SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM - Prabhupada

Text 61] Hiryaka8ipu, King of the Demons 127PURPORTWhen a relative dies one certainly becomes very much interested inphilosophy, but when the funeral ceremony is over one again becomesattentive to materialism. Even Daityas, who are materialistic persons,sometimes think of philosophy when some relative meets death. Thetechnical term for this attitude of the materialistic person is smaSiinavairagya,or detachment in a cemetery or place of cremation. AP. confirmedin Bhagavad-gitii, four classes of men receive an understandingof spiritual life and God-arta (the distressed),jijnasu (the inquisitive),artharthi (one who desires material gains) and jfiiini (one who is searchingfor knowledge). Especially when one is very much distressed by materialconditions, one becomes interested in God. Therefore Kuntidevisaid in her prayers to l(rl).a that she preferred distress to a happy moodof life. In the material world, one who is happy forgets }(rl).a, or God,but sometimes, if one is actually pious but in distress, he remembersl(rl).a. Queen Kuntidevi therefore preferred distress because it is an opportunityfor remembering l(rl).a. When l(rl).a was leaving Kuntidevifor His own country, Kuntidevi regretfully said that she was better off indistress because l(rl).a was always present, whereas now that the Pal).­