Seek atonement for sinful activities
This birth, death, old age, and disease. This is our material miserable condition. And again, if we act sinfully, then it will increase. Therefore Sukadeva Gosvami is advising that "Before your death, you should atone for the sinful activities, what you have done." Just like in the Manu-samhita, if a man has committed some murder, it is advised that King should order him to be hanged. Otherwise next life he will have to suffer so much. So this order of hanging a murderer is a kind of kindness to the criminal.
So here it is advised that dosasya drstva guru-laghavam yatha [SB 6.1.8]. There are different kinds of sinful activities, and there are different kinds of suffering also. A little infection of bronchitis, the suffering is not so acute, but infection of smallpox is fatal. We should always remember that. We are infecting. On account of this material world, we are infecting different modes of material nature. I have explained several times.There are three modes of material nature, and when you mix up, then it becomes three into three equal to nine, and again mix up, nine into nine, eighty-one, and again mix up Every minute particles, there is account. You cannot avoid. Material nature's punishment you cannot avoid. Even little, whatever you have done, it will be punished. Automatically the rules and regulations are there.Karanam guna-sangah asya sad-asad-janma-yonisu. Why there are so different varieties of life if there is no some judgment behind it? There must be. Otherwise everyone should have been of the same bodily feature, same standard of life, same opulence. No. So many grades, because the modes of material nature are different, different mixture.
So here it is said that dosasya drstva guru-laghavam yatha [SB 6.1.8]. Dosa. Still people in India, they go to a bhattacarya, that "Sir, I have done this sinful activity. What is my atonement?" Amongst the Christian also, they go to the church. So guru-laghavam drstva. Guru means heavy. We use this word guru. Guru means heavy. So according to the criminal activities Just like a man has stolen some fruit from a fruit shop, his criminality is not equal to the man who has committed murder -- one he has killed one man. This is guru-laghavam. So there is punishment according to the heaviness and lightness of criminal activities. The example is given here: bhisak cikitseta rujam nidanavit. Just like you go to a physician for treatment of your disease, he gives different types of medicine. Not that one medicine for everyone. No. If one has got little headache, he gives one that tablet, aspirin tablet, but if it is pneumonia, then the treatment is different. That is being advised, that "One has to see what kind of sinful activity he has done and what is the atonement for that purpose." This is advised. Pariksit Maharaja was advised that "These people, they are suffering in different grades of suffering on account of different grades of sinful activities. So best thing is: before death, if they seek atonement for different grades of sinful activities, then it is good for him so that after death he may not suffer very severely." But people do not accept even that "There is life after death, we are eternal, and the infection which you are committing, that will react." There is no such knowledge. The modern civilization is so foolish. Simply like cats and dogs, they are eating and sleeping and sex life and little defense, that's all. They have no knowledge.
So therefore we are preaching Krsna consciousness. Lokasya ajanatah, they do not know what kind of risky life they are conducting. So the Krsna consciousness movement is trying to make them awakened to the consciousness. That is the duty of a sane man or a gentleman.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.8 -- Los Angeles, June 21, 1975
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