Question: I humbly beg for Your grace to me, please accept me as Your servant. Please explain to me who I am and why three kinds of suffering disturb me. By Your causeless mercy alone will I be able to understand the answer to these very important questions. Srila Gurudeva, I turn to You in my prayers many times, but now I want to dedicate ‘my’ life to Your service totally, and I want ‘my’ son to develop devotion for Krishna, in this I see the sense of life for the nearest period. Teach me how to develop Sharanagati. There is no way I can understand it without Your mercy! How can I, the householder, live to please You and Gauranga?

Answer: Sufferings are of four types—dharma (religion), artha (economic development), kama (sense gratification), moksha (liberation). We actually desire those. If we get distress as a result, we call that as suffering. Sri Narada has instructed Sri Vyasdev at Sri Badrikashram. “People of this world desire dharma, artha, kama, moksha. They perform dharma for mundane benefits, they desire money, sense gratification and also liberation”, Sri Vyasdev said “I have made provision for those things. But I am not satisfied. That is why I came here to this place.”

Sri Vyasdev knows everything but he inquired for our benefit. He is not a conditioned person. He asked his Gurudev and his Gurudev answered.

Sri Vyasdev said, “If we perform some good deeds, we get some or other benefit. People also want money, sense gratification and liberation. Even after I provided all these things for their benefit, I am not at peace.”

Sri Narada Risi said, “You have done a very bad thing. People are already inclined towards perishable benefits. That is the reason for suffering and you have encouraged them.”

“I have given them a path for liberation also.”

“You have done an even worse thing. You have destroyed their bhakti.”

“What should I do?”

“When you meditate on the scriptures that describe beyond these four things—dharma, artha, kama, moksha—your root cause for suffering will be uprooted. Then you will get prema.”

This is written in Srimad Bhagavat. There are four main verses (Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 2 Chapter 9, verses 33 to 36) and it is elaborated in the entire Bhagavat Puran. There are also teachings of renunciation and knowledge in that scripture. If we read that scripture we will get peace.