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Ocean of birth and death

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 12.6-7, Translation:

But those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Pṛthā—for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.

BG Chapters 13 - 18

One should note very carefully that one who is not active in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is losing himself in the material whirlpool, in the ocean of birth and death.
BG 18.58, Purport:

One should not falsely think himself independent of the laws of material nature or free to act. He is already under strict material laws. But as soon as he acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is liberated, free from the material perplexities. One should note very carefully that one who is not active in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is losing himself in the material whirlpool, in the ocean of birth and death. No conditioned soul actually knows what is to be done and what is not to be done, but a person who acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is free to act because everything is prompted by Kṛṣṇa from within and confirmed by the spiritual master.

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Preface and Introduction

O son of Mahārāja Nanda (Kṛṣṇa), I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms of Your lotus feet.
SB Introduction:

O son of Mahārāja Nanda (Kṛṣṇa), I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms of Your lotus feet.

SB Canto 2

The pure devotee thinks himself fallen into the ocean of birth and death and incessantly prays to the Lord to lift him up.
SB 2.4.21, Purport:

The pure devotee thinks himself fallen into the ocean of birth and death and incessantly prays to the Lord to lift him up. He only aspires to become a speck of transcendental dust at the lotus feet of the Lord. The pure devotee, by the grace of the Lord, absolutely loses all attraction for material enjoyment, and to keep free from contamination he always thinks of the lotus feet of the Lord. King Kulaśekhara, a great devotee of the Lord, prayed:

kṛṣṇa tvadīya-pada-paṅkaja-pañjarāntam
adyaiva me viśatu mānasa-rāja-haṁsaḥ
prāṇa-prayāṇa-samaye kapha-vāta-pittaiḥ
kaṇṭhāvarodhana-vidhau smaraṇaṁ kutas te
(MM 33)

"My Lord Kṛṣṇa, I pray that the swan of my mind may immediately sink down to the stems of the lotus feet of Your Lordship and be locked in their network; otherwise at the time of my final breath, when my throat is choked up with cough, how will it be possible to think of You?"

SB Canto 5

A devotee who has taken shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord can also do wonderful things unimaginable to a common man, by the grace of the dust of those lotus feet.
SB 5.1.35, Purport:

Since the Supreme Lord is all-powerful, He can do things that seem wonderful for a common man. Similarly, a devotee who has taken shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord can also do wonderful things unimaginable to a common man, by the grace of the dust of those lotus feet. Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore teaches us to take shelter of the Lord's lotus feet:

ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ
patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāṁbudhau
kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-
sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya
(Cc. Antya 20.32, Śikṣāṣṭaka 5)

"O son of Nanda Mahārāja, I am Your eternal servant, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms of Your lotus feet." Lord Caitanya teaches us to come in touch with the dust of the Lord's lotus feet, for then there will undoubtedly be all success.

Even pure (niṣkāma) devotees pray for some benediction, as instructed by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Śikṣāṣṭaka.
SB 5.18.9, Purport:

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has given us a very fine purport in this regard. Whenever one offers a prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one always requests some benediction from Him. Even pure (niṣkāma) devotees pray for some benediction, as instructed by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Śikṣāṣṭaka:

ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ
patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau
kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-
sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya
(Cc. Antya 20.32, Śikṣāṣṭaka 5)

"O son of Mahārāja Nanda (Kṛṣṇa), I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick Me up from the ocean of death and place Me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet."

SB Canto 6

A pure devotee, by devotional service, is able to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead despite many material impediments, which are all various energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 6.4.27-28, Purport:

In other words, a pure devotee, by devotional service, is able to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead despite many material impediments, which are all various energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Easily making his way through these impediments, a devotee comes directly in contact with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. After all, the material impediments described in these verses are but various energies of the Lord. When a devotee is eager to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he prays to the Lord:

ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ
patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau
kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-
sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya
(Cc. Antya 20.32, Śikṣāṣṭaka 5)

"O son of Mahārāja Nanda (Kṛṣṇa), I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet." Being pleased with the devotee, the Lord turns all his material impediments into spiritual service.

One should try to follow Bhagavad-gītā as it is.
SB 6.16.43, Purport:

One who misinterprets Bhagavad-gītā, twisting out some meaning for his sense gratification, is a non-Āryan. Therefore commentaries on Bhagavad-gītā by such persons should be immediately rejected. One should try to follow Bhagavad-gītā as it is. In Bhagavad-gītā (12.6-7) Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa says:

ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi
mayi sannyasya mat-parāḥ
ananyenaiva yogena
māṁ dhyāyanta upāsate
teṣām ahaṁ samuddhartā
mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt
bhavāmi na cirāt pārtha
mayy āveśita-cetasām

"For one who worships Me, giving up all his activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, who has fixed his mind upon Me, O son of Pṛthā, for him I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death."

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

"In conclusion, my Lord, Your lotus feet are actually the suitable boat for crossing over the ocean of birth and death, and therefore even Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva seek shelter at Your lotus feet."
SB 11.5.33, Translation:

My dear Lord, You are the Mahā-puruṣa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and I worship Your lotus feet, which are the only eternal object of meditation. Those feet destroy the embarrassing conditions of material life and freely award the greatest desire of the soul, the attainment of pure love of Godhead. My dear Lord, Your lotus feet are the shelter of all holy places and of all saintly authorities in the line of devotional service and are honored by powerful demigods like Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. My Lord, You are so kind that You willingly protect all those who simply bow down to You with respect, and thus You mercifully relieve all the distress of Your servants. In conclusion, my Lord, Your lotus feet are actually the suitable boat for crossing over the ocean of birth and death, and therefore even Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva seek shelter at Your lotus feet."

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Adi-lila

"He is the boat of the demigods for crossing the ocean of birth and death."
CC Adi 2.22, Purport:

(4) From Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.33–34 and 7.9.38):

dhyeyaṁ sadā paribhava-ghnam abhīṣṭa-dohaṁ
tīrthāspadaṁ śiva-viriñci-nutaṁ śaraṇyam
bhṛtyārti-haṁ praṇata-pāla-bhavābdhi-potaṁ
vande mahā-puruṣa te caraṇāravindam

"We offer our respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Him, the Lord, upon whom one should always meditate. He destroys insults to His devotees. He removes the distresses of His devotees and satisfies their desires. He, the abode of all holy places and the shelter of all sages, is worshipable by Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. He is the boat of the demigods for crossing the ocean of birth and death."

CC Madhya-lila

When one becomes the Lord's devotee, he is rescued from this dangerous ocean of birth and death.
CC Madhya 11.151, Purport:

One's relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead may be reestablished even after one has fallen into the ocean of nescience, which is the ocean of material existence involving the repetition of birth, death, old age and disease, all arising out of the acceptance of the material body. There are 8,400,000 species of material life, but in the human body one attains a chance to get release from the repetition of birth and death. When one becomes the Lord's devotee, he is rescued from this dangerous ocean of birth and death.

Actually the living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, and when he surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he attains release from the ocean of birth and death.
CC Madhya 11.151, Purport:

Thus every living being is struggling hard in this material nature. Actually the living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, and when he surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he attains release from the ocean of birth and death. The Lord, being very kind to fallen souls, is always anxious to get the living entity out of the ocean of nescience. If the living entity understands his position and surrenders to the Lord, his life becomes successful.

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

O son of Mahārāja Nanda (Kṛṣṇa), I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.
Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Mission:

O son of Mahārāja Nanda (Kṛṣṇa), I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

The ocean of nescience is very difficult to cross, but when the devotee attempts to cross it, the Lord Himself intervenes to help.
Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.13:

The ocean of nescience is very difficult to cross, but when the devotee attempts to cross it, the Lord Himself intervenes to help. Alone the devotee would surely drown, but with the Lord's help he easily crosses over. Thus taking shelter of the Lord is the surest way to surmount the ocean of material existence. As Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā (12.6-7)

ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi
mayi sannyasya mat-parāḥ
ananyenaiva yogena
māṁ dhyāyanta upāsate
teṣām ahaṁ samuddhartā
mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt
bhavāmi na cirāt pārtha
mayy āveśita-cetasām

"But those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Pṛthā—for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death."

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

"Somehow or other I have fallen in this ocean of birth and death. I do not know how to get out of it."
Lecture on BG 2.14 -- London, August 20, 1973:

Therefore the problem is how to get out of this bodily entanglement. I am spirit soul. Somehow or other, I have fallen in this entanglement of bodily transformation. There, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, anādi karama-phale, pori' bhavārṇava-jale, toribāre nā dekhi upāy: "Somehow or other I have fallen in this ocean of birth and death. I do not know how to get out of it." Just like if you are thrown into the ocean, however expert swimmer you may be, that is not your comfortable life. You have to swim all along, otherwise immediately drown. Similarly, as soon as you get yourself in this material world, you have to struggle for existence. You have to. If you want to stop this struggle for existence, then you must get out of this material existence. That is the problem of life.

So this is actually a great ocean of misery, bhavāmbudhiḥ. The śāstra says it is a great ocean of birth and death. Now in order to cross the ocean, you require a very nice boat, strong boat. Then you can cross over.
Lecture on BG 6.21-27 -- New York, September 9, 1966:

Samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavam. Now, this material world is compared with a great ocean, and actually it is. Those who have traveled on the sea, now they have seen Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean. This is only a spot. This earth is only a spot in this material universe. So we have got these two big oceans, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. Just imagine that within this universe, millions and millions of planets are floating. How many Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are there you can just imagine. So this is actually a great ocean of misery, bhavāmbudhiḥ. The śāstra says it is a great ocean of birth and death. So bhavāmbudhiḥ. Samāśritā ye pada... Now in order to cross the ocean, you require a very nice boat, strong boat. Then you can cross over. So we have to cross over this ocean of nescience, material. And what is that boat? That is lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. You take shelter of the boat which is Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet. Samāśritā. Take with great faith, that "I am now accepting this boat as my life, lifeboat." Then what is the result? Now, mahat-padam. Mahat-padam. Don't think that "Oh, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa's boat, or feet, is so small." No. It is mahat-padam. Mahat-padam means the whole material creation is resting on His leg. Mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

If you get the help of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then by that petal boat, this great ocean of birth and death becomes just like the water contained in the hole created by the hoof of a calf.
Lecture on SB 1.8.36 -- Los Angeles, April 28, 1973:

There is another nice verse in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: samāśritā ye pada-pallavam-plavam. Just like in the current... The currents are in the ocean. So if you get a nice boat. then you can cross over the currents very nicely. So it is recommended: samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavam. You have seen the lotus petal. That is also just like boat. Is it not? Like small boat, imitation. So if you get the help of the pada-pallavam, the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, bhavam, then by that petal boat, bhavāmbudhir, this great ocean of birth and death, vatsa-padam, it becomes just like the water contained in the hole created by the hoof of a calf. Vatsa-padam.

"Now I am Your eternal servant. Some way or other, I have fallen down in this ocean of birth and death."
Lecture on SB 3.25.41 -- Bombay, December 9, 1974:

So therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu addresses Kṛṣṇa, ayi nanda-tanuja: "O the son of Nanda Mahārāja." Ayi nanda-tanuja patitaṁ kiṅkaraṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau: "Now I am Your eternal servant. Some way or other, I have fallen down in this ocean of birth and death." Bhavāmbudhau. Bhava. Bhava means you become and again vanish. That is bhava. And that is ambudhi. Ambudhi means a sea. You do not know how long you are taking this business, accepting one body and again dying, again accepting, and... Not only here, throughout the whole universe, many planets, many species of life, this is going on.

"Somehow or other, I have fallen in this ocean of birth and death. I do not find how to get out of it." But we can get out of it very easily.
Lecture on SB 3.26.8 -- Bombay, December 20, 1974:

Therefore it is said that kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛtve kāraṇaṁ prakṛtiṁ viduḥ. One should understand the... I have got this body. This is given by material nature. I have got a different type of mentality. That is also given by prakṛti, na... I am suffering. That is also given. There is circumstances created. But prakṛti, material nature, is not responsible, nor she will suffer, but you will suffer. Just try to understand. This is the position. Kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛtve bhoktṛtve. Kartṛtve is material nature. But bhoktṛtve I am, bhoktṛtve. I am put into that. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings, anādi karama-phale, paḍi' bhavārṇava-jale: "Somehow or other, I have fallen in this ocean of birth and death." Taribāre nā dekhi upāy: "I do not find how to get out of it." But we can get out of it very easily. That is advised by Kṛṣṇa: mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). Otherwise you cannot.

That mahat-tattva is resting within the dust of the lotus feet of mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ. So if one takes shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then this bhava-samudra, the vast ocean of birth and death...
Lecture on SB 5.5.35 -- Vrndavana, November 22, 1976:

So Bhagavān's another name is mahat-pada. Mahat-pada means whatever wonderful things are there, that is resting at His lotus feet. Samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ. Samāśritā, if you take shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, bhagavān, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam: (SB 1.3.28) Kṛṣṇa is the origin of all manifestation of Bhagavān, Viṣṇu-tattva. Kṛṣṇa is the origin of Viṣṇu-tattva. Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ (BG 10.8). Viṣṇu-tattva is also originated from Kṛṣṇa. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. He's the ādi-puruṣa. And Kṛṣṇa was accepted in the Bhagavad-gītā, puruṣam ādyam. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma (BG 10.12). So everything is there in Kṛṣṇa. Samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ. All this manifestation of cosmic creation, that is from the mahat-tattva. That mahat-tattva is resting within the dust of the lotus feet of mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ. So if one takes shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then this bhava-samudra, the vast ocean of birth and death...

If we take shelter of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, then He will take charge to deliver you from this mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgara. This material world is compared with a great ocean of birth and death. He will take you away.
Lecture on SB 7.9.46 -- Vrndavana, April 1, 1976:

Because in the material world everything is bad. The so-called good is bad, and bad is bad. Therefore we have to search out how to get out, āpavarga. This is there, how to make these material activities null and void. They are useless. That is the recommendation of Prahlāda Mahārāja, and that can be done directly simply by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious. It is not Prahlāda Mahārāja's own word, but Kṛṣṇa says.

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi...
(BG 18.66)

Kṛṣṇa takes charge that "You haven't got to suffer anymore. You simply surrender unto Me and I shall take charge of..." Teṣām anugrahārthaṁ mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarat. If we take shelter of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, then He will take charge to deliver you from this mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgara. This material world is compared with a great ocean of birth and death. Mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarat samuddhartya. He will take you away.

Festival Lectures

Every step there is danger. But if we take shelter of the lotus feet of Murāri, under whose lotus feet the whole mahat-tattva, cosmic manifestation, is resting, then this big ocean of birth and death, we can cross very easily.
Janmastami Lord Sri Krsna's Appearance Day -- Bhagavad-gita 7.5 Lecture -- Vrndavana, August 11, 1974:

We should seek protection of Kṛṣṇa. This world is so dangerous. It is said, padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadām. Every step there is danger. But if we take shelter, samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ, if we take shelter of the lotus feet of Murāri, under whose lotus feet the whole mahat-tattva, cosmic manifestation, is resting, then this big ocean of birth and death, we can cross very easily. Vatsa-padam. Vatsa-padam means the impression by the hoof of a calf and the water contained in it. The whole ocean becomes like a spot, a small spot, created by the impression of the hoof. That is called vatsa-padam.

Purports to Songs

And it is also requested that "We are just like in the ocean of birth and death." This material cosmic situation is sometimes explained as the ocean.
Purport to Bhajahu Re Mana -- New York, March 30, 1966:

Saints and sages. Yes. "So you should not make association with anybody else, but you make your association only with saints and sages and make your, this valuable human form of life successful. Don't waste your time. You worship Lord Kṛṣṇa with the help of the saints and sages and make your life successful." That he is requesting. "Don't drive in this irresponsible way to put me into the ocean." And it is also requested that "We are just like in the ocean of birth and death." This material cosmic situation is sometimes explained as the ocean, and these planets, they are explained as islands. And actually, they are islands in the air. Just like we have got islands in the sea and ocean, similarly, these planets are islands in the air, air islands, so many planets.

This is concentration, requesting the mind, "Don't put me into the ocean of birth and death. Please save me, and just make your life successful in the association of saints and sages. That is my request."
Purport to Bhajahu Re Mana -- New York, March 30, 1966:

Due to our this abnormal encagement in the material body, we are put into the birth and death. Otherwise, I am not subjected to birth and death. I am eternal. I am eternal. So he is requested that "Don't waste your time, my dear mind." Because mind is taking me here and there. So he's requesting mind. It is very philosophical. This is concentration, requesting the mind, "Don't put me into the ocean of birth and death. Please save me, and just make your life successful in the association of saints and sages. That is my request." Bhajahū re mana śrī-nanda-nandana. So worship, worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa or the Supreme Lord, and, at the same time, association of saints and sages, that makes our life successful. Association of good persons and, at the same time, simultaneously, devotional service to the Lord. These two things combinedly can make our life successful.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

From this ocean of birth and death, if one wants to be saved, he must come to Kṛṣṇa, not to the dog's tail.
Morning Walk -- November 7, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No. Samuddhartā mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt. And explain the Bhagavad-gītā śloka. Mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt. From this ocean of birth and death, if one wants to be saved, he must come to Kṛṣṇa, not to the dog's tail.

Dr. Patel: Come to the ship of Kṛṣṇa. That is what we are deciding.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Page Title:Ocean of birth and death
Compiler:Sharmila, Labangalatika
Created:10 of Dec, 2008
Totals by Section:BG=2, SB=7, CC=3, OB=2, Lec=10, Con=1, Let=0
No. of Quotes:25