Prahlad Maharaj

As a young boy, Sri Prahlad Maharaj spoke these words of wisdom taught to him by Maharsi Narada Muni:

1. The real problem of life is the repetition of birth and death, which is like a wheel rolling repeatedly up and down.

2. And this wheel completely stops when one is in touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

3. One's riches, beautiful wife/ husband, friends, one's sons and daughters, one's residence, one's domestic animals, one's treasury, economic development and sense gratification — indeed, even the lifetime in which one can enjoy all these material opulences — are certainly temporary and flickering. Since the opportunity of human life is temporary, what benefit can these material opulences give to a sensible man who has understood himself to be eternal?

4. A materialistic person, thinking himself very advanced in intelligence, continually acts for economic development. But again and again, as enunciated in the Vedas, he is frustrated by material activities, either in this life or in the next. Indeed, the results one obtains are inevitably the opposite of those one desires.

5. Since the body itself is ultimately meant to become stool or earth, what is the meaning of the paraphernalia related to the body, such as wives, husbands, residences, wealth, children, relatives, servants, friends, kingdoms, treasuries, animals and ministers? They are also temporary. What more can be said about this?

6. All this paraphernalia is very near and dear as long as the body exists, but as soon as the body is destroyed, all things related to the body are also finished. Therefore, actually one has nothing to do with them, but because of ignorance one accepts them as valuable. Compared to the ocean of eternal happiness, they are most insignificant. What is the use of such insignificant relationships for the eternal living being?

In the Bhagavad Gita Krsna says:

Na maam dushkritinoh mudhah
Prapadyante naraadhama
Maayayaa pahruta jnana
Aasuram bhaavam ashritah

"Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me." Because of ignorance and misfortune, the atheists and the narādhamas, the lowest of men, do not surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore although the Supreme Lord, Krsna, is full in Himself, He appears in different yugas to demand the surrender of the conditioned souls so that they will benefit by becoming free from the material clutches. In conclusion, the more we engage in Krsna consciousness and render service unto the Lord, the more WE benefit. Krsna does not need service from any of us.

Srila Prabhupada says in his purport: This material world is miserable, regardless of one's standard of life. Of this there is no doubt. Attempts to mitigate the miseries of material existence by material methods will never be successful. One must take to Krsna consciousness to become really happy; otherwise happiness is impossible. One might say that becoming advanced in spiritual life also involves tapasya, voluntary acceptance of some inconvenience. However, such inconvenience is not as dangerous as the material attempts to mitigate all miseries.