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If you are thrown into the water of sea, you may be very expert swimmer, but you don't like to remain there. You want to come out

Expressions researched:
"if you are thrown into the water of sea, you may be very expert swimmer, but you don't like to remain there. You want to come out"

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

When one comes out of this gross ignorance, how to get out of this bhava-sāgara . . . just like if you are thrown into the water of sea, you may be very expert swimmer, but you don't like to remain there. You want to come out. Similarly, although we may be very expert in changing our body, but still, at the time of death, we don't like it.

The whole universe is bhava-sāgara. Sāgara means ocean, or sea. And bhava means repetition of birth and death. Bhava. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19), in the Bhagavad-gītā. Once we take birth, we remain here for some time, then we give up this body; we accept another body. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). We have to . . . so long we are in this material ocean, we have to accept these laws of nature, repetition of birth and death. This is called bhava-sāgara. So we are eternal, nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). It requires little intelligence that, "I am eternal. Why I am in this business, accepting one body and again giving up, giving it up? And there is no guarantee what kind of body I'm going to accept next." There is no guarantee. It will be according to your work. We can become an insect, or we can become the demigod. We can become tree; we can become animal—anything, according to our karma. karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1).

So this rascal civilization, they do not understand what is bhava-sāgara, what is bhava. Nothing. They are so rascal. And they're passing on as civilized men. No knowledge. So when one is intelligent actually, then he considers that, "If I am eternal, why should I accept repetition of birth and death?" That is intelligence. But they have given (in) to birth and death—"Never mind." Even university students, they say, "If next life, if I become animal, what is the wrong?" Just see, how much degraded. In Hawaii University, one student said that, "Even if I become an animal, what is the wrong there?" Just see how much degraded the human society has become. They are prepared to become animal, cats and dogs, trees, anything.

So when one comes out of this gross ignorance, how to get out of this bhava-sāgara . . . just like if you are thrown into the water of sea, you may be very expert swimmer, but you don't like to remain there. You want to come out. Similarly, although we may be very expert in changing our body, but still, at the time of death, we don't like it. Nobody likes to die. But he . . . nobody thinks how to stop this death. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). By the destruction of this body, the soul is not dead. It is living. So this is called self-realization. One must be sober to think over that, "If I am eternal, if I do not die after the destruction of this body, and I do not like to die, how to stop it?" This is intelligence: how to stop the repetition of birth and death.

But the human civilization, the so-called human being has become so much degraded, they have no brain even to think over these matters, that how to stop this repetition or if there is any means to stop this repetition of birth and death. They do not . . . they have no knowledge. Still they are going on as human being. They're like animals. Even big, big professors in Europe, they say: "Swāmījī, after death, everything is finished." You see. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). Even these plain words, the first instruction of Bhagavad-gītā, they do not understand. Not only they. Here, also, so many politicians, so many rascals, they take Bhagavad-gītā, but they do not understand. They're busy with politics.

But the first instruction of Bhagavad-gītā, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20):

dehino 'smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir . . .
(BG 2.13)

No political leaders teach the people that there is birth after death. Have you heard any politician? But take the Bhagavad-gītā and stands with photograph: "Oh, he's a very great reader of Bhagavad-gītā." But one who understands Bha . . . "He's a rascal." If he understands Bhagavad-gītā, why he's in politics? And even if he's politics . . . these, all these kings, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, Kṛṣṇa, they were also in politics. But they know things as they are. That is the difference. Who can be greater politician than Kṛṣṇa? He's giving this instruction: dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). So in human life, if they do not know what is the process of living condition, how we are changing, how we are accepting birth and death, how to stop it, then what is the meaning of this human being?

So this knowledge can be attained by sat-saṅga. Sat-saṅga. Sat-saṅga means . . . this is sat-saṅga, associating with devotees of the Lord. So sat-saṅga. Sat-saṅgāt mukta-duḥsaṅgaḥ (SB 1.10.11). You cannot make association with two parties. If you want to associate with the devotees, then you have to give up the association of the nondevotees. That will be natural. Just like our these students, although they are very young . . . they are not only young, but coming of very luxurious families in America, Europe. Here, the boys, they cannot even imagine how much luxury they enjoyed. Here, they have no employment, our young men. Mostly unemployed. And in Europe, America, especially in America, there is no question of unemployment. Anyone can go and earn immediately ten dollars. Ten dollars means hundred rupees. He's prepared.

One of my students, Strayādhīśa, he was, morning, he was absent. So I asked him, "Why you are absent?" "No, I required some money, so I went to get some money." "How you got money?" "Now I went to the shoe-brushing shop. So I brushed some gentleman's shoes. I got some money, five dollars." So they know how to earn money. There's no scarcity of money. Even in a hotel, one goes, he washes the dishes—immediately gets ten dollar. So money and woman. So they are enough they enjoy, but now they have given up everything. Why? Due to this sat-saṅga. Due to this sat-saṅga. Sat-saṅgān tattva-duḥsaṅgaḥ. No more. No more association with money and woman. This is so powerful, sat-saṅga. Sat-saṅga is so powerful.

Page Title:If you are thrown into the water of sea, you may be very expert swimmer, but you don't like to remain there. You want to come out
Compiler:SharmisthaK
Created:2022-09-03, 08:50:09
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1