The Root of Suffering

A concise summary of Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 3 Chapter 7

Vidura asks the following questions to Sage Maitreya about the root cause of suffering:

How and Why the Supreme Lord who is unlimited pure consciousness executes divine activities without being affected by Karma (material bondage) and Maya (illusion)?

How is it that the Supreme Lord who is self-satisfied and has no external compulsion to perform activities decides to perform divine activities?

How is it that the Spirit Soul (Atma) which is of limited pure consciousness gets affected by the material bondage and illusion which are created by the Supreme Lord?

The Supreme Lord who is the Super Soul (Paramatma) accompanies every Spirit Soul (Atma).

The Spirit Soul is non different from the Super Soul in quality and is a part and parcel of the Supreme. How is it that the Spirit Soul gets subjected to the pains and miseries caused by the material bondage and illusion whereas the Super Soul remains the controller of the material energy and remains free from illusion?

Vidura clears the misconception of some unintelligent philosophers, who think that the Supreme Lord’s incarnations, activities and form are subjected to Karma and Maya and the Lord is compelled to take birth, die and perform duties.

A juggler or magician displays many wonders with his acts and arts. He can become a cow by his magical tactics, and yet he is not that cow; but at the same time, the cow displayed by the magician is not different from him. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is a supreme magician. He appears to take birth, appears to die and appears to perform duties while he continues to remain the controller of the material energy. This is why Lord’s activities are called lilas (divine plays) and are not driven by dharma (occupation), karma (reaction) and maya (illusion).

The Soul (Atma) is pure consciousness and the Supreme Lord (Paramatma) is pure consciousness. However, the former undergoes suffering while the later is free from suffering. The Soul is limited in nature while the Supreme Lord is unlimited in nature. A drop of water in the ocean has the same quality as the ocean but the drop is tiny but the ocean is mighty. It is important to note that the Lord’s form is pure consciousness too because it is spirit.

Sage Maitreya responds to Vidura’s question and provides a solution to the problem of suffering:

As the moon reflected on water appears to tremble due to being associated with the quality of water but in reality the moon doesn’t tremble but the water is, similarly, the Spirit Soul in association with the material body (made of material energy) appears to get affected by the material bondage and illusion.

Just like someone can feel the pain in a dream while the dream is not real, similarly, the Spirit Soul experiences pain and miseries caused by the material energy.

A Spirit Soul can get relieved from the pains and miseries of the material energy through the process of:

1. Nivritti: Detachment from the results of the work

2. Vasudeva Anukampa: Mercy of the Lord Vasudeva (Sri Krishna)

3. Bhakti Yoga: Serving the Supreme Lord in love

When our senses become steadily focused on Lord Hari, all pains and miseries caused by the material energy automatically disappear for the Spirit Soul just like someone experiences a sound sleep.

Chanting the names of Lord Hari and listening to the qualities and activities of the Lord, one can become free from all miseries of material life. The love felt in the heart for the Supreme Lord when one perfects this process is indescribable.

Only those who are stupid and believe that they are not suffering and will not suffer assume that they are not impacted by the material energy but those whose intelligence is sharpened by God realization are really not impacted by the material energy.

The Supreme Lord is absolutely independent of Karma and Maya whereas the Spirit Soul is dependent on the Supreme Lord to free himself from the bondage of Karma and Maya.

Once can execute the above described process only by serving the God realized saints like Sage Maitreya, who can provide the necessary guidance for developing love for Lord Hari.

The duty of a saint is to help one get immunity from all material miseries by sharing his spiritual knowledge. Such activity is significantly higher than performing all kinds of Vedic sacrifices (yajna), austerities (tapasya) and charitable donations.

Sage Maitreya confirms that the path to become free from suffering is by constant chanting of the names of Lord Hari coupled with detachment from the results of work (Karma Yoga). Such activity gradually helps us serve the Supreme Lord in love (Bhakti Yoga) and through the mercy of the Lord, one becomes completely free from suffering. As soon as one starts associating with the Lord through chanting, one comes under the shelter of the Lord and is shielded from Karma and Maya. This shield is directly proportional to the quality of one’s association through chanting.