Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.
This is in continuation of the notes taken during the nectarean class given by our beloved spiritual master His Holiness Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj on Srimad Bhagavatam verse 5.10.10, in London on October 28, 2007.
sthaulyaṁ kārśyaṁ vyādhaya ādhayaś ca
kṣut tṛḍ bhayaṁ kalir icchā jarā ca
nidrā ratir manyur ahaṁ madaḥ śuco
dehena jātasya hi me na santi
Fatness, thinness, bodily and mental distress, thirst, hunger, fear, disagreement, desires for material happiness, old age, sleep, attachment for material possessions, anger, lamentation, illusion and identification of the body with the self are all transformations of the material covering of the spirit soul. A person absorbed in the material bodily conception is affected by these things, but I am free from all bodily conceptions. Consequently I am neither fat nor skinny nor anything else you have mentioned.
In the previous offering we heard from Maharaj that if we pamper the body, we completely lose the spiritual concept of life. Continuing the discourse on Bhagavatam's instructions, Srila Gurudeva emphasised that we must be alert to avoid the bodily concept in all spheres of life. Maharaja said, "Marriage is also pampering of the body. So much time goes for this. You have to find a flat. You have to find some service. So many suitable things must be arranged for, and who knows what what kind of spouse he or she will get. Wife and husband, they cheat each other because there is no spiritual center. So much trouble is there, just because of the bodily concept of life. This bodily concept of life will force you to sleep!
In India there are not so many facilities for eating, so you have to forget your body and be austere. As soon as you're in the bodily consciousness, the pampering of the body starts, increasing all the activities for bodily comfort, coloring the hair etc. There's one couple, you know, they stopped hair-coloring after they got initiated. They look more beautiful now, you know, with white hair. In order for us to cope with the material activities in life, we have to do them immaculately well. Leaving things for someone else to do, or for later, equals procrastination. Immediately we should do it, then forget about it. Change the clothes and go to the temple, finished. Srila Prabhupada has made it very easy for us.
If the body is not us, then how can we claim it is us? It's like a building, you know, we change house all the time! Prabhupada said, this material world is like a toilet; an intelligent man makes a short stay here, and no need of going back if finished. Not only do we pamper our body, we pamper our family also. Nobody is considering that one day we have to go alone. So this loneliness has to be experienced before that time, you know. Otherwise, the bodily demands will increase. Anything we do apart from Krishna is taking us to bodily activities. Only Krishna conscious activities can save us from this bodily conception of life."
Krishna willing we will continue with more nectar from Maharaj in the subsequent offering.
Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva,
Amogha-drk Krishna dasa,
Copenhagen, Denmark
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