Wise Words from Narada Muni

Narada Muni said, 

-      “You are spending your days uselessly only meditating on how to increase your wealth. You should know very well that this material wealth is useless and the cause of all suffering. Real supreme wealth is transcendental knowledge.

-      Please try to think about this for once seriously within your heart. None of your family members, like your wife and children and all your relatives, are yours eternally. At the time of your death no one will be yours. When you will die all your relatives will put your body into river water to float away and go back to their homes. If no one is a real relative of anyone then why do you run after these false hopes, hankering for so much material achievement? 

-      If you say that at least you are achieving pleasure in your life and are free from suffering and that is your justification for trying to accumulate so much wealth, dear king, that is also false, because this body will be destroyed one day. It will not exist more than 100 years.

–      Therefore you should understand that the essence of everything is beyond this illusory material world in the spiritual world, where there is no trace of suffering in the enjoyment. In this material world some enjoyment is there but it always comes along with suffering.

-      One must know how to cross over material nescience. What kind of sadhana should one follow to achieve that wonderful result of going back to Godhead, where there is no sorrow or suffering? Not only by renunciation nor just by knowledge can one achieve that. By knowledge and renunciation one may become free from material bondage and get liberation. But by achieving that kind of liberation one does not get real pleasure. In fact to get that kind of liberation is the greatest loss, because material pleasure is lost and at the same time not much worthwhile is achieved.

-      Therefore the actually intelligent person will not accept bhukti or mukti, material sense gratification or liberation. Rather they practice, Bhakti-yoga, devotional service to Lord Sri Krishna. To be detached from material things and attached to the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna is everything on one’s life – sambandha, abhidheya and prayojana.

–      The jiva is the eternal servant of Sri Krishna. Without Bhakti everything is destroyed. The tree of Bhakti, Bhakti-Vriskha, gives the fruit of prema. That fruit is prayojana or the final goal of life.

-      That Krishna-prema is our eternal wealth, in comparison to which bhukti and mukti are insignificant. Lord Sri Krishna is sat, cit and ananda. He is like the sun, the jivas are like rays of the sun and maya is the shadow. The Jiva is the tatastha sakti, marginal energy of the Lord and due to his marginal nature, when he comes in contact with maya she puts him in bondage. When the jiva becomes Krishna-bahirmukha or turns his face away from Krishna, he touches maya.

-      By coming in contact with maya the jiva falls into the bondage of karma. Being caught by the net of maya the jiva moves around in the material universes and undergoes lots of suffering.

–      Due to his attachment to karma he does not get liberation even if he tries his best to be free from suffering. Sometimes the jiva engages in logic. In spite of all these he ultimately remains in bondage, due to his non-acceptance of the real wealth of knowledge about the science of the self.

-      If the jiva, while traversing this material world, gets the association of a sadhu then he will achieve sraddha or faith. In due course of time by practicing, Bhakti-yoga, devotional service to Lord Sri Krishna in the association of devotees, his heart will become free from anarthas, unwanted desires, and then he will achieve nistha, steadiness. After continuing his bhajana, at some time due to that nistha, he will develop ruci or taste and then later he will develop attachment or asakti to the Lord. From asakti he will attain bhava, which will later bring him to the platform of prema.

-      This is the gradual process of achieving pure Bhakti, devotion. By practicing nine kinds of devotional service in the association of devotees, one will achieve the wealth of Krishna-prema.”