SB 7.9.41 Devotional realism starts with initial pessimism and leads to supreme optimism
Transcript
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thank you chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting so he is referring here not just to the many lives in which we may have been beings like say pigs where we ate abominable foodstuffs but even the Rakshasas eat living people that is cannibalism that is outlawed according to human law and constantly we are in fear chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting chanting ultimately succumbing to old day diseases and death and even before that succumbing to attacks by other people so this world intrinsically a dangerous place and the more we become aware of the dangerousness of this world the more we become aware of the necessity of the saving grace of the Lord sometimes people feel that isn’t dwelling on the miserable nature of material world, pessimistic? Not necessarily.
Actually we see in this prayer very beautifully that initial pessimism leads to eventual optimism. So, the initial pessimistic assessment of this world impels the seer to beg to God for shelter and because we will see in the future prayers also, because God is always supremely merciful, so we are reassured of the shelter. So, the difference between pessimism and devotional realism is that in pessimism from beginning to end one is just negative.
Oh, there is misery, there things are going wrong, I am good for nothing. Whereas in devotional realism there is a realistic assessment of the material world that it is indeed a place of misery, but there is also the realistic understanding that God is merciful and loving him and serving him is blissful. So, for a devotee it is important that we do contemplate on the miseries of material existence so that we can feel the necessity to contemplate on the miseries of material existence and contemplate on Krishna.
So, it is not that we dwell only on the miseries of material existence and make ourselves miserable. Yes, we do think about the miseries of material existence whenever the thoughts of sense enjoyment, of enjoying in this world start becoming overwhelming. At that time when we are attracted to some good looking form, we can think, oh, this is going to grow old, I am going to grow old.
How much will I be able to enjoy? Why should I give up the eternal for the temporary? By thinking thus, we can cut down our infatuation with the temporary and increase our focus on the eternal and thereby progress steadily