2016-11-08 Srimad Bhagavatam 10.87.17 - Gopastami Celeberation (download mp3) by Vishwarup Prabhu at ISKCON Chowpatty www.iskcondesiretree.com SB 10.87.17drtaya iva svasanty asu-bhrto yadi te ’nuvidha mahad-aham-adayo ’ndam asrjan yad-anugrahatahpurusa-vidho ’nvayo ’tra caramo ’nna-mayadisu yah sad-asatah param tvam atha yad esv avasesam rtamdeva ucuh Translation: Only if they become Your faithful followers are those who breathe actually alive, otherwise their breathing is like that of a bellows. It is by Your mercy alone that the elements, beginning with the mahat-tattva and false ego, created the egg of this universe. Among the manifestations known as anna-maya and so forth, You are the ultimate one, entering within the material coverings along with the living entity and assuming the same forms as those he takes. Distinct from the gross and subtle material manifestations, You are the reality underlying them all. Purport: Life is without purpose for one who remains ignorant of his most well-wishing benefactor and thus fails to worship Him. Such a person’s breathing is no better than the breathing of a blacksmith’s bellows. The gift of human life is a fortunate opportunity for the conditioned soul, but by turning away from his Lord, the living being commits spiritual suicide. In the words of Sri Isopanisad (3): asurya nama te loka andhena tamasavrtahtams te pretyabhigacchanti ye ke catma-hano janah “The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance.” Asuryah means “to be obtained by demons,” and demons are persons who have no devotion for the Supreme Lord, Visnu. This definition is stated in the Agni Purana: dvau bhuta-sargau loke ’smin daiva asura eva cavisnu-bhakti-paro daiva asuras tad-viparyayah “There are two kinds of created beings in this world, godly and demoniac. Those dedicated to the devotional service of Lord Visnu are godly, and those opposed to such service are demoniac.” Similarly, the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (4.4.15) states, na ced avedin mahati vinastih … ye tad vidur amrtas te bhavanty athetare duhkham evopayanti: “If one does not come to know the Supreme, he must suffer utter destruction.… Those who realize the Supreme become immortal, but others inevitably suffer.” A person must revive his Krsna consciousness to be relieved of the suffering caused by ignorance, but the process by which this is done need not be difficult, as Lord Krsna assures us in Bhagavad-gita (9.34): man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskurumam evaisyasi yuktvaivam atmanam mat-parayanah “Engage your mind in always thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.” Despite disqualifications and weaknesses, one need only willingly become anuvidha, the Supreme Lord’s trusting and trustworthy servant. The Katha Upanisad (2.2.13) proclaims: nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam eko bahunam yo vidadhati kamantam pitha-gam ye ’nupasyanti dhiras tesam santih sasvati netaresam “Among all the eternal, conscious beings, there is one who supplies the needs of everyone else. The wise souls who worship Him in His abode attain everlasting peace. Others cannot.” What is alive, and what is dead? The bodies and minds of materialistic nondevotees seem to display the symptoms of life, but this appearance is deceptive. Actually, the conditioned soul has little control over his own bodily existence. Against his will, he has to excrete waste, get sick from time to time, and eventually age and die. And in his mind he unwillingly suffers anger, hankering and lamentation. Lord Krsna describes this situation as yantrarudhani mayaya (Bg. 18.61), riding helplessly as a passenger in a mechanical vehicle. The soul undoubtedly is alive, and irrevocably so, but in his ignorance that inner life is covered and forgotten. In its place, the automation of the external mind and body carries o