All of Us Transients

Relief from Suffering

The Cause of Misery by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Sufferings are always there. Everyone is trying to get out of sufferings, that is a fact. The whole struggle for existence is to get out of the suffering. But there are different kinds of prescription. Somebody says that you get out of the sufferings in this way, somebody says you get out of the sufferings in that way. So there are prescription offered by the modern scientists, by philosophers, by atheists or by theists, by fruitive actors, so many there are. But according to Krishna consciousness movement, you can get out of all sufferings if you simply change your consciousness, that's all. That is Krishna consciousness. more

The living entity thinks that he is very happy in whatever body he gets. He may get the body of a dog or the body of a cat, but he is happy in his body, and he does not want to lose it. This is called illusion. When an ant sees danger, he will run like anything. This is because he values his body and does not want to lose it. Once Lord Indra, the King of the heavenly planets, was cursed by Brihaspati to become a hog. He was going about on earth enjoying his hog body when finally Lord Brahma came and told him, "My dear Indra, you have suffered enough. Now come with me and return to your heavenly kingdom." Indra in the form of a hog said, "Where shall I go?" "To the heavens," Lord Brahma replied. It was then that Indra said, "No, I have my family and children. How can I go? I am very happy. Let me remain here." In this way, everyone is thinking that he is very happy, although he is in a horrible and fearsome condition. However, one who is actually intelligent can understand that he is not actually happy, that he is suffering. It is said that ignorance is bliss, but this is the bliss of a hog. When one actually comes to the understanding that he is not actually happy in the material world, he can begin to relieve his suffering.

There is no possibility of being liberated from suffering without taking shelter at Krishna's lotus feet. People are thinking that they can relieve suffering through abortion, by killing the child within the womb. In this way they are committing one sin after another and becoming more and more entangled. Consequently the aborted living entity will have to enter into the womb of another mother in order to undergo the birth that he is destined to take. Then, when he enters the womb of another mother, he may again be killed, and for many years he may not be allowed to see the light of the sun. In this Kali-yuga, people are becoming so sinful that there is no possibility of rescue unless one takes to Krishna consciousness. The entire human civilization is falling into the illusory fire of maya. People fly into the fire just like moths. When there is a beautiful fire, moths come from a long distance, enter it and go pop, pop, pop. In this way one dies, takes birth and suffers and dies again.

Yet Krishna and His devotees are so kind and compassionate that they are unhappy to see all the misery of this material world. Krishna is the father of all living entities, and He is very unhappy to see His sons suffer. Krishna therefore comes and canvasses: "Why are you captivated by this false, so-called happiness? Give up all of this and surrender to Me. Come to Me, and I will relieve you. You will then live happily, eternally and blissfully. You will not have any want, nor will you be troubled by anything." For this reason Krishna comes. Actually He has no other business to carry out here because His agent prakriti does everything. Nonetheless, out of compassion Krishna comes in His original form or in an incarnation like Kapiladeva. Krishna also sends His representative, who says, "You rascal! Simply take shelter of Krishna and be happy."

Rich Man's Sons
On the Way to Krishna, The Roads of the Foolish and the Wise

We are all related to Krishna, for we are all His sons. A son may have a disagreement with his father, but it is not possible for him to break that relation. In the course of his life he will be asked who he is, and he will have to reply, "I am the son of so and so." That relation cannot be broken. We are all sons of God, and that relationship with Him is eternal, but we have simply forgotten. Krishna is all-powerful, all-famous, all-wealthy, all-beautiful, all-knowledgeable, and He is full of renunciation as well. Although we are friends of such a great personality, we have forgotten it. If a rich man's son forgets his father, leaves home and becomes mad, he may lie on the street to go to sleep, or he may beg money for food, but all of this is due to his forgetfulness. If someone, however, gives him information that he is simply suffering because he has left his father's home and that his father, a very wealthy man and owner of vast property, is anxious to have him return—the person is a great benefactor.

In this material world we are always suffering under threefold miseries—the miseries arising from the body and the mind, from other living entities, and from natural catastrophes. Being covered by illusion, by the modes of material nature, we do not take account of these miseries. However, we should always know that in the material world we are undergoing so much suffering. One who has sufficiently developed consciousness, who is intelligent, inquires why he is suffering. "I do not want miseries. Why am I suffering?" When this question arises, there is chance for becoming Krishna conscious.

As soon as we surrender ourselves to Krishna, He welcomes us very cordially. It is just like a lost child who returns to his father and says, "My dear father, due to some misunderstanding I left your protection, but I have suffered. Now I return to you." The father embraces his son and says, "My dear boy, come on. I was so anxious for you all the days you were gone, and now I'm so happy you have come back." The father is so kind. We are in the same position. We have to surrender to Krishna, and it is not very difficult. When the son surrenders to the father, is it a very difficult job? It is very natural, and the father is always waiting to receive the son. There is no question of insult. If we bow down before our Supreme Father and touch His feet, there is no harm for us, nor is it difficult. Indeed, it is glorious for us. Why should we not? By surrendering unto Krishna we come immediately under His protection and are relieved of all miseries. This is validated by all scriptures. At the end of Bhagavad-gita, Sri Krishna says:

sarva-dharman paritya
jyamam ekam sharanam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayishyami ma shucah

"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear." (Bg. 18.66)

When we throw ourselves at the feet of God, we come under His protection, and from that time on there is no fear for us. When children are under the protection of their parents, they are fearless because they know that their parents will not let them be harmed. Mam eva ye prapadyante: Krishna promises that those who surrender to Him have no cause for fear.

If surrender unto Krishna is such an easy thing, then why don't people do it? Instead there are many who are challenging the very existence of God, claiming that nature and science are everything and that God is nothing. So-called advancement of civilization in knowledge means that the populace is becoming more mad. Instead of being cured, the disease is being increased. People don't care for God, but they care for nature, and it is nature's business to give kicks in the form of the threefold miseries. She is always administering these kicks twenty-four hours a day. However, we have become so accustomed to being kicked that we think it is all right and consider it to be the ordinary course of things. We have become very proud of our education, but we tell material nature, "Thank you very much for kicking me. Now please continue." Thus deluded, we think that we have even conquered material nature. But how is this so? Nature is still inflicting upon us the miseries of birth, old age, disease and death. Has any one solved these problems? Then what advancement have we really made in knowledge and civilization? We are under the stringent rules of material nature, but still we are thinking that we have conquered. This is called maya.

There may be some difficulty in surrendering to the father of this body, for he has limited knowledge and power, but Krishna is not like an ordinary father. Krishna is unlimited and has full knowledge, full power, full wealth, full beauty, full fame and full renunciation. Shouldn't we consider ourselves lucky to go to such a father and enjoy His property? Yet no one seems to care about this, and now everyone is making propaganda that there is no God. Why do people not seek Him out? The answer is given in the next verse of Bhagavad-gita:

na mam dushkritino mudhah
prapadyante naradhamah
mayayapahrita jnana
asuram bhavam ashritah

"Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me." (Bg. 7.15)

In this way the fools are categorized. A dushkriti is always acting against the scriptural injunctions. The business of current civilization is to break scriptural rules—that's all. By definition, a pious man is one who doesn't. There must be some standard to distinguish between dushkriti (an evil doer) and sukriti (a virtuous man). Every civilized country has some scripture—it may be Christian, Hindu, Moslem or Buddhist. That doesn't matter. The point is that the book of authority, the scripture, is there. One who does not follow its injunctions is considered an outlaw.

Another category mentioned in this verse is mudha, fool number one. The naradhama is one who is low in the human scale, and mayayapahrita jnana refers to one whose knowledge is carried away by maya, or illusion. Asuram bhavam ashritah refers to those who are out and out atheists. Although there are no disadvantages to surrendering unto the Father, people who are thus characterized never do it. As a result, they are constantly punished by the agents of the Father. They have to be slapped, caned and kicked severely, and they have to suffer. Just as a father has to chastise his unruly boy, so material nature has to employ certain punishments. At the same time nature is nourishing us by supplying food and other necessities. Both processes are going on because we are sons of the wealthiest Father of all, and Krishna is kind even though we do not surrender unto Him. Yet despite being furnished so well by the Father, the dushkriti still performs unsanctioned actions. One is foolish if he persists in being punished, and one is low on the human scale if he does not use this human form of life to understand Krishna. If a man does not use his life to reawaken the relationship he has with his real Father, he is to be considered fallen in the human scale.

Animals simply eat, sleep, defend themselves, have sexual intercourse and die. They do not avail themselves of higher consciousness because that is not possible in the lower forms of life. If a human being follows the activities of the animals and does not avail himself of his ability to elevate his consciousness, he falls down the human scale and prepares for an animal body in his next life. By the grace of Krishna we are given a highly developed body and intelligence, but if we do not utilize them, why should He give them to us again? We must understand that this human body has developed after millions and millions of years of evolution and that in itself it is a chance to get out of the cycle of birth and death in which over eight millions species of life evolve. This chance is given by the grace of Krishna, and if we do not take it, are we not the lowest among men? One may be a degree holder—M.A., Ph.D., etc.—from some university, but the illusory energy takes away this mundane knowledge. He who is really intelligent will apply his intelligence to understand who he is, who God is, what material nature is, why he is suffering in material nature, and what is the remedy to this suffering.

We're recruiting everyone
excerpt from Conversation with clergymen, June 15, 1976, Detroit

Prabhupada: Now, when I did not come to your country, I thought that in America, everyone is rich.
Scheverman: [laughs] Most everyone in another country thinks everyone in America is rich, yes. There's only one class here.

Prabhupada: But when I came here I saw so many bums—are called bums? [laughter] They are lying on the street.

Kern: But we think that...

Prabhupada: First of all, let me finish. So why, America, they are lying on the street?

Kern: They're not. They're not.

Prabhupada: How, what can you do?

Kern: A few are, but...

Prabhupada: Not few, many.

Kern: No.

Prabhupada: Maybe few, but why there should be at all?

Scheverman: You mean in a rich country like this, why should anyone be on the street?

Prabhupada: You cannot do anything. There will be a third-class or poor class man, which you even want to help them, they'll not accept your help. That is another thing. These three phases.... I have seen in London, the British Empire, and the hippies, they are lying on the park, and the police kicking, "Hey, ut, ut," [laughter] But I mean to say, the nature is law, nature's law, that a richer class, middle class and a poorer class. That will continue.

Scheverman: Jesus said the poor you have always with you. But at the same time, he said we must go out and give what assistance we can as a Christian community.

Prabhupada: That assistance means to.... First of all, a man is...

Scheverman: Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the homeless.

Prabhupada: A man is poor when he's in ignorance.

Scheverman: So you see that as a greater poverty, is the ignorance, rather than the physical poverty of not having enough food?

Prabhupada: So food problem can be solved simply by accepting.... That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gita. Find out. Annad bhavanti bhutani [Bg. 3.14]. How everyone can .... Find out.

Dhristadyumna: [Reads:] "All living bodies subsist on food grains which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by the performance of sacrifice, and sacrifice is born of prescribed duties."

Prabhupada: So if you produce enough food grains, both the man and the animal will live very peacefully. Food grains. And I've seen in your country, in America, in Africa, in Australia, so much vacant land without producing food grains. So men are not engaged to produce food grains, but they are brought in Detroit to manufacture of wheels of motorcar.

Kern: For ambulances to bring the sick to the doctor.

Prabhupada: So we have to correct this. First of all, produce food.

Scheverman: So if I understand you correctly, you are saying utilize intelligence to correct the problem. Produce more food rather than worry about the fact.... So that the poor can have to eat and the animals can have. So your approach, then, is not one of direct assistance to the person who is starving or suffering, but rather indirect, utilizing intelligence to produce food.

Prabhupada: Yes, and there will be no starvation.

Scheverman: It's an intellectual approach. I think our approach would be, we would be concerned with a person-to-person assistance. That is the way, our way, that Jesus has taught us. He said, "Feed the hungry and harbor the harborless and visit the imprisoned."

Prabhupada: Yes. If you have got enough food grains.... Just like in our headquarter in Bengal, we are giving food daily, at least one thousand men.

Scheverman: So you are feeding the hungry at your headquarters in [sic:] London. You do utilize then the direct approach as well.

Prabhupada: No, our process is that everyone who is hungry, come and take your food. But our program is going on, but feeding the poor is automatically there. If anyone comes to our temple, even here, anyone comes and take prasada.

Kern: Couldn't get in. If a poor person came here, they could not get in to eat. [laughing]

Makhanlal: No, we have many people coming from the neighborhood here. They are coming regularly. Even young children. Everything. They are coming. We have groups, community groups are coming.

Kern: Oh, do you? Very good, that's fine.

Scheverman: And we too. We have always responded to those who have a need for food or clothing or shelter. This comes to us every day, too.

Kern: But to make a person ask is not the right kind of society. Shouldn't, if a person be the first-class citizen and therefore independent and therefore seek his own so that he could serve God by his own intelligence and his independence.... There's no virtue to be giving; it's more of a virtue to receive.

Jayadvaita: He's suggesting that because we are requiring that a person come to us for food, that somehow this is interfering with his independence.

Prabhupada: Where is that independence? With his family he can come and take food. What is wrong there? We say that we should not..., we are not simply supplying food. Anyone who is coming, he is getting spiritual education. Not that it is a free hotel. No. It is not that. We give them spiritual education. You come here, you take your shelter, you take your food and learn how to be first-class man. That is our program. Don't be implicated in sinful activities. Be God conscious and live here with us comfortably, take your food. We have got this nice palace.

Kern: Doctor, do you recruit people to come?

Prabhupada: Yes, we are inviting everyone come. We have no such distinction.