The four problems of life—birth, death, old age and disease—cannot be solved. Therefore our attempt should be that we do not care for these problems. We have taken it, accepted that "All right, we shall take birth. We shall die. We shall become old. We shall become diseased. Doesn't matter. Still we are progressing." Just see. What is the progress? If you cannot solve these problems, then what kind of progress you are making? But we are satisfied, "Yes, we are making progress." So this is called māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ (BG 7.15). They are not making any progress, even an inch, and still, they are proud of their progressive knowledge. This is called māyā. Māyā means what is not. Māyā. Mā means not. Not. Yā means this. This is māyā. He is thinking... The modern human society, they are thinking that advancing. But māyā. It is not. You are not advancing.
Ma means
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 7
Material life is called pavarga because here we are subject to five different states of suffering, represented by the letters pa, pha, ba, bha and ma. Pa means pariśrama, very hard labor. Pha means phena, or foam from the mouth. For example, sometimes we see a horse foaming at the mouth with heavy labor. Ba means byarthatā, disappointment. In spite of so much hard labor, at the end we find disappointment. Bha means bhaya, or fear. In material life, one is always in the blazing fire of fear, since no one knows what will happen next. Finally, ma means mṛtyu, or death. When one attempts to nullify these five different statuses of life—pa, pha, ba, bha and ma—one achieves apavarga, or liberation from the punishment of material existence.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
This material world is called pavarga. Pa, pha, ba, bha, ma. According to Sanskrit grammar, there are five vargas, ka varga ca varga ta varga ta varga and pa varga. So pa varga, pa means pariśrama. Similarly, pha means phena, and bha means bhaya (?), ma means mṛtyu. So this material world is pavarga, means here we have to labor very hard. Sometimes by laboring, as you have seen in animals, bulls and horses, they produce foam in the mouth, that is pha. And then we are always full of anxieties, and at last there is death. This is material life. We work very hard, struggle for..., struggle hard for existence, and that also, at the end, we die.
In Sanskrit grammar there are vargas, ka-varga, ca-varga, ṭa-varga, ta-varga, pa-varga—five vargas. So pa-varga means pa pha ba bha ma, five letters. Pa means pariśrama, hard labor. And pha means foaming. Because when you work very hard, from your mouth some foam comes out. Sometimes we see in the body of the horse, or any animal. Pa, pha, ba. Ba means vyarthatā, frustration. Instead of, in spite of working very hard, there is frustration in this material world. Pa, pha, ba, bha. Bha means bhaya, fearfulness. Although I am working very hard, still, I am fearful what will happen. I am not sure that things will be done properly, in spite of my working very hard. Pa, pha, ba, bha, and ma. Ma means mṛtyu, death. Working so hard, day and night, and still, there is death. Working so hard... The scientific world is working so hard, but the scientist is dying himself. He cannot stop death. He can create some atom bomb to kill, but he cannot create anything which will stop death. That is not possible. Therefore, this pa, pha, ba, bha, ma, these five letters represent five kinds of our activities in this material world.
Pavarga-pa pha ba bha ma. Just like—those who are acquainted with Sanskrit grammar—there are five vargas: ka varga, ca varga, ta varga, similarly, pa varga. Pa pha ba bha ma. So pavarga means they have taken the material life in different aspect. First of all, material life is pariśrama, hard labor. This is called pa, pariśrama. And then, pha: the labor is so hard, sometimes foam comes. We have seen from the mouth of the horse, cows, and bulls, dogs. We sometimes, we have also, our tongue becomes dry after working very hard. There are foams. This is pha. Pa, pha. And ba means vyarthatā: in spite of so much labor, our sense gratification is not fulfilled. That is called vyarthatā. Pa pha ba, vyarthatā. And then bha. Bha means bhaya, always fearful. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca. Every conditioned soul is subjected to fearfulness, "What will happen next?" Big, big politician... Just like in U.S.A., President Nixon, he is also under fear, "How these people will drive me away?" So this bhaya must be there. Hard labor for election, then rejection, then bhaya, fearfulness, "Whether my this position will remain or not?" Nobody is free. Even Brahmā, big, big demigods, they are also fearful. Bhayaṁ dvitīya abhiniveśataḥ syāt. Śāstra says when one is attached to the other thing except God, dvitīya... Because God is one. Eka brahma. When one is not Brahman realized—the other realized means illusion realized—then there is bhaya. So apavarga, pa pha ba bha, in this way ma, means mṛtyu, death.
Jñānī means one who can see "What is the problem of my life." Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). This is the problem. Therefore dharma means āpavargyasya, how to avoid birth, death, old age and disease. Apavarga. Pavarga. Pavarga... Those who are educated in India, they know that pa-varga, ka-varga, ca-varga, ta-varga. So here it is pa-varga: "pa, pha, ba, bha, ma." So pa means pariśrama, laboring. And pha means the hard laboring so that foam comes out of the mouth. Pa, pha, ba. Ba means baffled. In spite of all laboring hard, life is baffled. Pa, pha, ba, bha, and bha, bhaya. Bhaya means always fearful—"What will happen next?" And ma. Ma means mrtyu. So in this way, struggling—pa, pha, ba, bha, ma—that is called pavarga. So here it is said, dharmasya hy āpavargyasya. Apa. Apa means just to make nullified this life of pavarga. That is, means, liberation, to come to the original position, spiritual life.
You work hard, hard, hard. Still you'll not be successful. You'll have to work hard. That is called pa, pha, ba. And bha, bha means fearfulness. Just like the animal is working so hard and still he's afraid. "The master may whip." "You are not working?" Phut! Phut! He has to work still. Bhaya. So that fearfulness is everywhere. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca sāmānyam etat paśubhir narāṇām. The ox and bull, they are afraid of the driver, and we are afraid of our leader, of our government, of our so-called master and so on, so on, so on. That you cannot avoid. That is not possible. Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt (SB 7.5.5). Because we have accepted this material body, we have to be always remain in anxiety. You cannot avoid. So pa, pha, ba, bha, and at last, ma. Ma means mṛtyu. Frustration and die. And again pa, again begin with pa. This is going on. This is called Repeatedly, pa, pha, ba, bha, ma; pa, pha, ba, bha, ma.
Pavarga means labor, and pha means foam, the foam. When you work very hard, from your mouth a kind of foam comes out. Pha. Pa, pha, ba. And in spite of so much hard labor, it is ba. Ba means birth, futile, useless. Pa, pha, ba. And bha, bha means fear. Bhaya, bhaya, fear. Although you are working so hard, there is always some fearfulness: "Now things will be done like this, or not like this," fearful. That is the nature. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna, bhaya. This life, this material body means eating, sleeping and fearing. This is one of the symptom. Although I am eating very nicely, I am thinking whether I am overeating so that I may not feel sick. So bhaya is always there. A bird, you'll see eating, and looking this way, that way. Why? If some enemy is not coming. So, this is bha. Pa, pha, ba, bha, and ma. At last maraṇa, mṛtyu, death. This is called pavarga. Pavarga means pa, pha, ba, bha, ma. Pa means hard labor. Pha means so hard that foam comes out of mouth. And ba means he's still frustrated. And bha means fearfulness. And ma means mṛtyu. This is the call, apavarga.
ust like sometimes we see that the sun is on the western side, but reflection is on the glass, and the glass is reflecting some light. So we are thinking that sun has come to the other side. We have got this experience. Sun is this side, reflecting the sun shining, and on the glass or on mirror, and the same reflection is this side. So we are thinking that "Sun is this side. The sunlight is coming..." That is called illusion. This is example of illusion, which is not fact. But it is appearing. False thing appearing as truth, that is called māyā. This is the explanation of māyā. Māyā. Mā means "not," yā means "this." Māyā, what you are experiencing, that is not. That is called māyā. So a conditioned soul... A child will think that... Although the fact is sun is this side, by seeing the reflection a child may say, "The sun is this side." So that is called illusion.
Apavarga. This material world is called pavarga, and to nullify it is called apavarga. Pa and... Pavarga means pa, pha, ba, bha, ma. This is called pa-varga. In the letter arrangement, there is ka-varga, ca-varga, ṭa-varga, ta-varga... Five vargas. And pa-varga. The material life is called pa-varga. Pa, pha, ba, bha, ma. Pa means pariśrama, simply laboring. And so much labor, now, pha, there is phena, foam. You'll find in the horses; hard labor, there is foam. We have sometimes foam, dry throat. That is pha. Pa, pha, ba. Ba means, bha means bhaya, and ba means vyartha. Vyartha means futile. Why they are laboring so much? Big, big men, they have no time. Big, big businessmen... I have seen in New York, big, big businessman. No time even to eat. Simply eating a dry bread and cup of tea. But he is working very hard, day and night. Pa-varga, pha-varga, and ba-varga. Ba-varga means..., ba means vyarthatā. And bha means always fearful, bhaya. In this way, pa, pha, bha, and ma. Ma means maraṇa, mṛtyu. Finish. Pa to ma. Pa means beginning with pariśrama, and ma means mṛtyu. So this is material life, pavarga. So if you want to nullify this, that is called apavarga.
So here happiness means to counteract the force of distress is called happiness. Actually there is no happiness. This is called māyā. Just like I am in distressed condition, puzzled, I take some intoxication. This is called happiness. I remain in the same condition. After my intoxication is over, I come back again into the same condition, but I am thinking (I am) happy. This is called māyā. Māyā means... Ma means "not," yā means "this." "You are thinking like this, but it is not this." This is called māyā. You are thinking that you are happy, but you are not happy. So we are seeing that a criminal is arrested by the police and he is put into the prisonhouse. We know that he is put into trouble, but still, in spite of seeing that "This kind of criminality will put me also into such kind of distress," but still, I commit that thing. This is the influence of māyā. This is the influence of māyā.
Rajo-guṇa means kāma-lobha, kāma, simply desiring. This is called rajo-guṇa. "I want this, I want this, I want this." Because there is no satiation of want, therefore every man or woman planning something, "How my sense gratification will be fully satisfied." This is rajo-guṇa, kāma. Everyone is forgetting his real business. His real business is he should know, one should know, that "I am eternal. I have taken this temporary body and subjected to the laws of nature, birth, death and old age. So my real problem is how to become again eternal, not accepting any more birth, death, old age. That is my real business." But because I am infected with the material modes of nature, we are making different plans. Everyone is busy. Everyone is busy in different plans, forgetting his real business. This is called māyā. Māyā means..., ma means not; ya means this. Therefore māyā means when you understand, "This is not my business," then you are out of māyā. "This is not," mā-yā.
What we call māyā... Māyā means Mā means "not," and yā means "this." What you are accepting as fact, it is not a fact. This is called māyā. Ma-ya. Māyā means "Don't accept it as truth." It is simply flickering flash only. Just like in the dream we see so many things, and in the morning we forget everything. This is subtle dream. And this existence, this bodily existence and relationship to this body, society, friendship, and love and so many things, they are also gross dream. It will finish. It will stay Just like dream stays for a few minutes or few hours when you are asleep, similarly, this gross dream also will remain, say, for few years. That's all. It is also dream. But actually we are concerned with the person who is dreaming or who is acting. So we have to take him out from this dream, gross and subtle. That is the proposition. So that can be done very easily by this process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and that is being explained by Prahlāda Mahārāja.
So this pa means working hard, pariśrama. And pha means foam, phenam. If you work very hard... You have seen sometimes the horse. They are having foams in the mouth. So we have to work so hard in this material world that sometimes foam comes. Yes. We become thirsty. We require some drinking because the tongue becomes dry, the lips become dry, and sometimes, the pa, pha... And ba—still, we are disappointed, vyarthata. And bha—we are always fearful, bhaya. And ma—after this, mṛtyu, death. After so working hard, after always being fearful, being baffled and so on, so on, still, you cannot live here; you must die. This is called pavarga. In Sanskrit grammar, there are vargas: ka-varga, ca-varga, ta-varga, pa-varga. So pa-varga means pa, pha, ba, bha, ma. So material life means these five kinds of difficulties; at last—death. Ma means mṛtyu. But if you take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, then you are saved. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is described as apavarga-śaraṇaṁ. If one wants to nullify this pavarga, then he must take shelter of Kṛṣṇa. Ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva... Because we are working hard why? According to our sinful activities, we are put into the situation, working very hard. Without working, we cannot get our food. So Kṛṣṇa is apavarga-śaraṇaṁ. If you want apavarga, if you want to nullify these five kinds of pa, pha, ba, bha, ma, then you must take shelter of Kṛṣṇa.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
Material condition means forgetting our relationship with God. That is material condition. The, this is... Therefore it is called māyā. Māyā means illusion, which has no existence, hallucination. The same thing as we see tiger when dreaming and crying: "Oh, here is tiger! Save me! Save me!" So this is called... This is the example of hallucination. There are many others. Just like water in the desert. Sometimes there is, due to reflection of the sun, it appears there is vast mass of water, and the animals, they go after it, the water. These are the, some of the examples of hallucination, illusion. So this hal... To be in the stage of hallucination, illusion, that is called māyā. This is called māyā. Mā-yā. Mā means "not"; yā means "this."
Sri Isopanisad Lectures
Yesterday I was explaining what is this pavarga to Gargamuni. This pavarga means the line of the alphabet pa. You know, those who have studied this devanāgarī. There are devanāgarī alphabets, ka kha ga gha na ca cha ja jha na. In this way five set, one line. Then come the fifth set, comes pa pha va bha ma. So this pavarga means pa. First of all pa. Pa means parava, defeat. Everyone is trying, struggling very hard to survive, but defeated. First pavarga. Pa means parava. And then pha. Pha means foaming. Just like horse, when working very hard, you'll find some foams coming out of the mouth, we sometimes also, when we are very tired after working very hard, the tongue becomes dry and some foam comes. So everyone is working very hard for sense gratification, but defeated. The pa, pha, and va. Va means this bondage. So first pa, second pha, the bondage third, then va, bha. Bha means beating, fearfulness. And then ma. Ma means mrtyu, or death. So this Kṛṣṇa conscious process is apavarga, apa. A means none. Pavarga, these are the symptoms of this material world. And when you add this word a, apavarga, that means it is nullified.
General Lectures
Unfortunately, we have no time, neither we have desire to understand actually what I am, why I am suffering, what is this world, what is my relationship with this world, what is God, what is my relationship with God. These questions are very important questions, and there is technology to understand these questions. And the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Vedānta-sūtra, all these literatures are there. If you kindly, of course, see to these literatures, you'll find the solution of the problems of life. But we are not interested. That is the difficulty. We are thinking that we are happy, we have no problem, although there are so many problems and we are not happy. This is called māyā. Māyā means what is not. Mā means not. Yā means this. This is called māyā. We are thinking that we are happy, but actually we are not happy.
And as soon as you understand that you are part and parcel of the Supreme, then your function is also immediately fixed up. What is that? Now, this part and parcel of this body is the finger, or anything you take. What is the duty of this finger? The duty of the finger is to serve the whole body. That's all. It has no independent existence. The... A finger, if it noncooperates with this body to work for the body, then it is to be understood that the finger is in diseased condition. Suppose if I have got some pain. I want my finger to work in some part of my body like this, and if it cannot, that means it is in diseased condition. If there is some pain, you are feeling not to work the finger. Similarly, our position, being part and parcel of the Supreme, our function is to serve the Supreme. If we do not serve the Supreme, then it is our diseased condition, which is called māyā. Māyā means which is not actual fact. Mā-yā. Mā means "not"; yā means "this."
Conversations and Morning Walks
1971 Conversations and Morning Walks
Guest (1): Reason we take the name of the God or anything is to achieve the supreme happiness or...
Prabhupāda: That supreme happiness is different thing. We are talking of God's name. First of all let us understand that God's name, we have different God's name according to God's activities. Madhusūdana. Because He killed the demon Madhu, therefore His name is Madhusūdana. Mādhava. Because He is the husband of goddess of fortune-Ma means goddess of fortune-therefore He is Mādhava. All the names you analyze. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is also the name of God because He is all-attractive. Now, how you can deny that God is not all-attractive? Is it possible? God is all-attractive. Can you deny this fact?
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Yes. This is māyā. He is suffering, but he's thinking I am enjoying. So any conditioned soul, he doesn't enjoy anything. He simply suffers. But he thinks that he is enjoying. Therefore the camel, camel example is given. Camel example. Camel, he is eating his own blood, eating thorns, and the thorns cutting the tongue, and from the tongue, blood is oozing out. So when the blood is mixed up with the thorny twigs, it becomes little tasteful, and he is thinking "Oh, it is very nice." Similarly, all these gṛhasthas, enjoying sex life, he is discharging his own blood, he's becoming weaker and weaker, he is thinking, "I am enjoying." He is thinking, "I am enjoying." And if he uses more, then he becomes diseased, tuberculosis. He is dying by that process, but he's thinking, "I am enjoying." Therefore it is example for the camel. He is enjoying his own blood by discharging. One drop of semen is made out of so many drops of blood. Do you know?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Forty drops.
Prabhupāda: Just see. And how many, how much drops of semen he is discharging... That means he's spoiling his blood. But he is thinking, "I am enjoying." Would you like to, by giving your blood to enjoy? Would you like?
Umāpati: No, I don't think I'd like.
Prabhupāda: But you are doing that, every night. And that is called māyā.
Umāpati: I'm a brahmacārī, Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda: No, you are...(laughter) I am giving an example. This is going on. He is going to die. He has adopted a process by which he will die, and he thinks that he is enjoying. This is called māyā. Māyā means things which is not, māyā. Mā means not, yā means this. "What you are thinking, it is not that." That is called māyā. So they are in māyā means, they are thinking, these rascals, they are thinking, improving, becoming happy, advancing this māyā word will finish everything, mā, yā: "Not this."
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Guest 2: One gets attached to the chair. I like this chair. It's a nice chair.
Prabhupāda: No, that's all right. You like, you sit down, and you go when it is finished. But how do you claim that it is your property?
Guest 2: Good-bye. (laughter)
Prabhupāda: That is called māyā. This is māyā. The philosophy of māyā, māyā means what is not. Mā-yā. Mā means not, yā means this. So māyā means the conclusion, as you have made, that is not. That is not the fact. So we are claiming, "America is our", "Australia is our", "India is our". Nothing our. Everything God's. The best conclusion is, "It is God's property. God has given us to live. Let us thank God, feel obliged to Him, and glorify Him." That is our vision. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. You accept the real position, that nothing belongs to you, everything belongs to God. You also belong to God. Your body, yourself, everything belongs to God. This body is material body. That material energy, earth, water, air, fire—everything belongs to God. This sea belongs to God, water, vast water. You have not created, neither your forefather has created. So this body is made of earth, water, air, fire, five elements. So your, the body is also God's.
So far I am soul, I am also part and parcel of God. So everything belongs to God. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are falsely claiming that "It is our." This is māyā. Māyā means what is not fact. That is the meaning of māyā.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: The dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa... (SB 4.8.41, Cc. Ādi 1.90). Generally people take to religion for improving economic condition. It is going on. They go to the church: "O God, give us our daily bread." And they'll go to the temple: "O mother Kālī, give me this. O father Śiva, give me this." So they take it for economic development, dharma. But that is is not the proper way. Dharmasya hy āpavargyasya. Dharma should be executed for stopping this material condition of life, apavarga. Pavarga. This material life is pavarga. Pa means pariśrama, hard labor. And pha means phena, so hard labor that foams comes. Pa, pha, ba. And still it is baffled, vyartha. Bha: and always fear. And ma means death. So pa, pha, ba, bha, ma. So dharma means to stop this pa, pha, ba, bha, ma.
Correspondence
1947 to 1965 Correspondence
In continuation of my yesterday's letter, which I hope you have duly received by this time, and with reference to your request of submitting the way of powerful Mantra for broadcasting all over the world, I beg to inform you further that in every Mantra the prefix of Namah is generally added. Just for example you said the other day Namah Sivaya. Now this Mantra is practically indicating the holy name of Lord Siva. Na means negation and Ma means false ego or Ahamkara. Therefore Namah means surrendering to the name Siva. In other words to accept the supremacy of Lord Siva means Namah Sivaya. Therefore the conclusion is that in Mantra the name of the deity is unavoidably amalgamated. And in the Mantra the spiritual power, by the Rsis like Narada etc. is surcharged like the copper is electrified by magnetic force. The etymological alphabets are so surcharged with spiritual potency and as such all Mantra indicating the transcendental holy name of God or Godhead is to be understood in that way. When we chant the Mantra as were presented by the authorities—the process helps communication with the personality of Godhead by the sound waves as we have now experienced in the material world of physical waves vibrations. The powerful Mantras have such potency if they are sounded in the right direction. And by chanting the Mantras only one can spiritualise the whole existence as heat can expand on the spherical objects. Mantra Siddhi means complete liberation. Therefore, there is no difference between the holy name and Mantra. Man means mind and tra deliverance. That which delivers one from mental speculation is called "Mantra". "Mantra Siddhi" is to transcend the gross and subtle mental plane. The same meaning is for ___
In this age all the Mantras that can help us reaching perfection up to the plane of Godhead—has been still more concentrated into the Hari-nama. We find therefore in the Brhannaradiya Puranam (38/126) a particular stress on Harinama which is stated as follows:
- harinama harinama harinama eva kevalam
- kalau nastyeva nastyeva nastyeva gatir anyatha
| Page Title: | Ma means |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Ingrid, Labangalatika, Vaishnavi |
| Created: | 28 of Mar, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=1, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=17, Con=4, Let=1 |
| No. of Quotes: | 23 |