Shloka 20
Nimi Questions the Yogendras: Māyā, Cosmic Dissolution, Guru-Śaraṇāgati, Bhakti, and Deity Worship
एवं लोकं परं विद्यान्नश्वरं कर्मनिर्मितम् । सतुल्यातिशयध्वंसं यथा मण्डलवर्तिनाम् ॥ २० ॥
evaṁ lokaṁ paraṁ vidyān naśvaraṁ karma-nirmitam sa-tulyātiśaya-dhvaṁsaṁ yathā maṇḍala-vartinām
So soll man erkennen, dass auch der Himmel im Jenseits vergänglich ist, durch Karma hervorgebracht. Dort gibt es Rivalität mit Gleichgestellten, Neid auf Höhere und, wenn die Frucht der Frömmigkeit erschöpft ist, die Furcht vor dem Ende des Himmelslebens; wie Könige, vom Volk bewundert, doch von Feindkönigen bedrängt, erlangen sie kein wirkliches Glück.
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has quoted the following text from the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (8.1.6): tad yatheha karma-cito lokaḥ kṣīyate, evam evāmutra puṇya-cito lokaḥ kṣīyate. “One’s present status of material pleasure, the result of one’s previous work, will eventually be vanquished by time. Similarly, although by executing pious activities one will be elevated to a higher status in the next life, that future situation will also be vanquished.” The basis of material enjoyment is the particular body one has acquired. The material body is karma-citaḥ, the accumulated result of one’s previous material activities. If one is awarded a body decorated with beauty, education, popularity, strength and so on, his standard of material enjoyment is certainly high class. On the other hand, if one is ugly, mentally retarded, crippled or repulsive to others, there is very little hope for his material happiness. In both cases, however, the situation is flickering and temporary. One who has acquired an attractive body should not rejoice, since death will quickly bring an end to such an intoxicating situation. Similarly, one who has taken birth in an obnoxious situation should not lament, since his suffering is also temporary. The beautiful man and the ugly man, the rich and the poor, the educated and the foolish should all endeavor to become Kṛṣṇa conscious so that they can be elevated to their eternal constitutional situation, which is to reside in the planets beyond this material universe. Originally every living entity is unimaginably beautiful, intelligent, wealthy, and so strong that his spiritual body lives forever. But we foolishly give up this eternal, blissful situation because we are unwilling to meet the condition for eternal life. The condition is that one should be a lover of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Although love of Kṛṣṇa is the most exquisite ecstasy, surpassing by millions of times the most intense pleasure of the material universe, we foolishly break off our loving affair with the Supreme Lord and artificially try to become independent enjoyers in the material atmosphere of self-delusion and false pride.
FAQs
This verse states that even higher realms are perishable because they are created by karma; all relative positions of enjoyment ultimately come to an end.
In the Uddhava-gītā context, Kṛṣṇa instructs Uddhava in renunciation and spiritual intelligence, emphasizing that karma can only grant temporary results—even in heaven—so one should seek the eternal through devotion and realization.
Treat status, success, and pleasure as temporary results of past actions; use them responsibly but cultivate steady devotion, study, and inner detachment so your happiness is not tied to changing circumstances.