Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.6.19

Vladivostok
4 July 1992

padesu sarva - bhutani
pumsah sthiti-pado viduh
amrtam ksenam abhayam
tri-murdhuo 'dhayi murdhasu

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is to be known as the supreme reservoir of all material opulences by the one fourth of His energy in which all the living entities exist. Deathlessness, fearlessness and freedom from the anxieties of old age and disease exist in the kingdom of God, which is beyond the three higher planetary systems, and beyond the material coverings.

LECTURE

In this verse Lord Brahma explains many important things. At first he establishes, that the personality of Godhead is the source of all material opulences. Me further explains that, living entities occupy just one fourth part of the Lord's creation. Brahmaji then tells us about the spiritual planets, where there is no death, fear, old age and disease. In fact there are two types of planets, the Vaikuntha plantes and the kuntha planets. Vaikuntha -means a place where disturbances do not exist, and kuntha is a place which is opposite of vaikuntha. This verse clearly says that the spiritual planets, which are located in the spiritual world, occupy three fourth of all creation. And the source of all this splendour of the spiritual and material worlds exists in the Personality of Godhead.
Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita 10.8

aham sarvasya prabhavo
mattah sarvam pravartate
iti matva bhajante mam
budha bhava-samanvitah

I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.
Hence its only the wise who realises this opulence of the Lord and renders devotional service unto Him and worships Him with all their heart. All living entities in the material world, take one body after another and go from one planet to another.
Srila Prabhupada in his purport says that in the material world, the Lord's sense of existence, knowledge and pleasure is exhibited only in a limited form. One must understand that the form of the Lord is sat-cit-ananda-vigraha i.e. His form is completely eternal, full of knowledge and happiness. All knowledge belongs to the Lord, which is only one of His six opulences. He is eternal and full of happiness, on the other hand we conditioned souls are in ignorance and suffering and we try very hard to be happy. The Lord and the living entity are both eternal, but with a difference Krishna's body is "divyam" i.e. His body too is transcendental He is for ever youthful not like the beings of this planet, who grow old, suffer from diseases and ultimately die.
In fact if one wants to please an oldman one need only say that he looks young, and if one wants to insult a young man one need only say to him that he looks old. This shows how we do not like to grow old, for with old age comes disease and ultimately death. Death is something which we do not want, we are always trying to prolong our lives, the truth is that, we never think, that we will ultimately have to die. But in the Lord's kingdom there is no death, as we understand from this verse.
Fear is another factor which constantly haunts us. It's fear of theft, which makes us lock our doors, so that we do not lose our possessions. Businessmen fear loss of income due to competition. Nations fear attack from other nations, hence they spend large amounts on maintaining large military forces, even at the cost of not having enough for food or other essentials, for the people of the country.
There are many types of fears, one being the fear of death. But here in this verse Lord Brahma says that in the spiritual world there is no death, it's eternal, never destroyed, and is free from all kinds o! sufferings.
Vedic scriptures contain all information about life on Vaikuntha planets, like if you were to go to a tourist bureau for information regarding the country you would like to visit, you are given a booklet containing all information about that country. Similarly vedic scriptures give us information about the spiritual world, and this information is preserved so that conditioned souls have an opportunity to read them understand them, and be attracted by them.
The duty of spiritually advanced people is to remind others about his eternal home in the spiritual world. Unfortunately, this modern society is so degraded, that when those who have this knowledge, and are ready to give it to them, they are not willing to accept it.
Prabhupada used to tell the story of a man flying a kite. He was so engrossed in flying the kite, that he did not realise that he was on the edge of the roof, and would fall off if not careful. A passer-by saw this and warned him saying "be careful or you may fall down". But the man was so engrossed in flying the kite that the danger in which he was did not bother him and he replied saying "do not disturb me, I am flying my kite". People in general are like this. They have lost their consciousness and are mad after material desires, thinking that, material things, will give them happiness and satisfaction. But, the wise, read the vedic scriptures, understand, that there is nothing in material life, only suffering. Hence the wise are always trying to go to the spiritual world. In Sanskrit, the material world is called "Mrtyu Loka" i.e. a world, where there is suffering and death.

Krishna says that this world is dukhalayam asasvatam.
Dukhalayam means a place where there is suffering and Asasvatam means temporary. If one were to analyse the life of this modern society, one will be convinced that there is nothing in this world except death and suffering.
I have just come after visiting Europe, America and Canada, everywhere people are in anxiety, sorrow, and are lamenting. Some of them have no job and the number of the unemployed is increasing. Many youngsters, who have finished their studies in universities, can't find jobs. Thousands become unemployed everyday. Yet they do not understand that they cannot live in the kingdom of the Lord without the Lord. They have big plans for material prosperity, at the same time, they do not want to know about the Lord, but this cannot be, so all their plans to live without the Lord ends in frustration and sorrow. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita:

saha-yajnah prajah srstva
purovaca prajapatih
anena prasavisyadhvam
esa vo'stv ista-kama-dhuk

"In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Vishnu, and blessed them by saying, 'Be thou happy by this sacrifice (yajna) because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation".
This means that happiness is only possible if some sacrifices are done for Vishnu. If there is no sacrifice there is no happiness. But modern day man does not think of this. If some people do think its for getting a good name. For example people do go to the Mosques, Churches or Temples, but its not for understanding their religion and practising it but rather to be know as those who are very pious, and thereby earn a good name in the society, because of such attitude, we can see day by day the spirit of sacrifice is going down and is becoming more and more weak.
In the purport Srila Prabhupada says that the number of liberated souls is much larger than the number of souls in the material world. Srila Prabhupada always gave the example of the prisoners in jails. They are always fewer in number than those outside the city jails. I am sure even in your country during the rule of Stalin, many people were imprisoned. Yet those who were free, were in larger numbers than those who were imprisoned.
That is to say the free people outside the prisons are in larger numbers than those in prisons. Similarly the liberated souls are larger in number than conditioned souls in the material world.
In the Bhagavad Gita (8.16) Krishna says
abrahma-bhuvanal lokah
punar avartino rjuna mam upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate.
"From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, 0 son of Kunti, never takes birth again". According to this sloka even in Brahmaloka it is impossible to get out of the cycle of birth and death. When Hiranyakasipu asked Lord Brahma for the benediction to become immortal Lord Brahma expressed his inability by saying "How can I give you such a benediction when I myself am not immortal". An aeroplane can fly only when there is enough fuel in it, when the fuel runs out, the aeroplane has to land. You can drive your car as long as there is petrol in it. You will be allowed to live in a country, as long as your visa permits you to. Similarly you can live in the higher planetary system enjoying the luxuries there, as long as your good karmas last thereafter you must leave it. No doubt, there is more sense gratification there along with a longer life span, but a wiseman knows even these are temporary and therefore aspires, for that which is higher and longer lasting and that is to engage in the loving service of the Lord. Because Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita (18.55);

bhaktya man abhijanati
yavan yas casmi tattvatah
tato mam tattvato jnatva
visate tad-anantaram

"One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God".
By the process of self-realisation one can go to the higher planets, but by the process of devotional service one can enter the kingdom of God. The Srimad Bhagavatam has only one theme - devotional service. And its only devotional service, which can give satisfaction to the living entity, for the living entity is by nature spiritual and only spirftual actions can satisfy him, on the other hand material action and sense gratification can only give temporary satisfaction. Further Srila Rupa Goswami says that material nature itself is such that it can get over at any moment. Therefore the wise do not seek that which is momentary. Rupa Goswami always said, that "I have tried to satisfy my senses for a long-time, but found no satisfaction". But one can find satisfaction, by cultivating spiritual knowledge, associating with devotees and thereby be away from just living for material gains and sense gratification.
The first step towards spiritual knowledge is by surrendering unto the Lord. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has given us six principles of surrender to the Lord - known as the six principles of saranagati. One of the principles is to accept that which is beneficial for spiritual advancement and to reject all that is non beneficial to spiritual advancement. For instance if you are given palatable dishes to eat, but if the food offered to you is going to increase your illness. Will you have it? When you come to know of disturbances in some region which you are likely to visit, would you go there after knowing the condition out there? Will you like to go into a business where you know you will be incurring losses ? - No. Similarly, we do not engage in activities which are detrimental to our spiritual advancement which is the real goal of our life. Therefore the general rule to be followed is to accept that which is beneficial and to reject that which is not beneficial in our spiritual life and in case of any doubt you must take the guidance of Guru, Sastra and Sadhu. Do not act independently for that would be mental speculations and should be rejected. Always remember Krishna looks after and protects His devotee. Krishna never lets His devotee perish. He is the friend and wellwisher of every living entity. It is therefore better to be dependent on Krishna than on demigods.
The best way to show our love and dependence on Krishna is by randering devotional service to Him, devotional service rendered to Krishna must be with love and humility. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says in the Sri Sri Siksastaka

trinad api sunicena
taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniya sada harih

"One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking onself lower than the straw in the street, one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and should be ready to offer all respects to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly". That is to say one should fully engage himself in the service of the Lord with his mind, body and senses with all humility, by doing so, one can make quick advancement in spiritual life.
This verse gives us some information about the material world. But the Bhagavatam gives us much more information about the material world. If you read the fifth canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, you will come acjoss detailed information regarding different planetary systems. Now the materialists also confirm that there are many universes, but unfortunately, they do not have the spiritual knowledge, which goes along with it the knowledge by which one can go to these planets, they think, these planets can be reached by man made machines, they do not know these efforts on their part are like that of Ravana a king who lived thousands of years ago, on this earth, and who had ten heads.
King Ravana was a mighty king, because of his might and power, he became proud and was a source of pain to others. "Ravana" means one who gives pain to others. He was so proud of his powers that he thought of building a ladder to reach the heavens. His idea was to reach the heavens without doing any pious activity. Similarly the modern day materialist are trying to reach the other planets by machines, but all these efforts will fail as did Havana's. The process by which we can go from one planet to another is a spiritual one and is given to us by Srila Prabhupada in his book "Easy Journey to other Planets". Prabhupada always said, the devotees should never feel left behind by the modern day materialists, they make a lot of efforts (not knowing the real process) which end in failure, but the devotees just chant "Hare Krishna" and go there. In fact the materialists are surprised for the devotees, have knowledge about lives on other planets and how to reach them which they gather from the scriptures.
The present verse make one thing clear, that since the spiritual world is eternal, it is timeless. There is no such thing as time factor in the spiritual world, as in the material world. In the material world, everything depends on time. We go through the process of birth, diseases, old age and finally death. To-day something may be new, tomorrow it becomes old. One must also understand the difference between the spiritual world and the material world. By this we can understand the stupidity of those, who are trying to find happiness in a place where there is only misery and suffering. In the material world one tries so hard to be rich. They work at two or three jobs so that they can pay their bills. You may have seen photographs of materialist who live in the west, who have big houses, several cars and so on. But in order to maintain these the husband and wife work hard at two or three jobs, so as to enjoy all these things. In the spiritual world it is the opposite, one does not have to work so hard to get happiness, the atmosphere itself is full of happiness. Actually happiness belongs only to the spiritual world. Its one of the most important qualities of the spiritual world.
The spirit soul Is full of happiness - ananda mayo bhyasat - and in the spiritual world, happiness is ever increasing so the soul which is always seeking happiness can only be happy in a spiritual environment. On the other hand material happiness cannot be eternal, it has got it's limitation and gets over after sometime. One has to pay a price for material happiness, which is marked on the label. Similarly one has to pay a price for the "eternal happiness" in the spiritual world. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that He protects His devotees, but on the condition that one renders complete loving devotional service unto Him. This is the price we have to pay, to render service to Krishna, it means all our actions must be for the pleasure of Krishna. How does one do this? This we come to know by following the actions of others in the parampara. There is no need, to invent anything new, we just follow the rules practised from time immemorial. One must make full use of the opportunity given to us by Srila Prabhupada by joining the Krishna consciousness movement. We should be serious about our spiritual life, and should not loose a minute for the minute lost cannot be brought back, even with all the riches of the world. Follow the principles of our movement, and practise them with all enthusiasm, a good devotee is he who follows these, principles and at the same time preaches to other. He is full of vigour and is enthusiastic, for he knows that the real valuable thing in life is Krishna consciousness. We have the drink coca-cola which is advertised as "coca-cola is the real thing" - but it is not, the real thing is Krishna consciousness.
And all other things are of no value, hence not real. We must understand that Krishna Bhakti is of real value, and not illusory actions, which leads us to unhappiness and sufferings. We must therefore tell others too, that they too can have happiness, by accepting Krishna Bhakti. We must be ever enthusiastic to preach . For if you have no enthusiasm to preach, how can these poor people get happiness. If someone is blind, how can he see? If you have been fortunate enough to get rid of material desires which is due to ignorance and which is like a dark night, then we must reach this fortune to others. This can be achieved only by being enthusiastic and what kind of preaching is the most important ? Book distribution. This is the most important form of preaching, and it does not even depend on how long a devotee has been in our movement, it may be for a few days, a few years, or may be for even twenty years, all of them can do book distribution very well. Prabhupada always said book distribution is the most important form of preaching. He emphasised this at his darshans, in his letters and in his purports. So we must meditate on how we can distribute books, for the sake of bringing happiness to others. If you are determined to distribute books, then Krishna who resides in everyone's heart will make you His instrument in doing so.