16 Beyond Birth and Death

Actually material enjoyment is not enjoyment at
all. Real enjoyment does not cease. In the Maha-
bharata there is a verse—ramante yogino’nante—to
the effect that the yogis (yoginah), those who are
endeavoring to elevate themselves to the spiritual
platform, are actually enjoying (ramante), but their
enjoyment is anante—endless. This is because their
enjoyment is in relation to the Supreme Enjoyer
(Rama), Sti Krsna. Bhagavan Sri Krsna is the real
Enjoyer, and Bhagavad-gita confirms this.

bhoktaram yajiia-tapasam
sarva-lo ka-mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva-bhutanam
jnatva mam Santim rechati
“The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate enjoyer of
all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all
planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-
wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the
pangs of material miseries.”’ (Bg. 5.29)

Bhoga means enjoyment, and our enjoyment
comes from understanding our position as the en-
joyed. The real enjoyer is the Supreme Lord, and we
are enjoyed by Him. An example of this relationship
can be found in the material world between the hus-
band and the wife; the husband is the enjoyer
(purusa), and the wife is the enjoyed (prakrti). The
word pri means woman. Purusa, or spirit, is the sub-
ject, and prakrti, or nature, is the object. The enjoy-
ment, however, is participated in both by the hus-
band and the wife. When actual enjoyment is there,
