The Wise Man 53

punished for his abominable activities, he is thrown into different kinds of
hellish planets, and there he suffers the miseries of material existence more
acutely. The Lord gives a very nice example of this punishment: Formerly
a king used to punish a criminal by dunking him in the river, and then raising
him again for a breath, and then again dunking him once more in the water.
Material Nature punishes and rewards the individual entity in just the same
way. When he is punished he is dunked into the water of material miseries,
and when he is rewarded he is taken out of it for some time. Elevation of the
living entity to higher planets or to a higher status of life is never permanent.
He has to come down again to be submerged in the water. All this goes on
in this material existence. Sometimes one is elevated to the higher planetary
system, and sometimes one is thrown into the hellish condition of material
life.

In this connection the Lord recites a nice verse from Srimad Bhagwatam,
taken from the instruction of Narada Muni to Vasudeva, the father of Krishna.
In this quotation from the nine sages who were instructing Maharaj Nemi,
it is stated that forgetfulness of the relationship with Krishna is called Maya.
Actually, Maya means “that which is not.” It has no existence. Therefore,
that the living entity has no connection with the Supreme Lord is a false con-
ception. He may not believe in the existence of God, or he may think he has
no relationship with God, but these are all “illusions,” or Maya. Due to his
absorption in this false conception of life, man is always fearful and full of
anxieties. In other words, a Godless concept of life is Maya; and, therefore,
one who is actually learned in the Vedic literature surrenders unto the Supreme
Lord with great devotion, and accepts Him as the Supreme Goal. When a
living entity becomes forgetful of the constitutional nature of his relationship
with God, then he is at once overwhelmed by the external energy, and this
is the cause of his false ego, identifying his body as himself. His whole con-
ception of the material Universe is due to this false conception of the body.
He becomes attached to this body, and to the by-products of this body. To
escape this entanglement he has simply to perform his duty—to surrender
unto the Supreme Lord with intelligence, with devotion, and with sincere
Krishna Consciousness.

A conditioned soul falsely thinks himself happy in the material world,
but if he is favored by an unalloyed devotee—by hearing instruction from the
unalloyed devotee—he gives up the desire for material enjoyment and becomes
enlightened in Krishna Consciousness. As soon as one enters into Krishna
Consciousness, his desire for material enjoyment at once is vanquished, and
