Vyasadev
Praneetha
The Mad Bhagavatam
Chapter 22
Bali Mahârâja Surrenders His Life
The summary of this Twenty-second Chapter is as follows. The Supreme Personality of Godhead was pleased by the behavior of Bali Mahārāja. Thus the Lord placed him on the planet Sutala, and there, after bestowing benedictions upon him, the Lord agreed to become his doorman.
Bali Mahārāja was extremely truthful. Being unable to keep his promise, he was very much afraid, for he knew that one who has deviated from truthfulness is insignificant in the eyes of society. An exalted person can suffer the consequences of hellish life, but he is very much afraid of being defamed for deviation from the truth. Bali Mahārāja agreed with great pleasure to accept the punishment awarded him by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bali Mahārāja's dynasty there were many asuras who because of their enmity toward Viṣṇu had achieved a destination more exalted than that of many mystic yogīs. Bali Mahārāja specifically remembered the determination of Prahlāda Mahārāja in devotional service. Considering all these points, he decided to give his head in charity as the place for Viṣṇu's third step. Bali Mahārāja also considered how great personalities give up their family relationships and material possessions to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Indeed, they sometimes even sacrifice their lives for the satisfaction of the Lord, just to become His personal servants. Accordingly, by following in the footsteps of previous ācāryas and devotees, Bali Mahārāja perceived himself successful.
While Bali Mahārāja, having been arrested by the ropes of Varuṇa, was offering prayers to the Lord, his grandfather Prahlāda Mahārāja appeared there and described how the Supreme Personality of Godhead had delivered Bali Mahārāja by taking his possessions in a tricky way. While Prahlāda Mahārāja was present, Lord Brahmā and Bali's wife, Vindhyāvali, described the supremacy of the Supreme Lord. Since Bali Mahārāja had given everything to the Lord, they prayed for his release. The Lord then described how a nondevotee's possession of wealth is a danger whereas a devotee's opulence is a benediction from the Lord. Then, being pleased with Bali Mahārāja, the Supreme Lord offered His disc to protect Bali Mahārāja and promised to remain with him.
8.22.1
balir bhagavatāsuraḥ
bhidyamāno 'py abhinnātmā
pratyāhāviklavaḿ vacaḥ
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'Thus with the Supreme Lord having run into trouble, o King, was Bali, the asura king, despite of his awkward position an unperturbed soul who replied positively with the following words.
8.22.2
yady uttamaśloka bhavān mameritaḿ
karomy ṛtaḿ tan na bhavet pralambhanaḿ
(2) S'rî Bali said: 'If, o Lord of the Praise, You of Your good Self think that my words of promise proved false, o Greatest of the Gods, then let me, to be true to the matter and not to have turned to cheating, offer You my head upon which to put the third step of Your lotus feet.
Bali Mahārāja could understand the pretense of Lord Vāmanadeva, who had taken the side of the demigods and come before him as a beggar. Although the Lord's purpose was to cheat him, Bali Mahārāja took pleasure in understanding how the Lord will cheat His devotee to glorify the devotee's position. It is said that God is good, and this is a fact. Whether He cheats or rewards, He is always good. Bali Mahārāja therefore addressed Him as Uttamaśloka. "Your Lordship," he said, "You are always praised with the best of selected verses. On behalf of the demigods, You disguised Yourself to cheat me, saying that You wanted only three paces of land, but later You expanded Your body to such an extent that with two footsteps You covered the entire universe. Because You were working on behalf of Your devotees, You do not regard this as cheating. Never mind. I cannot be considered a devotee. Nonetheless, because although You are the husband of the goddess of fortune You have come to me to beg, I must satisfy You to the best of my ability. So please do not think that I wanted to cheat You; I must fulfill my promise. I still have my body. When I place my body for Your satisfaction, please put Your third step on my head." Since the Lord had covered the entire universe with two steps, one might ask how Bali Mahārāja's head could be sufficient for His third step? Bali Mahārāja, however, thought that the possessor of wealth must be greater than the possession. Therefore although the Lord had taken all his possessions, the head of Bali Mahārāja, the possessor, would provide adequate place for the Lord's third step.
8.22.3
na pāśa-bandhād vyasanād duratyayāt
naivārtha-kṛcchrād bhavato vinigrahād
(3) I am not as afraid of residing in hell or being bound in fetters, of hard to endure distress nor certainly of a lack of funds as much as I have grown afraid of the punishment of defamation that I have to suffer now from Your Lordship [compare B.G. 2: 34 and 6.17: 28].
Although Bali Mahārāja fully surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he could not tolerate being defamed for cheating a brāhmaṇa-brahmacārī, Being quite alert in regard to his reputation, he thought deeply about how to prevent being defamed. The Lord, therefore, gave him the good counsel to prevent defamation by offering his head. A Vaiṣṇava does not fear any punishment. Nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati (Bhāg. 6.17.28).
8.22.4
daṇḍam arhattamārpitam
suhṛdaś cādiśanti hi
(4) I consider it the most exalted of men to be punished by the worshipable Lord, it is something which is not offered by either one's mother, father, brother or friends [see 10.14: 8].
Punishment meted out by the Supreme Personality of Godhead is accepted by the devotee as the greatest mercy.
tat te 'nukampāḿ susamīkṣamāṇo
"One who seeks Your compassion and thus tolerates all kinds of adverse conditions due to the karma of his past deeds, who engages always in Your devotional service with his mind, words and body, and who always offers obeisances to You is certainly a bona fide candidate for liberation." (Bhāg. 10.14.8) A devotee knows that so-called punishment by the Supreme Personality of Godhead is only His favor to correct His devotee and bring him to the right path. Therefore the punishment awarded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be compared to even the greatest benefit awarded by one's material father, mother, brother or friend.
8.22.5
parokṣaḥ paramo guruḥ
yo no 'neka-madāndhānāḿ
vibhraḿśaḿ cakṣur ādiśat
(5) You verily are, of us Asuras, indirectly the supreme guru because You, destroying the false prestige of the many of us that are blinded by material comforts, gave us the vision.
Bali Mahārāja considered the Supreme Personality of Godhead a better friend to the demons than to the demigods. In the material world, the more one gets material possessions, the more he becomes blind to spiritual life. The demigods are devotees of the Lord for the sake of material possessions, but although the demons apparently do not have the Supreme Personality of Godhead on their side, He always acts as their well-wisher by depriving them of their positions of false prestige. By false prestige one is misguided, so the Supreme Lord takes away their position of false prestige as a special favor.
8.22.6-7
yasmin vairānubandhena
vyūḍhena vibudhetarāḥ
tenāhaḿ nigṛhīto 'smi
baddhaś ca vāruṇaiḥ pāśair
(6-7) Many of those who outside of the wisdom fixed their intelligence upon You by constant enmity, achieved the perfection which, as is known, equals that of the yogis. Therefore am I, even though I'm punished by Your Lordship so full of wonders, not ashamed nor suffering very much from thus being bound by Varuna's ropes.
Bali Mahārāja appreciated the Lord's mercy not only upon him but upon many other demons. Because this mercy is liberally distributed, the Supreme Lord is called all-merciful. Bali Mahārāja was indeed a fully surrendered devotee, but even some demons who were not at all devotees but merely enemies of the Lord attained the same exalted position achieved by many mystic yogīs. Thus Bali Mahārāja could understand that the Lord had some hidden purpose in punishing him. Consequently he was neither unhappy nor ashamed because of the awkward position in which he had been put by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
own father invented in simply going against You [see 7.5].
8.22.8
bhavad-vipakṣeṇa vicitra-vaiśasaḿ
(8) My grandfather [Prahlâda] as appreciated by Your devotees is everywhere famed for being a saint in having You as the Supreme Shelter when he had to suffer all the nasty things that his
A pure devotee like Prahlāda Mahārāja, although harassed circumstantially in many ways, never gives up the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead to take shelter of anyone else. A pure devotee never complains against the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A vivid example is Prahlāda Mahārāja. Examining the life of Prahlāda Mahārāja, we can see how severely he was harassed by his own father, Hiraṇyakaśipu, yet he did not divert his attention from the Lord even to the smallest extent. Bali Mahārāja, following in the footsteps of his grandfather Prahlāda Mahārāja, remained fixed in his devotion to the Lord, despite the Lord's having punished him.8.22.9
kiḿ riktha-hāraiḥ svajanākhya-dasyubhiḥ
(9) What's the use of this body which gives it up in the end, what is the service of all those profiteers who passing as relatives snatch away the inheritance, what is the need for a wife which only drags one more into the material and what to a person certain of death is the use of wasting one's life with domestic attachments [see also 5.5: 8 and B.G. 18: 66]?
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, advises, sama-dharmān parityajya mām ekaḿ śaraṇaḿ vraja: "Give up all other varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me." The common man does not appreciate such a statement by the Supreme Personality of Godhead because he thinks that during his lifetime his family, society, country, body and relatives are everything. Why should one give up any one of them and take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? But from the behavior of great personalities like Prahlāda Mahārāja and Bali Mahārāja we understand that surrendering to the Lord is the right action for an intelligent person. Prahlāda Mahārāja took shelter of Viṣṇu against the will of his father. Similarly, Bali Mahārāja took shelter of Vāmanadeva against the will of his spiritual master, Śukrācārya, and all the leading demons. People may be surprised that devotees like Prahlāda Mahārāja and Bali Mahārāja could seek shelter of the side of the enemy, giving up the natural affinity for family, hearth and home. In this connection, Bali Mahārāja explains that the body, which is the center of all material activities, is also a foreign element. Even though we want to keep the body fit and helpful to our activities, the body cannot continue eternally. Although I am the soul, which is eternal, after using the body for some time I have to accept another body (tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ), according to the laws of nature, unless I render some service with the body for advancement in devotional service. One should not use the body for any other purpose. One must know that if he uses the body for any other purpose he is simply wasting time, for as soon as the time is ripe, the soul will automatically leave the body.
We are very interested in society, friendship and love, but what are they? Those in the garb of friends and relatives merely plunder the hard-earned money of the bewildered soul. Everyone is affectionate toward his wife and is attached to her, but what is this wife? The wife is called strī, which means, "one who expands the material condition." If a person lives without a wife, his material conditions are less extensive. As soon as one marries and is connected with a wife, his material necessities increase.
puḿsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaḿ
"The attraction between male and female is the basic principle of material existence. On the basis of this misconception, which ties together the hearts of the male and female, one becomes attracted to his body, home, property, children, relatives and wealth. In this way one increases life's illusions and thinks in terms of 'I and mine.' " (Bhāg. 5.5.8) Human life is meant for self-realization, not for increasing unwanted things. Actually, a wife increases unwanted things. One's lifetime, one's home and everything one has, if not properly used in the service of the Lord, are all sources of material conditions of perpetual suffering under the threefold miseries (adhyātmika, adhibhautika and adhidaivika). Unfortunately, there is no institution in human society for education on this subject. People are kept in darkness about the goal of life, and thus there is a continuous struggle for existence. We speak of "survival of the fittest," but no one survives, for no one is free under material conditions.
8.22.10
dhruvaḿ prapede hy akutobhayaḿ janād
(10) As said was he, my grandfather the great devotee so wise in his service, afraid as he was of the people [around him] indeed unerring in his resolve to surrender himself to, with of all fear he experienced, the immovable refuge of Your Lordship's lotus feet, o Best of the Best who has put an end to all the demoniac of us.
8.22.11
athāham apy ātma-ripos tavāntikaḿ
(11) Therefore do I take to the shelter of You, me who also being hostile with the soul by providence with force was arrested and bereft of all his wealth. The temporary nature of the material comforts, that for the duration of life confronts one with one's finality and death [see 7.5: 30], is what the narrowminded person cannot understand.'
Bali Mahārāja appreciated the actions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although all the members of the demoniac families except Prahlāda Mahārāja and Bali Mahārāja considered Viṣṇu their eternal traditional enemy. As described by Bali Mahārāja, Lord Viṣṇu was actually not the enemy of the family but the best friend of the family. The principle of this friendship has already been stated. Yasyāham anugṛhnāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaḿ śanaiḥ: the Lord bestows special favor upon His devotee by taking away all his material opulences. Bali Mahārāja appreciated this behavior by the Lord. Therefore he said, daivena nītaḥ prasabhaḿ tyājita-śrīḥ: "It is to bring me to the right platform of eternal life that You have put me into these circumstances."
Actually, everyone should fear the so-called society, friendship and love for which he works so hard all day and night. As indicated by Bali Mahārāja by the words janād bhītaḥ, every devotee in Kṛṣṇa consciousness should always be afraid of the common man engaged in pursuing material prosperity. Such a person is described as pramatta, a madman chasing the will-o'-the-wisp. Such men do not know that after a hard struggle for life one must change his body, with no certainty of what kind of body he will receive next. Those who are completely established in Kṛṣṇa conscious philosophy and who therefore understand the aim of life will never take to the activities of the materialistic dog race. But if a sincere devotee somehow does fall down, the Lord corrects him and saves him from gliding down to the darkest region of hellish life.
adānta-gobhir viśatāḿ tamisraḿ
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām
(Bhāg. 7.5.30)The materialistic way of life is nothing but the repeated chewing of that which has already been chewed. Although there is no profit in such a life, people are enamored of it because of uncontrolled senses. Nūnaḿ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma [SB 5.5.4]. Because of uncontrolled senses, people fully engage in sinful activities by which they get a body full of suffering. Bali Mahārāja appreciated how the Lord had saved him from such a bewildered life of ignorance. He therefore said that his intelligence had been stunned. Stabdha-matir na budhyate. He could not understand how the Supreme Personality of Godhead favors His devotees by forcibly stopping their materialistic activities.
8.22.12
tasyetthaḿ bhāṣamāṇasya
rākā-patir ivotthitaḥ
(12) S'rî S'uka said: 'When he thus discussed his position, manifested Prahlâda, the favorite of the Lord [see 7.9], himself there o best of the Kurus, just like the moon does rising in the sky.
8.22.13
virājamānaḿ nalināyatekṣaṇam
(13) There saw he, the spear of Indra, his grandfather, the best of all the auspicious, present in all his glory: with eyes as wide as lotuspetals, beautifully built, dressed in saffron, with a darkskinned splendor and long arms.
8.22.14
tasmai balir vāruṇa-pāśa-yantritaḥ
samarhaṇaḿ nopajahāra pūrvavat
(14) Bound in the ropes of Varuna could he not as before offer him the respect he owed and so offered he, with eyes full of tears bashfully bending his face downwards, his obeisances.
Since Bali Mahārāja had been arrested by Lord Vāmanadeva, he was certainly to be considered an offender. Bali Mahārāja seriously felt that he was an offender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Certainly Prahlāda Mahārāja would not like this. Therefore Bali Mahārāja was ashamed and hung his head.
8.22.15
(15) When he, the great devotee, saw the Great Master, the Lord, sitting there with followers like Sunanda in worship, approached he Him with his head bent low and paid he, moved to tears in his jubilation, thus with his head his respects.
8.22.16
(16) S'rî Prahlâda said: 'Your Lordship who granted this so very great position of Indra has today taken it back, which I consider something very beautiful. You have done him, bereft of his opulence, a great favor because that was what stood in the way of his self-realization.
As it is said, yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaḿ śanaiḥ (Bhāg. 10.88.8). It is by the mercy of the Lord that one gets all material opulence, but if such material opulence causes one to become puffed up and forget the process of self-realization, the Lord certainly takes all the opulence away. The Lord bestows mercy upon His devotee by helping him find out his constitutional position. For that purpose, the Lord is always ready to help the devotee in every way. But material opulence is sometimes dangerous because it diverts one's attention to false prestige by giving one the impression that he is the owner and master of everything he surveys, although actually this is not the fact. To protect the devotee from such a misunderstanding, the Lord, showing special mercy, sometimes takes away his material possessions. Yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaḿ śanaiḥ.
8.22.17
(17) Indeed even the most learned and self-controlled gets bewildered by the opulence in his search for the goal of life; You I owe my obeisances, You the Controller of the Universe, Lord Narâyâna, the overseer indeed of all.'
The words ko vicaṣṭe gatim ātmano yathā indicate that when one is puffed up by the false prestige of possessing material opulence, he certainly neglects the goal of self-realization. This is the position of the modern world. Because of so-called scientific improvements in material opulence, people have entirely given up the path of self-realization. Practically no one is interested in God, one's relationship with God or how one should act. Modern men have altogether forgotten such questions because they are mad for material possessions. If this kind of civilization continues, the time will soon come when the Supreme Personality of Godhead will take away all the material opulences. Then people will come to their senses.
8.22.18
tasyānuśṛṇvato rājan
prahrādasya kṛtāñjaleḥ
hiraṇyagarbho bhagavān
(18) S'rî S'uka said: 'So that Prahlâda who stood there with folded hands could hear it, o King, spoke the most powerful one of the gold within [Brahmâ] to the slayer of Madhu [the Lord].
8.22.19
prāñjaliḥ praṇatopendraḿ
(19) Bali's chaste wife [though] who saw her husband arrested, heavily distraught of fear offered with folded hands her obeisances to Upendra [Lord Vâmana] and addressed Him, o King, with her face down.
PURPORT
Although Lord Brahmā was speaking, he had to stop for a while because Bali Mahārāja's wife, Vindhyāvali, who was very agitated and afraid, wanted to say something.8.22.20
(20) S'rî Vindhyâvali said: 'For the sake of Your pastimes have You created this threefold universe, You are the proprietor but the bad minded and others, o Controller, have ignorantly imposing themselves settled for the ownership; what can they, the shameless, offer You, the Supreme Creator, Master and Annihilator [compare B.G. 16: 13-15 and 18: 61]?'
Bali Mahārāja's wife, who was most intelligent, supported the arrest of her husband and accused him of having no intelligence because he had claimed proprietorship of the property of the Lord. Such a claim is a sign of demoniac life. Although the demigods, who are officials appointed by the Lord for management, are attached to materialistic enjoyment, they never claim to be proprietors of the universe, for they know that the actual proprietor of everything is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the qualification of the demigods. But the demons, instead of accepting the exclusive proprietorship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, claim the property of the universe for themselves through demarcations of nationalism. "This part is mine, and that part is yours," they say. "This part I can give in charity, and this part I can keep for my enjoyment." These are all demoniac conceptions. This is described in Bhagavad-gītā (16.13): idam adya mayā labdham imaḿ prāpsye manoratham. "Thus far I have acquired so much money and land. Now I have to add more and more. In this way I shall be the greatest proprietor of everything. Who can compete with me?" These are all demoniac conceptions.
Bali Mahārāja's wife accused Bali Mahārāja by saying that although the Supreme Personality of Godhead had arrested him, showing him extraordinary mercy, and although Bali Mahārāja was offering his body to the Supreme Lord for the Lord's third step, he was still in the darkness of ignorance. Actually the body did not belong to him, but because of his long-standing demoniac mentality he could not understand this. He thought that since he had been defamed for his inability to fulfill his promise of charity, and since the body belonged to him, he would free himself from defamation by offering his body. Actually, however, the body does not belong to anyone but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by whom the body is given. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61):
īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāḿ
hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā
The Lord is situated in the core of everyone's heart, and, according to the material desires of the living entity, the Lord offers a particular type of machine — the body — through the agency of the material energy. The body actually does not belong to the living entity; it belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Under the circumstances, how could Bali Mahārāja claim that the body belonged to him?Thus Vindhyāvali, Bali Mahārāja's intelligent wife, prayed that her husband be released, by the Lord's causeless mercy. Otherwise, Bali Mahārāja was nothing but a shameless demon, specifically described as tyakta-hriyas tvad-avaropita-kartṛ-vādāḥ, a foolish person claiming proprietorship over the property of the Supreme Person. In the present age, Kali-yuga, the number of such shameless men, who are agnostics disbelieving in the existence of God, has increased. Trying to defy the authority of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, so-called scientists, philosophers and politicians manufacture plans and schemes for the destruction of the world. They cannot do anything good for the world, and unfortunately, because of Kali-yuga, they have plunged the affairs of the world into mismanagement. Thus there is a great need for the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement for the benefit of innocent people who are being carried away by propaganda of such demons. If the present status quo is allowed to continue, people will certainly suffer more and more under the leadership of these demoniac agnostics.
8.22.21
śrī-brahmovāca
muñcainaḿ hṛta-sarvasvaḿ
(21) Lord Brahmâ said: 'O Goodness of all Living Beings, o Controller of Each, o God of Gods, o All-pervading One, please release this one now bereft of everything - someone like him does not deserve it to be punished.
When Lord Brahmā saw that Prahlāda Mahārāja and Vindhyāvali had already approached the Lord to ask mercy for Bali Mahārāja, he joined them and recommended Bali Mahārāja's release on the grounds of worldly calculations.
8.22.22
ātmāviklavayā dhiyā
(22) He returned to You all the lands, all the worlds - with a firm resolve has without hesitation whatever he in his piety has achieved all been offered to You; all he possessed, even his body.
8.22.23
(23) At Your feet offered he honestly water, grasses and flower-buds. How can such a worshiper despite of his so exalted offerings, despite of his worship, offering You the three worlds, deserve the pain given; not duplicitous as he is deserves he the highest destination [B.G. 9: 26]!'
In Bhagavad-gītā (9.26) it is stated:
patraḿ puṣpaḿ phalaḿ toyaḿ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is so kind that if an unsophisticated person, with devotion and without duplicity, offers at the lotus feet of the Lord a little water, a flower, a fruit or a leaf, the Lord accepts it. Then the devotee is promoted to Vaikuṇṭha, the spiritual world. Brahmā drew the Lord's attention to this subject and requested that He release Bali Mahārāja, who was suffering, being bound by the ropes of Varuṇa, and who had already given everything, including the three worlds and whatever he possessed.8.22.24
(24) The Supreme Lord said: 'O Brahmâ, I show him My mercy and take his riches away who is of false prestige; such a dull-witted one derides all the world!
A civilization that has become godless because of material advancement in opulence is extremely dangerous. Because of great opulence, a materialist becomes so proud that he has no regard for anyone and even refuses to accept the authority of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The result of such a mentality is certainly very dangerous. To show special favor, the Lord sometimes makes an example of someone like Bali Mahārāja, who was now bereft of all his possessions.
8.22.25
yadā kadācij jīvātmā
(25) The living entity that not independent because of the karma, in different species of life is caught in the material world, longs for the high purpose of being human [see also B.G. 13: 22].
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is fully independent. Thus it is not always a fact that a living being's loss of all opulence is a sign of the Supreme Lord's mercy upon him. The Lord can act any way He likes. He may take away one's opulence, or He may not. There are varieties of forms of life, and the Lord treats them according to the circumstances, as He chooses. Generally it is to be understood that the human form of life is one of great responsibility.
puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi
"The living entity in material nature follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil amongst various species." (Bg. 13.22) After thus rotating through many, many forms of life in the cycle of birth and death, the living being gets a chance for a human form. Therefore every human being, especially one belonging to a civilized nation or culture, must be extremely responsible in his activities. He should not risk degradation in the next life. Because the body will change (tathā dehāntara-prāptir), we should be extremely careful. To see to the proper use of life is the purpose of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The foolish living entity declares freedom from all control, but factually he is not free; he is fully under the control of material nature. He must therefore be most careful and responsible in the activities of his life.
8.22.26
vidyaiśvarya-dhanādibhiḥ
tatrāyaḿ mad-anugrahaḥ
(26) He who with his birth, activities, age, physique, education, achievement, wealth and other opulences has not hardened [has not became arrogant], should as such be considered as being favored by Me.
When in spite of possessing all these opulences a person is not proud, this means that he is fully aware that all his opulences are due to the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He therefore engages all his possessions in the service of the Lord. A devotee knows very well that everything, even his body, belongs to the Supreme Lord. If one lives perfectly in such Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it is to be understood that he is especially favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The conclusion is that one's being deprived of his wealth is not to be considered the special mercy of the Lord. If one continues in his opulent position but does not become unnecessarily proud, falsely thinking that he is the proprietor of everything, this is the Lord's special mercy.
8.22.27
janmādīnāḿ samantataḥ
(27) Things as a high birth are the cause of arrogance and stupefaction; together constitute they impediments for the supreme benefit of life, impediments by which My devotee is not disturbed [see also 4.8-12].
Devotees like Dhruva Mahārāja, who was given unlimited material opulence, have the special mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Once Kuvera wanted to give Dhruva Mahārāja a benediction, but although Dhruva Mahārāja could have asked him for any amount of material opulence, he instead begged Kuvera that he might continue his devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When a devotee is fixed in his devotional service, there is no need for the Lord to deprive him of his material opulences. The Supreme Personality of Godhead never takes away material opulences achieved because of devotional service, although He sometimes takes away opulences achieved by pious activities. He does this to make a devotee prideless or put him in a better position in devotional service. If a special devotee is meant for preaching but does not give up his family life or material opulences to take to the service of the Lord, the Lord surely takes away his material opulences and establishes him in devotional service. Thus the pure devotee becomes fully engaged in propagating Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
8.22.28
(28) This Bali, the most devoted and famous among the Dânavas and Daityas, has already surpassed the insurmountable material energy; despite of losing his wealth is he not bewildered.
In this verse, the words sīdann api na muhyati are very important. A devotee is sometimes put into adversity while executing devotional service. In adversity, everyone laments and becomes aggrieved, but by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, a devotee, even in the worst condition, can understand that he is going through a severe examination by the Personality of Godhead. Bali Mahārāja passed all such examinations, as explained in the following verses.
8.22.29-30
kṣipto baddhaś ca śatrubhiḥ
jñātibhiś ca parityakto
guruṇā bhartsitaḥ śapto
chalair ukto mayā dharmo
(29-30) Out of all riches, fallen from his superior position, reviled and arrested by his enemies, deserted by his family and relatives, having suffered all kinds of uncommon hardship, rebuked and cursed by his guru, did he, fixed in his vow, not forsake the truthful, the dharma that I so deceitfully for the gift spoke about; true to his word this one never gave it up.
Bali Mahārāja passed the severe test put before him by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is further proof of the Lord's mercy toward His devotee. The Supreme Personality of Godhead sometimes puts a devotee to severe tests that are almost unbearable. One could hardly even live under the conditions forced upon Bali Mahārāja. That Bali Mahārāja endured all these severe tests and austerities is the mercy of the Supreme Lord. The Lord certainly appreciates the devotee's forbearance, and it is recorded for the future glorification of the devotee. This was not an ordinary test. As described in this verse, hardly anyone could survive such a test, but for the future glorification of Bali Mahārāja, one of the mahājanas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead not only tested him but also gave him the strength to tolerate such adversity. The Lord is so kind to His devotee that when severely testing him the Lord gives him the necessary strength to be tolerant and continue to remain a glorious devotee.
8.22.31
duṣprāpam amarair api
sāvarṇer antarasyāyaḿ
bhavitendro mad-āśrayaḥ
(31) By Me he has achieved a place that even for the demigods is most difficult to obtain; during the time of Sâvarni Manu [see 8.13: 10-11] will he become the Indra that is fully protected by Me.
This is the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even if the Lord takes away a devotee's material opulences, the Lord immediately offers him a position of which the demigods cannot even dream. There are many examples of this in the history of devotional service. One of them is the opulence of Sudāmā Vipra. Sudāmā Vipra suffered severe material scarcity, but he was not disturbed and did not deviate from devotional service. Thus he was ultimately given an exalted position by the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Here the word mad-āśrayaḥ is very significant. Because the Lord wanted to give Bali Mahārāja the exalted position of Indra, the demigods might naturally have been envious of him and might have fought to disturb his position. But the Supreme Personality of Godhead assured Bali Mahārāja that he would always remain under the Lord's protection (mad-āśrayaḥ).
8.22.32
klamas tandrā parābhavaḥ
nopasargā nivasatāḿ
sambhavanti mamekṣayā
(32) For the time being he may go and live in Sutala [see 5.24: 18] the place set by Vis'vakarmâ where it by My special vigilance has been made impossible for the inhabitants to suffer psychically or physically any weariness, exhaustion or defeat.
Viśvakarmā is the engineer or architect for the palatial buildings in the heavenly planets. Therefore, since he was engaged to construct the residential quarters of Bali Mahārāja, the buildings and palaces on the planet Sutala must at least equal those on the heavenly planets. A further advantage of this place designed for Bali Mahārāja was that he would not be disturbed by any outward calamity. Moreover, he would not be disturbed by mental or bodily miseries. These are all extraordinary features of the planet Sutala, where Bali Mahārāja would live.
In the Vedic literatures we find descriptions of many different planets where there are many, many palaces, hundreds and thousands of times better than those of which we have experience on this planet earth. When we speak of palaces, this naturally includes the idea of great cities and towns. Unfortunately, when modern scientists try to explore other planets they see nothing but rocks and sand. Of course, they may go on their frivolous excursions, but the students of the Vedic literature will never believe them or give them any credit for exploring other planets.
8.22.33
(33) O spear of Indra, o Mahârâja, now better go o ruler, may there, surrounded by your people, be all auspiciousness for you in Sutala, the place so desirable to even the ones of heaven.
Bali Mahārāja was transferred from the heavenly planet to the planet Sutala, which is hundreds of times better than heaven, as indicated by the words svargibhiḥ prārthyam. When the Supreme Personality of Godhead deprives His devotee of material opulences, this does not mean that the Lord puts him into poverty; rather, the Lord promotes him to a higher position. The Supreme Personality of Godhead did not ask Bali Mahārāja to separate from his family; instead, the Lord allowed him to stay with his family members (jñātibhiḥ parivāritaḥ).
8.22.34
lokeśāḥ kim utāpare
tvac-chāsanātigān daityāḿś
(34) None of the local controllers there will be able to overrule you, not to mention the common man, as I with my cakra will take care of all the Daityas that transgress your rule.
8.22.35
rakṣiṣye sarvato 'haḿ tvāḿ
sānugaḿ saparicchadam
(35) I'll protect you, your associates and your property. In every respect will I always stay close to you, o great hero, you'll be able to see Me there!
8.22.36
dṛṣṭvā mad-anubhāvaḿ vai
sadyaḥ kuṇṭho vinańkṣyati
(36) By observing My excellence will in that place the stupidity of the asura mentality of the Daityas and Dânavas be vanquished immediately.'
The Lord assured Bali Mahārāja of all protection, and finally the Lord assured him of protection from the effects of bad association with the demons. Bali Mahārāja certainly became an exalted devotee, but he was somewhat anxious because his association was not purely devotional. The Supreme Personality of Godhead therefore assured him that his demoniac mentality would be annihilated. In other words, by the association of devotees, the demoniac mentality is vanquished.
satāḿ prasańgān mama vīrya-saḿvido
(Bhāg. 3.25.25)
When a demon associates with devotees engaged in glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he gradually becomes a pure devotee.
(My humble salutations to the lotus feet of Swamyjis, Philosophers, Scholars and Knowledge Seekers for the collection)
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