# Material Life ## 1. What is material desire? “I will simply enjoy sense gratification as long as I live in this world.” To maintain such a mentality is called material desire. ## 2. Is this material world a prison house for conditioned souls? Those akiñcana devotees who want nothing from this world understand that there is nothing in this world that can give us eternal happiness. There is no eternal happiness in this world. The material world is a prison house for conditioned souls. We are imprisoned here because we are averse to Kṛṣṇa. This is the result of our unlimited miseries and distresses. According to the dictation of the mind, which is compared to the superintendent of a prison house, we think our lesser miseries happiness and our bigger miseries great suffering. Fools who run after material happiness find themselves simply entangled in Maya’s network. Attached householders think, “Becoming householders will make us happy. We will find ourselves some servants and will understand everything we want to know through the manipulation of our senses.” To desire to become politicians, literateurs, scholars, aristocrats, philanthropists, national leaders, and good workers is simply an attempt to master the illusory energy. But Prahlāda Mahārāja warned us not to engage our senses in external activity or to aspire for selfish interest. We think we have become masters in this world because we have become attached to family life and accepted the body as the self. We think the material world and everything in it is for our enjoyment. Earth, water, fire, air, ether, sun, moon, planets, stars, animals, birds, trees, and creepers—all have been placed here for us to enjoy. Along with that idea, we think everyone and everything here has been designed to serve us. We never think about the actual purpose of this material world: it is an ingredient for the Supreme Lord’s worship. If we are not worshiping Hari, we have no right to take even a blade of grass from this world. ## 3. Why is this material world full of miseries? The Lord says, “I have arranged all these miseries and dangers not to give you trouble but to teach you that such miseries are unnecessary and that you should search after eternally desirable eternal happiness.” ## 4. What is Maya? Maya mean “that which is not.” Maya is that which we can measure. All temporary perishable objects are Maya. That which is not the Supreme Lord is Maya. The Supreme Lord is Maya’s controller and no one can measure Him. According to the Christians, Godhead is separate from Satan, but the Maya described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is not like that. According to the Bhāgavata school Maya is present in the Supreme Lord, although she is ashamed of her role, to rectify the living entities who are averse to Kṛṣṇa by punishing them. ## 5. What is the ascending path? The ascending path can be compared to Rāvaṇa’s attempt to build a staircase to heaven. Such uphill work is a most puzzling task. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has instructed us to reject uphill work, or Rāvaṇa’s policy of building a staircase to heaven. There are two ways to look at things. One can try to forcibly see the sun at night with the help of a lamp, or one can wait until sunrise and see the sun with the help of the sunshine itself. If one wants material prosperity, one is bound to adopt the ascending path. If one wants to tread the path of jṅāna, karma, or yoga, he must make endeavor. But the ascending path will always remain incomplete. A twenty-year civilization or experience will prove faulty and incomplete before a one hundred-year civilization or experience. Two hundred years of experience may seem silly in the eyes of a thousand years of experience. Intelligent persons do not follow the ascending path but the descending path, which is based on real experience. ## 6. Does anyone in this world respect a real devotee? In a world full of cheaters, cheaters are respected. Pure devotees who do not misguide people are not respected in this world. It has become fashionable to be cheated by those who misguide people in the name of hari-kathā. Genuine devotees and those who expose nondevotees are often mistaken for ordinary people because nondevotees and cheaters mislead ordinary people by calling these devotees thieves. In this way they try to sustain their own cheating. The illusory energy does not allow the living entities to become sincere at any cost. Therefore she arranges various tricks to keep people away from the association of real devotees. ## 7. What kind of people find fault with Vaiṣṇavas? Only those averse to Lord Hari and whose only assets are their defective material senses find fault with Vaiṣṇavas. In Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa states that His devotees never perish. Can those who worship the Lord without deviation ever fall down? They certainly achieve perfection. Since our vision is polluted we find fault with others and thereby ruin ourselves. When we thus become materialists we become bereft of service to guru and Kṛṣṇa. We think of the trouble of others because we ourselves are in trouble. Because we are full of faults we find fault with others. If we can correct ourselves, we will find that we have no time to find fault with others. ## 8. Can you define our disease? Our main disease is that we wish to accumulate material enjoyment, things unrelated to Kṛṣṇa, simply for sense gratification. We get pleasure from sense gratification, but we do not find pleasure in chanting and serving the Supreme Lord, who is the ultimate object of all enjoyment. This is our misfortune. Just as a jaundice patient does not relish sugar candy, we who are attached to sense gratification do not relish the sweet holy names or the Lord’s service. When the body is poisoned, even honey tastes bitter. Still, sugar candy is the only medicine for jaundice. As one applies the cure, the sugar candy gradually begins to taste sweet. Similarly, our aversion to the Lord and our attachment to sense gratification will gradually diminish if we willingly or even unwillingly chant the holy name and serve the Supreme Lord. As we are cured, we will taste the sweetness of the Lord’s service and the sweet holy name will automatically engage our spiritual senses in the service of the transcendental Lord. ## 9. What is our primary mistake and how have we tried to rectify it? We all want to be happy, but we have mistaken distress for happiness. We often call a doctor to treat our illness, but if instead of following his prescription we advise him to prescribe a cure of our choice, how will we be cured? Similarly, after accepting a spiritual master, if rather than following his instruction we act whimsically, how will we find benefit? That is why a flatterer cannot be a doctor. If a flatterer, instead of prescribing suitable medicine and diet, prescribes according to the patient’s taste only to collect his fee, then although the patient may gain temporary relief, his disease will not be cured. ## 10. Why can’t everyone understand transcendental subject matter? How can they if they are unfortunate? There must be purity. Those who are fortunate hear transcendental topics with faith and by the Lord’s mercy understand them, and those who make hasty conclusions cannot understand the Absolute Truth. Such persons cannot even spend time cultivating complete transcendental knowledge. Our society is so engrossed in materialism that people are unable to spend even a moment to discuss eternal life. We are busy in worldly activities twenty-four hours a day. We don’t even bother to know who we are. But human beings should spend twenty-four hours a day on spiritual cultivation. It is not the duty of intelligent persons to waste their valuable lives gratifying their senses. We should search out our self-interest. Most of us are engaged in pursuing selfishness. The children play, the young maintain family life, and the old endeavor to protect their lives and their property. Consequently, they are indifferent to their own self-interest. In order to focus on worldly self-interest, materialists sacrifice eternal self-interest. What a pity! Some people say one need not worry about the soul’s welfare at present. Why think about the future? All that’s necessary at present is to work. But this is not right, because if one fails to get an education in childhood, he will suffer inconvenience as an adult. A person desiring social welfare necessarily also desires welfare for himself. Such a person should endeavor to see that devotional service, which is the characteristic of the spirit, is not impeded by sense gratification. Many people may think it is enough to give up sinful activities and accumulate piety, but this is not the ultimate goal. Those who are actually intelligent consider the relationship between their present activities and their eternal existence at every stage of life. If one fails to think about this, he will find himself in trouble. Work done at the proper time reaps proper fruits in the future. If one does not use his time properly he will face difficulty. People who desire to discuss spiritual topics in old age will find themselves unable to do so because they will remain preoccupied with and disturbed by family life. ## 11. Is human birth superior to birth as a demigod? Human birth is better than birth as a demigod, and that is why the demigods aspire for human birth. The demigods are so intoxicated with material enjoyment that they cannot think of how much distress awaits them. They are fully absorbed in the intoxication of temporary happiness. A demigod’s life is also temporary. Bhagavad-gītā (9.21) states: te taṁ bhuktvā svarga-lokaṁ viśālaṁ, kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viŚanti evaṁ trayī-dharmam anuprapannā, gatāgataṁ kāma-kāmā labhante When they have thus enjoyed vast heavenly sense pleasure, and the results of their pious activities are exhausted, they return to this mortal planet again. Thus those who seek sense enjoyment by adhering to the principles of the three Vedas achieve only repeated birth and death. Human beings are more concerned about the future than the inferior living entities. The demigods live happier and more prosperous Also, the miseries we experience in the human form of life constantly remind us of the temporality and insignificance of material existence. In the relatively superior life of the demigods this realization is not easily achieved. In the human form of life, therefore, we have received the opportunity to become truly fortunate, to know what is beneficial and not beneficial for us. ## 12. What is the difference between the weak-hearted and the offenders? The weak-hearted and the offenders are not in the same class. Although weak-heartedness may eventually become offense, it contains a hatred for sinful activities and offense. While the weak-hearted know that committing sinful activities and offenses is unlawful, they are unable to give them up. Offenders never consider such activities unlawful. They think whatever they do or understand is good and whatever the saints say is wrong. Weak-hearted people should give up material desires by condemning them, not embracing them with love and taste. Then they will certainly attain Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. Otherwise they will be deprived of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. ## 13. Is there any happiness in this material world? There is no happiness in the material world. Rather, the world is full of danger, which disturbs us. Conditions may sometimes appear pleasant, but ultimately they end in misery of one type or another. That is why the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam verse beginning tat te anukampām was spoken. There is no waywardness in Goloka. In this world, there is no alternative but to tolerate inconvenience at any particular time or in any circumstance. ## 14. What is the fate of the atheist? We believe that the Supreme Lord always makes arrangement for our benefit. Atheists can never attain good standing in this world. They jump around for a few days and are ultimately subdued by providence. Because they are envious of Vaiṣṇavas, atheists attain inauspiciousness both in this world and the next. ## 15. Does a doubtful soul find fortune? A doubtful person is bound to fall down and his destruction is inevitable. Every object in this world is directly and indirectly related to Kṛṣṇa and is meant for His enjoyment. Unfortunate persons who maintain a contrary conception are doubtful. They lack surrender, honest inquiry, and a service attitude. ## 16. What does it mean to be an attached householder? One who proudly considers himself either the enjoyer or the enjoyed is an attached householder. The attached householders are greedy for gold, women, and fame. Those who have the propensity to enjoy wealth, women, and fame, are materialists, and such people want only to freely enjoy sense gratification surrounded by servants. We become materialists because we accept the body as the self. We have become so-called masters of the world. But we get into trouble when we see the material world with an enjoying spirit. Our mentality as gross materialists will not be removed unless we develop the good intelligence that everything in the world is meant for the Lord’s service. Those who try to either enjoy the material world or reject it as worthless are ruined and can never realize the Supreme Lord. By depending on this temporary material world we will gain only distress and death. To lead a godless family life means to fall into the trap of death, first suffering the threefold miseries. All activities and thoughts in this material world bring us closer to death. The attached materialists are not concerned that day by day they are going to hell while suffering the pangs of material misery. ## 17. What is the mentality of a fruitive worker? An altruistic fruitive worker wants to save the shoes and shirt of a drowning man. In the religion of the Western countries, to do good for the external dress of a human being is considered laudable. Many people consider welfare to mean taking care of a person’s clothing. Two bodies cover the spirit soul, a gross body made of the five material elements and a subtle body made of mind, intelligence, and false ego. Most people consider offering service to those two temporary bodies the best form of welfare work. Therefore one of our German devotees said, “If a man is drowning, let him drown. If a person is being degraded, let him be degraded, but the so-called altruistic fruitive workers consider that to save the shoes and shirt of such drowning or degraded people is real welfare activity. How sad!” ## 18. What is anartha? That which is not artha, which is devoid of spiritual significance, is called anartha. Material enjoyment, desire for religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, liberation, and the desire for wealth, women, and fame are anarthas. When one chants the holy name of Hari, all anarthas are destroyed. Anartha in this context refers to the desire for sense gratification. Desire for sense gratification is the principal impediment on the devotional path. Material desires interrupt one’s attempt to constantly remember the Lord and direct one’s attention to things unrelated to Kṛṣṇa. ## 19. Why are we unable to maintain faith in transcendental objects? The most sinful cannot maintain faith in transcendental objects. Hearts that are contaminated with sinful reactions cannot repose faith in pure spiritual objects. Therefore both the Mahābhārata and the Skanda Purāṇa state: mahā-prasāde govinde, nāma-brahmaṇi vaiṣṇave svalpa-puṇya-vatāṁ rājan, viśvāso naiva jāyate Persons who are not very highly elevated in pious activities cannot believe in the remnants of food [prasādam] of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or in Govinda, the holy name of the Lord, nor in the Vaiṣṇavas. At present we have lost faith in these four spiritual objects and we have therefore been swallowed by various anarthas. Mahāprasādam, Govinda, the holy name, and the spiritual master are all nondifferent from Lord Viṣṇu, but since we have come in contact with this material world we have lost faith in that truth. The word Maya means “that which is not” or “that which one can measure.” These four items cannot be measured. Śrī Govinda is the self-effulgent Absolute Truth; we do not need another light to help us see Him. The word Govinda means “protector of the cows.” The transcendental personality Govinda is not a concoction of the human mind. No one has imagined or created Śrī Govinda; He is the supreme transcendental Absolute Truth and is beyond the reach of material perception. The spiritual master, the highest benefactor, the giver of transcendental knowledge, and the king of Vaiṣṇavas, reveals to us this most confidential understanding about Śrī Govinda. Śrī Govinda is the personification of unalloyed supreme bliss. That which temporarily appears as truth according to our mundane knowledge is only apparent truth, local truth. It cannot be positive or absolute truth. Nothing has ever existed before Śrī Govinda. This material world has been created for those who are averse to serving Him. ## 20. Who is not eager for the Lord’s service? Those whose hearts hanker for objects other than service to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa are not praiseworthy. They suffer from the poisonous fruit of their own misfortune. Those less intelligent people who are not yet qualified to attain perfection do not become eager to serve the Lord. Rather, they become attached to sense enjoyment and thus increase their attachment for material existence. Do not bother with such people. Sva karma phala bhuk pumān: every living entity must enjoy the fruits of their own karma. ## 21. What is karma? Work done for one’s own happiness and the happiness of others is called karma. There is nothing about trying to please Kṛṣṇa in the performance of karma. The goal of karma is to search after one’s own happiness and the happiness of others, whereas searching for Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure is called devotional service. This material world is the field of karma for ordinary people, but for the devotees the material world is a place in which to cultivate devotional service. Whatever is performed in this world with the prideful thought, “I am the doer,” is called karma, whereas whatever is done for the Lord’s pleasure, induced by the Lord, with the idea, “I am Kṛṣṇa’s servant,” is called devotional service. ## 22. How long should we engage in karma? The Bhāgavatam (11.20.9) states: tāvat karmāṇi kurvīta, na nirvidyeta yāvatā mat-kathā-śravaṇādau vā, śraddhā yāvan na jāyate One should continue to perform the Vedic ritualistic activities until one actually becomes detached from material sense gratification and develops faith for hearing and chanting about Me. One who does not manifest either of these symptoms must engage in karma. The root of devotional service is taste for and faith in hari-kathā. Hari-kathā hy kevalam paramam śreyaḥ: discussing topics of Hari is the supremely beneficial activity. Possessing firm faith in hari-kathā is a symptom of one’s developing taste for hari-kathā. Those who have faith in and taste for some activity find the activity their principal engagement. If we wish to develop faith in hari-kathā we must associate with strong devotees. There is no other way to develop the inclination to serve the Lord and to give up the inclination for karma and sense gratification. Without becoming disappointed or restless, therefore, one should hear enlivening hari-kathā from a living source and try to practically apply them in his or her life. This is the symptom of intelligence. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.26.26) states: tato duḥsaṅgam utsṛjya, satsu sajjeta buddhimān santa evāsya chindanti, mano-vyāsaṅgam uktibhiḥ An intelligent person should therefore reject all bad association and instead take up the association of saintly devotees, whose words cut off the excessive attachment of one’s mind. Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līla 24.97) states: sādhu-saṅga-kṛpā kimvā kṛṣṇera kṛpāya kāmādi ’duḥsaṅga’ chāḍi’ śuddha-bhakti pāya One is elevated to the platform of devotional life by the mercy of a Vaiṣṇava, the bona fide spiritual master, and by the special mercy of Kṛṣṇa. On that platform, one gives up all material desires and the association of unwanted people. Thus one is elevated to the platform of pure devotional service. ## 23. Does one need to check one’s material propensity? If the propensity to enjoy material life is not checked, then one will continue in the cycle of repeated birth and death. It is important to stop acting for sense gratification. Unless one stops acting for sense gratification, the propensity for material life—and the suffering that comes from material distress—will not be destroyed. It is essential to cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Spiritual cultivation removes the desire for material life, destroys the desire to try for artha, kāma, dharma, and mokṣa, and gives one supreme fortune. All the material desires in the heart of a person in which Lord Kṛṣṇa has manifest are automatically destroyed, because Kṛṣṇa is the transcendental Cupid and all desires serve Him and no one else. One who has captured Kṛṣṇa in his heart has no desire for sense gratification. Whenever we do not follow the Vaiṣṇava lifestyle, our senses will become misguided and fall prey to material objects. We will forget that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor of our senses. We have been given this human form of life to worship Hari. Guided by the sailor in the form of guru, we can cross the ocean of material existence on the boat of the human body and attain Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. Why, then, should we prefer to drown in the ocean of material existence? ## 24. Does a proud person achieve any benefit? Those who engage in karmic activities are known as proud materialists. The path of karma is inauspicious, and there is no benefit or devotion on this path. We run toward misfortune when we accept the path of karma. By executing pious activities we try to become popular. By performing our family duties we try to attract our relatives’ appreciation. These things will not give us peace of mind, nor will they deliver us from material bondage. Therefore the Lord’s devotees have mercifully instructed us to serve the Supreme Lord as our only duty. Devotional service is the duty of everyone, including the demigods, animals, birds, and human beings. Instead of paying attention to the devotees’ words, however, we think we have become fathers and must now dutifully serve our sons and daughters. When we are small, we think it is our duty to serve our parents. In this way various propositions and dispositions appear constantly in the heart. Answering those propositions and dispositions is what it means to be averse to the Supreme Lord and to serve Maya. ## 25. Why do the animals become human beings? Animals become human beings in order to worship Lord Hari. This is not only true of the animals but even the demigods desire birth in the human form so they can worship Hari. If we simply remain busy eating, sleeping, mating, and defending like animals, even after attaining this most rare human form—if we remain intoxicated by material life and do not worship Hari—our lives are useless. We will have failed to take advantage of the human body. What, then, is the point in remaining alive? Life devoid of devotion to Hari is useless. All we will have is a life of material misery. ## 26. Is life devoid of hari-bhajana useless? If we do not worship Kṛṣṇa, what is the point of eating and drinking? Even after having received this rarely attained human body, if we do not worship Kṛṣṇa we will have to suffer birth after birth. We came to the material world only to serve Kṛṣṇa, but due to Maya’s conditioning, we have become entangled in the material complexities. ## 27. Is this material world meant for our enjoyment? This material world is an ingredient of the Supreme Lord’s service. If one sees this world as here for one’s own enjoyment, he commits an offense and suffers the pangs of material existence. As soon as we forget our constitutional position and try to enjoy this material world, conditioned by Maya, we think of enjoying the material world with our gross material senses. We should know that the material world is not here for our enjoyment. If we try to enjoy matter, we are usurping things that are meant for Kṛṣṇa’s enjoyment. ## 28. Does the mind cheat? If my mind gets an opportunity it will ruin me. This stupid mind has a tendency to serve lust, anger, and other material propensities. In order to engage everyone in Maya’s service—the service of lust and anger—this wicked mind takes the position of instructor. A materialistic mind is always ready to envy Hari, guru, and the Vaiṣṇavas. Therefore rather than listening to its dictations, one should hear from the guru, sādhus, and śāstras. ## 29. What is karma-kāṇḍa? What is jṅāna-kāṇḍa? To enjoy the fruits of one’s karma is called karma-kāṇḍa, and to deprive both oneself and the Lord of the fruits of one’s karma is called jṅāna-kāṇḍa. ## 30. What is materialism? Those whose only assets are their material senses, who hoist the flag of self by bragging even though they are covered with illusory sensual knowledge, who sew a network of arguments while maintaining themselves as sense gratifiers, and who try to imagine the transcendental object from the mundane platform are gross materialists. There are two paths, the path of aural reception and the path of argument. The path of aural reception is also called the descending path, and the path of argument is called the ascending path. On the descending path one renders service to the transcendental Lord by hearing, whereas on the ascending path one manipulates his senses to gain expertise in material science. When the sun’s rays enter our eyes, we are accepting the sun’s help to see the sun. We are seeing the sun by the descending process. When we renounce the sun’s help and try to see the sun by some independent means—perhaps taking the help of an artificial light— we fail to see the sun. This is the ascending method. Rāvaṇa adopted this process, as do other godless people. Materialists tend to be casual and covered logicians. Simply by taking shelter of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet with sincerity and renouncing the material concept of life we will be able to understand Kṛṣṇa’s life and will personally practice devotional service by guru and Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. ## 31. What is a mental speculator? Mental speculators are those who dare to attack the Absolute Truth in a challenging mood. Mental speculation, the path of argument, is the opposite to what is taught in Bhagavad-gītā (4.34). There are two kinds of people, those who want to become inclined toward Kṛṣṇa by hearing from a bona fide spiritual master who glorifies the Absolute Truth, and those who want to challenge the transcendental Absolute Truth on the strength of the knowledge they have gained through their senses. The former is the authorized descending path of disciplic succession, and the latter is the path of argumentation. Whatever is accepted directly is the path of disciplic succession, and whatever is accepted indirectly is the path of argumentation. The five types of philosophical work (darśanas) are based on argument. Only the Vedānta darśana has accepted the authorized path of disciplic succession. In order to bewilder ordinary people, Saṅkarācārya has mixed argument into the Vedānta darśana and confused it with the descending path. One becomes a mental speculator when he enhances his material knowledge, even while apparently pursuing spiritual understanding. Vaiṣṇavas do not concoct or speak from their imagination. Rather, they lead people to the guru’s lotus feet. There are not five or ten spiritual masters; guru is one. And the Absolute Truth requires no challenge from anyone. ## 32. Why have the living entities become conditioned? The living entities have become conditioned because they misused their free will. ## 33. What does the Bhagavad-gītā verse beginning īśvara sarva-bhūtānām (18.61) mean? This verse confirms that Lord Viṣṇu alone is the controller and director of all living entities. The Supreme Lord rewards everyone according to their respective karma. The living entities are the cause of their own activities, and the Supreme Lord is the director. As the director, the Supreme Lord is not responsible directly or indirectly for the karmic activities the living entities perform or the fruits they then become eligible to enjoy. The Supreme Lord gives the fruits of karma and the living entities enjoy them. ## 34. Why are we busy with activities other than devotional service? We are unfortunate, and so we have become busy in activities other than the Lord’s service. Somehow or other we are not able to understand that our only duty is to serve the Lord. Therefore we give more importance to other activities than to the Lord’s service. Even though we repeatedly associate with devotees, we are unable to remove this misconception. Since we are averse to the Lord, our tendency is to become conditioned by Maya, to fall for Maya’s temptations, and to work like asses to accumulate wealth to gratify the senses of our wife, children, and relatives whom we will never meet again. We plant mango trees, we buy movable and immovable assets, but people we will never meet will enjoy the fruits of these purchases. We work so hard to earn money, but someone else will spend it indiscriminately. What an illusion! ## 35. Don’t the smārthas worship Lord Viṣṇu? The smārthas’ worship of Viṣṇu is part of their worship of demigods such as Ganeśa, Sūrya, Dūrga, etc; and does not amount to worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Worshiping Viṣṇu as if He were one of the five demigods means one considers Him one of the demigods. Such worship is both offensive and atheistic. Śāstra states: yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devaṁ, brahma-rudrādi-daivataiḥ samatvenaiva vīkṣeta, sa pāṣaṇḍī bhaved dhruvam One who considers Lord Viṣṇu to be in the same category with the demigods like Lord Brahmā or Lord Śiva, or who thinks Lord Brahmā and Śiva to be equal to Lord Viṣṇu, is to be considered a pāṣaṇḍī, a faithless nonbeliever. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 15.117) Atheistic Hindus do not consider Kṛṣṇa’s holy name both the ultimate goal of life and the perfect means to achieve it. They consider Kṛṣṇa equal to the demigods, and Kṛṣṇa’s holy name equal to fruitive activities such as yajña, tapasya, yoga, meditation, and observing vows. Mahāprabhu said: koṭi aśvamedha eka kṛṣṇa nāma sama yei kahe, se pāṣaṇḍī, daṇḍe tāre yama One who says that ten million aśvamedha sacrifices are equal to the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa is undoubtedly an atheist. He is sure to be punished by Yamarāja. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 3.79) Worship of Viṣṇu in the course of worshiping the five gods does not please Lord Viṣṇu. It is simply demigod worship and therefore improper. ## 36. Why do some people instruct us to increase the mode of passion? “The mode of passion should be increased”: this is what unfortunate people say. Still, people in the world marketplace accept such a foolish and unreasonable statement as if it represented great charity toward human society. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states: “One should destroy the mode of ignorance with the help of the mode of passion, the mode of passion with the help of the mode of goodness, and the mode of mixed goodness with the help of pure goodness.” Those who favor increasing the mode of passion either think the mode of pure goodness to be the mode of ignorance or some temporary material mode. Thus they consider impersonalism transcendental to the material modes. At present people in this world are busy pursuing childish religions. People with animalistic propensities do not understand anything other than their own sense gratification. The thirst for sense gratification appears in four forms, religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation. These are not limbs of devotional service. Among them, the first three fall into the category of bhukti, material enjoyment, and the last is the fiercest form of sense gratification, mukti, liberation. Liberation in the form of attaining complete freedom from all types of material misery is nothing but a thirst for happiness or sense gratification. ## 37. What is the fate of a person who instead of utilizing his wealth for the Lord’s service uses it for his children and grandchildren? If we do not properly use the wealth God gives us, it means we have failed to understand a simple truth. How unfortunate we are! Those who whimsically spend their wealth on various sinful activities will certainly end up in hell. ## 38. When a living entity who is averse to the Lord falls down, in what species does he first take birth? The living entity averse to the Lord first becomes Brahmā and then a human being. The fallen soul first becomes Brahmā. In order to enjoy Maya, many living entities took birth as Brahmās sons. Among them a number were entrusted with the responsibility to create progeny. As soon as the living entity proudly considers himself an enjoyer he becomes conditioned by Maya. While trying to become the Lord of Maya in the material kingdom he ends up as her servant. ## 39. Why do we like material existence? We are bound to suffer if we cause anxiety to the spiritual master and the Vaiṣṇavas, who are not ordinary like us. The spiritual master and the Vaiṣṇava are by nature harder than a thunderbolt and softer than a flower. We must take utmost care when dealing with Viṣṇu’s devotees. We must not play any trick on the spiritual master or the Vaiṣṇavas. Such behavior would be most dangerous. Unless one gladly follows the spiritual master’s orders one cannot call himself a disciple. If one gives up the lifestyle and rules and regulations of the Maṭha, one is bound to become a materialist. If one does not realize the importance of living in the Maṭha, serving the Maṭha, and fulfilling the spiritual master’s mission, one will certainly become a materialist. A Maṭha is nondifferent from Vaikuṇṭha, and this material world is just like a gateway to hell. As soon as a living entity turns his face away from the Lord’s mercy, he falls down to material existence. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.9.10) states: ahny āpṛtārta-karaṇā niśi niḥśayānā nānā-manoratha-dhiyā kṣaṇa-bhagna-nidrāḥ daivāhatārtha-racanāṛṣayo ’pi deva yuṣmat-prasaṅga-vimukhā iha saṁsaranti Such nondevotees engage their senses in very troublesome and extensive work, and they suffer insomnia at night because their intelligence constantly breaks their sleep with various mental speculations. They are frustrated in all their various plans by supernatural power. Even great sages, if they are against Your transcendental topics, must rotate in this material world. Constant endeavor to please Kṛṣṇa is called devotional service. Actually, we have no duty other than to please Kṛṣṇa at all times. All perfection is achieved simply by chanting the Lord’s holy name. We cannot serve the Lord without serving the holy name. If we can become servants of Kṛṣṇa we will attain the ultimate goal of life, but if we serve Maya no one can protect us from misfortune. ## 40. Why does a person who was once properly motivated develop material attachment after some time? This person must not have heard hari-kathā, due to inattention while hearing. He has not tried at all to refrain from seeking immediate happiness. Rather, he is maddened for sense gratification on the advice of sinful people. The most important thing is to take shelter of the Supreme Lord. It does not matter whether we are educated or uneducated, powerful or weak. The living entities are transcendental by nature, but when they think they belong to this world, consisting of the three material modes, they become attached to this world. ## 41. Are woman and wealth obstacles on the devotional path? Wealth, women, and fame are each bait for the senses. The conditioned souls are attracted to material enjoyment at every moment because Maya is constantly piercing us by showing us the bait. Tempting us with a woman’s association, Maya entangles us in this material world, just as a hunter captures a wild male elephant by luring him with a female elephant. The living entities wander throughout the universe seeing illusory objects as real and miserable existence as happy. Maya has arranged for some momentary happiness in this world in order to deceive the living entities. Whatever we see in this world that tempt us for sense gratification are all Maya’s baits. Anyone who tries to enjoy them will be deceived, will be pierced. “Eat, drink, be merry, and go to hell.” This mentality has swallowed human society. What a shame! ## 42. Please explain how one gradually becomes degraded. When one falls down from the position of Kṛṣṇa’s devotee, he becomes a devotee of Viṣṇu. When he falls down further he becomes an impersonalist. Still further he becomes a fruitive worker, and finally an unrestricted sense enjoyer. ## 43. Is it bad to read newspapers? All newspapers are full of worldly topics. We should not read anything that deals with Maya’s message. Reading such topics is synonymous with accepting bad association. ## 44. What is a sinful mentality? “I am the enjoyer of this material world”: this is a sinful mentality. This mentality brings about one’s ruination. That one is a servant of the Supreme Lord is the proper mentality. ## 45. Why do the living entities, who are meant to serve the Supreme Lord, proudly think themselves doers? It is a fact that the living entity is neither the master nor the enjoyer, but because he has forgotten Kṛṣṇa, his false ego has become prominent and thus he thinks himself the master. The living entities are by nature the Lord’s servants. As soon as they forget this, Maya captures and devours them. Unless one sees all objects in relation to the Lord, one cannot help but be misguided by the conception that he is the master. Then he suffers miseries as he busily serves matter. Devotee always serves the Supreme Lord. Their conviction that they are the Lord’s servant is prominent in their consciousness. Nondevotees pretending to be masters of the material energy suffer only anxiety. Only those whose knowledge of transcendence has not been awakened accept service as masters. Glorious are those who, rather than becoming masters, serve the Lord’s devotees. ## 46. How should we live in this world? As one who is tied up and beaten feels pain even though he does not want to, we should accept our place in this material world, while condemning it. ## 47. Is indulging in worldly talks inauspicious? Indulgence in worldly topics or the topics of material enjoyment increases our material existence, while indulgence in spiritual topics or topics related to Kṛṣṇa’s enjoyment awards us devotional service. If we are not thinking about Hari, we are certainly thinking about material enjoyment. People in this world are always and will always indulge in worldly topics. Instead we should chant Hari’s name while remaining indifferent to such topics. Otherwise we will become just like the materialists. Mahāprabhu has warned us not to speak about or hear worldly topics. ## 48. Why have we come here? We have come here because we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa. This planet suits our purposes. It is just the right distance from the sun; if we were not this exact distance, we would be burnt to death. But we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. To help us, the Lord mercifully assumes a form measuring three and half hands [one hand is equal to the measurement from the tip of the finger to the elbow] of His own hands so that we may approach Him. We have to adjust ourselves to His desires. Otherwise, if we try to become God ourselves we will never find fortune. If instead of disturbing the Lord we can properly adjust ourselves to Him and favorably cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then we will be able to attain His mercy. Karmīs and jṅānīs have a strong attachment to intellectualism. They think karma and jṅāna are prominent, but the Lord has a different perspective. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-lila 20.117) states: kṛṣṇa bhuli’ sei jīva anādi-bahirmukha ataeva māyā tāre deya saṁsāra-duḥkha Forgetting Kṛṣṇa, the living entity has been attracted by the external feature from time immemorial. Therefore, the illusory energy [Maya] gives him all kinds of misery in his material existence. ## 49. Are fruitive activities and the cultivation of knowledge constitutional duties of the spirit soul? Both karma and jṅāna are the activities of conditioned souls. Karma awards temporary results; and jṅāna allows one to become proud of his dry renunciation and invites one to experience self-destruction by cultivating meditation on the impersonal Brahman under the shelter of monism. Both sense enjoyers and dry renunciants are mistaken and misguided. Both are cheaters. One should free oneself from the influence of these two paths.