304 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 4, Ch. 8
TEXT 28
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gat atezd faa als forth: 12cll
vikalpe vidyamane "pi
na hy asantosa-hetavah
pumso moham rte bhinna
yal-loke nija-karmabhih
vikalpe—alternation; vidyam@ne api—although there is; na—not; hi—
certainly; asantosa—dissatisfaction; hetavah—causes; pumsah—of the
persons; moham rte—without being illusioned; bhinnah—separated; yat
loke—within this world; nija-karmabhih—by his own work.
TRANSLATION
My dear Dhruva, if you feel that your sense of honor has been insulted,
you still have no cause for dissatisfaction. This kind of dissatisfaction is
another feature of the illusory energy because every living entity is con-
trolled by his previous actions, and therefore there are different varieties
of life for enjoying or suffering.
PURPORT
In the Vedas it is said that the living entity is always uncontaminated
and unaffected by material association. The living entity gets different
types of material bodies because of his previous fruitive actions. If, how-
ever, one understands the philosophy that as a living spirit soul he has an
affinity for neither suffering nor enjoyment, then he is considered to be a
liberated person. It is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, brahma-bhitah
prasannatma: When one is actually situated on the transcendental platform,
he has nothing for which to lament and nothing for which to hanker
(Bg. 18.54). Narada Rsi first of all wanted to impress upon Dhruva
Maharaja that he was only a child; he should not have been affected by
words of insult or honor. And if he were so developed as to understand
honor and insult, then this understanding should have been applied in his
own life; he should have known that honor and dishonor are both destined
only by one’s previous actions; therefore one should not be sorry or
happy under any circumstances.
