Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 5 Chapter 1:11-19

Book 5: Chapter 1

Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 5: Chapter 1: Verses 11-19 The story of Priyavrata The glorious Brahma said : Listen, dear child : I speak this truth to you. You ought not to find fault with the Lord, who cannot be known through the ordinary means of cognition, and whose bidding we all compulsorily obey-I as well as Lord Siva (the Source of the entire universe), your father (Swayambhuva Manu) and this great seer (Narada, your preceptor). No embodied creature is capable of undoing what He has ordained, through asceticism or erudition, through Yogic power or intellectual acumen, through affluence or religious merit, with the help of another or by oneself. Living beings, dear Priyavrata, ever maintain their connection with a body, bestowed on them by the unmanifest Lord, for (going through the experiences of) birth and death, grief, infatuation and fear, joy and sorrow, as well as for doing work. Fastened strongly, dear child, to a big rope in the form of the Word of God with the tight strings of the three Gunas (modes of Prakrti), as well as of duties and denominations bearing the stamp of these Gunas, we all bear offerings to God even as quadrupeds with a string passed through their nostrils bear loads for human beings. Taking whatever form the Lord has ordained for us according to our attachment to actions dominated by a particular Guna (mode of Prakrti), and conducted by Him even as the blind are led by one endowed with vision, we undergo pleasurable or painful experiences decreed by God, O dear Priyavrata. Reaping the fruit of his destiny without identifying himself with the body, even a liberated soul maintains it till that destiny has been reaped, even as one who has woke up from sleep still remembers what one experienced in a dream; but he no longer indulges in actions or cravings which may invest him with another body. He who has not been able to subdue his senses is exposed to the fear of rebirth even though he may roam about from forest to forest; for the six (internal) foes (in the shape of the five senses and the mind that have not been controlled) are (ever) with him. (On the other hand,) what harm can the home do to the wise man who has subdued his senses and delights in the Self ? He who is keen to subdue the (above-mentioned) six foes should in the first instance strive to conquer them while remaining at home; for he alone who has ensconced himself in a stronghold is able to overcome even powerful enemies. When these (internal) foes grow weak, the wise man may roam about at will. Resorting to the citadel of the lotus-like feet of the Lord whose navel is the seat of a lotus, you have thoroughly conquered the six enemies. (Therefore,first) enjoy on this earth the blessings bestwed (on you) by that Supreme Person and (then), wholly freed from attachment, be established in the Self.