The Compassion of Pariksit Maharaja
In the Twenty-sixth Chapter of the Fifth Canto, Sukadeva Gosvam… has explained that people who commit sinful acts are forced to enter hellish planets and suffer. Now Maharaja Par…kit, being a devotee, is concerned with how this can be stopped. A Vaisava is para-dukha-dukhi; in other words, he has no personal troubles, but he is very unhappy to see others in trouble. Prahlada Maharaja said, "My Lord, I have no personal problems, for I have learned how to glorify Your transcendental qualities and thus enter a trance of ecstasy. I do have a problem, however, for I am simply thinking of these rascals and fools who are busy with maya-sukha, temporary happiness, without knowledge of devotional service unto You." This is the problem faced by a Vaisava. Because a Vaisava fully takes shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he personally has no problems, but because he is compassionate toward the fallen, conditioned souls, he is always thinking of plans to save them from their hellish life in this body and the next. Parikshit Maharaja, therefore, anxiously wanted to know from Sukadeva Gosvam… how humanity can be saved from gliding down to hell. Sukadeva Gosvam… had already explained how people enter hellish life, and he could also explain how they could be saved from it. Intelligent men must take advantage of these instructions. Unfortunately, however, the entire world is lacking Ksa consciousness, and therefore people are suffering from the grossest ignorance and do not even believe in a life after this one. To convince them of their next life is very difficult because they have become almost mad in their pursuit of material enjoyment. Nevertheless, our duty, the duty of all sane men, is to save them. Maharaja Par…kit is the representative of one who can save them. SB 6.1.6
