Living in vain
Trees live longer than human beings, the bellow of the blacksmith breaths more soundly, and many animals are much more active in sex life than humans. However, what is the purpose of their existence?
A few famous verses from the Srimad Bhagavatam:
"Do the trees not live? Do the bellows of the blacksmith not breathe? All around us, do the beasts not eat and discharge semen? Men who are like dogs, hogs, camels and asses praise those men who never listen to the transcendental pastimes of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the deliverer from evils.
One who has not listened to the messages about the prowess and marvelous acts of the Personality of Godhead and has not sung or chanted loudly the worthy songs about the Lord is to be considered to possess earholes like the holes of snakes and a tongue like the tongue of a frog.
The upper portion of the body, though crowned with a silk turban, is only a heavy burden if not bowed down before the Personality of Godhead who can award mukti [freedom]. And the hands, though decorated with glittering bangles, are like those of a dead man if not engaged in the service of the Personality of Godhead Hari.
The eyes which do not look at the symbolic representations of the Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu [His forms, name, quality, etc.] are like those printed on the plumes of the peacock, and the legs which do not move to the holy places [where the Lord is remembered] are considered to be like tree trunks.
The person who has not at any time received the dust of the feet of the Lord’s pure devotee upon his head is certainly a dead body. And the person who has never experienced the aroma of the tulasī leaves from the lotus feet of the Lord is also a dead body, although breathing." (SB 2.3.18-23)
Trees live longer than human beings, the bellow of the blacksmith breaths much more soundly, and many animals are much more active in sex life than humans. However, what is the purpose of their existence? Similarly, persons who are averse to listening to the transcendental pastimes of the Lord are compared to animals like dogs, hogs, camels, and asses, simply living without any higher consciousness. Such life in ignorance of one's real self is not considered very valuable in the eyes of self-realized persons.
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The ears of such persons are compared to the holes of snakes, filled with filthy things, while their tongues are compared with the tongs of frogs, who croak very loudly, inviting the snakes to eat them, just like a materialist speaks so many things that just bring death closer. Because they decry temple worship, refusing to bow down before the Lord, their heads become just like heavy burdens that help them drown faster in the material ocean. Because they are not engaged in the service of the Lord, their hands are useless, just like the hands of a dead body, and their eye are useless like the eyes in a peacock feather. In general, such a person lives in vain, and thus he is just like a dead body, although breathing, or in other words, like a ghost who just brings inauspiciousness to others.
What about the position of a neophyte devotee who, although trying, still does not have a taste for the practice of Krsna Consciousness?
The whole process of devotional service aims at bringing a change of heart, bringing one back to his eternal position as a servant of Krsna. As one advances in devotional service, the false sense of lording over material energy is reduced, and the natural attitude of loving service to the Lord is awakened. In the beginning, we don't feel much taste for chanting and following the other parts of the process, but if we keep sincere and persevere in our practice, we gradually become purified. Gradually, by sincere practice, we come closer to the transcendental platform. As Srila Prabhupada comments:
"Therefore real, steady bhāva is definitely displayed in the matter of cessation of material desires (kṣānti), utilization of every moment in the transcendental loving service of the Lord (avyārtha-kālatvam), eagerness for glorifying the Lord constantly (nāma-gāne sadā ruci), attraction for living in the land of the Lord (prītis tad-vasati sthale), complete detachment from material happiness (virakti), and pridelessness (māna-śūnyatā). One who has developed all these transcendental qualities is really possessed of the bhāva stage, as distinguished from the stonehearted imitator or mundane devotee."
The "stonehearted imitator" mentioned by Prabhupada is the sahajiyā who poses as a pure devotee while internally cultivating all kinds of material attachments and secretly maintaining all kinds of questionable habits. What about the "mundane devotee"? This is the devotee who, although having the opportunity to advance in his or her practice, consciously chooses to maintain his material attachments and remain bound to this world. In other words, this is the one who, having the choice, chooses Maya over Krsna. As expected, both the stonehearted imitator and the mundane devotee will not be able to advance very well.
Srila Jiva Goswami concludes that if the change of heart does not happen even after a long time of practice, it must be because one is still committing some of the ten offenses while performing his devotional service, and thus his practice is not bringing fruit. The ten offenses are directly connected to a lack of philosophical understanding about the Lord and His devotees, which regularly hearing the Srimad Bhagavatam helps us to mitigate. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura emphasizes also that envy, especially when directed towards other devotees, also blocks our progress, and the medicine for it is association with more advanced devotees, who can show us the proper path.
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