Text 35
dṛṣṭiṁ tataḥ pratinivartya nivṛtta-tṛṣṇas
tūṣṇīṁ bhaven nija-sukhānubhavo nirīhaḥ
sandṛśyate kva ca yadīdam avastu-buddhyā
tyaktaṁ bhramāya na bhavet smṛtir ā-nipātāt
dṛṣṭim — sight; tataḥ — from that illusion; pratinivartya — pulling away; nivṛtta — ceased; tṛṣṇaḥ — material hankering; tūṣṇīm — silent; bhavet — one should become; nija — one’s own (of the soul); sukha — happiness; anubhavaḥ — perceiving; nirīhaḥ — without material activities; sandṛśyate — is observed; kva ca — sometimes; yadi — if; idam — this material world; avastu — of not being reality; buddhyā — by the consciousness; tyaktam — given up; bhramāya — further illusion; na — not; bhavet — may become; smṛtiḥ — remembrance; ā-nipātāt — until giving up the material body.
Having understood the temporary illusory nature of material things, and thus having pulled one’s vision away from illusion, one should remain without material desires. By experiencing the happiness of the soul, one should give up material speaking and activities. If sometimes one must observe the material world, one should remember that it is not ultimate reality and therefore one has given it up. By such constant remembrance up till the time of death, one will not again fall into illusion.
To maintain the material body one cannot avoid eating and sleeping. In these and other ways, one will sometimes be forced to deal with the material world and the physical aspects of one’s own body. At such times one should remember that the material world is not actual reality and that therefore one has given it up to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. By such constant remembrance, by enjoying spiritual bliss within oneself and by retiring from any material activities of the mind, speech or body, one will not fall into material illusion.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura comments as follows. “The living entity, while living in the external energy of the Lord, should give up any anxiety for sense gratification and should not act for his personal enjoyment. Rather, one should search out spiritual bliss through devotional service to the Supreme Lord. By reviving one’s relationship with Lord Kṛṣṇa, one will understand that if one accepts any material object for one’s personal enjoyment, attachment will inevitably develop, and thus one will be bewildered by illusion. By gradually developing one’s spiritual body, one will no longer desire to enjoy anything within the material world.”