Purifying the Polluted Aim of Life - Part 5

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev!

This is in continuation of the previous mails transcribing the lecture by our beloved Guru Maharaj spoken in Durban, South Africa on 19th December 1994. In the last mails the following four points were explained.

1. Our eager search for the reality.
2. The importance of hearing to clear our consciousness.
3. The basic underlying spiritual unity among all.
4. We should not increase the unnecessary demands of the body and create complicated situations.

Maharaj was explaining that instead of complicating our situations with unnecessary demands, we have to hear from Srimad Bhagavatam.

5. Purifying the polluted aim of life

pibanti ye bhagavata ātmanaḥ satāṁ
kathāmṛtaṁ śravaṇa-puṭeṣu sambhṛtam
punanti te viṣaya-vidūṣitāśayaṁ
vrajanti tac-caraṇa-saroruhāntikam

Those who drink through aural reception, fully filled with the nectarean message of Lord Krishna, the beloved of the devotees, purify the polluted aim of life known as material enjoyment and thus go back to Godhead, to the lotus feet of Him [the Personality of Godhead]. Srimad Bhagavatam 2.2.37

The above verse is very easy to understand. He says, 'pibanti ye bhagvata ātmanaḥ satāṁ'- those who hear Srimad Bhagavatam, the message of Krishna, the pastimes of Krishna through the pure devotees, ‘kathāmṛtaṁ śravaṇa-puṭeṣu sambhṛtam’ - our ear holes are full of this katha amrut- the nectarean topics of Krishna and then the effect is ‘punanti’- you are completely purified. From what? ‘viṣaya-vidūṣitāśayaṁ’- our goal of existence is at the moment polluted. It is captured by the wife or husband. It is captured by rent. It is captured by Mercedez car. It is captured by our apartment. Instead of this, we completely purify. As soon as the goal of existence is purified, and you know very well that the goal of human existence is to know about the Supreme Absolute truth and to know about the Supreme Absolute truth, we have to associate with the people who are searching the Absolute truth and try to find out the qualified process to follow and according to the shaastras, if you want to purify the existence, there is no other way but to come to the names of Krishna and try to concentrate on increasing the knowledge about Krishna and it is beautiful knowledge. I will give you a few verses and you will understand it.

kunty uvāca
namasye puruṣaṁ tvādyam īśvaraṁ prakṛteḥ param
alakṣyaṁ sarva-bhūtānām antar bahir avasthitam

Srimati Kunti said: O Krishna, I offer my obeisances unto You because You are the original personality and are unaffected by the qualities of the material world. You are existing both within and without everything, yet You are invisible to all. Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.18

Beautiful two lines from Bhagavatam. The symptoms of Absolute truth are very nicely described in this. Namaste means, I pay my prostrated obeisances to you. Why? Because You are purusham. You are the supreme enjoyer. I am not the enjoyer and this is the mistake we commit. In the polluted existence of life, I think I am the enjoyer and as soon as your pollution is there of the goal of existence, means you lose your life. If this pollution is purified, punanti te vishaya vidushitaashayam- as soon as you hear Srimad Bhagavatam, it purifies your polluted goal of existence. Then you do not run after the toothpaste and do not run after the girls. Do not run after anything. Otherwise there is big illusory energy again. It will misguide you. You go to the meditation center and they ask you to close your eyes and then he closes his eyes and sees his girl friend. This process is completely condemned by Srimad Bhagavatam. He says you pay obeisances to the purusham who is the enjoyer and who is the aadyam. The original. He does not have any beginning at all but He is the beginning of all. 'janmādy yasya' - first verse from Srimad Bhagavatam. ishvaram - Who is the supreme controller and prakrteh param - He is completely transcendental to all the material manifestation. alakṣyam - He is not very easily seen. sarva bhutānām - He is situated in all the living entities. antar bahir avasthitam - He is inside and outside. Inside of our body He is situated as the Supersoul and outside of our body, He is in the form of air, water etc., this is the Supreme Truth. As soon as you know this Supreme Truth, then punanti te. And if you continue your search, be sincere about searching the Absolute Truth and then you come to the second stage of knowledge.

māyā-javanikācchannam ajñādhokṣajam avyayam
na lakṣyase mūḍha-dṛśā naṭo nāṭyadharo yathā

Being beyond the range of limited sense perception, You are the eternally irreproachable factor covered by the curtain of deluding energy. You are invisible to the foolish observer, exactly as an actor dressed as a player is not recognized. Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.19

Beautiful again. Srimad Bhagavatam has 18000 verses and Srila Prabhupada insists that to learn one verse, it requires minimum one month. So we require 18000 months divided by 12. It comes to 1500 years. We don’t have the time. If you really utilize your time, you will not have time to spend nonsensically in search of tooth paste and ironing. This you must stop today. You throw away the iron maathajis (laughs) and refuse to iron the clothes. Let him wash his clothes and put on. Your body is round and automatically it will be ironed. Your heat is there. Pressing is there. You want heat and press. That is how you iron. So heat and press are automatically there. Why you should spend for electricity or coal? There is no need. Come to the simple life.

Maharaj went on to explain the necessity of maintaining our life in any circumstance and the same shall be posted in the ensuing mail.

Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev,
Vaijayantimala devi dasi
Abu Dhabi.