Material world: The place of ephemeral and temporary happiness (The Fifth Canto #14)

In this world, everyone looks for happiness in relationships with friends, family, and society, but this happiness is insufficient to satisfy the needs of the soul.

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Material world: The place of ephemeral and temporary happiness

“Sometimes, being defeated or plundered by a superior, powerful agent, a living entity loses all his possessions. He then becomes very morose, and lamenting their loss, he sometimes becomes unconscious. Sometimes he imagines a great palatial city in which he desires to live happily with his family members and riches. He thinks himself fully satisfied if this is possible, but such so-called happiness continues only for a moment.” (SB 5.13.7)

In this world, everyone looks for happiness in relationships with friends, family, and society, but this happiness is insufficient to satisfy the needs of the soul, just as a drop of water in the desert. Worse still is that this happiness is temporary, and it depends to a large extent on one’s financial means. Sometimes a person may lose everything to a powerful enemy, government officials, or other unexpected situations. Often this also causes one to lose his or her family and circle of friends. In such situations, with all plans destroyed, one often falls into depression and loses all enthusiasm. This is yet another facet of material existence.

The analogy of the gandharva-pura, or the illusory castle, is also deepened by Prabhupāda in this verse:

“In the material forest, the conditioned soul sometimes contemplates great castles and skyscrapers, and he wastes his energy for such things, hoping to live in them very peacefully with his family forever. However, the laws of nature do not allow this. When he enters such castles, he temporarily thinks that he is very happy, even though his happiness is impermanent. His happiness may last for a few years, but because the owner of the castle has to leave the castle at the time of death, everything is eventually lost.”

Death takes away everything. Each one of our relatives and family members is an eternal individual soul who, in the past, assumed countless other material identities. They stay with us for some time, and when they go, there is no guarantee we will ever be in contact with them again. Even if this happens, there is no way we can recognize them, since their forms will be different. We are thus like straws in a river, that are joined and separated by the current. In our bewilderment, we may take pleasure in believing that our deceased family members will be born again in the family and we will be in contact again, but there is no guarantee this will ever happen. This attachment and bewilderment is also described as part of the analogy of the gandharva-pura.

Apart from the temporality, family life also brings a lot of work and uncomfortable situations that are often unavoidable:

“Sometimes the merchant in the forest wants to climb the hills and mountains, but due to insufficient footwear, his feet are pricked by small stone fragments and by thorns on the mountain. Being pricked by them, he becomes very aggrieved. Sometimes a person who is very attached to his family becomes overwhelmed with hunger, and due to his miserable condition he becomes furious with his family members.” (SB 5.13.8)

The meaning of this verse is expanded on SB 5.14.18-19. Family life brings many obligations. The marriage itself can be very costly and difficult to organize, and then there is the necessity of performing many saṅkararas and ceremonies, as well as social functions, such as inviting relatives and accepting invitations from them, giving presents, and so on. Then, there is the obligation of getting of getting ones sons and daughters married later in life, which can also be extremely difficult and costly. Nowadays, one’s circle of relatives is usually much smaller, and many of these religious ceremonies and social functions are not observed, but still, modern life adds its own complexities.

If one has enough time and resources, all these social and religious functions can be a source of happiness, but in most cases, both are in short supply, and these obligations become a source of anxiety. Maintaining a household in these circumstances is compared to climbing a hill without proper shoes and having one’s feet pricked by stones and thorns.

Due to all these difficulties, one sometimes becomes disturbed in mind and unable to properly maintain his family, and becomes hardened and unkind towards his wife and children, chastising and quarreling with them, which just creates yet another set of complications.

The attraction to the opposite sex, however, keeps us bound to family life despite these difficulties. As Prabhupāda mentions, “Material attachment is so strong that despite the suffering, one cannot give it up.”

The ones who are pious get married and deal with all these religious and social functions, while others have relationships outside of marriage and have to later deal with the karmic consequences, which can be many times more unpleasant. One example is that a product in the store can be costly, and paying such a sum can be painful, but if we decide to just break the glass and take it, we will go to jail, which will surely be much more uncomfortable.

All types of material pleasures we desire in this world come with a certain price tag in the form of obligations we need to perform to secure the rights of the other people affected. If a man desires to have a woman by his side, he has to maintain her, and similarly, if a woman desires to be maintained and protected by a man, she should serve him. If a couple desires the company of children, they have to educate them, and so on. If we avoid these responsibilities and just take what we want, we are punished by the universal laws. The alternative is, of course, to give up material enjoyment, and that’s where this allegory is trying to bring us.

As Prabhupāda mentions in his purport to 5.13.8, most people are not happy in family life. There are many cases of divorce, children growing up without their parents, and people becoming more and more self-centered. Even if one is happy, this temporary happiness is just like a drop in the desert, incapable of satisfying the real needs of the soul.

What is the solution then? Prabhupāda connects this with the idea of retired life presented in the varnāśrama system. Advanced sages come to the conclusion that a man does better in remaining a pure brahmacārī throughout his entire life, but that’s a conclusion most of us will reach only in old age. One may still choose to go through family life. The point, however, is that we should not stay the whole life there. Ideally, one should enter into family life when young, so when one reaches the age of 50, the children are already grown up, and one can retire and dedicate the later life to self-realization. This actually applies to both genders; it is just that it is more emphasized for men, since ladies have another valid path of progression: just being good wives, remaining attached to their husbands, and thus attaining a male body in their next lives. If a woman plans to go back to Godhead in this life, however, the process is basically the same: she has to dedicate her later life to seriously practice Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, free from the idea of material enjoyment.

Traditionally, men, or sometimes couples, would retire to the forest, but Prabhupāda offers a more practical idea for our age:

“There is no benefit in transferring from one forest to another. One must go to the Vṛndāvana forest and take shelter of Govinda. That will make one happy. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is therefore constructing a Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma temple to invite its members as well as outsiders to come and live peacefully in a spiritual atmosphere. That will help one become elevated to the transcendental world and return home, back to Godhead.”

One of the reasons he insisted on the construction of big temples in Vṛndāvana and Māyāpur was that devotees in retired life could take shelter there to practice Kṛṣṇa Consciousness in their last days.

Keeping in mind that many marriages end with divorce, he makes another argument:

“Being disgusted with family life, one separates from the family by divorce or some other means. If one has to separate, why not separate willingly? Systematic separation is better than forced separation. Forced separation cannot make anyone happy, but by mutual consent or by the Vedic arrangement one must separate from his family affairs at a certain age and fully depend on Kṛṣṇa. This makes one’s life successful.”

More dangers in material life

“The conditioned soul in the material forest is sometimes swallowed by a python or crushed. At such a time he is left lying in the forest like a dead person, devoid of consciousness and knowledge. Sometimes other poisonous snakes bite him. Being blind to his consciousness, he falls down into a dark well of hellish life with no hope of being rescued.” (SB 5.13.9)

Falling into deep sleep is compared with being swallowed by a python. While asleep, we become unconscious and forget the goal of life. Therefore, we should try to reduce sleep as far as possible, using our time to practice self-realization. A great deal of our spiritual progress depends on waking up early to chant and attend the morning program. If we skip that and prefer to sleep until late, we lose the opportunity.

Apart from literal sleep, Prabhupāda calls our attention on 5.14.9 to another meaning: being asleep on the lap of Māyā, forgotten of our real identity and devoid of knowledge:

“Even in the higher planets, everyone is under the spell of the illusory energy. No one is really interested in the real values of life. The sleeping condition, called kāla-sarpa (the time factor), keeps the conditioned soul in a state of ignorance, and therefore pure consciousness is lost.”

By waking-up early every day and practicing Kṛṣṇa Consciousness with determination, we can gradually awaken from this material sleep. As he mentions in his purport to 5.14.20:

“Material life means being fully absorbed in eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Out of these, sleep is taken very seriously. While asleep, one completely forgets the object of life and what to do. For spiritual realization, one should try to avoid sleep as much as possible. The Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana practically did not sleep at all. Of course, they slept some, for the body requires sleep, but they slept only about two hours, and sometimes not even that. They always engaged in spiritual cultivation. Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau. Following in the footsteps of the Gosvāmīs, we should try to reduce sleeping, eating, mating and defending.”

Text 5.14.21 brings us yet another perspective:

“In the forest of the material world, the conditioned soul is sometimes bitten by envious enemies, which are compared to serpents and other creatures. Through the tricks of the enemy, the conditioned soul falls from his prestigious position. Being anxious, he cannot even sleep properly. He thus becomes more and more unhappy, and he gradually loses his intelligence and consciousness. In that state he becomes almost perpetually like a blind man who has fallen into a dark well of ignorance.”

There is a difference between a sadhu who controls sleep in order to have more time to perform spiritual activities and become free from the material illusion, and a materialist who can’t sleep due to anxiety. This type of sleep restriction just numbs our intelligence and brings us even more under material illusion.

In the Gītā, Kṛṣṇa explains that one can’t be a yogi if he sleeps too much, or does not sleep enough, for in both cases our intelligence becomes disturbed and we can’t fix ourselves in the goal of life. Both the lazy and the stressed will have difficulty in controlling their senses, bringing us to other aspects of the material illusion described in the next verses.

“Sometimes, in order to have a little insignificant sex enjoyment, one searches after debauched women. In this attempt, one is insulted and chastised by the women’s kinsmen. This is like going to take honey from a beehive and being attacked by the bees. Sometimes, after spending lots of money, one may acquire another woman for some extra sense enjoyment. Unfortunately, the object of sense enjoyment, the woman, is taken away or kidnapped by another debauchee.” (SB 5.13.10)

The contents of this verse are expanded on texts 5.14.22 to 24. Family life has some obvious shortcomings and is thus described in a negative light in the scriptures. There is, however, something much worse, that is the hellish world of illicit relationships, where there are no morals, no fidelity, and no honesty. This is definitely a much worse position than an honest man maintaining his family.

Prabhupāda speaks on this point in his purport to 5.13.10:

“In a great forest, honeycombs are very important. People often go there to collect honey from the combs, and sometimes the bees attack and punish them. In human society, those who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious remain in the forest of material life simply for the honey of sex life. Such debauchees are not at all satisfied with one wife. They want many women. Day after day, with great difficulty, they try to secure such women, and sometimes, while trying to taste this kind of honey, one is attacked by a woman’s kinsmen and chastised very heavily. By bribing others, one may secure another woman for enjoyment, yet another debauchee may kidnap her or offer her something better. This woman hunting is going on in the forest of the material world, sometimes legally and sometimes illegally. Consequently in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement the devotees are forbidden to have illicit sex. Thus they avoid so many difficulties. One should remain satisfied with one woman, being duly married. One can satisfy one’s lusty desires with his wife without creating disturbances in society and being punished for doing so.”

This purport is augmented by what he mentions on 5.14.22:

“In order to keep women, money is required, and to acquire money, one begs, borrows or steals. Indeed, he commits abominable acts that cause him to suffer both in this life and in the next. Consequently illicit sex must be stopped by those who are spiritually inclined or who are on the path of spiritual realization. Many devotees fall down due to illicit sex. They may steal money and even fall down from the highly honored renounced order. Then for a livelihood they accept menial services and become beggars. It is therefore said in the śāstras, yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham: materialism is based on sex, whether licit or illicit. Sex is full of dangers even for those who are addicted to household life. Whether one has a license for sex or not, there is great trouble. Bahu-duḥkha-bhāk: after one indulges in sex, many volumes of miseries ensue. One suffers more and more in material life. A miserly person cannot properly utilize the wealth he has, and similarly a materialistic person misuses the human form. Instead of using it for spiritual emancipation, he uses the body for sense gratification. Therefore he is called a miser.”

Everyone has a tendency to enjoy materially, and of course, sexual relationships are the most enticing form. Unfortunately, they are also the most problematic. The best for anyone is to just forget about it, be fixed in devotional service, and become a pure devotee. This is, however, easier said than done. As long as our relationship with Kṛṣṇa is not developed, we will always have a deep-rooted need for material relationships. We can see that even Bharata Maharaja fell as soon as he got the opportunity to care for the small deer. Married life is thus offered as a temporary option, so we can cultivate relationships with our spouse and children, but at the same time perform duties and remain fixed in our spiritual practice.

Married life, however, doesn’t magically resolve the problem of sexual attraction. In any case, there is a need for a conscious effort. If we are not careful, there is always a danger of falling into promiscuous life, going from one partner to another, outside of marriage. The verses bring up the image of a man being chastised by relatives and legal authorities for getting involved with women, but one point we should keep in mind is that illicit sexual relationships are always punishable. In many cases, there may not be legal authorities or relatives to punish us, but there is still the law of karma and the servants of Yamarāja. In any case, the negative results will always outweigh any pleasure we may get from it many times over. Apart from punishment, the relationships themselves are a cause of pain, with all the lies, betrayal, anxiety, and illusion involved.

Text 5.14.22 is: “The conditioned soul is sometimes attracted to the little happiness derived from sense gratification. Thus he has illicit sex or steals another’s property. At such a time he may be arrested by the government or chastised by the woman’s husband or protector. Thus simply for a little material satisfaction, he falls into a hellish condition and is put into jail for rape, kidnapping, theft and so forth.”

It appears that Prabhupāda uses the word “rape” in his translation of 5.14.22 in the same meaning as in 4.25.41, when he mentions that, “Thus simply for a little material satisfaction, he falls into a hellish condition and is put into jail for rape, kidnapping, theft and so forth.” In other words, it appears he uses “rape” in the sense of sexual relationships with a woman under false promises and then being punished by her relatives or by law. The verse mentions the word “niraye” (failing in a hellish position by being punished). This fits the description of a debauchee having illicit sex and being punished, as well as cases involving kidnapping and other forms of violence.

Cheating, dishonesty and their consequences

“Sometimes the living entity is busy counteracting the natural disturbances of freezing cold, scorching heat, strong wind, excessive rainfall and so forth. When he is unable to do so, he becomes very unhappy. Sometimes he is cheated in business transactions one after another. In this way, by cheating, living entities create enmity among themselves.

On the forest path of material existence, sometimes a person is without wealth and due to this does not have a proper home, bed or sitting place, nor proper family enjoyment. He therefore goes to beg money from others, but when his desires are not fulfilled by begging, he wants to borrow or steal the property of others. Thus he is insulted in society.” (SB 5.13.11-12)

Different difficulties we face in life don’t appear by chance: they are a reaction to past activities. Because we are inclined to material enjoyment, we inevitably commit unlawful activities here and there, and these activities become the source of future difficulties. Materialistic life is thus the source of all miseries, as indicated in text 5.14.23. Because we don’t know this secret, however, we often become involved in just trying to counteract these material difficulties, instead of eliminating their source. Worse still is when one tries to counteract present difficulties by more unlawful activities, such as cheating, stealing, and so on, that create further negative consequences. In this way, a materialistic society can’t ever be peaceful. We can see that unpalatable situations caused by envy and so on can appear even in Satya-yuga, as in the case of Dhruva Maharaja being offended by Suruci.

Apart from understanding the cause of miseries, we should also understand the positive process to become free from them. Together with difficulties, each one of us receive also some valuable material resources as a result of past pious activities, such as talents, skills, money, etc. If instead of using these resources to just enjoy materially, we employ them in the service of the Lord, gradually coming to the platform of fully surrendering unto Him, we can attain the perfection of life.

Prabhupāda examines the effects of dishonesty in society in two verses, 5.14.26 and 35. In the first, he examines the effects of cheating in general society, creating enmity even amongst close friends. In the second, however, he touches a topic more pressing for us: cheating amongst devotees.

As he mentions, “Sometimes this enmity is created between the conditioned soul and the father or spiritual master. Unless one is firmly fixed in the regulative principles, one may perform mischievous acts, even if one is a member of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We therefore advise our disciples to strictly follow the regulative principles; otherwise the most important movement for the upliftment of humanity will be hampered due to dissension among its members. Those who are serious about pushing forward this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement should remember this and strictly follow the regulative principles so that their minds will not be disturbed.”

Transcendental qualities don’t appear automatically; they come from spiritual practice, starting with the basic regulative principles. If one is not practicing, the material influence will remain, and he or she will still be propense to dishonesty and other faults, just like an ordinary person. When our spiritual practice is deficient, our spiritual society can display many of the same faults as general society.

Another dimension of cheating can appear within marriages, as described on 5.14.37. In an ideal world, people would marry out of friendship or love, but in practice, the reasons are often murky. People get married to satisfy their desires and ambitions, and sometimes marriages happen even amongst enemies. Envy is very common, and many marriages end in divorce, often after years of disputes in court. As long as the material disease of the soul is not cured, marriage remains plagued by the same deficiencies as other human relationships, and devotees are not free from it, since we maintain material propensities until an advanced stage of spiritual development.

As Prabhupāda explains: “As stated previously, every conditioned soul has the propensity to cheat, even in marriage. Everywhere in this material world, one conditioned soul is envious of another. For the time being, people may remain friends, but eventually they become enemies again and fight over money. Sometimes they marry and then separate by divorce or other means. On the whole, unity is never permanent. Due to the cheating propensity, both parties always remain envious. Even in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, separation and enmity take place due to the prominence of material propensities.”

“Due to monetary transactions, relationships become very strained and end in enmity. Sometimes the husband and wife walk on the path of material progress, and to maintain their relationship they work very hard. Sometimes due to scarcity of money or due to diseased conditions, they are embarrassed and almost die.” (SB 5.13.13)

We search for happiness in this material world, but this search ultimately brings us nothing apart from misery. We never have all the factors that are necessary for happiness: a young person may have a lot of energy, but no money or freedom. An older person may have money, but may not be able to enjoy it due to diseases and other problems. One may have beauty and fame, but hanker for a family, while another may have a family, but suffer due to a lack of basic material resources.

We live thus in a continuous struggle, trying to accumulate all the different resources we think are necessary to enjoy life, but we are always frustrated by different forms of scarcity. Incapable of understanding that everything is controlled by superior forces, and we can’t obtain more than what is allowed by our previous karma, we keep working to try to solve all problems, life after life, but the difficulties just multiply.

The list of material miseries is expanded in text 5.14.27: “In this materialistic life, there are many difficulties, as I have just mentioned, and all of these are insurmountable. In addition, there are difficulties arising from so-called happiness, distress, attachment, hate, fear, false prestige, illusion, madness, lamentation, bewilderment, greed, envy, enmity, insult, hunger, thirst, tribulation, disease, birth, old age and death. All these combine together to give the materialistic conditioned soul nothing but misery.”

Everything and everyone is temporary in this world

“My dear King, on the forest path of material life, first a person is bereft of his father and mother, and after their death he becomes attached to his newly born children. In this way he wanders on the path of material progress and is eventually embarrassed. Nonetheless, no one knows how to get out of this, even up to the moment of death.” (SB 5.13.14)

As long as we remain attached to sexual life, we have to remain in this material world. Sex life leads to pregnancy and birth, which is the beginning of life. The problem is that, as Kṛṣṇa explains in the Gītā (2.16), everything that has a beginning, also has an end. We take birth from our parents, and gradually they become older and die. After they die, our attachment is transferred to our children, but even though we may not notice, the same process is repeating: we are becoming older and will eventually die, and when this happens, we will take a new birth, again through the sexual process. In this way, we are caught in this cycle, and the only way out is the process of devotional service to the Supreme Lord, which starts with sādhu-saṅga, association with liberated people.

“There were and are many political and social heroes who have conquered enemies of equal power, yet due to their ignorance in believing that the land is theirs, they fight one another and lay down their lives in battle. They are not able to take up the spiritual path accepted by those in the renounced order. Although they are big heroes and political leaders, they cannot take to the path of spiritual realization.” (SB 5.13.15)

In a few passages, Prabhupāda compares materialistic life to a rat race. This illustrates its lack of purpose. What is the point of putting so much effort, if even winning the race, we remain rats? Even if one obtains success in life, becoming a great political leader or even an emperor, our struggle is ultimately futile, because we still have to face death and leave everything behind.

This verse is connected with 5.14.40. The perfection of life can be achieved in any position of life, provided we use the tools we received in this life, starting with our material body and material nature in the service of Kṛṣṇa. One can serve Kṛṣṇa as a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, or śūdra, as a teacher, doctor, lawyer, engineer, IT specialist, businessman, etc. The external profession doesn’t matter much; the important part is our internal attitude of offering whatever resources and talents we have for Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda makes this point clear in his purport:

“One doesn’t have to give up his occupation as a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra or whatever. In any position, while discharging his prescribed duty, one can develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness simply by associating with devotees who are representatives of Kṛṣṇa and who can teach this science. Regretfully, the big politicians and leaders in the material world simply create enmity and are not interested in spiritual advancement. Material advancement may be very pleasing to an ordinary man, but ultimately he is defeated because he identifies himself with the material body and considers everything related to it to be his property. This is ignorance. Actually nothing belongs to him, not even the body. By one’s karma, one gets a particular body, and if he does not utilize his body to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all his activities are frustrated.”

Prevented from escaping

“Sometimes the living entity in the forest of material existence takes shelter of creepers and desires to hear the chirping of the birds in those creepers. Being afraid of roaring lions in the forest, he makes friends with cranes, herons and vultures.” (SB 5.13.16)

Prabhupāda explains this analogy in his purport. In such a dangerous forest, one seeks shelter in creepers, which represent the arms of a wife. Within these creepers, one becomes satisfied hearing the chirping of birds, which are compared to sweet talks with her, as well as the sweet words of children. This position, however, is not safe, since there are roaring lions around, which are compared with cruel death. To save oneself from the lion of death, one takes shelter in cranes, herons, and vultures (false gurus and sādhus), who are powerless to protect him. Instead, one should take shelter in the Supreme Lord. The word “hari” means both lion, and the Supreme Lord, Hari. To be saved from hari, the lion of death, one has to take shelter of Hari.

This analogy is expanded and explained in verses 5.14.28 and 29:

“Sometimes the conditioned soul is attracted by illusion personified (his wife or girlfriend) and becomes eager to be embraced by a woman. Thus he loses his intelligence as well as knowledge of life’s goal. At that time, no longer attempting spiritual cultivation, he becomes overly attached to his wife or girlfriend and tries to provide her with a suitable apartment. Again, he becomes very busy under the shelter of that home and is captivated by the talks, glances and activities of his wife and children. In this way he loses his Kṛṣṇa consciousness and throws himself in the dense darkness of material existence.

The personal weapon used by Lord Kṛṣṇa, the disc, is called hari-cakra, the disc of Hari. This cakra is the wheel of time. It expands from the beginning of the atoms up to the time of Brahmā’s death, and it controls all activities. It is always revolving and spending the lives of the living entities, from Lord Brahmā down to an insignificant blade of grass. Thus one changes from infancy, to childhood, to youth and maturity, and thus one approaches the end of life. It is impossible to check this wheel of time. This wheel is very exacting because it is the personal weapon of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sometimes the conditioned soul, fearing the approach of death, wants to worship someone who can save him from imminent danger. Yet he does not care for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose weapon is the indefatigable time factor. The conditioned soul instead takes shelter of a man-made god described in unauthorized scriptures. Such gods are like buzzards, vultures, herons and crows. Vedic scriptures do not refer to them. Imminent death is like the attack of a lion, and neither vultures, buzzards, crows nor herons can save one from such an attack. One who takes shelter of unauthorized man-made gods cannot be saved from the clutches of death.”

Prabhupāda concludes these two verses by bringing our attention to the movement he created to save us from these spiritual cheaters and connect us with the true process to become free from birth and death: “The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying its best to bring people back to Kṛṣṇa consciousness in its pure form, but the pāṣaṇḍīs and atheists, who are cheaters, are so numerous that sometimes we become perplexed and wonder how to push this movement forward. In any case, we cannot accept the unauthorized ways of so-called incarnations, gods, cheaters and bluffers, who are described here as crows, vultures, buzzards and herons.”

Unfortunately, when one comes to sincerely trying to follow, the cranes, herons, and vultures attack, defaming in so many ways. To avoid them, we have to ultimately become mature enough to differentiate gold from fool’s gold, and this knowledge is given to us by Prabhupāda in his books.

This process of coming in contact with saintly persons as a solution for material entanglement is explained in text 5.14.39:

“Saintly persons, who are friends to all living entities, have a peaceful consciousness. They have controlled their senses and minds, and they easily attain the path of liberation, the path back to Godhead. Being unfortunate and attached to the miserable material conditions, a materialistic person cannot associate with them.”

Cheated, one sometimes comes to the right path, but unfortunately, this is not the end of the challenges:

“Being cheated by them, the living entity in the forest of the material world tries to give up the association of these so-called yogīs, svāmīs and incarnations and come to the association of real devotees, but due to misfortune he cannot follow the instructions of the spiritual master or advanced devotees; therefore he gives up their company and again returns to the association of monkeys who are simply interested in sense gratification and women. He derives satisfaction by associating with sense gratifiers and enjoying sex and intoxication. In this way he spoils his life simply by indulging in sex and intoxication. Looking into the faces of other sense gratifiers, he becomes forgetful and thus approaches death.” (SB 5.13.17)

This verse continues the analogy from the previous text. Frustrated in material life, or fearful of death, a person goes to false gurus, yogis, and incarnations, and, being cheated by them, sometimes comes in contact with real devotees, often even taking initiation from a bona fide spiritual master. However, this is in itself not the end of the way. Advancing in the spiritual path involves following regulative principles and the instructions of the spiritual master, which can be difficult.

The point is that when we somehow or other come to understand the nature of the material world and become determined to become free from material illusion, we find the determination to follow spiritual principles that help us on that. This creates a virtuous cycle, where we follow, notice our advancement, and thus become more determined in continuing to follow. However, when we maintain the idea of enjoying materially, we tend to reject the spiritual master at a certain point, since he will not encourage us on this path. One may then conclude that the guru is too strict, or that his teachings are impractical, and look for some other group with laxer standards. This, in turn, can bring us to sahajiyās and new age groups that offer some form of spirituality, without the need of following rules and regulations.

These cheap spiritualists are compared to monkeys, who are simply interested in sense gratification and women. Outwardly, they may try to imitate the appearance and behavior of what people perceive as a sadhu, with a long beard and simple clothes, but internally, they think about women and followers. Prabhupāda clarifies the analogy in his purport: “Outwardly, monkeys sometimes resemble sādhus because they live naked in the forest and pick fruits, but their only desire is to keep many female monkeys and enjoy sex life.”

In association with them, devotees often go back into illicit sexual relationships and intoxication, while believing themselves to be very advanced. The whole cycle is summarized by Prabhupāda later in the same purport: “Sometimes so-called spiritualists seeking a spiritual life come to associate with Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees, but they cannot execute the regulative principles or follow the path of spiritual life. Consequently they leave the association of devotees and go to associate with sense gratifiers, who are compared to monkeys. Again they revive their sex and intoxication, and looking at one another’s faces, they are thus satisfied. In this way they pass their lives up to the point of death.”

This point is expanded in texts 5.14.30 and 31, where Prabhupāda expands this comparison of sahajiyās with monkeys, and even uses Darwin as support, sarcastically remarking that Darwin concluded that humans came from monkeys and, in fact, such cheap spiritualists are descendants of monkeys.

All of this illustrates how materialistic people can do everything in an attempt to increase their sense gratification and span of life, and how these attempts will all ultimately result in failure. The image of this kind of operation may seem unpleasant, but the point made by Prabhupāda is precise.

The shortcomings of sexual life, which is the basis of material existence, are described graphically in the next verse. This applies to both men and women, who both suffer in mundane relationships, although in slightly different ways.

“When the living entity becomes exactly like a monkey jumping from one branch to another, he remains in the tree of household life without any profit but sex. Thus he is kicked by his wife just like the he-ass. Unable to gain release, he remains helplessly in that position. Sometimes he falls victim to an incurable disease, which is like falling into a mountain cave. He becomes afraid of death, which is like the elephant in the back of that cave, and he remains stranded, grasping at the twigs and branches of a creeper.” (SB 5.13.18)

This analogy is expanded in texts 5.14.32 and 33. Although material pleasure is ephemeral and temporary, we become so absorbed in it that we don’t notice that death is approaching, just like a hunter preparing to strike.

Another analogy is that death is like an elephant that is about to smash us. In trying to escape this elephant, we fall into the darkness of a mountain cave, which is compared to the fear and anxiety of a materialist noticing that death is getting near.

Instead of falling into this dark cave, we should take old age and disease as an alert and dedicate our remaining years to seriously practicing spiritual life and achieving freedom.

“O killer of enemies, Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa, if the conditioned soul somehow or other gets out of his dangerous position, he again returns to his home to enjoy sex life, for that is the way of attachment. Thus, under the spell of the Lord’s material energy, he continues to loiter in the forest of material existence. He does not discover his real interest even at the point of death.” (SB 5.13.19)

This verse closes the sequence on the cycle of material existence. The scariest part of material existence is that, although there are so many troubles, we don’t want to get out. So powerful is the illusory potency that even experiencing these tribulations again and again, we keep returning to the same path. This point is expanded on in text 5.14.38:

“The path of this material world is full of material miseries, and various troubles disturb the conditioned souls. Sometimes he loses, and sometimes he gains. In either case, the path is full of danger. Sometimes the conditioned soul is separated from his father by death or other circumstances. Leaving him aside he gradually becomes attached to others, such as his children. In this way, the conditioned soul is sometimes illusioned and afraid. Sometimes he cries loudly out of fear. Sometimes he is happy maintaining his family, and sometimes he is overjoyed and sings melodiously. In this way he becomes entangled and forgets his separation from the Supreme Personality of Godhead since time immemorial. Thus he traverses the dangerous path of material existence, and on this path he is not at all happy. Those who are self-realized simply take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in order to get out of this dangerous material existence. Without accepting the devotional path, one cannot get out of the clutches of material existence. The conclusion is that no one can be happy in material life. One must take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”

Although the soul is part of the spiritual potency of the Lord, and thus superior to matter, because we are very small, we are overwhelmed by the power of the illusory potency, and thus remain forgotten of our real position for an eternity. Unfortunately, we are not capable of finding the way out by ourselves. As Kṛṣṇa explains in the Gītā, the material tree is so vast that, “No one can understand where it ends, where it begins, or where its foundation is.”

What is the solution then? The only real path is the association with devotees who are serious in the spiritual path. By their association, we can develop detachment, the weapon that allows us to cut down this tree of illusion. As Prabhupāda explains:

“Even by a little association with devotees, the conditioned soul can get out of this miserable material condition. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore trying to give everyone a chance to associate with saintly people. Therefore all the members of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness society must themselves be perfect sādhus in order to give a chance to fallen conditioned souls. This is the best humanitarian work.”

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