244 THE SCIENCE OF SELF-REALIZATION
adhuneha maha-bhaga
yathaiva narakan narah
nanogra-yatanan neyat
tan me vyakhyatum arhasi
“*Sir, I have heard from you about the hellish planets. Men who are very
sinful are sent to those planets.’ [Srimad-Bhdgavatam 6.1.6] Pariksit
Maharaja is a Vaisnava [devotee], and a Vaisnava always feels compas-
sion for others’ distress. He is very afflicted by the miseries of others.
When Lord Jesus Christ presented himself, for instance, he was greatly
afflicted by the miserable conditions of the people. Regardless of which
country or sect they belong to, all Vaisnavas, or devotees—any people
who are God conscious, or Krsna conscious—are thus compassionate.
Therefore to blaspheme a Vaisnava, a preacher of God’s glories, is a
great offense.

. Krsna, God, is never tolerant of offenses committed at the lotus feet of
a Vaisnava. Krpambudhi: a Vaisnava is an ocean of mercy. Vaficha-kalpa-
taru: everyone has desires, but a Vaisnava can fulfill all desires. Kalpa-
taru means ‘‘desire tree.’” There is a tree in the spiritual world which is
called a desire tree. In this material world, you get a particular type of
fruit from a particular type of tree, but in Krsnaloka as well as in all the
Vaikuntha planets, all the trees are spiritual and will fulfill all your
desires. That is described in the Brahma-samhita: cintamani-prakara-sada-
masu kalpa-vrksa.

A Vaisnava is addressed as maha-bhaga, which means ‘‘fortunate.”’
One who becomes a Vaisnava and is God conscious is understood to be
greatly fortunate.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu has explained that the living entities are rotating
in different species of life, in different planetary systems all over the uni-
verse. A living entity can go anywhere—to hell or heaven—as he likes
and as he prepares himself. There are many heavenly planets, many
hellish planets, and many species of life. There are 8,400,000 species of
life. The living entity is rotating, wandering through these species and
creating bodies according to his mentality in the present life. As you sow,
so shall you reap.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that out of all these numberless living
entities who are traveling in the material world, one is fortunate, not
everyone. If everyone were fortunate, they would all have taken to Krsna
consciousness. It is being distributed freely everywhere. But why are
people not taking it? Because they are unfortunate. Therefore Caitanya
