Life is for Enjoyment? What Happens to People who Tried But Failed?

People who are given to sensual pleasures and who take immense delight in the gratification that they derive from sense objects often wonder (quite reasonably too) what is all the folderol about spiritual life --- they argue, why must one deny oneself the multifarious sense enjoyments that come in the form of movies, drinking, sex, eating, fame, name, wealth and prosperity, pleasures that are strictly denied to any other species of life forms on earth. 

Swami Mukundananda, in response to this pedestrian observation, has said in his commentary on Bhagavad Gita 2:40 that "There are 8.4 million species of life in existence. The species below human beings—animals, birds, fishes, insects, birds, etc.—do not have an evolved intellect as we humans do. Yet, they also perform commonplace activities such as eating, sleeping, defending, and mating. Human beings have been endowed with the faculty of knowledge, for a higher purpose, so that they may utilize it to elevate themselves. If humans utilize their intellects merely for doing the animalistic activities of eating, sleeping, mating, and defending, in a deluxe way, it is a misuse of the human form. For example, if someone makes eating as the primary pleasure of life, then the body of a pig becomes more suitable for such a person, and thus, that individual receives a pig’s body in the next life. If someone makes sleeping the goal of life, then God deems that the body of a polar bear is more suitable for such activity and allots it in the succeeding life. So the great danger before us is that we may not get a human birth in the next life. The Vedas state:

iha chedavedīdatha satyamasti na chedihāvedīnmahatī vinaṣhṭhiḥ

(Kenopaniṣhad 2.5) [v35]

" “O human being, the human birth is a rare opportunity. If you do not utilize it to achieve your goal, you will suffer great ruin.” 

"Again, they state:

iha chedaśhakad boddhuṁ prākśharīrasya visrasaḥ

tataḥ sargeṣhu lokeṣhu śharīratvāya kalpate (Kaṭhopaniṣhad 2.3.4) [v36]

" “If you do not strive for God-realization in this life, you will continue to rotate in the 8.4 million species of life for many births.”

Rare indeed it is this birth of ours, yet if we choose to squander the treasures of the birth on flummery, flattery, transitory enjoyments, expression, pursuits of physical and, sexual pleasures, we are diving headlong in eddying whirlpool of countless re-births. People with such vile propensities often insist that the world is without absolute truth, without any basis (for moral order), and that it is created for the singular purpose of gratification, and they cling to their false tenets, thoroughly disillusioned, ungovernably attracted to the impermanent, maintaining with complete assurance that gratification of desires and accumulation of wealth are the supreme purpose of life.

Held in bondage by hundreds of desires, and driven by lust and anger, they strive to accumulate wealth by unjust means, all for the gratification of their senses. Possessed and led astray by such imaginings, enveloped in a mesh of delusion, and addicted to the gratification of sensuous pleasures, they descend to the murkiest path to self-destruction. 

What is then the fate of these people? In Bhagavad Gita 16:19-20 Lord Sri Krishna declares, "...I constantly hurl into the wombs of those with similar demoniac natures in the cycle of rebirth in the material world. These ignorant souls take birth again and again in demoniac wombs. Failing to reach me, O Arjun, they gradually sink to the most abominable type of existence". That is the finale of their theatrics on earth, which is a place for hope and redemption. 

But what is the fate of those who have endeavoured but failed to achieve the saintly virtues described in Bhagavad Gita 16:1- 3: fearlessness, purity of mind, steadfastness in spiritual knowledge, charity, control of the senses, performance of sacrifice, study of the sacred books, austerity, and straightforwardness; non-violence, truthfulness, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, restraint from fault-finding, compassion toward all living beings, absence of covetousness, gentleness, modesty, and lack of fickleness; vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, bearing enmity toward none, and absence of vanity?

Bhagavad Gita 2:40 assures that "...there is no loss or adverse result, and even a little effort saves one from great danger." Commenting on this verse, Swami Mukundananda says, "once we commence on the journey of spiritual practice then even if we do not complete the path in this life, God sees that our intention to do so existed. Therefore, he grants us the human birth again, to enable us to continue from where we had left off. In this way, we avert the great danger.

"Also, Shree Krishna says that no loss ever comes from endeavour made on this path. This is because whatever material assets we accumulate in the present life have to be left behind at the time of death. But if we make any spiritual advancement on the path of Yog, God preserves it, and gives us the fruits in the next life, enabling us to start off from where we had left. Thus, having informed Arjun about its benefits, Shree Krishna now begins instructing him about the science of working without attachment."

Bhagavad Gita 6:41-42 further gives us the assurance that "The unsuccessful (person), upon death, go to the abodes of the virtuous. After dwelling there for many ages, they are again re-born in the earth plane, into a family of pious and prosperous people. Else, if they had developed dispassion due to long practice of Yoga, they are born into a family endowed with divine wisdom. Such a birth is very difficult to attain in this world." 

Swami Mukundananda explains this verse: "Residence in the celestial abodes is awarded to those who engage in mundane virtuous deeds and the fruitive karm-kāṇḍ activities enjoined in the Vedas. So, why should an unsuccessful yogi go to the celestial abodes? The reason is that the opposite of Yog (union with God) is bhog (material enjoyment). One falls from Yog because of the desire for bhog. So God, like an indulgent father, gives that fallen yogi a chance to engage in bhog in the next life and realize that it is an exercise in futility, which does not satiate the yearning of the soul for permanent bliss. So the fallen yogi is sometimes sent to the celestial abodes for a long time, and then again granted birth on Earth.

"Such souls are then given birth in a family where they have the opportunity to continue their spiritual journey. Śhuchī means those who are of pious and of good character; shree means those who are wealthy. The unsuccessful yogi are either born in a pious family that will nurture the child’s spirituality from childhood, or in a wealthy family where all the bodily needs are taken care of and one does not need to engage in the struggle for survival. Such a family environment facilitates the opportunity to engage in spiritual pursuits for the souls who are so inclined.

"The circumstances, situation, and family of our birth have an important bearing upon the course of our life. From our bodily parents we derive physical hereditary characteristics. This is the genetic process of heredity. However, there is also the process of social heredity. We blindly follow many customs because of the social environment of our upbringing. We do not choose to be Indians, Americans, British, etc. We identify ourselves with a nationality based upon our birth, and even go the extent of developing enmity with people of other nationalities. Invariably, we follow the religion of our parents, on the basis of social heredity.

"Thus, the place and family of our birth has a great impact upon our direction and attainment in life. If the place and family of birth were arbitrarily decided in every life, there would be no justice in the world. However, God has an account of all our thoughts and actions of endless lifetimes. In accordance with the law of karma, the spiritual assets earned by the unsuccessful yogi in the previous life bear fruit. Accordingly, those yogis who had traversed quite a distance and developed dispassion are not sent to the celestial abodes. They are given birth in a spiritually evolved family, to facilitate the continuance of their journey. Such a birth is a great good fortune because the parents inculcate divine wisdom in the child from the very beginning."

Sources: 

1. https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/2/verse/40

2. https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/16/verse/19-20

3. https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/6/verse/41-42