24 Elevation to Krsna Consciousness

of such miseries. This is not a pessimistic view of
life but is an actual fact which we should not be
blind to. The miseries of life are divided into three
categories, namely miseries arising from the body
and mind, miseries arising from other living entities,
and miseries arising due to natural calamities. A
sane man must look to eliminate these miseries and
thereby become happy in life. We are all trying to
achieve peace and freedom from these miseries, at
least unconsciously, and in the higher intellectual
circles there are attempts to get rid of these miseries
by ingenious plans and designs. But the power that
baffles all the plans and designs of even the most
intelligent person is the power of Maya devi, or the
illusory energy. The law of karma, or the result of all
actions and reactions in the material world, is con-
trolled by this all—powerful illusory energy. The
activities of this energy function according to
principles and regulations, and they act consciously
under the direction of the Supreme Lord. Every-
thing is done by nature in full consciousness; noth-
ing is blind or accidental. This material energy is also
called Durga, which indicates that it is a force which
is very difficult to surpass. No one can surpass the
laws of Durga by any amount of childish plans.

To get rid of the sufferings of humanity is
simultaneously a very difficult and also a very easy
affair. As long as the conditioned souls, who are
themselves bound up by the laws of nature, manu-
facture plans to get rid of the three miseries, there
will be no solution. The only effective solutions are
