436 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 5, Ch. 13
the air. Actually this castle does not exist anywhere but in one’s imagina-
tion. This is called gandharva-pura. In the material forest, the condi-
tioned soul sometimes contemplates great castles and skyscrapers, and he
wastes his energy for such things, hoping to live in them very peacefully
with his family forever. However, the laws of nature do not allow this.
When he enters such castles, he temporarily thinks that he is very
happy. even though his happiness is impermanent. His happiness may
last for a few years. but because the owner of the castle has to leave the
castle at the time of death, everything is eventually lost. This is the way
of worldly transactions. Such happiness is described by Vidyapati as the
happiness one derives upon seeing a drop of water in the desert. The
desert is heated by scorching sunshine, and if we want to reduce the
desert temperature, we need huge amounts of water—millions and
millions of gallons. What effect will one drop have? Water certainly has
value, but one drop of water cannot reduce the heat of the desert. In this
material world everyone is ambitious, but the heat is very scorching.
What will an imaginary castle in the air do to help? Srila Vidyapati has
therefore sung: tdtala saikate, vdari-bindu-sama, suta-mita-ramani-
samaje. The happiness of family life, friends and society is compared to a
drop of water in the scorching desert. The entire material world is busy
trying to attain happiness because happiness is the prerogative of the liv-
ing being. Unfortunately. due to falling in contact with the material
world, the living entity simply struggles for existence. Even if one
becomes happy for a while, a very powerful enemy may plunder every-
thing. There are many instances in which big businessmen suddenly
become paupers in the street. Yet the nature of material existence is such
that foolish people are attracted to these transactions and they forget the
real business of self-realization.
TEXT 8
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aATEeA AAT zaTed |
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