Śrī Śrīla Shyām Dās Bābā Mahārāja
Gauḍīya Goṣṭhi Pati Paramahaṁsācārya Varya Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākur Prabhupāda said that—“So long we are living in this world we must try to understand what is the ultimate goal of our life.” We must inquire about this material body which is made of flesh and blood and bones etc. to get understanding whether there is something else beyond that or not?” Why we are here? Where will we go after death?
Though the mind in this material condition is full of material contamination, and it is extremely difficult to gain control over it, the mind can be purified through hearing Bhāgavata-kathā from the lotus mouth of a śuddha-bhakta. This is sādhana. Śrī Kṛṣṇa speaking to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gītā—
asaṁśayaṁ mahā-bāho
mano durnigrahaṁ calam
abhyāsena tu kaunteya
vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate (Bg. 6.35)
O mighty-armed son of Kuntī, the mind is indeed restless and difficult to restrain yet it can surely be controlled through steadfast practice and detached determination.
There exists an absolutely transcendental reality — the spiritual world but this material world is nothing but only a distorted reflection of that transcendental world. The kind of pain & pleasures or enjoyment or any kind of experiences we can gather here in this material world—all are temporary, but the spiritual realm is eternally present which is full of ānanda. Therefore one should use this unstable human life to search out that absolute truth. From Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we know the following śloka—
labdhvā su-durlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte
mānuṣyam arthadam anityam apīha dhīraḥ
tūrṇaṁ yateta na pated anumṛtyu yāvan
niḥśreyasāya viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt (ŚB 11.9.29)
Having attained this rare and precious human birth—granted only after countless lifetimes—and though it is temporary, it offers the unique chance to achieve life’s highest perfection. Therefore, a wise person should strive earnestly and without delay for spiritual realization before death arrives. Material pleasures are easily found even among the lowest forms of life, but the awakening of divine consciousness is the true purpose and treasure of human existence.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa teaches Arjuna that all material pleasures have a beginning and an end. Those who are truly intelligent do not chase after temporary enjoyments, for they ultimately lead to suffering and bondage.
ye hi saṁsparśa-jā bhogā
duḥkha-yonaya eva te
ādy-antavantaḥ kaunteya
na teṣu ramate budhaḥ (Bg. 5.22)
An intelligent person does not seek enjoyment in the fleeting pleasures born of contact with the material senses. O son of Kuntī, such enjoyments arise and disappear from time to time — they carry the seed of suffering within them.
Nobody (no father, mother, or friend, or any relative etc.) can save us from eminent death. So anyway we are bound to follow willingly or unwillingly the cycle of birth & death. Only the realized souls, the dear associates of Bhagavān, can guide us to the true meaning and goal of life. That is for why Srila Prabhupada used to say that — “If I seek the path leading to that Absolute Truth, then I must ignore the countless voices of popular wisdom and listen only to that of the realised soul.”
King Parīkṣit asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī the most important question on behalf of us all: “What is the actual duty of a person who is about to die?” Such inquiry, Śukadeva said, is rare and precious—a sign of true intelligence. In Srimad Bhagavatam it is written that–
atho pṛcchāmi saṁsiddhiṁ
yogināṁ paramaṁ gurum
puruṣasya iha yat kāryaṁ
mṛtyu-kāle ’pi cānuśam (SB 1.19.24)
You are the absolute guru among of all those yogīs (even among those bhakti-yogīs), so I would like to inquire from you about the absolute procedure of bhajana to attain the absolute maṅgala out of all different lucrative offers offered in different śāstras for those mortal beings.
Even those most powerful and wealthy persons can become helpless in front of time and death. That is for why instead of wasting time in sense gratification, one should seek immortality—the eternal life of the soul—by drinking the amṛta — bhakti to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān.
Granta Rāja Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the fruit of all the Vedas where this most relevant Q&A between Śrīla Parīkṣit Mahārāj and Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī have been recorded in great detail for all times and ages. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the ripened fruit of the Vedas.
nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ
śuka-mukhād amṛta-drava-saṁyutam
pibata bhāgavataṁ rasaṁ ālayam
muhur aho rasikā bhuvi bhāvukāḥ (SB 1.1.3)
O expert and thoughtful men, relish Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It has become even more tasteful, having emanated from the lips of Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Therefore, O thoughtful souls on earth, repeatedly drink this juice, the very nectar of immortality, until you are finally liberated.
śrīmad-bhāgavatam purāṇam amalam yad vaiṣṇavānāṁ priyaṁ
yasmin pāramahaṁsyam ekam amalaṁ jñānaṁ paraṁ gīyate
tatra jñāna-virāga-bhakti-sahitaṁ naiṣkarmyam āviṣkṛtaṁ
tac chṛṇvan su-pāṭhan vicāraṇa-paro bhaktyā vimucyen naraḥ
(ŚB 12.13.18)
The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam—the spotless crest-jewel among the Purāṇas—is most dear to the Vaiṣṇavas. Within its sacred verses shines the pure and supreme wisdom of the paramahaṁsas—knowledge untouched by asat (material), adorned with detachment, devotion, and divine realization. One who hears and reflects upon it with devotion is sure to attain liberation from bondage.
If we hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam under the guidance of śuddha Guru-Vaiṣṇava in a very humble and surrendered mood than there can be no doubt that we can get absolute maṅgala in our life. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that—“So long we are living in this world we must try to understand what is the ultimate goal of this life.”
yāha, bhāgavata paḍa vaiṣṇavera sthāne
ekānta āśraya kara caitanya-caraṇe
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā 5.131)
“Go and hear the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from a self-realized Vaiṣṇava, while taking exclusive shelter at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.”
Gaura Hari Hari Bol