SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM: CANTO 5

(1) The brahmin said: 'Trying to get ahead in life, which is difficult being captivated by illusion, is the eager one, divided in looking after the workload of his passion, ignorance and goodness, wandering around in his worldly existence and is he, bent upon the profit, not able to find happiness. (2) O god of men, there do these six plunderers [of seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, hearing and minding] ransack the conditioned souls that are chasing the false; by force they in that position like foxes seize the maddened zealous one his heart, just like tigers seizing lambs. (3) In the bowers of many creepers, grasses and thickets he is cruelly disturbed by biting mosquitos, sometimes imagining himself to be with the Gandharvas and sometimes as fast as a meteor getting possessed. (4) Running here and there for their home, water and wealth, o King, they consider that their one and all, and sometimes, blinded by their infatuation, have they lost their way [in life] because of the smoky dust [of lust] raised by a whirlwind [of some outer attraction].

(5) By the noises of invisible crickets disturbed in his ear, by the vibrations of owls upset in his mind and heart, and suffering from hunger taking shelter of fruitless trees, he at times runs after the waters of a mirage. (6) One time going for rivers that ran dry and asking food from others who themselves ran out of stock, suffer they some other time from the forest fire of their material existence and worry they about what became of the cherished wealth seized by the rogues ruling the state. (7) Sometimes do they all, seeing themselves taxed by their ruling superiors, experience grief in their hearts and get they, wining, bewildered in losing their minds; and now and then, for a short while, they dream of having entered heavenly abodes where one enjoys like being happy. (8) Sometimes wandering are the feet of someone who wants to climb the hills hurt by thorns and small stones and is such a one depressed with each step he makes; and sometimes gets a family person, agitated with a hungry stomach, angry with his own family members. (9) Sometimes left to his own devices in the [material] forest [of life] is the conditioned soul swallowed by the python doesn't he understand a thing; attacked by poisonous snakes and bitten, he sometimes, fallen into an unseen well, then lies down blind in utter darkness. (10) Sometimes searching for some little sexual pleasure is he by the disquieted beehive of the family of the woman insulted; or, concerning these matters with much difficulty spending money to find his comfort, is thereafter by force the object of desire by someone else stolen away from him. (11) Sometimes also not able to fight the cold, the heat, the wind or the rains, he is put off; and sometimes selling along with others whatever little bit, he lands in mutual enmity so one says, because of cheating for the profit. (12) Now and then being destitute is he in that without bedding, a place to sit, a house and family comforts, and does he bereft beg from others; not getting what he needs he is after the property of others and then finds dishonor. (13) Because of financial transactions with one another there is a rise of enmity, and married to each other trying to progress materially is that resulting in great difficulties, because one, for want of money following the wrong course, will be completely embarrassed.

(14) All who are thus variously embarrassed, have at times to give up on the beings close to them and are then after newly born lives; being after one's own interest one wanders around here in this world and up to the present day is none of the ones in that position, o hero, able to reach the ultimate end of yoga [to devotional service]. (15) They who without much of a mind managed to conquer giants of other heroes, are all caught in this world in the concept of 'mine' and lay down their lives in battle with the enmity created - but they do not reach the reality of the staff of renunciation which, when one is free from enmity, does lead to the perfection. (16) More and more attached sometimes do they who enjoy in the arms of their wives, their creeper, sing an odd tune in desiring to hear the song of another bird; and sometimes hearing somewhere the roar of the lion he seeks friendship with cranes, herons and vultures. (17) Cheated by them but not finding satisfaction in contact with the devoted, approach they in their behavior the monkeys with whom associated they are quite at ease with their senses, and staring at each other's faces approach they forgetful their death. (18) Enjoying up their tree are they, attached to wife and children and poor of heart, unable to detach bound to the consequences of their own actions, and fall they at times, beset by fear for the elephant of death, into a cave in the mountains thus getting trapped there. (19) Somehow or other getting out of this danger they again, o killer of the enemies, take up the same life, that path of enjoyment travelled by the conditioned soul under the influence of mâyâ, in which he up to his death fails to understand a thing. (20) King Rahûgana, you, surely also walking this path of material existence, will, once you've given up the stick of chastising and are acting friendly towards all beings, by means of service to the Lord be someone who in his mind is no longer drawn to the untrue; taking up the sharpened sword of knowledge now cross over to the supreme of the other side!'

(21) The king said: 'Alas, o best one among the born, of what use is it, being born into the human form, to be but of a higher birth? Indeed there is nothing superior to it if we, in a new life, can't enjoy the abundance of associating with the truly great ones whose hearts are purified in the glory of Hrishikes'a [the Lord and master of the senses]. (22) Isn't it wonderful indeed to be completely liberated by the dust of your lotus feet of love and devotion unto Adhokshaja [the Lord in the Beyond], by the association of whom one in a moment is freed from all material contamination and as well the root of nondiscrimination of false arguing is completely vanquished? (23) Let there be my reverential homage unto the great personalities, whether they appear as boys, as young men or as total forsakers; let there, from all those selfrealized souls of transcendence who walk this earth under different guises, be the good of fortune over all the dynasties!'

(24) S'rî S'uka said: 'This way, o son of Uttarâ [Parîkchit], did he, that son of brahmin wisdom, though being insulted, from the quality of his kindness and the supreme of his spiritual realization, before the ruler of Sindhu expound on the actual reality of the soul; with Rahûgana so piteous, was he whose lotus feet were worshiped, of a heart in which, like in a full ocean, all the waves of the sensory were completely silenced as he continued to roam this earth [compare 3.25: 21]. (25) The king of Sauvîra sure of an elevated position, came to a full understanding of the truth of the oversoul; within himself he managed to completely give up on the conception of a bodily self that he erroneously in nescience had attributed to his person and thus, o King, followed he faithfully the path of disciplic succession since the Lord. '

(26) The king [Parîkchit] said: 'That which you described here so knowledgeable, o greatest of devotion, in figures of speech about the individual soul its path in material existence, is set in words comprehensible to the minds of the educated, not so much directly to locals of a lesser experience; therefore, for the sake of a full understanding of this matter so hard to grasp, could you please describe it telling us the exact meaning? '

The brahmin said: 'Trying to get ahead in life, which is difficult being captivated by illusion, is the eager one, divided in looking after the workload of his passion, ignorance and goodness, wandering around in his worldly existence and is he, bent upon the profit, not able to find happiness.

Jada Bharata, who had fully realized Brahman, continued: My dear King Rahûgana, the living entity wanders on the path of the material world, which is very difficult for him to traverse, and he accepts repeated birth and death. Being captivated by the material world under the influence of the three modes of material nature. (sattva-guna, rajo-guna and tamo-guna), the living entity can see only the three fruits of activities under the spell of material nature. These fruits are auspicious, inauspicious and mixed. He thus becomes attached to religion, economic development, sense gratification and the monistic theory of liberation. (merging with the Supreme) He works very hard day and night exactly like a merchant who enters a forest to acquire some articles to sell later for profit. However, he cannot really achieve happiness within this material world. (Vedabase)

Text 2

O god of men, there do these six plunderers [of seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, hearing and minding] ransack the conditioned souls that are chasing the false; by force they in that position like foxes seize the maddened zealous one his heart, just like tigers seizing lambs.

O King Rahûgana, in this forest of material existence there are six very powerful plunderers. When the conditioned soul enters the forest to acquire some material gain, the six plunderers misguide him. Thus the conditioned merchant does not know how to spend his money, and it is taken away by these plunderers. Like tigers, jackals and other ferocious animals in a forest that are ready to take away a lamb from the custody of its protector, the wife and children enter the heart of the merchant and plunder him in so many ways. (Vedabase)

Text 3

In the bowers of many creepers, grasses and thickets he is cruelly disturbed by biting mosquitos, sometimes imagining himself to be with the Gandharvas and sometimes as fast as a meteor getting possessed.

In this forest there are dense bowers composed of thickets of bushes, grass and creepers. In these bowers the conditioned soul is always disturbed by cruelly biting mosquitoes [envious people]. Sometimes he sees an imaginary palace in the forest, and sometimes he is bewildered by seeing a fleeting fiend or ghost, which appears like a meteor in the sky. (Vedabase)

Text 4

Running here and there for their home, water and wealth, o King, they consider that their one and all, and sometimes, blinded by their infatuation, have they lost their way [in life] because of the smoky dust [of lust] raised by a whirlwind [of some outer attraction].

My dear King, the merchant on the forest path of the material world, his intelligence victimized by home, wealth, relatives and so forth, runs from one place to another in search of success. Sometimes his eyes are covered by the dust of a whirlwind--that is to say, in his lust he is captivated by the beauty of his wife, especially during her menstrual period. Thus his eyes are blinded, and he cannot see where to go or what he is doing. (Vedabase)

Text 5

By the noises of invisible crickets disturbed in his ear, by the vibrations of owls upset in his mind and heart, and suffering from hunger taking shelter of fruitless trees, he at times runs after the waters of a mirage.

Wandering in the forest of the material world, the conditioned soul sometimes hears an invisible cricket making harsh sounds, and his ears become very much aggrieved. Sometimes his heart is pained by the sounds of owls, which are just like the harsh words of his enemies. Sometimes he takes shelter of a tree that has no fruits or flowers. He approaches such a tree due to his strong appetite, and thus he suffers. He would like to acquire water, but he is simply illusioned by a mirage, and he runs after it. (Vedabase)

Text 6

One time going for rivers that ran dry and asking food from others who themselves ran out of stock, suffer they some other time from the forest fire of their material existence and worry they about what became of the cherished wealth seized by the rogues ruling the state.

Sometimes the conditioned soul jumps into a shallow river, or being short of food grains, he goes to beg food from people who are not at all charitable. Sometimes he suffers from the burning heat of household life, which is like a forest fire, and sometimes he becomes sad to have his wealth, which is as dear as life, plundered by kings in the name of heavy income taxes. (Vedabase)

Text 7

Sometimes do they all, seeing themselves taxed by their ruling superiors, experience grief in their hearts and get they, wining, bewildered in losing their minds; and now and then, for a short while, they dream of having entered heavenly abodes where one enjoys like being happy.

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. (Vedabase)

Text 8

Sometimes wandering are the feet of someone who wants to climb the hills hurt by thorns and small stones and is such a one depressed with each step he makes; and sometimes gets a family person, agitated with a hungry stomach, angry with his own family members.

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. (Vedabase)

Text 9

Sometimes left to his own devices in the [material] forest [of life] is the conditioned soul swallowed by the python and doesn't he understand a thing; attacked by poisonous snakes and bitten, he sometimes, fallen into an unseen well, then lies down blind in utter darkness.

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. (Vedabase)

Text 10

Sometimes searching for some little sexual pleasure is he by the disquieted beehive of the family of the woman insulted; or, concerning these matters with much difficulty spending money to find his comfort, is thereafter by force the object of desire by someone else stolen away from him .

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. (Vedabase)

Text 11

Sometimes also not able to fight the cold, the heat, the wind or the rains, he is put off; and sometimes selling along with others whatever little bit, he lands in mutual enmity so one says, because of cheating for the profit.

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. (Vedabase)

Text 12

Now and then being destitute is he in that without bedding, a place to sit, a house and family comforts, and does he bereft beg from others; not getting what he needs he is after the property of others and then finds dishonor.

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. (Vedabase)

Text 13

Because of financial transactions with one another there is a rise of enmity, and married to each other trying to progress materially is that resulting in great difficulties, because one, for want of money following the wrong course, gets completely embarrassed.

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. (Vedabase)

Text 14

All who are thus variously embarrassed, have at times to give up on the beings close to them and are then after newly born lives; being after one's own interest one wanders around here in this world and up to the present day is none of the ones in that position, o hero, able to reach the ultimate end of yoga [to devotional service].

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. (Vedabase)

Text 15

They who without much of a mind managed to conquer giants of other heroes, are all caught in this world in the concept of 'mine' and lay down their lives in battle with the enmity created - but they do not reach the reality of the staff of renunciation which, when one is free from enmity, does lead to the perfection.

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. (Vedabase)