Text 9] Bali Maharaja Surrenders His Life 165

of his father. Similarly, Bali Maharaja took shelter of Vamanadeva
against the will of his spiritual master, Sukracarya, and all the leading
demons. People may be surprised that devotees like Prahlada Maharaja
and Bali Maharaja could seek shelter of the side of the enemy, giving up
the natural affinity for family, hearth and home. In this connection, Bali
Maharaja explains that the body, which is the center of all material ac-
tivities, is also a foreign element. Even though we want to keep the body
fit and helpful to our activities, the body cannot continue eternally. Al-
though I am the soul, which is eternal, after using the body for some
time I have to accept another body (tatha dehdntara-praptih), according
to the laws of nature, unless I render some service with the body for ad-
vancement in devotional service. One should not use the body for any
other purpose. One must know that if he uses the body for any other pur-
pose he is simply wasting time, for as soon as the time is ripe, the soul
will automatically leave the body.

We are very interested in society, friendship and love, but what are
they? Those in the garb of friends and relatives merely plunder the
hard-earned money of the bewildered soul. Everyone is affectionate
toward his wife and is attached to her, but what is this wife? The wife is
called stri, which means, “‘one who expands the material condition.” If a
person lives without a wife, his material conditions are less extensive. As
soon as one marries and is connected with a wife, his material necessities
increase.

pumsah striyad mithuni-bhavam etam
tayor mitho hrdaya-granthim ahuh

ato grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittair
Janasya moho ’yam ahar mameti

“The attraction between male and female is the basic principle of ma-
terial existence. On the basis of this misconception, which ties together
the hearts of the male and female, one becomes attracted to his body,
home, property, children, relatives and wealth. In this way one increases
life’s illusions and thinks in terms of ‘I and mine.’ ” (Bhég. 5.5.8)
Human life is meant for self-realization, not for increasing unwanted
things. Actually, a wife increases unwanted things. One’s lifetime, one’s
home and everything one has, if not properly used in the service of the
