Freedom from Threefold Miseries of Life

Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the material world is fundamentally a place of suffering, designed to rectify the rebellious living entity. Although the soul is eternal and full of bliss, its identification with the temporary material body subjects it to continuous tribulation. This article explores the nature of these miseries, the futility of material attempts to counteract them, and the authorized spiritual process to attain permanent freedom.

Nature of Material Suffering

Śrīla Prabhupāda systematically categorizes the suffering experienced by conditioned souls. He explains that mere temporary relief is not the solution; one must understand the three distinct sources of misery and the four unchangeable factors of material existence that science cannot cure.

• The miseries of life are divided into three categories, namely miseries arising from the body and mind, miseries arising from other living entities, and miseries arising due to natural calamities.
• The real miseries of life is birth, death, old age and disease. You cannot do anything. So where is your advancement of knowledge? The scientists cannot stop death, cannot stop birth.
• Just try to study this life, how much painful it is. This is the human body and what to speak of the dog's body, cat's body? You study very minutely. You'll find, from the beginning of my life in the womb of my mother up to the death point, simply miseries.

Futility of Material Solutions

Modern civilization attempts to mitigate suffering through scientific advancement, economic development, and even intoxication, but Śrīla Prabhupāda exposes these as illusions. He argues that material adjustments can never solve spiritual problems and often exacerbate the very condition they seek to alleviate.

• The entire world is under the illusion that people will be happy by advancing in materialistic measures to counteract the miseries of conditional life, but this attempt will never be successful.
• We can manufacture something that will accelerate death, but nothing that will stop death. Those who are intelligent, however, are not concerned with the fourfold miseries of material life, but with elevation to the spiritual planets.
• It is not possible to make a solution to the miseries of life by artificial intoxication. The solution is made by Krsna consciousness.
• Every one of us wants to remove the miseries of life, but we do not know how to do it. The solution is given here, and it rests on us to assimilate it or not.

Cause of Entanglement

The root cause of suffering is not merely bad luck, but the living entity's defiance of divine laws and attachment to the material concept of life. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that as long as one identifies with the body and acts under the influence of māyā, suffering is inevitable.

• In the material conception, one thinks himself to be the Lord of all he surveys; consequently he is always troubled by the threefold miseries of life.
• Maya inflicts the miseries of material life upon the jiva. If a person artificially tries to be something he is not, then he can expect only misery.
• One may be materially, academically very learned, so-called learned, but he does not know what is the aim of life, why he's put in this material condition, ke ami kene amaya jare tapa-traya. They are trying, tapa-traya, and miseries of life.

Ultimate Spiritual Solution

The only permanent cessation of misery lies in re-establishing one's relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that surrender to Kṛṣṇa, hearing transcendental topics, and engaging in devotional service are the practical means to transcend the material modes and achieve liberation.

• One should simply surrender unto the feet of God to make a solution to all miseries of life. That is the instruction of Krsna directly in the Bhagavad-gita, and of Srimad-Bhagavatam by Brahma, the supreme father of all living beings.
• Simply by knowing this science of Krsna, if we can get liberation from these material miseries of life, why should we not try for this? Let us try for Krsna consciousness. It is a very nice subject matter and very easy.
• Sri Narada Muni personally experienced that the most feasible and practical way to open the path of salvation or get relief from all miseries of life is to hear submissively the transcendental activities of the Lord from the right and bona fide sources.
• No one is interested in inquiring about this matter (Why one is forced to suffer the threefold miseries of material life). Moksa, liberation, means getting free from the threefold miseries of life as well as birth, old age, disease and death.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda asserts that the miseries of life are not accidental but are inherent to the material condition, serving as a reminder of our misplaced priorities. No amount of material adjustment, scientific progress, or escapism can alter the laws of nature regarding birth, death, old age, and disease. The only true remedy is a transformation of consciousness from material identification to spiritual realization. By surrendering to the Supreme Lord and engaging in His service, the living entity can transcend the threefold miseries and return to their original, blissful state of existence.

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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Miseries of Life. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.

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