Wretched (Books)

Expressions researched:
"wretch" |"wretched" |"wretchedly" |"wretchedness" |"wretches"

SB Canto 1

SB 1.7.37, Translation:

A cruel and wretched person who maintains his existence at the cost of others' lives deserves to be killed for his own well-being, otherwise he will go down by his own actions.

SB 1.8.22, Purport:

They are all special features of the body of the Lord. The Lord may appear as one of us, but He is always distinct by His specific bodily features. Śrīmatī Kuntī claims herself unfit to see the Lord because of her being a woman. This is claimed because women, śūdras (the laborer class) and the dvija-bandhus, or the wretched descendants of the higher three classes, are unfit by intelligence to understand transcendental subject matter concerning the spiritual name, fame, attributes, forms, etc., of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Such persons, although they are unfit to enter into the spiritual affairs of the Lord, can see Him as the arcā-vigraha, who descends on the material world just to distribute favors to the fallen souls, including the above-mentioned women, śūdras and dvija-bandhus. Because such fallen souls cannot see anything beyond matter, the Lord condescends to enter into each and every one of the innumerable universes as the Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who grows a lotus stem from the lotuslike depression in the center of His transcendental abdomen, and thus Brahmā, the first living being in the universe, is born.

SB 1.11.38, Purport:

He is known, therefore, as Yogeśvara, or the master of mystic power, or in other words the all-powerful. Even His learned devotees are not affected by the influence of the material modes. The great six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana all came from greatly rich and aristocratic families, but when they adopted the life of mendicants at Vṛndāvana, superficially they appeared to be in wretched conditions of life, but factually they were the richest of all in spiritual values. Such mahā-bhāgavatas, or first-grade devotees, although moving amongst men, are not contaminated by honor or insult, hunger or satisfaction, sleep or wakefulness, which are all resultant actions of the three modes of material nature. Similarly, some of them are engaged in worldly dealings, yet are unaffected. Unless these neutralities of life are there, one cannot be considered situated in transcendence. The Divinity and His associates are on the same transcendental plane, and their glories are always sanctified by the action of yogamāyā, or the internal potency of the Lord.

SB 1.12.14, Purport:

Charity is never unproductive or blind. In the śāstras charity was offered to persons who deserve to accept charity by dint of spiritual enlightenment. The so-called daridra-nārāyaṇa, a misconception of the Supreme Lord by unauthorized persons, is never to be found in the śāstras as the object of charity. Nor can a wretched poor man receive much munificent charity in the way of horses, elephants, land and villages. The conclusion is that the intelligent men, or the brāhmaṇas specifically engaged in the service of the Lord, were properly maintained without anxiety for the needs of the body, and the King and other householders gladly looked after all their comforts.

It is enjoined in the śāstras that as long as a child is joined with the mother by the navel pipe, the child is considered to be of one body with the mother, but as soon as the pipe is cut and the child is separated from the mother, the purificatory process of jātakarman is performed.

SB 1.16.22, Purport:

They should know that so many innocent children are victims of bad association awarded by the influence of this age of Kali. We know from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that Ajāmila, an innocent son of a brāhmaṇa, was walking down a road and saw a śūdra pair sexually embracing. This attracted the boy, and later on the boy became a victim of all debaucheries. From a pure brāhmaṇa, he fell down to the position of a wretched urchin, and it was all due to bad association. There was but one victim like Ajāmila in those days, but in this age of Kali the poor innocent students are daily victims of cinemas which attract men only for sex indulgence. The so-called administrators are all untrained in the affairs of a kṣatriya. The kṣatriyas are meant for administration, as the brāhmaṇas are meant for knowledge and guidance. The word kṣatra-bandhu refers to the so-called administrators or persons promoted to the post of the administrator without proper training by culture and tradition.

SB 1.17.7, Purport:

At least up to the time of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, no one could imagine the wretched conditions of the cow and the bull. Mahārāja Parīkṣit, therefore, was astonished to see such a horrible scene. He inquired whether the bull was not a demigod assuming such a wretched condition to indicate the future of the cow and the bull.

SB 1.17.10-11, Purport:

O chaste one, the king's good name, duration of life and good rebirth vanish when all kinds of living beings are terrified by miscreants in his kingdom. It is certainly the prime duty of the king to subdue first the sufferings of those who suffer. Therefore I must kill this most wretched man because he is violent against other living beings.

SB 1.17.10-11, Purport:

Any living being who takes birth in a state has the primary right to live under the protection of the king. The jungle animals are also subject to the king, and they also have a right to live. So what to speak of domestic animals like the cows and bulls.

Any living being, if he terrifies other living beings, is a most wretched subject, and the king should at once kill such a disturbing element. As the wild animal is killed when it creates disturbances, similarly any man who unnecessarily kills or terrifies the jungle animals or other animals must be punished at once. By the law of the Supreme Lord, all living beings, in whatever shape they may be, are the sons of the Lord, and no one has any right to kill another animal, unless it is so ordered by the codes of natural law. The tiger can kill a lower animal for his subsistence, but a man cannot kill an animal for his subsistence. That is the law of God, who has created the law that a living being subsists by eating another living being.

SB 1.18.37, Translation:

The brāhmaṇa's son cursed the King thus: On the seventh day from today a snake-bird will bite the most wretched one of that dynasty (Mahārāja Parīkṣit) because of his having broken the laws of etiquette by insulting my father.

SB 1.18.37, Purport:

Thus the beginning of the misuse of brahminical power began, and gradually the brāhmaṇas in the age of Kali became devoid of both brahminical powers and culture. The brāhmaṇa boy considered Mahārāja Parīkṣit to be kulāṅgāra, or the wretched of the dynasty, but factually the brāhmaṇa boy himself was so because only from him did the brāhmaṇa caste become powerless, like the snake whose poisoned teeth are broken. The snake is fearful as long as his poison teeth are there, otherwise he is fearful only to children. The personality of Kali conquered the brāhmaṇa boy first, and gradually the other castes. Thus the whole scientific system of the orders of society in this age has assumed the form of a vitiated caste system, which is now being uprooted by another class of men similarly influenced by the age of Kali. One should see to the root cause of vitiation and not try to condemn the system as it is, without knowledge of its scientific value.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.31.9, Translation:

The child thus remains just like a bird in a cage, without freedom of movement. At that time, if the child is fortunate, he can remember all the troubles of his past one hundred births, and he grieves wretchedly. What is the possibility of peace of mind in that condition?

SB 3.31.17, Translation:

Fallen into a pool of blood, stool and urine within the abdomen of his mother, his own body scorched by the mother's gastric fire, the embodied soul, anxious to get out, counts his months and prays, "O my Lord, when shall I, a wretched soul, be released from this confinement?"

SB Canto 4

SB 4.9.37, Translation:

When King Uttānapāda heard that his son Dhruva was coming back home, as if coming back to life after death, he could not put his faith in this message, for he was doubtful of how it could happen. He considered himself the most wretched, and therefore he thought that it was not possible for him to attain such good fortune.

SB 4.9.37, Purport:

Dhruva Mahārāja, a five-year-old boy, went to the forest for penance and austerity, and the King could not at all believe that a small boy of such a tender age could live in the forest. He was certain that Dhruva was dead. He therefore could not fix his faith in the message that Dhruva Mahārāja was coming back home again. For him this message said that a dead man was coming back home, and so he could not believe it. After Dhruva Mahārāja's departure from home, King Uttānapāda thought that he was the cause of Dhruva's leaving, and thus he considered himself the most wretched. Therefore, even though it was possible that his lost son was coming back from the kingdom of death, he thought that since he was most sinful it was not possible for him to be so fortunate as to get back his lost son.

SB 4.14.14, Purport:

According to Vedic civilization, in a monarchy the king is advised by saintly persons and sages. By taking their advice, he can become the greatest executive power, and everyone in his kingdom will be happy, peaceful and prosperous. The great kings were very responsible in taking the instructions given by great saintly personalities. The kings used to accept the instructions given by great sages like Parāśara, Vyāsadeva, Nārada, Devala and Asita. In other words, they would first accept the authority of saintly persons and then execute their monarchical power. Unfortunately, in the present age of Kali, the head of government does not follow the instructions given by the saintly persons; therefore neither the citizens nor the men of government are very happy. Their duration of life is shortened, and almost everyone is wretched and bereft of bodily strength and spiritual power. If citizens want to be happy and prosperous in this democratic age, they should not elect rascals and fools who have no respect for saintly persons.

SB 4.25.5, Purport:

Although at the present moment the younger generation in Western countries has sufficient education, beauty and wealth, and although there is enough food, clothing, and facilities for sense gratification, they are in distress. Indeed, they are so distressed that they become hippies, and the laws of nature force them to accept a wretched life. Thus they go about unclean and without shelter or food, and they are forced to sleep in the street. It can be concluded that one cannot become happy by simply performing pious activities. It is not a fact that those who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth are free from the material miseries of birth, old age, disease and death. The conclusion is that one cannot be happy by simply executing pious or impious activities. Such activities simply cause entanglement and transmigration from one body to another. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura calls this karma-bandha-phāṅsa.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.15.7, Purport:

As a representative of the Supreme Lord, the king had the duty to protect the citizens in a perfect way so that they would not be anxious for food and protection and so that they would be jubilant. The king would supply everything for their benefit, and because of this he would levy taxes. If the king or government otherwise levies taxes on the citizens, he becomes responsible for the sinful activities of the citizens. In Kali-yuga, monarchy is abolished because the kings themselves are subjected to the influence of Kali-yuga. It is understood from the Rāmāyaṇa that when Bibhīṣaṇa became friends with Lord Rāmacandra, he promised that if by chance or will he broke the laws of friendship with Lord Rāmacandra, he would become a brāhmaṇa or a king in Kali-yuga. In this age, as Bibhīṣaṇa indicated, both brāhmaṇas and kings are in a wretched condition. Actually there are no kings or brāhmaṇas in this age, and due to their absence the whole world is in a chaotic condition and is always in distress. Compared to present standards, Mahārāja Gaya was a true representative of Lord Viṣṇu; therefore he was known as Mahāpuruṣa.

SB 5.26.36, Translation:

One who in this world or this life is very proud of his wealth always thinks, "I am so rich. Who can equal me?" His vision is twisted, and he is always afraid that someone will take his wealth. Indeed, he even suspects his superiors. His face and heart dry up at the thought of losing his wealth, and therefore he always looks like a wretched fiend. He is not in any way able to obtain actual happiness, and he does not know what it is to be free from anxiety. Because of the sinful things he does to earn money, augment his wealth and protect it, he is put into the hell called Sūcīmukha, where the officials of Yamarāja punish him by stitching thread through his entire body like weavers manufacturing cloth.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.18.39, Translation:

Kaśyapa Muni thought: Alas, I have now become too attached to material enjoyment. Taking advantage of this, my mind has been attracted by the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of a woman (my wife). Therefore I am surely a wretched person who will glide down toward hell.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.4.41, Purport:

When Kṛṣṇa comes to establish real perfection in the social order, He personally gives protection to the cows and the brāhmaṇas (go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca). This is His first interest because without protection of the brāhmaṇas and the cows, there can be no human civilization and no question of happy, peaceful life. Asuras, therefore, are always interested in killing the brāhmaṇas and cows. Especially in this age, Kali-yuga, cows are being killed all over the world, and as soon as there is a movement to establish brahminical civilization, people in general rebel. Thus they regard the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement as a form of "brainwashing." How can such envious persons be happy in their godless civilization? The Supreme Personality of Godhead punishes them by keeping them in darkness, birth after birth, and pushing them lower and lower into wretched conditions of hellish life. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has started a brahminical civilization, but especially when it is introduced in the Western countries, the asuras try to impede it in many ways. Nonetheless, we must push forward this movement tolerantly for the benefit of human society.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 10.30.34, Translation:

(Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued:) Lord Kṛṣṇa enjoyed with that gopī, although He enjoys only within, being self-satisfied and complete in Himself. Thus by contrast He showed the wretchedness of ordinary lusty men and hardhearted women.

SB 10.39.28, Translation:

Let us directly approach Mādhava and stop Him from going. What can our family elders and other relatives do to us? Now that fate is separating us from Mukunda, our hearts are already wretched, for we cannot bear to give up His association even for a fraction of a second.

SB 10.47.15, Translation:

In heaven, on earth or in the subterranean sphere, what women are unavailable to Him? He simply arches His eyebrows and smiles with deceptive charm, and they all become His. The supreme goddess herself worships the dust of His feet, so what is our position in comparison? But at least those who are wretched can chant His name, Uttamaḥśloka.

SB 10.47.18, Translation:

To hear about the pastimes that Kṛṣṇa regularly performs is nectar for the ears. For those who relish just a single drop of that nectar, even once, their dedication to material duality is ruined. Many such persons have suddenly given up their wretched homes and families and, themselves becoming wretched, traveled here to Vṛndāvana to wander about like birds, begging for their living.

SB 10.70.28, Translation:

O Lord, with this corpselike body, always full of fear, we bear the burden of the relative happiness of kings, which is just like a dream. Thus we have rejected the real happiness of the soul, which comes by rendering selfless service to You. Being so very wretched, we simply suffer in this life under the spell of Your illusory energy.

SB 10.74.3, Translation:

That You, the lotus-eyed Supreme Lord, accept the orders of wretched fools who presume themselves rulers is a great pretense on Your part, O all-pervading one.

SB 10.81.20, Translation:

Thinking "If this poor wretch suddenly becomes rich, he will forget Me in his intoxicating happiness," the compassionate Lord did not grant me even a little wealth.

SB 11.2.4, Translation:

Śrī Vasudeva said: My lord, your visit, like that of a father to his children, is for the benefit of all living beings. You especially help the most wretched among them, as well as those who are advanced on the path toward the Supreme Lord, Uttamaśloka.

SB 11.7.67, Translation:

Seeing his own children, who were more dear to him than life itself, fatally bound in the hunter's net along with his dearmost wife, whom he considered equal in every way to himself, the poor male pigeon began to lament wretchedly.

SB 11.7.70, Translation:

Now I am a wretched person living in an empty home. My wife is dead; my children are dead. Why should I possibly want to live? My heart is so pained by separation from my family that life itself has become simply suffering.

SB 11.7.71, Translation:

As the father pigeon wretchedly stared at his poor children trapped in the net and on the verge of death, pathetically struggling to free themselves, his mind went blank, and thus he himself fell into the hunter's net.

SB 11.19.26, Translation:

When consciousness is fixed on the material body, home and other, similar objects of sense gratification, one spends one's life chasing after material objects with the help of the senses. Consciousness, thus powerfully affected by the mode of passion, becomes dedicated to impermanent things, and in this way irreligion, ignorance, attachment and wretchedness arise.

SB 11.19.28-32, Translation:

Śrī Uddhava said: My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, O chastiser of the enemies, please tell me how many types of disciplinary regulations and regular daily duties there are. Also, my Lord, tell me what is mental equilibrium, what is self-control, and what is the actual meaning of tolerance and steadfastness. What are charity, austerity and heroism, and how are reality and truth to he described? What is renunciation, and what is wealth? What is desirable, what is sacrifice, and what is religious remuneration? My dear Keśava, O most fortunate one, how am I to understand the strength, opulence and profit of a particular person? What is the best education, what is actual humility, and what is real beauty? What are happiness and unhappiness? Who is learned, and who is a fool? What are the true and the false paths in life, and what are heaven and hell? Who is indeed a true friend, and what is one's real home? Who is a rich man, and who is a poor man? Who is wretched, and who is an actual controller? O Lord of the devotees, kindly explain these matters to me, along with their opposites.

SB 11.19.40-45, Translation:

Actual opulence is My own nature as the Personality of Godhead, through which I exhibit the six unlimited opulences. The supreme gain in life is devotional service to Me, and actual education is nullifying the false perception of duality within the soul. Real modesty is to be disgusted with improper activities, and beauty is to possess good qualities such as detachment. Real happiness is to transcend material happiness and unhappiness, and real misery is to be implicated in searching for sex pleasure. A wise man is one who knows the process of freedom from bondage, and a fool is one who identifies with his material body and mind. The real path in life is that which leads to Me, and the wrong path is sense gratification, by which consciousness is bewildered. Actual heaven is the predominance of the mode of goodness, whereas hell is the predominance of ignorance. I am everyone's true friend, acting as the spiritual master of the entire universe, and one's home is the human body. My dear friend Uddhava, one who is enriched with good qualities is actually said to be rich, and one who is unsatisfied in life is actually poor. A wretched person is one who cannot control his senses, whereas one who is not attached to sense gratification is a real controller. One who attaches himself to sense gratification is the opposite, a slave. Thus, Uddhava, I have elucidated all of the matters about which you inquired. There is no need for a more elaborate description of these good and bad qualities, since to constantly see good and bad is itself a bad quality. The best quality is to transcend material good and evil.

SB 12.3.37, Translation:

In Kali-yuga men will be wretched and controlled by women. They will reject their fathers, brothers, other relatives and friends and will instead associate with the sisters and brothers of their wives. Thus their conception of friendship will be based exclusively on sexual ties.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 12.29, Translation:

“The dust of Your lotus feet is not attainable even by Lord Brahmā, yet Your lotus feet have touched my wretched body.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 3:

First Sanātana fell at the feet of the Lord and with great humility asked about his own real identity. "I was born in a lower family," Sanātana said, "my associations are all abominable, and I am fallen, the most wretched of mankind. I was suffering in the dark well of material enjoyment, and I never learned the actual goal of my life. Indeed, I do not even know what is beneficial for me. Although in the mundane sphere I am what is known as a greatly learned man, I am in fact such a fool that I also think I am learned. You have accepted me as Your servant, and You have delivered me from the entanglement of material life. Now please tell me what my duty is in this liberated state."

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 13:

King Bharata (after whom India is called Bhārata-varṣa) was also a pure devotee, and at an early age he left his household life, his beautiful devoted wife, his sons, friends and kingdom just as if they were stool. This is typical of a person who has developed bhāva in the course of his devotional service. Such a devotee always thinks of himself as the most wretched, and his only satisfaction is in thinking that some day or other Kṛṣṇa will be kind enough to favor him by engaging him in devotional service. In the Padma Purāṇa another instance of pure devotion is found. There it is recorded that King Bhagīratha, although the most elevated of human beings, was begging from door to door and was even praying to the caṇḍālas, the lowest members of human society.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 16:

I came to search out some particles of colored glass, but instead I found a very valuable gem like You. I am satisfied, and I do not desire to ask anything of You.”

There is also another meaning to the word nirgrantha. The word can also mean "foolish hunter," or "wretched poor man." There is an instance of such a hunter who attained salvation and engaged himself in the devotional service of the Lord simply by associating with the pure devotee Nārada. Indeed, Lord Caitanya told Sanātana Gosvāmī the following story of the hunter's meeting with Nārada.

Once there was a hunter in the forest of Prayāga who was fortunate enough to meet Nārada Muni when the great sage was returning from Vaikuṇṭha after visiting Lord Nārāyaṇa. Nārada came to Prayāga to bathe in the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā. While passing through the forest, Nārada saw a bird lying on the ground. The bird was half-killed, having been pierced by an arrow, and it was chirping piteously.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 31:

Actually eight different symptoms comprised the mental condition of Kaṁsa. This is another instance of an aggregate of symptoms in hopeless ecstatic love.

One householder devotee once said, "My Lord, I am so wretched that these two eyes are never desiring to see the glorious city of Mathurā. Therefore, my eyes are actually condemned. I am nicely educated, but my education has simply been used in government service. I have not considered formidable time, stronger than anything else, which creates and annihilates everything. To whom shall I leave all of my wealth and fortune? I am becoming older and older. What shall I do? Shall I execute devotional service from here at home? This I cannot do, because my mind is being attracted by the transcendental land of Vṛndāvana."

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 20:

We have practical experience of this with our students in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Before becoming students, they were dirty-looking, although they had naturally beautiful personal features; due to having no information of Kṛṣṇa consciousness they appeared very dirty and wretched. Since they have taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, their health has improved, and by their following the rules and regulations, their bodily luster has increased. When they are dressed with saffron-colored cloth, with tilaka on their foreheads and beads in their hands and on their necks, they look exactly as if they have come directly from Vaikuṇṭha.

In the rainy season, when the rivers swell and rush to the oceans and seas, they appear to agitate the ocean. Similarly, if a person who is engaged in the mystic yoga process is not very much advanced in spiritual life, he can become agitated by the sex impulse. Although during the rainy season the high mountains are splashed by torrents of rain, they do not change; similarly, a person who is advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even if put into difficulties, is not embarrassed.

Krsna Book 65:

This time He wanted to bring the Yamunā by force, and He took the help of His plow. He wanted to punish the Yamunā because she did not come in obedience to His order. He addressed the Yamunā, "You wretched river! You did not care for My order. Now I shall teach you a lesson! You did not come to Me voluntarily. Now with the help of My plow I shall force you to come. I shall divide you into hundreds of scattered streams!"

When the Yamunā was threatened like this, she became greatly afraid of the power of Balarāma and immediately came in person, falling at His lotus feet and praying thus: “My dear Balarāma, You are the most powerful personality, and You are pleasing to everyone. Unfortunately, I forgot Your glorious, exalted position, but now I have come to my senses, and I remember that You hold all the planetary systems on Your head merely by Your partial expansion Śeṣa. You are the sustainer of the whole universe.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 1.3:

Strutting with false pride, strength, anger, lust, and so on, the demons become totally absorbed in bodily consciousness, thinking "This is my body. I am Indian, Bengali, and so on. He is a Muslim; he is a Hindu; he is a German." In this way they perpetrate acts of violence on others. The Supreme Lord repeatedly puts these most abominable, wretched sinners into the most distressful conditions, constantly punishing them with His stringent laws of nature, or daivī māyā. Thus taking repeated births as demons, these reprobates can never appreciate the transcendental pastimes, names, beauty, and so on, of the Supreme Lord. Gradually cultivating the impersonal knowledge of the Absolute, they are destined to suffer the worst possible life.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 1.8:

Had not Lord Kṛṣṇa mercifully instructed the process of karma-yoga to His devotee Śrī Arjuna, the ignorant souls would have suffered miserably for all time. These wretched karmīs have the noose of māyā constantly wrapped around their necks and are living from one distress to another, but because the Lord's deluding potency covers their intelligence, they cannot understand any of this. However much they might pretend to be the controllers, they are being continuously goaded by māyā, who leaves them helpless and impotent. Lord Kṛṣṇa has explained this in the Bhagavad-gītā (3.27), "The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature."

The foolish karmī cannot comprehend that because he has forgotten Lord Kṛṣṇa and is trying to usurp His position, the Lord's external potency, māyā, has tied a noose around his neck with the rope of the three modes of nature and is making him suffer excruciating pains.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.5:

Therefore, the real symptom of a true civilization is that its citizens are inspired by Back to Godhead to take up the process of devotion and go back to Godhead, where they will eternally reside in their actual home. Only in this way can they end all futile labor.

15) Just as the most sinful wretch lives in a ghostly body after death and moves about in the ether, having been denied a gross body, so the impersonalist, although rising to the point of liberation in the transcendental position, falls back down to the material world because of not having developed the mood of loving service to the Supreme Lord. Therefore the severe austerities and penances the impersonalist performs are not equivalent to the eternal religion of devotional service.

16) When monists are so attached to the formless, impersonal aspect of the Lord that they distinguish between Him and His transcendental body, their consciousness becomes contaminated by this blasphemy, and thus they are deprived of a place in the Lord's eternal abode.

Light of the Bhagavata

Light of the Bhagavata 10, Purport:

We have practical experience of this with our students in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Before becoming students, they were dirty looking, although they had naturally beautiful personal features; but due to having no information of Kṛṣṇa consciousness they appeared very dirty and wretched. Since they have taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, their health has improved, and by following the rules and regulations, their bodily luster has increased. When they are dressed with saffron-colored cloth, with tilaka on their foreheads and beads in their hands and on their necks, they look exactly as if they come directly from Vaikuṇṭha.

The residents of the water are the fish, frogs, and so on, and the residents of the land are the cows, deer, and so on. By constantly drinking and taking bath in the fresh rainwater of the rainy season, the tired and parched animals are refreshed, and their complexions become brilliant as their health is invigorated by the arrival of new rainwater.

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 13, Purport:

Here also in Śrī Īśopaniṣad it is verified that one achieves different results by different modes of worship. If we worship the Supreme Lord, we will certainly reach Him in His eternal abode, and if we worship demigods like the sun-god or moon-god, we can reach their respective planets without a doubt. And if we wish to remain on this wretched planet with our planning commissions and our stopgap political adjustments, we can certainly do that also.

Nowhere in authentic scriptures is it said that one will ultimately reach the same goal by doing anything or worshiping anyone. Such foolish theories are offered by self-made "spiritual masters" who have no connection with the paramparā, the bona fide system of disciplic succession. The bona fide spiritual master cannot say that all paths lead to the same goal and that anyone can attain this goal by his own mode of worship of the demigods or of the Supreme or whatever. Any common man can very easily understand that a person can reach his destination only when he has purchased a ticket for that destination.