: (makes noise) kaut kaut kaut kaut. Bhoga, tyāga, bhoga, tyāga. So Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān pari... You have to give up this bhoga dharma and tyāga dharma. Sarva-dharmān parityajya [Bg. 18.66]. You are now engaged in two kinds of dharma. Somebody, karmīs, they are bhoga, bhoga dharmī. They want to enjoy. And tyāgī, they want to renounce this bhoga. So both of these will not help you. Bhoga-tyāga. Then what? Sevā. You have to take the dharma of sevā. That is bhakti. Kṛṣṇa-sevā.
The material world, because everything is temporary, so sometimes when we are fed up with material activities, we stop to do it and become a renouncer.
The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 17, 1972:

Pradyumna: A businessman is not satisfied by working the whole week. Therefore, wanting a change for the weekend, he goes to a place where he tries to forget his business activities. Then, after the weekend is spent in forgetfulness, he again changes his position and resumes his actual business activities. Material engagement means accepting a particular status for some time and then changing it. This position of changing back and forth is technically known as bhoga-tyāga, which means a position of alternating sense enjoyment and renunciation."

Prabhupāda: The material world, because everything is temporary, so sometimes when we are fed up with material activities, we stop to do it and become a renouncer. Bhoga-tyāga. "Grapes are sour." You know the story. A jackal entered into a vine orchard, and it was very high. It began to jump to get the grapes, but when he failed, he said, "Oh, these grapes are sour. It is nonsense." (laughter) The karmīs are like that, that they work very hard, but they cannot relish any permanent happiness. That is not possible. Therefore they give up. Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. They give up these worldly activities as false. Jagan mithyā. But they do not relish anything. Actually they do not relish what is Brahma-sukha. Therefore again they fall down. Many... The jñānī sannyāsīs, they give up this world as jagat mithyā, "This world is false." They take sannyāsa. Then, after working for some time, they again take to political activities, philanthropic activities. They see that "The people are suffering for want of education, for want of food. So let me engage in providing food, shelter, education." But this education, food problem is there in the material world. The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, if they think that this world is false, why he is agitated by the sufferings of the world? It is false. But the thing is that in the spiritual field, because they have no engagement, advanced engagement...
Page Title:Material engagement means
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:18 of Dec, 2008
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=1, Lec=2, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:3