This material world in which we live is too strong to deal with. As a soul we have a unique ability to adapt ourselves to any situation, however unpleasant it might be. Once Indra, the king of heaven, committed some grievous mistake and as a result he was cursed by sage Narada to take birth on earthly planet as a hog. So, Indra became a hog and started living on earth. In due course of time he grew, got married and became the proud father of dozens of piglets. He even became the leader of the hog clan. Seeing his friends and family gave him deep pleasure.
As time passed by the duration of the curse on Indra came to an end, but to the utter amazement of the denizens of heavenly planet Indra was not returning back. Since the throne of the heavenly kingdom could not be empty for a long time so the situation became too serious. Finally Narada personally decided to come and take Indra back. Indra was enjoying his hoggish life – playing with his wife and piglets, joking with his friends and enjoying the stool. Narada felt too bad for the king of the heaven, he immediately approached Indra and reminded him of his heavenly designation. Indra wasn’t impressed. He argued with Narada, “I am happy here with my friends and family members. My wife, my cute piglets all are dependent on me. If I leave then who will care for them.”
Narada was shocked to hear that Indra was ready to forego the heavenly comfort and was contended to live as a hog. Out of compassion he severed his head and dragged him out of the wretched life which Indra thought was blissful.
This illusory material energy is too powerful; it forces us to believe that the life which we are leading is permanent and more enjoyable than anything else. This is why we do not take the words of the scriptures seriously when it asks us to abandon our materialistic life and focus on spiritual salvation. Let us not follow the footsteps of Indra and try relishing hoggish pleasure instead we should heed the advice of sages and scriptures and make a determined endeavour towards our spiritual destination.
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