Page 49 - Metaphysical questions of life

pears upside down with the branches downward and the root upward.

Due to innumerable material desires one wanders on the material tree
fu lely without knowledge that the root is upward and not downward.
The material world being a perverted reflec on of the spiritual world
implies the spiritual world has the same variety, but everything and
everyone there is eternal and not subject to birth, death, old age and
disease.

The tree of the material world has no end. It is an indestruc ble tree of
illusion. Living en es wander from one branch to another in a maze
of bewilderment leading to nowhere following branches going down-
ward in the wrong direc on. The real root in upward. One who is
a ached to this material banyan tree has no hope of finding the truth
of life because of his endless stream of material desires.

The goal of life is a ained by learning how to cut a achment to the
perverted reflec on of the banyan tree of this world and a ain the re-
al tree of the spiritual world. This is effected by the following verses
spoken by Lord Krishna:

yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi / yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya / tat kuruṣva mad‐arpaṇam (Bg 9.27)

“Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away,
and whatever austeri es you perform – do that, O son of Kun , as an
offering to Me.”

śubhāśubha‐phalair evaṁ / mokṣyase karma‐bandhanaiḥ
sannyāsa‐yoga‐yuktātmā / vimukto mām upaiṣyasi (Bg 9.28)

“In this way you will be freed from bondage to work and its auspicious
and inauspicious results. With your mind fixed on Me in this principle of
renuncia on, you will be liberated and come to Me.”

In the material world everyone is compelled to act. According to these
verses if ac ons are performed and the fruits are offered to Lord Krish-
na under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, then one is situ-

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