By the force of special merit, some souls attain the rare and precious birth as a human being. Yet even among humans, suffering persists; for one may be born as a tanner, an outcaste, a hunter, a sweeper, a potter, a blacksmith, a goldsmith, a weaver, a tailor, an ascetic, a mendicant, a washerman, a scribe, a servant, a menial, a pauper, or as one afflicted by bodily defects. Human life is beset by many pains—fevers, extremes of heat and cold, phlegm, tumors, and aches in the feet, eyes, head, womb, sides, and more. Within humanity, the journey begins when a man and woman unite. At that moment, the semen enters the womb, and, driven by the power of karma, a conscious being enters with the semen and starts to develop in the mingling of semen and blood. In the first month, the being becomes a tiny lump, about a finger’s breadth in size. From then, unconscious and helpless due to the force of the vital winds, the soul suffers greatly in the mother’s womb, tossed about and unable to remain still. At the end of the second month, the being takes on human form. By the third month, limbs such as hands and feet appear. In the fourth month, the joints of all the limbs become distinct; in the fifth, the nails begin to form; by the sixth, the nail joints are clear. Nourished by the navel cord, the body is soaked in impure urine, bound within the womb, polluted by blood, bones, worms, fat, marrow, sinews, hair, and other impurities. Enclosed in this unclean body, scorched by the mother’s intake of pungent, sour, salty, and excessively hot foods, the embodied being suffers both inwardly and outwardly. Remembering previous births and the torments of hell, the soul is wracked with pain and sorrow in its mind. Within the womb, the soul laments: “Alas, how sinful I am! In past lives, driven by attachment to servants, children, friends, wives, houses, fields, wealth, and grain, I coveted the wealth and lands of others for my wife’s sake. Blinded by desire, I committed great sins, even abducting others’ wives. Because of these misdeeds, I have suffered the agonies of hell, endured the pain of birth among plants and lower beings, and now I am enveloped in this womb, burning with pain inside and out. “The wives I once supported have gone elsewhere, each led by their own karma. Truly, suffering is the lot of embodied beings. For the sake of family, I took what belonged to others. Seeing another’s prosperity, I was always disturbed by envy. By body, mind, and speech, I harmed others; now, by those very sins, I alone am burned, deeply afflicted.” Thus, the being grieves in many ways within the womb, whether aloud or in silence. Yet, after birth, if blessed with the company of the virtuous and the hearing of Viṣṇu’s deeds, the soul may purify its mind, perform good acts, and worship with devotion the lotus feet of Lakṣmīpati Nārāyaṇa—the inner soul of all worlds, composed of truth, knowledge, and bliss, whose power upholds all realms and who is worshipped by gods, demons, yakṣas, gandharvas, rākṣasas, serpents, sages, and kinnaras. Holding in the heart the secret of the Vedas and Upaniṣads, the means to sever the unbearable bondage of saṃsāra, the soul resolves: “I will cross over this house of suffering, the abode of past impressions.” O sage Nārada, at the time of birth, the embodied being, still in the womb, is afflicted by the vital winds, causing pain to the mother. Bound by the fetters of karma, the soul is forced out through the birth passage, enduring all the torments at once. Pressed by the pains of birth, the soul falls into unconsciousness as it emerges. Upon contact with the outer air, all the previous sufferings are forgotten, lost in the haze of new existence, yet the pain of ignorance persists. Thus, as an infant smeared with its own excrement and urine, the being is afflicted by inner and outer pains, unable to speak, tormented by hunger and thirst. Its cries are met with attempts to soothe it with milk and care. Dependent on others for every need, unable even to ward off biting insects, the infant endures many bodily sufferings. As the child grows, new pains arise—beatings from mother, father, or teacher, wandering about, playing in dust and mud, constant quarrels, uncleanliness, and being forced into many activities, unable to escape them. In youth, the soul is greatly troubled by the effort to earn and protect wealth, and the inevitable loss and expenditure of it. Deluded by illusion, corrupted by desire and anger, always envious, intent on seizing the wealth and wives of others, preoccupied with providing for sons, friends, and wives, tainted by vain pride. When children and loved ones fall ill, abandoning all else, the soul is overwhelmed by inner suffering, and ultimately approaches the funeral pyre, as will be described. Anxieties multiply: “How will the family be maintained? Where has the horse gone? Why have the cows not returned? Because of lack of discernment, the crops are lost and my sons are always weeping. Livelihood is hard to find, and, O King, the oppression from the ruler is unbearable. I am incapable of enterprise, and my companions are all lazy and unreliable.” Overwhelmed by constant anxiety, unable to dispel his own suffering, the soul reproaches fate: “Fie upon destiny! Why did fate create me, so devoid of fortune?” In old age, the body trembles, afflicted by breathlessness and cough, the eyes are clouded, the throat choked by phlegm, and the soul is scolded by sons, wife, and others. Anxious thoughts arise: “When will death come? After I die, how will my sons and others protect the house, fields, and property I acquired? To whom will they belong?” When wealth is taken by others, the soul worries how his family will survive. Overwhelmed by sorrow and attachment, sighing deeply, he remembers and forgets the deeds of his life, while death draws ever closer. Afflicted by disease, burning within, he shifts from bed to cot, tormented by hunger and thirst, begging for even a little water. Yet when told by others that water is not beneficial, he feels resentment and becomes dull-witted. At last, unable to move, surrounded by weeping relatives, unable to speak, preoccupied with thoughts of who will inherit his wealth, his eyes fill with tears, his throat rattles, and as his life departs, he is seized by the messengers of Yama, bound in fetters, and once again experiences hell and other realms as before. In this way, all beings, until their karma is exhausted, undergo intense suffering. Therefore, one should practice supreme knowledge; through knowledge, liberation is attained. For freedom from worldly existence, one must diligently cultivate this highest knowledge. Whoever does not serve Hari—who is as insensible as he? Those attached to desires and not to Viṣṇu indeed go to suffering. Even while alive, those devoid of knowledge are tormented in hell—alas! The ignorant, enveloped in great delusion, imagine the world to be eternal. He who does not worship Viṣṇu, the destroyer of worldly bondage, is a great sinner. Yet even a caṇḍāla, if devoted to meditating on Hari, O brāhmaṇa, attains the highest happiness.