84 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 6, Ch. 16

TRANSLATION

In this material world, which advances like a river that carries
away the living entity, all people become friends, relatives and
enemies in due course of time. They also act neutrally, they medi-
ate, they despise one another, and they act in many other relation-
ships. Nonetheless, despite these various transactions, no one is
permanently related.

PURPORT

It is our practical experience in this material world that the same per-
son who is one’s friend today becomes one’s enemy tomorrow. Our rela-
tionships as friends or enemies, family men or outsiders, are actually the
results of our different dealings. Citraketu Maharaja was lamenting for
his son, who was now dead, but he could have considered the situation
otherwise. “This living entity,” he could have thought, “was my enemy
in my last life, and now, having appeared as my son, he is prematurely
leaving just to give me pain and agony.” Why should he not consider his
dead son his former enemy and instead of lamenting be jubilant because
of an enemy’s death? As stated in Bhagavod-gita (3.27), prakrteh
kriyamaénani gunaih karmaéni sarvasah: factually everything is happen-
ing because of our association with the modes of material nature.
Therefore one who is my friend today in association with the mode of
goodness may be my enemy tomorrow in association with the modes of
passion and ignorance. As the modes of material nature work, in illusion
we accept others as friends, enemies, sons or fathers in terms of the reac-
tions of different dealings under different conditions.

TEXT 6

TU Teal Tafa Aah Tae: |
qizha avad stat airy aay iG tl
yatha vastiini panydni
hemédini tatas tatah

paryatanti naresv evar
Jivo yonisu kartrsu
