Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.7.40-44
—
San Francisco, March 20, 1967
(incomplete lecture)
Prabhupāda: So Prahlāda Mahārāja is recommending that either material prosperity within this planet or in other planet, they are all destructible. They're not permanent. Therefore nirmala, not free from the contamination of material nature. That is also recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā: ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna [Bg. 8.16], that even if you go to the highest planet, that is also perishable. So we are not interested in perishable things. Unfortunately, people have no knowledge that what is that unperishable. They are accustomed in the association of perishable things for many, many lives. (aside:) Is not working? Yes. Therefore they have no information what is the... If we say that "You work for nonperishable thing," he'll be astonished because he has no idea that there can be anything which is not perishable. So Prahlāda Mahārāja recommends that "Don't try for nonperishable things...," "Don't try for perishable things. Try for nonperishable things." And that is bhaktyā uktayeṣaṁ bhajatātma-labdhaye. As the devotees recommend to worship the Supreme Lord, and the Supreme Lord also confirms it: yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama [Bg. 15.6], that supreme abode, where going, nobody returns... Prahlāda Mahārāja recommends that "My dear friends, you just worship that Supreme Personality of Godhead, where going, nobody comes back."
yad-artha iha karmāṇi
vidvan-māny asakṛn naraḥ
karoty ato viparyāsam
amoghaṁ vindate phalaṁ
[SB 7.7.41]
In this material world we are making so many plans for permanent settlement, but unfortunately, we are meeting with just the opposite result. That is in our experience. There is very nice song sung by a Vaiṣṇava poet. He says, sukhere lagiya e baro bhaginu anale puria ghare (?). "I constructed this house for living happily. Unfortunately, it was set in fire, so everything is finished." That is going on. In the material world we are making so many plans for living very comfortably, peacefully, eternally. But that is not possible. People do not understand it. They are seeing, experiencing from śāstra, from scripture we are getting instruction, that nothing is imperishable. Everything is perishable in the material world, and we are actually seeing also that perishable agents are always ready. Just like the fire. In New York City, at least, within twenty-four hours, there are at least ten or fifteen places where fire is going on. And your fire brigade is running on just trying to protect you from fire. The house regulation is all for fire, "How we are protected from fire." Then it will be allowed, certificate of occupation, "You can live." In other words, that fire is always ready to vanish everything, but artificially, somehow or other, we are trying to protect ourself from fire. But we do not take it for granted that this material nature is so made that it will set in fire everything, however we may be strong in protecting ourself. That is the nature. So however we may make plans to live very happily, the nature's law is that it will destroy.
daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī
mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāṁ taranti te
[Bg. 7.14]
So this material nature is very powerful. You cannot protect from the onslaught of material nature. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja advising us that you try to achieve the permanent. The permanent is the soul. God is permanent. And there is a world, a sky, which is also permanent. So why not transfer yourself to that permanent sky, permanent association, permanent life, permanent supreme knowledge? What we are seeking here in imperfectness? But people have no information. Some of them, they do not believe in it. Some of them are callous. This is our unfortunate condition. But it is neither false nor it is fiction. It is actual fact, truth, real truth, Absolute Truth. Paraṁ satyaṁ dhīmahi. Śrīmad-Bhāgavata presents the objective as the Supreme Truth, para
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