Verse 1.8.203

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.8.203:

যে নর-শরীর লাগি’ দেবে কাম্য করে তাহা ব্যর্থ যায মিথ্যা সুখের বিহারে ॥ ২০৩ ॥

ये नर-शरीर लागि’ देवे काम्य करे ताहा व्यर्थ याय मिथ्या सुखेर विहारे ॥ २०३ ॥

ye nara-śarīra lāgi’ deve kāmya kare tāhā vyartha yāya mithyā sukhera vihāre || 203 ||

ye nara-sarira lagi’ deve kamya kare taha vyartha yaya mithya sukhera vihare (203)

English translation:

(203) “Their human form of life, which is desired even by the demigods, is being wasted in the pursuit of false happiness.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

The first line of this verse indicates that only the human birth is favorable for worshiping Lord Hari. Therefore it is desired even by the demigods.

The demigods’ prayers in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (5.19.21-25) in this regard are as follows: “Since the human form of life is the sublime position for spiritual realization, all the demigods in heaven speak in this way: How wonderful it is for these human beings to have been born in the land of Bhārata-varṣa. They must have executed pious acts of austerity in the past, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself must have been pleased with them. Otherwise, how could they engage in devotional service in so many ways? We demigods can only aspire to achieve human births in Bhārata-varṣa to execute devotional service, but these human beings are already engaged there.

“After performing the very difficult tasks of executing Vedic ritualistic sacrifices, undergoing austerities, observing vows and giving charity, we have achieved this position as inhabitants of the heavenly planets. But

what is the value of this achievement? Here we are certainly very engaged in material sense gratification, and therefore we can hardly remember the lotus feet of Lord Nārāyaṇa. Indeed, because of our excessive sense gratification, we have almost forgotten His lotus feet. “A short life in the land of Bharata-varṣa is preferable to a life achieved in Brahmaloka for millions and billions of years because even if one is elevated to Brahmaloka, he must return to repeated birth and death.

Although life in Bhārata-varṣa, in a lower planetary system, is very short, one who lives there can elevate himself to full Kṛṣṇa consciousness and achieve the highest perfection, even in this short life, by fully surrendering unto the lotus feet of the Lord. Thus one attains Vaikuṇṭhaloka, where there is neither anxiety nor repeated birth in a material body.

“An intelligent person does not take interest in a place, even in the topmost planetary system, if the pure Ganges of topics concerning the Supreme Lord’s activities does not flow there, if there are not devotees engaged in service on the banks of such a river of piety, or if there are no festivals of saṅkīrtana-yajña to satisfy the Lord [especially since saṅkīrtana-yajña is recommended in this age].

“Bhārata-varṣa offers the proper land and circumstances in which to execute devotional service, which can free one from the results of jñāna and karma. If one obtains a human body in the land of Bhārata-varṣa, with clear sensory organs with which to execute the saṅkīrtana-yajña, but in spite of this opportunity he does not take to devotional service, he is certainly like liberated forest animals and birds that are careless and are therefore again bound by a hunter.”