Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 4: “The Creation of the Fourth Order”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Nine
SB4.9.24
TEXT 24
istva mam yajna-hrdayam
yajnaih puskala-daksinaih
bhuktva cehasisah satya
ante mam samsmarisyasi
SYNONYMS
istva—after worshiping; mam—Me; yajna-hrdayam—the heart of all sacrifices; yajnaih—by great sacrifices; puskala-daksinaih—comprehending distribution of great charities; bhuktva—after enjoying; ca—also; iha—within this world; asisah—blessings; satyah—true; ante—at the end; mam—Me; samsmarisyasi—you will be able to remember.
TRANSLATION
The Lord continued: I am the heart of all sacrifices. You will be able to perform many great sacrifices and also give great charities. In this way you will be able to enjoy the blessings of material happiness in this life, and at the time of your death you will be able to remember Me.
PURPORT
The most important factor in this verse is the Lord’s instructions regarding how to remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead at the end of life. Ante narayana-smrtih: the result of whatever we do in executing spiritual activities is successful if we can remember Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This program of constant remembrance can be disturbed by many things, but Dhruva Maharaja’s life would be so pure, as assured by the Lord Himself, that Dhruva would never forget Him. Thus at the time of his death he would remember the Supreme Lord, and before his death he would enjoy this material world, not by sense gratification, but by performing great sacrifices. As stated in the Vedas, when one performs great sacrifices he must give charity, not only to the brahmanas, but also to the ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras. It is assured here that Dhruva Maharaja would be able to perform such activities. In this age of Kali, however, the great sacrifice is the performance of sankirtana-yajna. Our Krsna consciousness movement is designed to teach people (and to learn ourselves) the exact instruction of the Personality of Godhead. In this way we shall continuously perform the sankirtana-yajna and continuously chant the Hare Krsna mantra. Then at the end of our lives we shall certainly be able to remember Krsna, and our program of life will be successful. In this age, distribution of prasada has replaced distribution of money. No one has sufficient money to distribute, but if we distribute krsna-prasada as far as possible, this is more valuable than the distribution of money. SB4.9.25 TEXT 25 tato gantasi mat-sthanam sarva-loka-namaskrtam uparistad rsibhyas tvam yato navartate gatah SYNONYMS tatah—thereafter; ganta asi—you will go; mat-sthanam—to My abode; sarva-loka—by all planetary systems; namah-krtam—offered obeisances; uparistat—situated higher; rsibhyah—than the planetary systems of the rsis; tvam—you; yatah—wherefrom; na—never; avartate—will come back; gatah—having gone there. TRANSLATION The Personality of Godhead continued: My dear Dhruva, after your material life in this body, you will go to My planet, which is always offered obeisances by the residents of all other planetary systems. It is situated above the planets of the seven rsis, and having gone there you will never have to come back again to this material world. PURPORT In this verse the word navartate is very significant. The Lord says, “You will not come back to this material world, for you will reach mat-sthanam, My abode.” Therefore Dhruvaloka, or the polestar, is the abode of Lord Visnu within this material world. Upon it there is an ocean of milk, and within that ocean there is an island known as Svetadvipa. It is clearly indicated that this planet is situated above the seven planetary systems of the rsis, and because this planet is Visnuloka, it is worshiped by all other planetary systems. It may be questioned here what will happen to the planet known as Dhruvaloka at the time of the dissolution of this universe. The answer is simple: Dhruvaloka remains, like other Vaikunthalokas beyond this universe. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has commented in this connection that the very word navartate indicates that this planet is eternal. SB4.9.26 TEXT 26 maitreya uvaca ity arcitah sa bhagavan atidisyatmanah padam balasya pasyato dhama svam agad garuda-dhvajah SYNONYMS maitreyah uvaca—the great sage Maitreya continued to speak; iti—thus; arcitah—being honored and worshiped; sah—the Supreme Lord; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead; atidisya—after offering; atmanah—His personal; padam—residence; balasya—while the boy; pasyatah—was looking on; dhama—to His abode; svam—own; agat—He returned; garuda-dhvajah—Lord Visnu, whose flag bears the emblem of Garuda. TRANSLATION The great sage Maitreya said: After being worshiped and honored by the boy, Dhruva Maharaja, and after offering him His abode, Lord Visnu, on the back of Garuda, returned to His abode, as Dhruva Maharaja looked on. PURPORT From this verse it appears that Lord Visnu awarded Dhruva Maharaja the same abode in which He resides. His abode is described in the Bhagavad-gita (15.6): yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama. SB4.9.27 TEXT 27 so ’pi sankalpajam visnoh pada-sevopasaditam prapya sankalpa-nirvanam natiprito ’bhyagat puram SYNONYMS sah—he (Dhruva Maharaja); api—although; sankalpa-jam—the desired result; visnoh—of Lord Visnu; pada-seva—by serving the lotus feet; upasaditam—obtained; prapya—having achieved; sankalpa—of his determination; nirvanam—the satisfaction; na—not; atipritah—very much pleased; abhyagat—he returned; puram—to his home. TRANSLATION Despite having achieved the desired result of his determination by worshiping the lotus feet of the Lord, Dhruva Maharaja was not very pleased. Thus he returned to his home. PURPORT By worshiping the lotus feet of the Lord in devotional service as instructed by Narada Muni, Dhruva Maharaja achieved the desired result. His desire was to get a very exalted position, excelling that of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, and although it was a somewhat childish determination because Dhruva Maharaja was nothing but a small child, Lord Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is so kind and merciful that He fulfilled Dhruva’s desire. Dhruva Maharaja wanted a residence more exalted than any ever occupied by anyone else in his family. Therefore he was offered the planet in which the Lord personally resides, and his determination was completely satisfied. Still, when Dhruva Maharaja returned home he was not very much pleased, for although in pure devotional service there is no demand from the Lord, because of his childish nature he had demanded something. Thus although the Lord also fulfilled his desire, he was not very pleased. Rather, he was ashamed that he had demanded something from the Lord, for he should not have done this. SB4.9.28 TEXT 28 vidura uvaca sudurlabham yat paramam padam harer mayavinas tac-caranarcanarjitam labdhvapy asiddhartham ivaika-janmana katham svam atmanam amanyatartha-vit SYNONYMS vidurah uvaca—Vidura continued to inquire; sudurlabham—very rare; yat—that which; paramam—is the supreme; padam—situation; hareh—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; maya-vinah—very affectionate; tat—His; carana—lotus feet; arcana—by worshiping; arjitam—achieved; labdhva—having attained; api—although; asiddha-artham—not fulfilled; iva—as if; eka-janmana—in the duration of one life; katham—why; svam—own; atmanam—heart; amanyata—he felt; artha-vit—being very wise. TRANSLATION Sri Vidura inquired: My dear brahmana, the abode of the Lord is very difficult to attain. It can be attained only by pure devotional service, which alone pleases the most affectionate, merciful Lord. Dhruva Maharaja achieved this position even in one life, and he was very wise and conscientious. Why, then, was he not very pleased? PURPORT Saint Vidura’s inquiry is very relevant. The word artha-vit, which refers to one who knows how to discriminate between reality and unreality, is very significant in this connection. An artha-vit is also called paramahamsa. A paramahamsa accepts only the active principle of everything; just as a swan accepts only the milk from a mixture of water and milk, a paramahamsa accepts only the Supreme Personality of Godhead as his life and soul, neglecting all external, material things. Dhruva Maharaja was in this category, and due to his determination he achieved, the result he desired, but still when he returned home he was not very pleased. SB4.9.29 TEXT 29 maitreya uvaca matuh sapatnya vag-banair hrdi viddhas tu tan smaran naicchan mukti-pater muktim tasmat tapam upeyivan SYNONYMS maitreyah uvaca—the great sage Maitreya replied; matuh—of his mother; sa-patnyah—of the co-wife; vak-banaih—by the arrows of harsh words; hrdi—in the heart; viddhah—pierced; tu—then; tan—all of them; smaran—remembering; na—not; aicchat—desired; mukti-pateh—from the Lord, whose lotus feet give liberation; muktim—salvation; tasmat—therefore; tapam—grief; upeyivan—he suffered. TRANSLATION Maitreya answered: Dhruva Maharaja’s heart, which was pierced by the arrows of the harsh words of his stepmother, was greatly aggrieved, and thus when he fixed upon his goal of life he did not forget her misbehavior. He did not demand actual liberation from this material world, but at the end of his devotional service, when the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared before him, he was simply ashamed of the material demands he had in his mind. PURPORT This important verse has been discussed by many stalwart commentators. Why was Dhruva Maharaja not very pleased, even after achieving the goal of life he desired? A pure devotee is always free from any kind of material desires. In the material world, one’s material desires are all most demonic; one thinks of others as one’s enemies, one thinks of revenge against one’s enemies, one aspires to become the topmost leader or topmost person in this material world, and thus one competes with all others. This has been described in the Bhagavad-gita, Sixteenth Chapter, as asuric. A pure devotee has no demand from the Lord. His only concern is to serve the Lord sincerely and seriously, and he is not at all concerned about what will happen in the future. In the Mukunda-mala-stotra, King Kulasekhara, author of the book, states in his prayer: “My dear Lord, I don’t want any position of sense gratification within this material world. I simply want to engage in Your service perpetually.” Similarly, Lord Caitanya, in His Siksastaka, also prayed, “My Lord, I do not want any amount of material wealth, I do not want any number of materialistic followers, nor do I want any attractive wife to enjoy. The only thing I want is that I may engage life after life in Your service.” Lord Caitanya did not pray even for mukti, or liberation. In this verse Maitreya replied to Vidura that Dhruva Maharaja, influenced by a revengeful attitude towards his insulting stepmother, did not think of mukti, nor did he know what mukti was. Therefore he failed to aim for mukti as his goal in life. But a pure devotee also does not want liberation. He is a soul completely surrendered to the Supreme Lord, and he does not demand anything from the Lord. This position was realized by Dhruva Maharaja when he saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead present personally before him because he was elevated to the vasudeva platform. The vasudeva platform refers to the stage at which material contamination is conspicuous by absence only, or in other words where there is no question of the material modes of nature—goodness, passion and ignorance—and one can therefore see the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because on the vasudeva platform one can see God face to face, the Lord is also called Vasudeva. Dhruva Maharaja’s demand was for a position so exalted that it was never enjoyed even by Lord Brahma, his great-grandfather. Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is so affectionate and kind towards His devotee, especially to a devotee like Dhruva Maharaja, who went to render devotional service in the forest alone at the age of only five years, that although the motive might be impure, the Lord does not consider the motive; He is concerned with the service. But if a devotee has a particular motive, the Lord directly or indirectly knows it, and therefore He does not leave the devotee’s material desires unfulfilled. These are some of the special favors by the Lord to a devotee. Dhruva Maharaja was offered Dhruvaloka, a planet that was never resided upon by any conditioned soul. Even Brahma, although the topmost living creature within this universe, was not allowed to enter the Dhruvaloka. Whenever there is a crisis within this universe, the demigods go to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead Ksirodakasayi Visnu, and they stand on the beach of the Milk Ocean. So the fulfillment of Dhruva Maharaja’s demand—a position more exalted than that of even his great-grandfather, Brahma—was offered to him. Here in this verse the Lord is described as mukti-pati, which means “one under whose lotus feet there are all kinds of mukti.” There are five kinds of mukti—sayujya, sarupya, salokya, samipya and sarsti. Out of these five muktis, which can be achieved by any person engaged in devotional service to the Lord, the one which is known as sayujya is generally demanded by Mayavadi philosophers; they demand to become one with the impersonal Brahman effulgence of the Lord. In the opinion of many scholars, this sayujya-mukti, although counted among the five kinds of mukti, is not actually mukti because from sayujya-mukti one may again fall down to this material world. This information we have from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.2.32), wherein it is said, patanty adhah, which means “they again fall down.” The monist philosopher, after executing severe austerity, merges into the impersonal effulgence of the Lord, but the living entity always wants reciprocation in loving affairs. Therefore, although the monist philosopher is elevated to the status of being one with the effulgence of the Lord, because there is no facility for associating with the Lord and rendering service unto Him, he again falls into this material world, and his service propensity is satisfied by materialistic welfare activities like humanitarianism, altruism and philanthropy. There are many instances of such falldowns, even for great sannyasis in the Mayavada school. Therefore Vaisnava philosophers do not accept sayujya-mukti to be within the category of mukti. According to them, mukti means transferal to the loving service of the Lord from one’s position of serving maya. Lord Caitanya also says in this connection that the constitutional position of a living entity is to render service to the Lord. That is real mukti. When one is situated in his original position, giving up artificial positions, he is called mukta, or liberated. In the Bhagavad-gita this is confirmed: anyone who engages in rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord is considered to be mukta, or brahma-bhuta. It is said in Bhagavad-gita that a devotee is considered to be on the brahma-bhuta platform when he has no material contamination. In the Padma Purana this is also confirmed: mukti means engagement in the service of the Lord. The great sage Maitreya explained that Dhruva Maharaja did not desire in the beginning to engage in the service of the Lord, but he wanted an exalted position better than his great-grandfather’s. This is more or less not service to the Lord but service to the senses. Even if one gets the position of Brahma, the most exalted position in this material world, he is a conditioned soul. Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati says that if one is elevated to real, pure devotional service, he considers even great demigods like Brahma and Indra to be on an equal level with an insignificant insect. The reason is that an insignificant insect has a desire for sense gratification and even a great personality like Lord Brahma also wants to dominate this material nature. Sense gratification means domination over material nature. The whole competition between conditioned souls is based upon domination of this material nature. Modern scientists are proud of their knowledge because they are discovering new methods to dominate the laws of material nature. They think that this is the advancement of human civilization—the more they can dominate the material laws, the more advanced they think they are. Dhruva Maharaja’s propensity in the beginning was like that. He wanted to dominate this material world in a greater position than Lord Brahma. Therefore elsewhere it is described that after the appearance of the Lord, when Dhruva Maharaja thought and compared his determination to his final reward, he realized that he had wanted a few particles of broken glass but instead had received many diamonds. As soon as he saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, he immediately became conscious of the unimportance of his demand from the Lord to have an exalted position better than Lord Brahma’s. When Dhruva Maharaja became situated on the vasudeva platform due to seeing the Lord face to face, all his material contamination was cleared. Thus he became ashamed of what his demands were and what he had achieved. He was very much ashamed to think that although he had gone to Madhuvana, giving up the kingdom of his father, and he had gotten a spiritual master like Narada Muni, he was still thinking of revenge against his stepmother and wanted to occupy an exalted post within this material world. These were the causes for his moroseness even alter he received all the desired benedictions from the Lord. When Dhruva Maharaja factually saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there was no question of a revengeful attitude towards his stepmother nor any aspiration to lord it over the material world, but the Supreme Personality is so kind that He knew that Dhruva Maharaja wanted these. Speaking before Dhruva Maharaja, He used the word vedaham because when Dhruva Maharaja demanded material benefits, the Lord was present within his heart and so knew everything. The Lord always knows everything a man is thinking. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita also: vedaham samatitani. The Lord fulfilled all Dhruva Maharaja’s desires. His revengeful attitude towards his stepmother and stepbrother was satisfied, his desire for a more exalted position than that of his great-grandfather was also fulfilled, and at the same time, his eternal position in Dhruvaloka was fixed. Although Dhruva Maharaja’s achievement of an eternal planet was not conceived of by him, Krsna thought, “What will Dhruva do with an exalted position within this material world?” Therefore He gave Dhruva the opportunity to rule this material world for thirty-six thousand years with unchangeable senses and the chance to perform many great sacrifices and thus become the most reputed king within this material world. And, after finishing with all this material enjoyment, Dhruva would be promoted to the spiritual world, which includes the Dhruvaloka. SB4.9.30 TEXT 30 dhruva uvaca samadhina naika-bhavena yat padam viduh sanandadaya urdhva-retasah masair aham sadbhir amusya padayos chayam upetyapagatah prthan-matih SYNONYMS dhruvah uvaca—Dhruva Maharaja said; samadhina—by practicing yoga in trance; na—never; eka-bhavena—by one birth; yat—which; padam—position; viduh—understood; sananda-adayah—the four brahmacaris headed by Sanandana; urdhva-retasah—infallible celibates; masaih—within months; aham—I; sadbhih—six; amusya—of Him; padayoh—of the lotus feet; chayam—shelter; upetya—achieving; apagatah—fell down; prthak-matih—my mind fixed on things other than the Lord. TRANSLATION Dhruva Maharaja thought to himself: To endeavor to be situated in the shade of the lotus feet of the Lord is not an ordinary task because even the great brahmacaris headed by Sanandana, who practiced astanga-yoga in trance, attained the shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet only after many, many births. Within six months I achieved the same result, yet due to my thinking differently from the Lord, I fell down from my position. PURPORT In this verse Dhruva Maharaja himself explains the cause of his moroseness. First he laments that to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly is not easy. Even great saintly persons like the four celebrated brahmacaris headed by Sanandana—Sanandana, Sanaka, Sanatana and Sanat-kumara—practiced the yoga system for many, many births and remained in trance before getting the opportunity to see the Supreme Lord face to face. As far as Dhruva Maharaja was concerned, he saw the Supreme Lord personally after only six months of practice in devotional service. He expected, therefore, that as soon as he met the Supreme Lord, the Lord would take him to His abode immediately, without waiting. Dhruva Maharaja could understand very clearly that the Lord had offered him the rule of the world for thirty-six thousand years because in the beginning he was under the spell of the material energy and wanted to take revenge against his stepmother and rule over his father’s kingdom. Dhruva Maharaja greatly lamented his propensity for ruling the material world and his revengeful attitude towards other living entities. SB4.9.31 TEXT 31 aho bata mamanatmyam manda-bhagyasya pasyata bhava-cchidah pada-mulam gatva yace yad antavat SYNONYMS aho—oh; bata—alas; mama—my; anatmyam—bodily consciousness; manda-bhagyasya—of the unfortunate; pasyata—just see; bhava—material existence; chidah—of the Lord, who can cut off; pada-mulam—the lotus feet; gatva—having approached; yace—I prayed for; yat—that which; anta-vat—perishable. TRANSLATION Alas, just look at me! I am so unfortunate. I approached the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can immediately cut the chain of the repetition of birth and death, but still, out of my foolishness, I prayed for things which are perishable. PURPORT The word anatmyam is very significant in this. verse. Atma means “the soul,” and anatmya means “without any conception of the soul.” Srila Rsabhadeva instructed his sons that unless a human being comes to the point of understanding the atma, or spiritual position, whatever he does is ignorance, and this brings only defeat in his life. Dhruva Maharaja regrets his unfortunate position, for although he approached the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is always able to give His devotee the highest benediction of cessation of the repetition of birth and death, which is impossible for any demigod to offer, he foolishly wanted something perishable. When Hiranyakasipu asked immortality from Lord Brahma, Lord Brahma expressed his inability to offer such a benediction because he himself is not immortal; therefore immortality, or complete cessation of the chain of repeated birth and death, can be offered by the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead Himself, not by others. Harim vina na srtim taranti. It is said that without the blessings of Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, no one can stop the continuous chain of birth and death within this material world. Therefore the Supreme Lord is also called bhava-cchit. The Vaisnava philosophy in the process of Krsna consciousness prohibits the devotee from all kinds of material aspirations. A Vaisnava devotee should always be anyabhilasita-sunya, free from all material aspirations for the results of fruitive activities or empiric philosophical speculation. Dhruva Maharaja was actually initiated by Narada Muni, the greatest Vaisnava, in the chanting of om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. This mantra is a visnu-mantra, for by practicing the chanting of this mantra one is elevated to the Visnuloka. Dhruva Maharaja regrets that although he was initiated in the visnu-mantra by a Vaisnava, he still aspired for material benefits. That was another cause for lamentation. Although he got the result of the visnu-mantra by the causeless mercy of the Lord, he lamented how foolish he was to have strived for material benefits while practicing devotional service. In other words, every one of us who is engaged in devotional service in Krsna consciousness should be completely free from all material aspirations. Otherwise we will have to lament like Dhruva Maharaja. SB4.9.32 TEXT 32 matir vidusita devaih patadbhir asahisnubhih yo narada-vacas tathyam nagrahisam asattamah SYNONYMS matih—intelligence; vidusita—contaminated; devaih—by the demigods; patadbhih—who will fall down; asahisnubhih—intolerant; yah—I who; narada—of the great sage Narada; vacah—of the instructions; tathyam—the truth; na—not; agrahisam—could accept; asat-tamah—the most wretched. TRANSLATION Since all the demigods who are situated in the higher planetary system will have to come down again, they are all envious of my being elevated to Vaikunthaloka by devotional service. These intolerant demigods have dissipated my intelligence, and only for this reason could I not accept the genuine benediction of the instructions of Sage Narada. PURPORT As shown by many instances in the Vedic literature, when a person undergoes severe austerities, the demigods become very much perturbed because they are always afraid of losing their posts as the predominating deities of the heavenly planets. It is known to them that their position in the higher planetary system is impermanent, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, Ninth Chapter (ksine punye martya-lokam visanti). It is said in the Gita that after exhausting the results of their pious activities, all the demigods, who are inhabitants of the higher planetary system, have to come back again to this earth. It is a fact that the demigods control the different activities of the limbs of our bodies. Factually we are not free even in moving our eyelids. Everything is controlled by them. Dhruva Maharaja’s conclusion is that these demigods, being envious of his superior position in devotional service, conspired against him to pollute his intelligence, and thus although he was the disciple of a great Vaisnava, Narada Muni, he could not accept Narada’s valid instructions. Now Dhruva Maharaja regretted very much that he had neglected these instructions. Narada Muni had asked him, “Why should you bother about insult or adoration from your stepmother?” He of course said to Dhruva Maharaja that since Dhruva was only a child, what did he have to do with such insult or adoration? But Dhruva Maharaja was determined to achieve the benediction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore Narada advised him to go back home for the time being, and in mature time he could try to practice devotional service. Dhruva Maharaja regretted that he had rejected the advice of Narada Muni and was adamant in asking him for something perishable, namely revenge against his stepmother for her insult, and possession of the kingdom of his father. Dhruva Maharaja regretted very much that he could not take seriously the instruction of his spiritual master and that his consciousness was therefore contaminated. Still, the Lord is so merciful that due to Dhruva’s execution of devotional service He offered Dhruva the ultimate Vaisnava goal. SB4.9.33 TEXT 33 daivim mayam upasritya prasupta iva bhinna-drk tapye dvitiye ’py asati bhratr-bhratrvya-hrd-ruja SYNONYMS daivim—of the Personality of Godhead; mayam—the illusory energy; upasritya—taking shelter of; prasuptah—dreaming while asleep; iva—like; bhinna-drk—having separated vision; tapye—I lamented; dvitiye—in the illusory energy; api—although; asati—temporary; bhratr—brother; bhratrvya—enemy; hrt—within the heart; ruja—by lamentation. TRANSLATION Dhruva Maharaja lamented: I was under the influence of the illusory energy; being ignorant of the actual facts, I was sleeping on her lap. Under a vision of duality, I saw my brother as my enemy, and falsely I lamented within my heart, thinking, “They are my enemies.” PURPORT Real knowledge is revealed to a devotee only when he comes to the right conclusion about life by the grace of the Lord. Our creation of friends and enemies within this material world is something like dreaming at night. In dreams we create so many things out of various impressions in the subconscious mind, but all such creations are simply temporary and unreal. In the same way, although apparently we are awake in material life, because we have no information of the soul and the Supersoul, we create many friends and enemies simply out of imagination. Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami says that within this material world or material consciousness, good and bad are the same. The distinction between good and bad is simply a mental concoction. The actual fact is that all living entities are sons of God, or by-products of His marginal energy. Because of our being contaminated by the modes of material nature, we distinguish one spiritual spark from another. That is also another kind of dreaming. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita that those who are actually learned do not make any distinction between a learned scholar, a brahmana, an elephant, a dog and a candala. They do not see in terms of the external body; rather, they see the person as spirit soul. By higher understanding one can know that the material body is nothing but a combination of the five material elements. In that sense also the bodily construction of a human being and that of a demigod are one and the same. From the spiritual point of view we are all spiritual sparks, parts and parcels of the Supreme Spirit, God. Either materially or spiritually we are basically one, but we make friends and enemies as dictated by the illusory energy. Dhruva Maharaja therefore said, daivim mayam upasritya: the cause of his bewilderment was his association with the illusory, material energy. SB4.9.34 TEXT 34 mayaitat prarthitam vyartham cikitseva gatayusi prasadya jagad-atmanam tapasa dusprasadanam bhava-cchidam ayace ’ham bhavam bhagya-vivarjitah SYNONYMS maya—by me; etat—this; prarthitam—prayed for; vyartham—uselessly; cikitsa—treatment; iva—like; gata—has ended; ayusi—for one whose life; prasadya—after satisfying; jagat-atmanam—the soul of the universe; tapasa—by austerity; dusprasadanam—who is very difficult to satisfy; bhava-chidam—the Personality of Godhead, who can cut the chain of birth and death; ayace—prayed for; aham—I; bhavam—repetition of birth and death; bhagya—fortune; vivarjitah—being without. TRANSLATION It is very difficult to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but in my case, although I have satisfied the Supersoul of the whole universe, I have prayed only for useless things. My activities were exactly like treatment given to a person who is already dead. Just see how unfortunate I am, for in spite of meeting the Supreme Lord, who can cut one’s link with birth and death, I have prayed for the same conditions again. PURPORT Sometimes it so happens that a devotee engaged in the loving service of the Lord desires some material benefit in exchange for this service. This is not the proper way to discharge devotional service. Out of ignorance, of course, sometimes a devotee does so, but Dhruva Maharaja regrets his personal behavior in this connection. SB4.9.35 TEXT 35 svarajyam yacchato maudhyan mano me bhiksito bata isvarat ksina-punyena phali-karan ivadhanah SYNONYMS svarajyam—His devotional service; yacchatah—from the Lord, who was willing to offer; maudhyat—by foolishness; manah—material prosperity; me—by me; bhiksitah—was asked for; bata—alas; isvarat—from a great emperor; ksina—reduced; punyena—whose pious activities; phali-karan—broken particles of husked rice; iva—like; adhanah—a poor man. TRANSLATION Because of my state of complete foolishness and paucity of pious activities, although the Lord offered me His personal service, I wanted material name, fame and prosperity. My case is just like that of the poor man who, when he satisfied a great emperor who wanted to give him anything he might ask, out of ignorance asked only a few broken grains of husked rice. PURPORT In this verse the word svarajyam, which means “complete independence,” is very significant. A conditioned soul does not know what complete independence is. Complete independence means situation in one’s own constitutional position. The real independence of a living entity, who is part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is to remain always dependent on the Supreme Lord, just like a child who plays in complete independence, guided by his parents, who watch over him. The independence of the conditioned soul does not mean to fight with the obstacles offered by maya, but to surrender to Krsna. In the material world, everyone is trying to become completely independent simply by fighting against the obstacles offered by maya. This is called the struggle for existence. Real independence is to be reinstated in the service of the Lord. Anyone who goes to the Vaikuntha planets or Goloka Vrndavana planet is freely offering his service to the Lord. That is complete independence. Just contrary to this is material overlordship, which we wrongly take to be independence. Many great political leaders have tried to establish independence, but due to such so-called independence the people’s dependence has only increased. The living entity cannot be happy trying to be independent in the material world. One has to surrender, therefore, unto the lotus feet of the Lord and engage in his original, eternal service. Dhruva Maharaja regrets that he wanted material opulence and greater prosperity than that of his great-grandfather, Lord Brahma. His begging from the Lord was like a poor man’s asking a great emperor for a few grains of broken rice. The conclusion is that anyone who is engaged in the loving service of the Lord should never ask for material prosperity from the Lord. The awarding of material prosperity simply depends on the stringent rules and regulations of the external energy. Pure devotees ask the Lord only for the privilege of serving Him. This is our real independence. If we want anything else, it is a sign of our misfortune.