Imitating the Lord - The False Desire to Become an Enjoyer
Why are we here? According to Śrīla Prabhupāda, the existence of the material world can be traced back to a single, rebellious desire: the living entity's wish to imitate God. Instead of remaining in their constitutional position as the servant (the enjoyed), the soul desires to become the master (the enjoyer). This attempt to usurp the position of Kṛṣṇa is the seed of material life, leading to the development of false ego and the complex web of karma.
Origin of the Fall
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that there is no external force that puts the living entity into the miserable condition of material life. It is a voluntary choice. The living entity declines to remain subordinate and desires to taste the position of the Supreme. To facilitate this desire, the material world is created as a stage where the soul can play out the fantasy of being the central enjoyer.
- There is no reason for the living entity's being put into the miserable threefold condition of material existence but that he voluntarily accepts material existence on the false pretext of becoming an enjoyer.
- The material world was created for the enjoyment of living entities who wanted to give up the eternal service of the Lord to become the supreme enjoyer themselves.
Everyone Wants to be Puruṣa
In Vedic philosophy, the enjoyer is termed puruṣa (male) and the enjoyed is prakṛti (female). Śrīla Prabhupāda analyzes the psychology of the conditioned soul, noting that everyone in the material world—whether in a male or female body—is driven by the puruṣa propensity. Everyone wants to exploit the resources of material nature for their own pleasure. This creates a society of competing "gods."
- Every rascal is trying to become enjoyer. This is the material world. Everyone is after sense. Even the so-called prakrti, woman, the propensity is to enjoy. Purusa.
- We want to be purusa. So some way or other, this condition has come into existence, a false conception of becoming purusa, enjoyer. Then what is the result? The result is that we are trying to be enjoyer life after life, but we are being enjoyed.
Pendulum of Illusion
When the attempt to enjoy inevitably leads to suffering, the conditioned soul often swings to the other extreme: renunciation (tyāga). They try to give up everything, thinking, "I shall become a renouncer." However, Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that this is just the other side of the same coin. Both the enjoyer and the renouncer think they are the proprietors. True liberation is neither false enjoyment nor dry renunciation.
- So if we simply become renouncer, that will not help us. Then again we shall become enjoyer, so-called enjoyer. That is like pendulum, balancing, tak, tak, this way, this way.
- On one side we become false renunciants, and on the other we become false enjoyers. The remedy, however, is here.
Solution: "We Want to be Enjoyed"
The cure for the disease of "becoming an enjoyer" is to realize that Kṛṣṇa is the only actual Enjoyer. The living entity finds their highest happiness not in taking, but in being taken by the Lord. This is the mood of the gopīs of Vṛndāvana, who presented themselves to be enjoyed by Kṛṣṇa. When the soul abandons the spirit of individual ownership, it enters the liberated state.
- Our philosophy is different. We do not wish to become enjoyer. We want to be enjoyed. That is our real position. We want to serve Krsna. We want to offer everything to Krsna.
- If you simply understand that Krsna is the only enjoyer, then your propensity to become false enjoyer will be vanquished that, "I am not enjoyer. Krsna is the enjoyer." Then there is no question of renunciation.
Conclusion
The desire to become an enjoyer is a mirage that keeps the soul bound in the cycle of birth and death. By giving up this imitation and accepting our natural position as servants, we stop the pendulum of karma and find true peace. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that we can never truly be the Supreme Enjoyer, and realizing this impossibility is the beginning of our actual freedom.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Becoming an Enjoyer. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.