Envy and Anger
Chapter Twenty-nine
Expressions of Love for Krsna
There are some bodily symptoms which express overwhelming ecstatic love (vyabhicari-bhava). They are counted at thirty-three as follows: disappointment, lamentation, humility, guilt, fatigue, intoxication, pride, doubt, apprehension, intense emotion, madness, forgetfulness, disease, confusion, death, laziness, inertness, bashfulness, concealment, remembrance, argumentativeness, anxiety, thoughtfulness, endurance, happiness, eagerness, violence, haughtiness, envy, impudence, dizziness, sleepiness and alertness.
Envy
In the Padyavali, one of the friends of Radharani once addressed Her thus: "My dear friend, please do not be too puffed up because Krsna has decorated Your forehead with His own hand. It may be that Krsna is yet attracted by some other beautiful girl. I see that the decoration on Your forehead is very nicely made, and so it appears that Krsna was not too disturbed in painting it. Otherwise, He could not have painted such exact lines!" This is an instance of envy caused by Radha's good fortune.
In the Tenth Canto, Thirtieth Chapter, verse 30, of Srimad-Bhagavatam, there is the following statement: "When the gopis were searching for Krsna and Radha after the rasa dance, they thus began to speak among themselves: `We have seen the footprints of Krsna and Radha on the ground of Vrndavana, and they are giving us great pain, because although Krsna is everything to us, that girl is so cunning that She has taken Him away alone and is enjoying His kissing without sharing Him with us!' " This is another instance of envy of the good fortune of Srimati Radharani.
Sometimes when the cowherd boys used to play in the forests of Vrndavana, Krsna would play on one side, and Balarama would play on another. There would be competition and mock fighting between the two parties, and when Krsna's party was defeated by Balarama, the boys would say, "If Balarama's party remains victorious, then who in the world can be weaker than ourselves?" This is another instance of envy in ecstatic love.
Chapter Thirty-one
Additional Symptoms
There are many disturbing symptoms in ecstatic love, such as envy, anxiety, pride, jealousy, conclusion, cowardliness, forgiveness, impatience, hankering, regret, doubtfulness and impudence. These are included in the thirty-three conditions of ecstatic love. Srila Rupa Gosvami has very nicely analyzed the different kinds of disturbing symptoms, and although it is very difficult to find the exact English equivalents for many Sanskrit words used here, his analysis will now be presented.
When one becomes malicious upon seeing another's advancement of life, his state of mind is generally called envy. When one becomes frightened at seeing a lightning bolt in the sky, that fearfulness brings on anxiety. Therefore, fearfulness and anxiety may be taken as one. One's desire to hide his real mentality is called avahittha, or concealment, and a desire to exhibit superiority is called pride. Both of these may be classified under pretension. In a pretentious attitude both avahittha and pride are to be found. One's inability to tolerate an offense committed by another is called amarsa, and one's inability to tolerate the opulence of another is called jealousy. Jealousy and amarsa are both caused by intolerance.
Teachings of Queen Kunti
Chapter Six
The Master of the Senses
If one is not jealous, one can serve Krsna very well, because jealousy and envy begin with being jealous of Krsna. For example, some philosophers think, "Why should Krsna be God? I am also God." This is the beginning of material life--to be envious of Krsna.
Prabhupada: To become angry is also qualification of God.
John Mize: I don't understand what you last said. To be angry is...
Bahulasva: A quality of God. To become angry is a quality of God.
Prabhupada: Because unless there is anger in God, how there is anger in me? But we, as we misuse our independence, we misuse our anger. And God does not misuse his independence; He does not misuse His anger. But the anger quality is there. Otherwise, how I have got anger? This is the Vedanta philosophy. Janmadyasya yatah: "Everything is emanating from the Supreme." So if the anger is there, it must be there.
John Mize: And jealousy?
Prabhupada: Everything.
John Mize: It's difficult to imagine Krsna jealous.
Prabhupada: Yes.
John Mize: What could He possibly envy or be jealous of?
Prabhupada: You can say whatever thing, but anger, all, whatever you have got, God has got in bigger quantity and perfect quantity. That is the conception of God, without any, what is called?
John Mize: Imperfection?
Prabhupada: Imperfection, yes.
John Mize: I hope He doesn't have my ignorance in such a mass.
Dharmadhyaksa: But ignorance is not a positive existence.
John Mize: And His anger or jealousy?
Prabhupada: Yes, sometimes anger acts. If you fight, if you do not be angry, you cannot fight.
Jayatirtha: In the Krsna Book there are so many stories of Krsna's anger or... Once, when His mother was (indistinct) a cooking pot...
Prabhupada: Yes.
Bahulasva: Krsna's activities are always for the good. So even when He becomes angry...
Prabhupada: That is also...
John Mize: Righteous anger.
Letter to: Atreya Rsi : 72-02-04
......It is not so much that because there may be some faults in our godbrothers and godsisters, or because there may be some mismanagement or lack of cooperation, that this is due to being impersonalists, no. It is the nature of the living condition to always have some fault. Even in the Spiritual World there is some fault and envy--sometimes the Gopis will quarrel over Krishna's favor, and once Krishna was so much attracted to Radharani that by mistake he tried to milk the bull instead of the cow, and sometimes when the Gopis used to put on their dress and make-up for seeing Krishna, they would be too much hasty and smear kumkum and mascara in the wrong places and their ornaments and dresses would appear as if small children had been trying to dress themselves and they were not very expert, like that. There are so many examples. But it is not the same as material fault or material envy, it is transcendental because it is all based on Krishna. Sometimes when one Gopi would serve Krishna very nicely, the others would say, Oh, she has done so nicely, now let me do better for pleasing Krishna. That is envy, but it is transcendental, without malice. So we shall not expect that anywhere there is any Utopia. Rather, that is impersonalism. People should not expect that even in the Krishna Consciousness Society there will be Utopia. Because devotees are persons, therefore there will always be some lacking--but the difference is that their lacking, because they ave given up everything to serve Krishna--money, jobs, reputation, wealth, big educations, everything--their lackings have become transcendental because, despite everything they may do, their topmost intention is to serve Krishna. ``One who is engaged in devotional service, despite the most abominable action, is to be considered saintly because he is rightly situated.'' The devotees of Krishna are the most exalted persons on this planet, better than kings, all of them, so we should always remember that and, like the bumblebee, always look for the nectar or the best qualities of a person. Not like the utopians, who are like the flies who always go to the open sores or find the faults in a person, and because they cannot find any utopia, or because they cannot find anyone without faults, they want to become void, merge, nothing--they think that is utopia, to become void of personality. So if there is sometimes slight disagreements between devotees, it is not due to impersonalism, but it is because they are persons, and such disagreements should not be taken very seriously. The devotee is always pessimistic about the material world, but he is very optimistic about the spiritual life; so in this way, you should consider that anyone engaged in Krishna's service is always the best person.
Letter to: Jayarge and Lindon Lomese : 72-05-25
....... One thing, we can never expect to find any kind of utopia, even in the spiritual world. Where ever there are persons there are bound to be differences, so we should not expect any kind of perfect arrangement, especially here in the material world. Even sometimes amongst the gopis there is envy, but that enviousness is transcendental and should not be accepted in the mundane sense. Anyway one quality of a devotee is that he is always very much tolerant of other people, so I request you simply to tolerate the faults of others and always think that I am myself the most faulty. In this way your humble attitude will qualify you to advance very quickly in Krishna Consciousness.
Letter to: Jayatirtha : 71-12-09
...... Competition and profiteering spirit are always there in the living entity. It is not that they can be artificially removed in some manner. Factually we saw in Russia that by removing competition and profit calculation from society the people were not at all happy, and still these things are going on. So we shall not expect that we are any different. Only difference is, that our profit is for Krishna's pleasure, and our competition is how to please Krishna more than someone else. Even amongst the Gopis there is competition to please Krishna, and there is envy also. But this envy is not material, it is transcendental. They are thinking, Oh, she has done something more wonderful than me, that is very nice, but now let me do something even more wonderful, like that. So I am pleased that you desire for competition with your godbrothers to spread Krishna Consciousness Movement all over the world by printing our books there.
Note: As you can see from Prabhupada’s statement in the Nectar of Devotion envy is a manifestation of an ecstatic symptom called vyabhicari bhava, not one of the twelve secondary rasas as I had incorrectly thought. However this does not change the fact of the existence envy in the spiritual world, but as Prabhupada quite clearly explains this is different from the existence of envy in the material world.
To think that Prabhupada’s use of the word envy is not the right choice of words is improper. From my understanding, Prabhupada’s command of the English language was actually far greater than ours. There are several instances where Prabhupada would use a particular word and his servants would think that it was an odd use of English, but after looking the word up in the dictionary they discovered that actually it was the perfect use of the word. (for reference please see Hari Sauri Prabhu’s Transcendental Diary).
Please forgive me if I am offending by pursuing this issue, but I think it is a point that is often misunderstood. For something to exist in the material world it must be there in Krsna, but without perversion. So when Prabhupada says that we must be free from envy and jealousy he is talking about material envy and jealousy.
Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Four, Text 23
PURPORT
The word daksayani means "the daughter of King Daksa." Sometimes, when there was relaxed conversation between husband and wife, Lord Siva used to call Sati "the daughter of King Daksa," and because this very word reminded her about her family relationship with King Daksa, she at once became ashamed because Daksa was an incarnation of all offenses. Daksa was the embodiment of envy, for he unnecessarily blasphemed a great personality, Lord Siva. Simply upon hearing the word daksayani, she felt afincted because of reference to the context because her body was the symbol of all the offensiveness with which Daksa was endowed. Since her body was constantly a source of unhappiness, she decided to give it up.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Eight, Text 3
TRANSLATION
Maitreya told Vidura: O great soul, from Dambha and Maya were born Greed and Nikrti, or Cunning. From their combination came children named Krodha (Anger) and Himsa (Envy), and from their combination were born Kali and his sister Durukti (Harsh Speech).
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Eight, Text 4
TEXT 4
duruktau kalir adhatta
bhayam mrtyum ca sattama
tayos ca mithunam jajne
yatana nirayas tatha
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Eight, Text 4
duruktau--in Durukti; kalih--Kali; adhatta--produced; bhayam--Fearfulness; mrtyum--Death; ca--and; sat-tama--O greatest of all good men; tayoh--of those two; ca--and; mithunam--by combination; jajne--were produced; yatana--Excessive Pain; nirayah--Hell; tatha--as well.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Eight, Text 4
TRANSLATION
O greatest of all good men, by the combination of Kali and Harsh Speech were born children named Mrtyu (Death) and Bhiti (Fear). From the combination of Mrtyu and Bhiti came children named Yatana (Excessive Pain) and Niraya (Hell).
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Eight,
TEXT 5
sangrahena mayakhyatah
pratisargas tavanagha
trih srutvaitat puman punyam
vidhunoty atmano malam
sangrahena--in summary; maya--by me; akhyatah--is explained; pratisargah--cause of devastation; tava--your; anagha--O pure one; trih--three times; srutva--having heard; etat--this description; puman--one who; punyam--piety; vidhunoti--washes off; atmanah--of the soul; malam--contamination.
TRANSLATION
My dear Vidura, I have summarily explained the causes of devastation. One who hears this description three times attains piety and washes the sinful contamination from his soul.
PURPORT
The creation takes place on the basis of goodness, but devastation takes place because of irreligion. That is the way of material creation and devastation. Here it is stated that the cause of devastation is Adharma, or Irreligion. The descendants of lrreligion and Falsity, born one after another, are Bluffing, Cheating, Greed, Cunning, Anger, Envy, Quarrel, Harsh Speech, Death, Fear, Severe Pain and Hell. All these descendants are described as signs of devastation. If a person is pious and hears about these causes of devastation, he will feel hatred for all these, and that will cause his advancement in a life of piety. Piety refers to the process of cleansing the heart. As recommended by Lord Caitanya, one has to cleanse the dust from the mirror of the mind, and then advancement on the path of liberation begins. Here also the same process is recommended. Malam means: "contamination." We should learn to despise all the causes of devastation, beginning from irreligion and cheating, and then we shall be able to make advancement in a life of piety. The possibility of our attaining Krsna consciousness will be easier, and we shall not be subjected to repeated devastation. The present life is repeated birth and death, but if we seek the path of liberation, we may be saved from repeated suffering.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Nineteen, Text 2
PURPORT
In the material world everyone who comes to enjoy himself or lord it over material nature is envious of others. This envy is also found in the personality of the King of heaven, Indra. As evident from revealed scriptures, Indra was several times envious of many persons. He was especially envious of great fruitive activities and the execution of yoga practices, or siddhis. Indeed, he could not tolerate them, and he desired to break them up. He was envious due to fear that those who performed great sacrifices for the execution of mystic yoga might occupy his seat. Since no one in this material world can tolerate another's advancement, everyone in the material world is called matsara, envious. In the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam it is therefore said that Srimad-Bhagavatam is meant for those who are completely nirmatsara (nonenvious). In other words, one who is not free from the contamination of envy cannot advance in Krsna consciousness. In Krsna consciousness, however, if someone excels another person, the devotee who is excelled thinks how fortunate the other person is to be advancing in devotional service. Such nonenvy is typical of Vaikuntha. However, when one is envious of his competitor, that is material. The demigods posted in the material world are not exempt from envy.
As far as salvation is concerned, one has to conquer the principles of lust, anger, unlawful desires, avarice and bewilderment. To get freedom from anger, one should learn how to forgive. To be free from unlawful desires one should not make plans. By spiritual culture one is able to conquer sleep. By tolerance only can one conquer desires and avarice. Disturbances from various diseases can be avoided by regulated diets. By self-control one can be free from false hopes, and money can be saved by avoiding undesirable association. By practice of yoga one can control hunger, and worldliness can be avoided by culturing the knowledge of impermanence. Dizziness can be conquered by rising up, and false arguments can be conquered by factual ascertainment. Talkativeness can be avoided by gravity and silence, and by prowess one can avoid fearfulness. Perfect knowledge can be obtained by self-cultivation. One must be free from lust, avarice, anger, dreaming, etc., to actually attain the path of salvation.
Expressions of Love for Krsna
There are some bodily symptoms which express overwhelming ecstatic love (vyabhicari-bhava). They are counted at thirty-three as follows: disappointment, lamentation, humility, guilt, fatigue, intoxication, pride, doubt, apprehension, intense emotion, madness, forgetfulness, disease, confusion, death, laziness, inertness, bashfulness, concealment, remembrance, argumentativeness, anxiety, thoughtfulness, endurance, happiness, eagerness, violence, haughtiness, envy, impudence, dizziness, sleepiness and alertness.
Envy
In the Padyavali, one of the friends of Radharani once addressed Her thus: "My dear friend, please do not be too puffed up because Krsna has decorated Your forehead with His own hand. It may be that Krsna is yet attracted by some other beautiful girl. I see that the decoration on Your forehead is very nicely made, and so it appears that Krsna was not too disturbed in painting it. Otherwise, He could not have painted such exact lines!" This is an instance of envy caused by Radha's good fortune.
In the Tenth Canto, Thirtieth Chapter, verse 30, of Srimad-Bhagavatam, there is the following statement: "When the gopis were searching for Krsna and Radha after the rasa dance, they thus began to speak among themselves: `We have seen the footprints of Krsna and Radha on the ground of Vrndavana, and they are giving us great pain, because although Krsna is everything to us, that girl is so cunning that She has taken Him away alone and is enjoying His kissing without sharing Him with us!' " This is another instance of envy of the good fortune of Srimati Radharani.
Sometimes when the cowherd boys used to play in the forests of Vrndavana, Krsna would play on one side, and Balarama would play on another. There would be competition and mock fighting between the two parties, and when Krsna's party was defeated by Balarama, the boys would say, "If Balarama's party remains victorious, then who in the world can be weaker than ourselves?" This is another instance of envy in ecstatic love.
Chapter Thirty-one
Additional Symptoms
There are many disturbing symptoms in ecstatic love, such as envy, anxiety, pride, jealousy, conclusion, cowardliness, forgiveness, impatience, hankering, regret, doubtfulness and impudence. These are included in the thirty-three conditions of ecstatic love. Srila Rupa Gosvami has very nicely analyzed the different kinds of disturbing symptoms, and although it is very difficult to find the exact English equivalents for many Sanskrit words used here, his analysis will now be presented.
When one becomes malicious upon seeing another's advancement of life, his state of mind is generally called envy. When one becomes frightened at seeing a lightning bolt in the sky, that fearfulness brings on anxiety. Therefore, fearfulness and anxiety may be taken as one. One's desire to hide his real mentality is called avahittha, or concealment, and a desire to exhibit superiority is called pride. Both of these may be classified under pretension. In a pretentious attitude both avahittha and pride are to be found. One's inability to tolerate an offense committed by another is called amarsa, and one's inability to tolerate the opulence of another is called jealousy. Jealousy and amarsa are both caused by intolerance.
Teachings of Queen Kunti
Chapter Six
The Master of the Senses
If one is not jealous, one can serve Krsna very well, because jealousy and envy begin with being jealous of Krsna. For example, some philosophers think, "Why should Krsna be God? I am also God." This is the beginning of material life--to be envious of Krsna.
Prabhupada: To become angry is also qualification of God.
John Mize: I don't understand what you last said. To be angry is...
Bahulasva: A quality of God. To become angry is a quality of God.
Prabhupada: Because unless there is anger in God, how there is anger in me? But we, as we misuse our independence, we misuse our anger. And God does not misuse his independence; He does not misuse His anger. But the anger quality is there. Otherwise, how I have got anger? This is the Vedanta philosophy. Janmadyasya yatah: "Everything is emanating from the Supreme." So if the anger is there, it must be there.
John Mize: And jealousy?
Prabhupada: Everything.
John Mize: It's difficult to imagine Krsna jealous.
Prabhupada: Yes.
John Mize: What could He possibly envy or be jealous of?
Prabhupada: You can say whatever thing, but anger, all, whatever you have got, God has got in bigger quantity and perfect quantity. That is the conception of God, without any, what is called?
John Mize: Imperfection?
Prabhupada: Imperfection, yes.
John Mize: I hope He doesn't have my ignorance in such a mass.
Dharmadhyaksa: But ignorance is not a positive existence.
John Mize: And His anger or jealousy?
Prabhupada: Yes, sometimes anger acts. If you fight, if you do not be angry, you cannot fight.
Jayatirtha: In the Krsna Book there are so many stories of Krsna's anger or... Once, when His mother was (indistinct) a cooking pot...
Prabhupada: Yes.
Bahulasva: Krsna's activities are always for the good. So even when He becomes angry...
Prabhupada: That is also...
John Mize: Righteous anger.
Letter to: Atreya Rsi : 72-02-04
......It is not so much that because there may be some faults in our godbrothers and godsisters, or because there may be some mismanagement or lack of cooperation, that this is due to being impersonalists, no. It is the nature of the living condition to always have some fault. Even in the Spiritual World there is some fault and envy--sometimes the Gopis will quarrel over Krishna's favor, and once Krishna was so much attracted to Radharani that by mistake he tried to milk the bull instead of the cow, and sometimes when the Gopis used to put on their dress and make-up for seeing Krishna, they would be too much hasty and smear kumkum and mascara in the wrong places and their ornaments and dresses would appear as if small children had been trying to dress themselves and they were not very expert, like that. There are so many examples. But it is not the same as material fault or material envy, it is transcendental because it is all based on Krishna. Sometimes when one Gopi would serve Krishna very nicely, the others would say, Oh, she has done so nicely, now let me do better for pleasing Krishna. That is envy, but it is transcendental, without malice. So we shall not expect that anywhere there is any Utopia. Rather, that is impersonalism. People should not expect that even in the Krishna Consciousness Society there will be Utopia. Because devotees are persons, therefore there will always be some lacking--but the difference is that their lacking, because they ave given up everything to serve Krishna--money, jobs, reputation, wealth, big educations, everything--their lackings have become transcendental because, despite everything they may do, their topmost intention is to serve Krishna. ``One who is engaged in devotional service, despite the most abominable action, is to be considered saintly because he is rightly situated.'' The devotees of Krishna are the most exalted persons on this planet, better than kings, all of them, so we should always remember that and, like the bumblebee, always look for the nectar or the best qualities of a person. Not like the utopians, who are like the flies who always go to the open sores or find the faults in a person, and because they cannot find any utopia, or because they cannot find anyone without faults, they want to become void, merge, nothing--they think that is utopia, to become void of personality. So if there is sometimes slight disagreements between devotees, it is not due to impersonalism, but it is because they are persons, and such disagreements should not be taken very seriously. The devotee is always pessimistic about the material world, but he is very optimistic about the spiritual life; so in this way, you should consider that anyone engaged in Krishna's service is always the best person.
Letter to: Jayarge and Lindon Lomese : 72-05-25
....... One thing, we can never expect to find any kind of utopia, even in the spiritual world. Where ever there are persons there are bound to be differences, so we should not expect any kind of perfect arrangement, especially here in the material world. Even sometimes amongst the gopis there is envy, but that enviousness is transcendental and should not be accepted in the mundane sense. Anyway one quality of a devotee is that he is always very much tolerant of other people, so I request you simply to tolerate the faults of others and always think that I am myself the most faulty. In this way your humble attitude will qualify you to advance very quickly in Krishna Consciousness.
Letter to: Jayatirtha : 71-12-09
...... Competition and profiteering spirit are always there in the living entity. It is not that they can be artificially removed in some manner. Factually we saw in Russia that by removing competition and profit calculation from society the people were not at all happy, and still these things are going on. So we shall not expect that we are any different. Only difference is, that our profit is for Krishna's pleasure, and our competition is how to please Krishna more than someone else. Even amongst the Gopis there is competition to please Krishna, and there is envy also. But this envy is not material, it is transcendental. They are thinking, Oh, she has done something more wonderful than me, that is very nice, but now let me do something even more wonderful, like that. So I am pleased that you desire for competition with your godbrothers to spread Krishna Consciousness Movement all over the world by printing our books there.
Note: As you can see from Prabhupada’s statement in the Nectar of Devotion envy is a manifestation of an ecstatic symptom called vyabhicari bhava, not one of the twelve secondary rasas as I had incorrectly thought. However this does not change the fact of the existence envy in the spiritual world, but as Prabhupada quite clearly explains this is different from the existence of envy in the material world.
To think that Prabhupada’s use of the word envy is not the right choice of words is improper. From my understanding, Prabhupada’s command of the English language was actually far greater than ours. There are several instances where Prabhupada would use a particular word and his servants would think that it was an odd use of English, but after looking the word up in the dictionary they discovered that actually it was the perfect use of the word. (for reference please see Hari Sauri Prabhu’s Transcendental Diary).
Please forgive me if I am offending by pursuing this issue, but I think it is a point that is often misunderstood. For something to exist in the material world it must be there in Krsna, but without perversion. So when Prabhupada says that we must be free from envy and jealousy he is talking about material envy and jealousy.
Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Four, Text 23
PURPORT
The word daksayani means "the daughter of King Daksa." Sometimes, when there was relaxed conversation between husband and wife, Lord Siva used to call Sati "the daughter of King Daksa," and because this very word reminded her about her family relationship with King Daksa, she at once became ashamed because Daksa was an incarnation of all offenses. Daksa was the embodiment of envy, for he unnecessarily blasphemed a great personality, Lord Siva. Simply upon hearing the word daksayani, she felt afincted because of reference to the context because her body was the symbol of all the offensiveness with which Daksa was endowed. Since her body was constantly a source of unhappiness, she decided to give it up.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Eight, Text 3
TRANSLATION
Maitreya told Vidura: O great soul, from Dambha and Maya were born Greed and Nikrti, or Cunning. From their combination came children named Krodha (Anger) and Himsa (Envy), and from their combination were born Kali and his sister Durukti (Harsh Speech).
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Eight, Text 4
TEXT 4
duruktau kalir adhatta
bhayam mrtyum ca sattama
tayos ca mithunam jajne
yatana nirayas tatha
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Eight, Text 4
duruktau--in Durukti; kalih--Kali; adhatta--produced; bhayam--Fearfulness; mrtyum--Death; ca--and; sat-tama--O greatest of all good men; tayoh--of those two; ca--and; mithunam--by combination; jajne--were produced; yatana--Excessive Pain; nirayah--Hell; tatha--as well.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Eight, Text 4
TRANSLATION
O greatest of all good men, by the combination of Kali and Harsh Speech were born children named Mrtyu (Death) and Bhiti (Fear). From the combination of Mrtyu and Bhiti came children named Yatana (Excessive Pain) and Niraya (Hell).
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Eight,
TEXT 5
sangrahena mayakhyatah
pratisargas tavanagha
trih srutvaitat puman punyam
vidhunoty atmano malam
sangrahena--in summary; maya--by me; akhyatah--is explained; pratisargah--cause of devastation; tava--your; anagha--O pure one; trih--three times; srutva--having heard; etat--this description; puman--one who; punyam--piety; vidhunoti--washes off; atmanah--of the soul; malam--contamination.
TRANSLATION
My dear Vidura, I have summarily explained the causes of devastation. One who hears this description three times attains piety and washes the sinful contamination from his soul.
PURPORT
The creation takes place on the basis of goodness, but devastation takes place because of irreligion. That is the way of material creation and devastation. Here it is stated that the cause of devastation is Adharma, or Irreligion. The descendants of lrreligion and Falsity, born one after another, are Bluffing, Cheating, Greed, Cunning, Anger, Envy, Quarrel, Harsh Speech, Death, Fear, Severe Pain and Hell. All these descendants are described as signs of devastation. If a person is pious and hears about these causes of devastation, he will feel hatred for all these, and that will cause his advancement in a life of piety. Piety refers to the process of cleansing the heart. As recommended by Lord Caitanya, one has to cleanse the dust from the mirror of the mind, and then advancement on the path of liberation begins. Here also the same process is recommended. Malam means: "contamination." We should learn to despise all the causes of devastation, beginning from irreligion and cheating, and then we shall be able to make advancement in a life of piety. The possibility of our attaining Krsna consciousness will be easier, and we shall not be subjected to repeated devastation. The present life is repeated birth and death, but if we seek the path of liberation, we may be saved from repeated suffering.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4: Chapter Nineteen, Text 2
PURPORT
In the material world everyone who comes to enjoy himself or lord it over material nature is envious of others. This envy is also found in the personality of the King of heaven, Indra. As evident from revealed scriptures, Indra was several times envious of many persons. He was especially envious of great fruitive activities and the execution of yoga practices, or siddhis. Indeed, he could not tolerate them, and he desired to break them up. He was envious due to fear that those who performed great sacrifices for the execution of mystic yoga might occupy his seat. Since no one in this material world can tolerate another's advancement, everyone in the material world is called matsara, envious. In the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam it is therefore said that Srimad-Bhagavatam is meant for those who are completely nirmatsara (nonenvious). In other words, one who is not free from the contamination of envy cannot advance in Krsna consciousness. In Krsna consciousness, however, if someone excels another person, the devotee who is excelled thinks how fortunate the other person is to be advancing in devotional service. Such nonenvy is typical of Vaikuntha. However, when one is envious of his competitor, that is material. The demigods posted in the material world are not exempt from envy.
As far as salvation is concerned, one has to conquer the principles of lust, anger, unlawful desires, avarice and bewilderment. To get freedom from anger, one should learn how to forgive. To be free from unlawful desires one should not make plans. By spiritual culture one is able to conquer sleep. By tolerance only can one conquer desires and avarice. Disturbances from various diseases can be avoided by regulated diets. By self-control one can be free from false hopes, and money can be saved by avoiding undesirable association. By practice of yoga one can control hunger, and worldliness can be avoided by culturing the knowledge of impermanence. Dizziness can be conquered by rising up, and false arguments can be conquered by factual ascertainment. Talkativeness can be avoided by gravity and silence, and by prowess one can avoid fearfulness. Perfect knowledge can be obtained by self-cultivation. One must be free from lust, avarice, anger, dreaming, etc., to actually attain the path of salvation.
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