Devanagari
अर्थे ह्यविद्यमानेऽपि संसृतिर्न निवर्तते ।
ध्यायतो विषयानस्य स्वप्नेऽनर्थागमो यथा ॥ ५६ ॥
Verse text
arthe hy avidyamāne ’pi
saṁsṛtir na nivartate
dhyāyato viṣayān asya
svapne ’narthāgamo yathā
Synonyms
arthe
—
in truth
;
hi
—
certainly
;
avidyamāne
—
not existing
;
api
—
even though
;
saṁsṛtiḥ
—
material existence
;
na nivartate
—
does not stop
;
dhyāyataḥ
—
who is meditating
;
viṣayān
—
on the objects of sense gratification
;
asya
—
for him
;
svapne
—
in a dream
;
anartha
—
of unwanted things
;
āgamaḥ
—
the coming
;
yathā
—
just as .
Translation
For one who is meditating on sense gratification, material life, although lacking factual existence, does not go away, just as the unpleasant experiences of a dream do not.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
For one who meditates on sense objects which lack factual existence, material existence does not go away. It is like the unpleasant experiences of a dream.
Though bondage in saṁsāra is based on illusion, the suffering it produces does not go away. Though things related to imposition by false identity have no factual existence, the suffering arising from relationship with saṁsāra does not disappear. It does not disappear for a jīva who meditates on sense objects with intelligence directed at enjoying. An example is given of something which gives real suffering, though it is insubstantial. In a dream, one is bitten by a snake and feels pain.
Purport
One may object that if Lord Kṛṣṇa insists that material life is false, then why should one endeavor to stop it? The Lord therefore explains here that although not factual, material life stubbornly continues for one addicted to sense gratification, just as a frightening dream continues for one merged in sleep. The word
avidyamāna,
“not existing,” means that material life is based on mental concoction, in which one thinks, “I am a man,” “I am a woman,” “I am a doctor,” “I am a senator,” “I am a street sweeper” and so on. A conditioned soul enthusiastically performs his activities based on the imaginary identification with the body. Thus although the spirit soul exists and the body exists, the false identification with the body does not exist. Material life, based on a false idea, has no factual existence.
After one awakens from a dream, the dim reflection of the dream may linger in one’s memory. Similarly, one engaging in the devotional service of the Lord may be troubled sometimes by the dim reflection of sinful life. One should therefore become strong in Kṛṣṇa consciousness by hearing the Lord’s instructions to Śrī Uddhava.