SB 7.2.38
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 38
- aho vayaṁ dhanyatamā yad atra
- tyaktāḥ pitṛbhyāṁ na vicintayāmaḥ
- abhakṣyamāṇā abalā vṛkādibhiḥ
- sa rakṣitā rakṣati yo hi garbhe
SYNONYMS
aho — alas; vayam — we; dhanya-tamāḥ — most fortunate; yat — because; atra — at the present moment; tyaktāḥ — left alone, without protection; pitṛbhyām — by both father and mother; na — not; vicintayāmaḥ — worry; abhakṣyamāṇāḥ — not being eaten; abalāḥ — very weak; vṛka-ādibhiḥ — by tigers and other ferocious animals; saḥ — He (the Supreme Personality of Godhead); rakṣitā — will protect; rakṣati — has protected; yaḥ — who; hi — indeed; garbhe — within the womb.
TRANSLATION
It is wonderful that these elderly women do not have a higher sense of life than we do. Indeed, we are most fortunate, for although we are children and have been left to struggle in material life, unprotected by father and mother, and although we are very weak, we have not been vanquished or eaten by ferocious animals. Thus we have a firm belief that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has given us protection even in the womb of the mother, will protect us everywhere.
PURPORT
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 18.61), īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati: the Lord is present in the core of everyone's heart. Thus the Lord gives protection to everyone and gives the different types of bodies the living entity wants to enjoy. Everything is done by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore one should not lament the birth and death of a living being, which have been arranged by the Supreme Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 15.15), sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: "I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness." One must act according to the direction of the Lord within the heart, but because the conditioned soul wants to act independently, the Lord gives him the facility to act and experience the reactions. The Lord says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "Give up all other duties and simply surrender unto Me." One who does not abide by the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is given the facility to enjoy this material world. Instead of restricting him, the Lord gives the conditioned soul the opportunity to enjoy so that by mature experience, after many, many births (bahūnāṁ janmanām ante (BG 7.19)), he will understand that surrender to the lotus feet of Vāsudeva is the only duty of all living beings.