"The same example, just a man in dreaming, crying, “There is tiger, there is tiger. It is eating me,” and the man who is awakened, he smiles, “Where is the tiger?”"
Prabhupada, Los Angeles, November 27, 1968: Read, Hare Krishna, yes, Second Chapter.
Devotee: Start at verse 8. “I can find no means to drive away this grief which is drying up my senses. I will not even be able to destroy it if I win an unrivaled kingdom on the earth with sovereignty like the demigods in heaven.
Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus, Arjuna, chastiser of the enemy told Krishna, Govinda, ‘I shall not fight,’ and fell silent. O descendant of Bharata, at that time Krishna, smiling in the midst of both the armies, spoke the following words to the grief-stricken Arjuna. The Blessed Lord said…”
Prabhupada: So when we become very serious in a dangerous position, as if we are lost, but Krishna smiles. You see? Sometimes we think… This is called illusion. The same example, just a man in dreaming, crying, “There is tiger, there is tiger. It is eating me,” and the man who is awakened, he smiles, “Where is the tiger?” (chuckles) “Where is the tiger?” And this man is crying, “Tiger, tiger, tiger.”
Similarly, when we are very much perplexed… Just like the politicians, they are sometimes perplexed in political situation and claiming, “This is my land, my country,” and other party also claiming, “It is my land, my country,” and they are fighting very gravely. Krishna smiles. “What these nonsense are claiming ‘my country, my land’? It is My land, and they are claiming ‘my land’ and fighting.”
Actually, the land belongs to Krishna, but these people, under illusion, claiming, “It is my land, it is my country,” forgetting how long he shall belong to this country or this nation. That is called illusion.
So this is our position. Without understanding our real position we are perplexed with these all worldly problems, which are all false. Janasya moho ’yam aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. Moha, moha means illusion. This is the illusion. So everyone is under this illusion. So one who is intelligent, if he can understand that this worldly position is simply illusion… The, all the thoughts which I have concocted, based on the principle of “I” and “mine,” this is all illusion. So one, when one is intelligent to get out of the illusion, he surrenders to a spiritual master. That is being exemplified by Arjuna.
Full Lecture
pamho agtACBSP this is a very nice article what makes all of us understand how it is important to not waste time in all these temporary maya rupas of this material world. Simply by becoming fully Krsna conscious through hearing and chanting about Krsna and remembering Him always.
Time takes away everything in this world therefore our first business is how to finish our material entanglement as soon as possible and not become perplexed and confused through the worldly problems of this illusory world.
Illusion, sometimes compared to a tiger in the form of woman – the same is for woman when is trying to enjoy all these maya rupas and makes us forget our real position by getting involved more in the worldly problems of this martyaloka – planet of repeated birth and death.
ys seva das
haribol
Seva Dasa, how did you manage to equate illusion to a tiger, a
tiger that takes the form of a woman. What’s the story about this
tiger?
pamho agtACBSP
HARE KRSNA prabhu,
this story is mentioned in the 5.canto chapter 14 text 3 of Srimad Bhagavatam by Srila Prabhupada.
atha ca yatra kautumbika darapatyadayo namna karmana vrka-srgala evanicchato ’pi kadaryasya kutumbina uranakavat samraksyamanam misato ’pi haranti.
SYNONYMS
atha—in this way; ca—also; yatra—in which; kautumbikah—the family members; dara-apatya-adayah—beginning with the wife and children; namna—by name only; karmana—by their behavior; vrka-srgalah—tigers and jackals; eva—certainly; anicchatah—of one who does not desire to spend his wealth; api—certainly; kadaryasya—being too miserly; kutumbinah—who is surrounded by family members; uranaka-vat—like a lamb; samraksyamanam—although protected; misatah—of one who is observing; api—even; haranti—they forcibly take away.
TRANSLATION
My dear King, family members in this material world go under the names of wife and children, but actually they behave like tigers and jackals. A herdsman tries to protect his sheep to the best of his ability, but the tigers and foxes take them away by force. Similarly, although a miserly man wants to guard his money very carefully, his family members take away all his assets forcibly, even though he is very vigilant.
PURPORT
One Hindi poet has sung: din ka dakini rat ka baghini palak palak rahu cuse. During the daytime, the wife is compared to a witch, and at night she is compared to a tigress. Her only business is sucking the blood of her husband both day and night. During the day there are household expenditures, and the money earned by the husband at the cost of his blood is taken away. At night, due to sex pleasure, the husband discharges blood in the form of semen. In this way he is bled by his wife both day and night, yet he is so crazy that he very carefully maintains her. Similarly, the children are also like tigers, jackals and foxes. As tigers, jackals and foxes take away lambs despite the herdsman’s vigilant protection, children take away the father’s money, although the father supervises the money himself. Thus family members may be called wives and children, but actually they are plunderers.
agtys ys seva dasa haribol