guhyahnkee khuhnteernehr

The Problems of Life

Primary problems
There are four primary, distressful conditions that are imposed on every living being by the laws of nature: birth, death, old age and disease. We do not consciously choose to be born, to get old, to get sick or die. These stages of life are the cause of physical and mental suffering. The unborn child in the womb is subjected to continual suffering. Mother and child suffer together. Childbirth is a painful experience. The first thing a new born baby does is cry as it comes out of the womb. Similarly, at the time of death, there is so much suffering and grief. Disease and old age are further evidence of the unavoidable difficulties one experiences in life.

Realistic Assessment of life
By considering the distresses of birth, death, old age and disease, one should arrive at a pessimistic view of material life. Unless one is convinced that life is an unending struggle for existence rife with suffering, no serious attempt will be made to find a solution. Cultivating spiritual knowledge of how the individual, eternal soul is entrapped in the temporary body is the beginning of the spiritual quest for freedom.
A pessimistic view of material life is not a negative vision. It is a realistic assessment. We must learn from knowledge and experience that true happiness cannot be derived by exploiting nature for our selfish desires. Rather, we can employ nature in the service of God. Then the laws of nature are no longer oppressive to our desires. A criminal is oppressed by the laws of society. But, a law abiding person enjoys the freedom that society affords. By following the laws of society, one gains freedom to pursue one’s dreams. Similarly, when we follow the laws of nature established by God, we gain the freedom of action to serve God unimpeded. All our spiritual desires to serve the Lord are fulfilled and we feel perfectly satisfied and happy. The pessimistic view of material life can be the stepping stone to the optimistic view of our spiritual destiny now and forever.

The problem of material happiness
Any happiness one experiences in life is inevitably accompanied by suffering. This fact should be carefully considered. Material sense pleasures are due to contact of the senses with objects and persons. All these are temporary as is the body itself. A self-realized soul is not interested in enjoying illusory pleasures that come and go. They are the cause of continuing in this material existence of bitter-sweet happiness and distress. An example of the relative nature of happiness and distress is hot or cold water. In summer, cold water can be very pleasing to the senses. But, in winter, cold water can cause distress. In winter, hot water can be pleasing, but cause distress in summer. On the 4th of July in the USA, fireworks are a source of fun for kids. Their parents buy them an assortment of fireworks to set off at night. Sometimes, however, a child can set off fireworks and lose an eye or suffer severe pain. The same fireworks that cause pleasure to some, causes extreme pain or tragedy to others. Another example is the birth of a child who is a source of happiness for the parents. But, the same child may die later and cause extreme pain to the parents.

This material world is full of duality. One cannot have happiness without distress. You cannot understand distress without happiness. Therefore, this material world is a relative place of duality. Attraction to sense pleasures is the cause of continuous material existence. By the addiction to material pleasures, one is distressed by material miseries. Thus, material life is a continual duality of happiness and distress.

False Promises of Science
Most people try to solve the problem of suffering by making temporary adjustments of their material condition. Because scientific research and inventions accompanied by economic development give hope that one day man will conquer disease, old age and death, people are lured into an illusory belief that mankind’s combined efforts will end suffering. Such a conclusion is the result of self-imposed ignorance (this will be discussed later in this article) by which we avoid acknowledging our real situation in this world. Although we see suffering everywhere, we falsely believe that there will be a miraculous discovery in the future by which we can live eternally in this material world and enjoy sensuous pleasures.
For example, a person living three hundred years ago could not have believed that man could fly through the air like birds from one country to another. What seemed impossible three hundred years ago has become a commonplace occurrence in the lives of everyone today with the advancement of knowledge and technology. By studying birds very carefully and experimenting for a period of time man has understood the principle of aerodynamics and flight. With the advancement of technology, man has emulated birds by building machines that can fly through the sky. Material science and technology can emulate phenomena in nature. But it is impossible to emulate something that is not manifest in nature. For example, there are no birds or any creature that live eternally in a material body. Therefore, regardless of how much scientific research and technological advancement man can make, he will never be able to reverse universal conditions such as birth, death, old age and disease. He may attenuate circumstances in which these things occur, but he will never be able to reverse them. The conditions of nature such as birth, death, old age and disease are irreversible. They may be mitigated somewhat but not eliminated.

Materialistic education has misled people to believe in a “fool’s paradise” where the promises of science and false logic replace belief in God. By loss of faith in God and disregard for His instructions as given in Holy Scriptures, people blindly violate the laws of nature and suffer unnecessarily due to ignorance.
Once we learn not to violate the laws of nature as established by God, we can live peacefully in this world. Through unselfish service, we can achieve love of God, experience the cooperation of nature to mitigate the struggle for existence and reach the goal of human life which is complete liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

Secondary Problems – fourteen principles of devastation
Everyone attempts to achieve happiness, peace and love in their lives. When we seek these desirable goals through economic development and material sense gratification, many unpleasant things result. This is due to misdirecting our priority in life from faith in God to faith in economic development and sense gratification as the means to ultimate happiness. The secondary problems of life result from such misdirection of priority. They are: Irreligion (not believing in God or accepting false gods) and Falsity (believing in the mechanistic genesis of life from chemicals or material atoms) that give rise to Bluffing, Cheating, Greed, Cunning, Anger, Envy, Quarrel, Harsh Speech, Death, Fear, Severe Pain and Hell. These fourteen principles of devastation are the result of pursuing the wrong means to attain the goal of life.

Self-imposed ignorance
Irreligion and falsity develop from ignorance. God endows every human being with a certain measure of free will which is limited to either voluntarily follow the instructions of God or reject them. We can choose at any moment to follow God’s instructions as given in Holy Scriptures or ignore them. One rejects God’s instructions out of ignorance. This ignorance is in fact self- imposed, which refers to the limitations of consciousness due to attachment to temporary material things. Material things by nature are limited in time and space and by identifying with them we limit ourselves to a restricted time space concept of life which is far removed from reality.

This can be explained by the following example. There were two men in a steam room of a public bathhouse. After half an hour of sweating they both took a shower, relaxed for an hour, then dressed and left. One gentleman was a teacher who had a modest but sufficient income to maintain his family. While both men dressed, the teacher noticed that the other gentleman had very expensive clothes. At the check-out desk, the teacher was amazed to see that the other man retrieved extremely valuable personal jewelry and a costly designer watch from the valuables vault. On exiting the bathhouse, the teacher was again surprised to see that the other man stepped into a chauffeur driven limousine. The teacher inquired from other patrons of the bathhouse if they knew who the wealthy stranger was. He was told that the man was one of the wealthiest persons in the world. Inside the steam room, there was no way for the teacher to understand the wealth, position and influence of the other man. It was only when he noticed the expensive jewelry, watch and limousine that he became curious to find out who the other man was.

Similarly, we have no means to understand the power and opulence of God, until we develop the curiosity to find out and meet knowledgeable persons who know factually.

How we fall into the state of self-imposed ignorance
We perceive the world with our five senses that deliver information to the mind which is the sixth sense. The mind registers the “input” of the senses and records them in the memory which is very similar to a computer. However, there is one major difference between a computer and a human being; a person can develop attachment to the objects of the senses (the input). This in turn can give rise to the development of lust, anger, greed, delusion, bewilderment of memory, loss of intelligence and entanglement in the whirlpool of action and reaction. The results are many adverse consequences due to violating the laws of nature and the laws of society. One becomes hopelessly entangled in a complex net of attachments to temporary objects and relationships. These false attachments generate negative attitudes that keep one in an unending cycle of birth and death in the material world. The following is a detailed description of the downward spiral of self-imposed ignorance.

False Ego
Absorbing one’s mind in external designations and developing false attachments, one encounters much frustration and struggle. There was once a woman who purchased a new Lexus. As she drove out of the dealership a VW van painted with rainbow colors smashed into the new Lexus and caused considerable damage. By chance, the woman was not physically injured. She sprang out of the damaged car and began to scream in rage.
“Why the hell did you run into my new car? I just pulled out of the Lexus dealership. Give me your insurance papers. Your insurance company will pay for all this damage to my car.”
“I’m sorry lady, but I don’t have insurance. I can’t afford it,” said the young man with the dreadlocks.
The lady screamed, “Damn fool! You are good for nothing dope head!”
Although the lady was not physically injured herself, she seemed to be in an extreme state of pain and frustration. Why was the lady so distressed and pained? What part of her was affected by the accident that damaged her car? If a person has a toothache, they can point to the exact spot where it hurts. The swollen or sore gums or the decayed tooth with an exposed nerve is easy to identify. Where was the lady hurt? She was not physically injured. Yet, she seemed distressed and pained. This was due to her attachment and false identification with the new car. Her attachment was so strong that whatever happened to the car affected her. The idea, “This new Lexus is mine. I am going to enjoy driving it,” was the immediate object of attachment of her false ego.
The ego is self-identification of oneself, or “I am.” The false ego is identifying oneself with a temporary material object. One may think “I am the owner, controller and the enjoyer of this particular material thing or person.” The lady above assumed she was the owner and enjoyer of the new car. Because the object or the relationship is temporary, the conviction that one is the owner, controller and enjoyer is illusory or false. At most, it is a short term relationship that can change at any time.

How does the false ego evolve?
Why would a person identify with a temporary thing or relationship knowing well that it can end at any time?
A human being has a body with senses, which gather information and impressions of the physical world and feed them to the mind. The mind is the center of all activities of the senses. When one looks upon and hears about sense objects, the mind becomes a reservoir of ideas of sense gratification. Varieties of desires and attachment build up in the mind. The sensuous contemplation of an object leads to the development of attachment to enjoy the object. One thinks about the object by seeing its desirable qualities. One begins to feel how pleasing it would be to own and enjoy the object. One wills or becomes determined that unless they own and control the object they will not achieve sensuous and mental fulfillment.

From contemplation of an object which includes thinking, feeling and willing, one may develop attachment and eventually lust for it. Thus the mind and senses become repositories of lust, which is an obsessive desire to own and control something or someone. The intelligence or the power of the person to discern right from wrong, good from bad, positive from negative, becomes affected by the lusty mentality. One begins to make decisions based on lust for the object rather than what is the long term good for the person. The lusty intelligence becomes the seat of the false ego by which a person attempts to dominate material nature with its objects or people.

Using the faculties of the senses, mind and intelligence which are infected with lust, a person becomes attached to a temporary thing and develops a sort of addiction to enjoying the object with their material senses, and mistakes this temporary enjoyment as true happiness.

The woman with the Lexus developed the strong attachment to enjoy her new car. But, her pleasure was abruptly interrupted by the man in the rainbow VW. She vented her frustration and pain which quickly turned to anger. It was as if she was injured by the damage done to her car. She was not injured physically. The truth is that her false ego was pained by the abrupt accident due to her excessive attachment to the Lexus.

The false ego or the material object-oriented consciousness has two psychic divisions. One identifies oneself as the controller, and then as the enjoyer of the object. While enjoying the object one develops a very strong and sometimes obsessive attachment to it. The passionate or overmastering craving to control and enjoy an object is the symptom of lust.

Lust and its negative effects
In the Bhagavad-gita*, Lord Krishna explains the origin of lust in a human being.
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world.” (BG 3.37)
Originally everyone has pure love for God. When a living entity comes in contact with the material creation, the eternal love for God is transformed into lust, in association with the mode of passion. The sense of love of God becomes transformed into lust just as dry ice or solid carbon dioxide transforms from a solid to a gas at normal temperatures and pressure. The carbon dioxide gas can be reconverted back to a solid by pressurizing it and lowering the temperature. Under such conditions, it changes to a liquid form. When the pressure is reduced, some liquid carbon dioxide vaporizes, and this causes a rapid lowering of temperature. The remaining liquid carbon dioxide becomes a solid. Similarly, love of God in contact with material nature is transformed into lust; but, with proper treatment, the lust for material dominance can transform back to love of God.

When lust is unsatisfied, it turns to anger; anger is transformed into illusion, and illusion continues the material entanglement. Lust induces the pure living entity to remain in the material world, continually suffering birth, death, old age and disease. When a human being becomes bewildered by lust and anger, he may misuse his freedom of choice by refusing to serve God in this life. The attitude of service to God may be transformed to the desire to enjoy sense gratification. Then, he comes under the influence of lust. Thus lust evolves by contact with the mode of passion, which is born of unlimited desires and longings. By the increase of the mode of passion, one hankers for unlimited sense gratification. To achieve this one must work very hard. By such difficult labor, one becomes attached to the fruits of labor and becomes bound by such activities. There is an instructive story to illustrate these points.
There is a story about a saint named Narada who once asked Lord Krishna to reveal to him the workings of Maya, the Lord’s illusory energy. Lord Krishna sat under the shade of a tree overlooking a river. He asked Narada to fetch water to drink from the nearby river. Narada went to the river bank. He noticed a beautiful, young woman who was also filling three jugs with water. They both acknowledged each other with a smile. Narada politely offered to help her carry the three full jugs of water. She lived in a village near the bank of the river. Narada accompanied her back to her family home where he met her parents and siblings. The parents, who were farmers and owned land, invited Narada to eat dinner with them. The young maiden was named after the sacred river Yamuna. Narada was enticed by her charm and beauty. By associating with her, he became convinced that without her, he would never experience happiness or love. One thing led to another and Narada asked the parents if he could marry Yamuna. They agreed.
Soon the wedding was celebrated and the couple was given land and a modest village house for residence. Narada worked hard to cultivate, plant, and harvest the fields. The couple had their first child. The cultivated fields yielded plentiful crops. Narada and Yamuna shared a part of their crops with Yamuna’s parents and also with the poor. They became known for their generosity and kindness. They prospered. Two more children were born to them. There was boundless joy in their house and the surrounding village.

Narada was attached to his lovely children. They were always with him in the fields, in the barn, in the house. Narada would tell them stories, feed them, and in every way show his affection. His love for Yamuna was unbounded. The children and Yamuna reciprocated his affection and their bounds of love grew day to day. The idyllic life continued for eight years.

During the rainy season of the eighth year, there was a deluge of rain that made the nearby river dangerously swollen. Narada and his family became worried about the rising waters. He joined the other villagers in building levees to protect their homes and fields. Everyone prayed that the rain stop. The incessant rain washed away the levees and flooded the entire valley. All the villagers feared for their lives. They protected themselves by taking refuge on the roofs of their houses. One by one the houses were swept away by the raging waters. Narada and Yamuna tried their best to protect their children. They were huddled together on the roof of their house holding on to each other and praying. The water rose so high that the entire family was afloat. When Narada tried to grab hold of a floating tree trunk for safety, he let go of his wife and children for a moment. They were swept away by the current. He looked on helplessly as they disappeared one by one into the depths. He was heartbroken with grief. Narada held on to the tree trunk which was carried by the current to the edge of higher ground. He was able to grab some bushes growing on the edge of the raging waters and struggled to pull himself on to dry land. He lay there exhausted and depressed, his eyes drenched in hot tears of lamentation. He was frustrated, angry and finally bewildered by what he just experienced. He lost everyone that he cherished in a few moments. His ideal life was shattered by an unspeakable tragedy. He thought of jumping back into the waters and drowning because there was no reason to continue his life. From nowhere, he heard a calm, familiar voice full of affection, “Narada, did you bring me water to drink?” It was Lord Krishna. Narada was shocked. He realized that he had been under the spell of Lord Krishna’s illusory energy (Maya). He looked up and saw the smiling beautiful face of the Lord. There was no flood and the surroundings were lush, green and peaceful. He experienced years of activity and relationships in a few intense moments during which he was completely oblivious of his surroundings. He was immersed in a world of illusion that became “his reality,” which was like a dream that seemed real.

Forgetfulness of God is the cause of the downward spiral
The human frailty which makes us susceptible to this adverse cycle is forgetfulness of our eternal relationship to God. He is the original father, creator, owner or proprietor, enjoyer, overseer, controller and knower of the material creation and everyone in it. We ignore this eternal fact due to anger or envy of God, we attempt to equal or surpass Him by exploiting the material energy. Engrossed in such attempts, we completely ignore or forget about God. Just like a person dreaming at night forgets who he is while his mind is involved in the events of his dream.

Proprietorship of God
By ignoring or forgetting God, one develops a sinful disposition due to either an ignorant or deliberate disobedience of the laws of nature. The cause of this is disregarding the proprietorship of God. The concept of proprietorship is the basis of the organization of human society. We see different types of social organization based on capitalism, socialism, communism, monarchy, dictatorship, and hybrids of the above. All these are flawed concepts because ultimately God is the sole proprietor and controller of everything. Unless a person understands this universal truth, he will continually violate the laws of nature by trying to usurp God’s property for selfish purposes. Disobeying the laws of nature which were established by God by disregarding His proprietorship is ruinous for the well-being of a human being.

We develop false attachment to something or someone in the material world. This happens when we observe an object of our senses without seeing its relationship to God. Just as a person finds a wallet in the street and thinks it belongs to him because he found it. As we observe an object, we begin to develop attachment for it. We see the object and think how nice it is. We feel how good it would be to enjoy the object or use it to please ourselves. We make an act of will with determination that the object is necessary for our pleasure. Then, we act to obtain the object. During the thinking, feeling and willing stages preceding action, our mind can progress from attachment to lust or the obsessive desire to own and control an object for our personal pleasure.

Mode of Passion
Lust may evolve from attachment when we associate with the mode of passion which is exemplified by sexual attraction. The attraction of a man and woman for each other or any other combination is the example of the mode of passion. As the mode of passion is increased, one develops the hankering for material enjoyment or sense gratification. For sustained and regular sense gratification one seeks profit, distinction and eventually adoration. A partner, house, family and children, many appliances and vehicles or other gadgets, and whatever is needed for pleasuring the senses are acquired. These are products of the mode of passion. One works very hard to obtain and maintain them. The result is one becomes attached to the fruits of his activities and is bound in a network of actions and reactions.

Anger from lust
If our lust is frustrated in the attempt to obtain the object, we become angry. When this anger develops, we fall into a state of self-imposed ignorance that can lead to individual and socially destructive behavior, continual trouble and misery even though our goal is seeking happiness. There are five coverings of ignorance of a materially conditioned person once he becomes angry at or envious of God.

Five coverings of ignorance
1. Anger
The first is anger itself which evolves when we misuse our limited free will and begin to desire to enjoy and control on an equal or greater level than God. We think, “Why should I not be a free enjoyer like the Supreme Lord?” Our constitutional position is to be the servant of God. By nature, we are always subordinate to Him. If we ignore this eternal fact and attempt to be equal to or emulate God, we succumb to continual frustration and anger because our efforts are destined to fail. God is the controller and enjoyer of everything in His creation. In ignorance, we try to control and enjoy a small part of creation. Anyone who wants to emulate God through material acquisition of power and control will fail eventually due to old age, disease and death.

2. Belief that death is the ultimate end of life
Considering death to be the ultimate end of life is the second covering of ignorance. Atheists and materialists think the body is the self. They refuse to accept that there is a non-material soul. They believe their individual existence ends with the death of the body. Enjoyment of the pleasures of the material senses and mind is the goal of life.

They think: “We should enjoy life and live as prosperously as possible. Religious dogma and its doctrine of sin is an artificial imposition on man’s material destiny of enjoying life to the fullest. The religious belief that man is responsible to a supreme being and there will be a judgment after death of one’s “mortal sins” is nonsense. The concept of a supreme god is a fabrication of weak–minded men and an afterlife is a false hope. Mankind is alone in the material universe and is obliged to determine its destiny by logic and science. Religion and belief in a supernatural god is superstition that is an obstacle to mankind’s progressive development through scientific research.”
This atheistic belief is destroying human civilization.

3. Disbelief that the soul is an eternal individual
The third covering of ignorance is remaining ignorant of the eternal, individual soul. Almost everyone believes that their material body is their essential identity. They do not understand that the body is simply a temporary covering of the soul. The body is continually changing in life from childhood to death. The soul is manifest by the consciousness within the body. This consciousness is not produced by any chemical combination of material elements. People adhere to the following misconception: “This is my body, and anything in relationship with this body is mine.” In the minds of such misguided persons, sex is the most prominent source of pleasure. The concomitant factors of sex are profit, distinction and eventually adoration. Men and women often seek a stable sexual relationship. Thus, they get married or live together. They become attached to home, motherland, children, wealth and opulence. The appetite for sex can sometimes lead to extra-marital relationships. If there is a problem of sexual rapport in a marriage it may result in separation and divorce with drastic social consequences for the upbringing of children. Without understanding the difference between the soul and the body, people believe the illusory concept that man’s existence is accidental and temporary. Therefore, the goal of life is to exact as much pleasure for the body and avoid suffering by any means.

4. Illusion of the bodily concept of life
As the attachment for sex increases, the illusion of the bodily concept of life also increases. This is the fourth covering of ignorance. Along with the increase in bodily attachment come three feelings of possessiveness of “I, me and mine.” Greed evolves from the anger and frustration of unsuccessful attempts to increase non-permanent wealth and power.
The more one succeeds in accumulating wealth and power on the false idea that “I am this body,” the more one becomes attached to such possessions. This results in a network of illusory attachments and subsequent entanglements. One is also afflicted by material anxieties to protect such possessions from irresponsible family members, government tax collectors and enemies. Thus, the influence of ignorance expands.

5. Madness for sense gratification
When the illusion of the bodily concept becomes more and more intense, one becomes mad or insane for sense gratification and performs all sorts of sinful activities. This is the advanced stage of ignorance. In recent times, we have seen many examples of men and women who have succumbed to this madness. They engage in very risky behavior that exposes them to ridicule, shame, loss of prestige and legal problems. A few examples are Tiger Woods, Anthony Wiener, Elliot Spitzer, John Edwards, and many other men and women.

Negative social effects
The negative social effects of the above discussion are the following:
Violence, crime, drug and sex addiction, divorce, war, social and political unrest, economic uncertainty and poverty, discrimination based on race-religion-or other reasons, abortion and euthanasia, mental anxiety and depression, disintegration of the traditional family, prostitution, declining health of the population, moral decline, distrust of authority, homelessness, child abuse, spousal abuse, spiraling cost of health care, unemployment, etc. This non-exhaustive list of social ills is the result of ignorance of God and confusion about the purpose in life.

False promises of scientific progress and economic development
Scientific progress coupled with economic development give false hope to the people of this age that man can dominate nature and eventually solve the problems of old age, disease and death. Scientific progress has produced convenient mechanical and electronic constructions and devices that have helped people have a comfortable life. Airplanes, bridges, tunnels, ships, trains, cars, rockets, the internet and cell phones, television, radio, electrical appliances and many more amazing products of man’s ingenuity have convinced many people that science will some day solve all of humanity’s problems. Economic development has provided the means to purchase many gadgets and amenities for increased sense gratification. However, along with these advanced amenities, many unforeseen problems have arisen such as environmental contamination, sickness and disease caused by over consumption and anxiety, lethal weapons of mass destruction, etc. Furthermore, all the societies engaged in such economic development have been frustrated by the laws of nature through periodic wars, pestilence, famine and natural catastrophes. The Roman Empire, the Mogul Empire, the British Empire, the Soviet Union have all been vanquished in time. Scientific advancements and economic development have not remedied the inevitability of birth, death, old age and disease. Nor have they seen a decrease or eradication of the secondary problems of life. Rather, the secondary problems have increased unlimitedly.

Insular nature of self imposed ignorance

One becomes an island unto himself by succumbing to the five coverings of ignorance. He builds a psychological barrier between himself and God. This is due to his becoming envious of God’s supremacy. It is impossible for someone to emulate or surpass God’s prestige, opulence and power. An person who is deluded by his own wealth and false prestige becomes envious when he feels someone is greater than him. God is the greatest of all and thus becomes the ultimate object of envy for the materialist who has become obsessively attached to sense gratification.

Bewildered by his false ego, strength, pride, lust and anger, the deluded materialist become envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His holy scriptures. Since God is present in the body of every living entity as the witness and permitter of man’s thoughts and actions, the envious person becomes envious of his own self and of others. The self-envy is manifested when he refuses to accept that his present life should be lived according to God’s instructions in the scriptures in order to guarantee his salvation in the next life. He does not believe in life after death, the laws of karma or the existence of God. Out of envy, He presents arguments against the existence of God and denies scriptural authority in an attempt to convince others to become atheists. He thinks himself independent and powerful. For him, the gratification of the senses becomes the ultimate goal of life.

This impudent mindset isolates the atheist from any favorable association with genuine devotees of God. He rejects bona fide spiritual standards and whimsically makes up his own. He may even become a preacher to mislead the people and become known as a religious reformer or a pseudo-incarnation of God. His activities are so reprehensible that he has practically no chance of receiving the mercy of God.