kamasya nendriya-pritir
labho jiveta yavata
jivasya tattva-jijnasa
nartho yas ceha karmabhih
SYNONYMS
kamasya -- of desires; na -- not; indriya -- senses; pritih -- satisfaction; labhah -- gain; jiveta -- self-preservation; yavata -- so much so; jivasya -- of the living being; tattva -- the Absolute Truth; jijnasa -- inquiries; na -- not; arthah -- end; yah ca iha -- whatsoever else; karmabhih -- by occupational activities.
TRANSLATION
Life's
desires should never be directed toward sense gratification. One should
desire only a healthy life, or self-preservation, since a human being
is meant for inquiry about the Absolute Truth. Nothing else should be
the goal of one's works.
PURPORT
The completely
bewildered material civilization is wrongly directed towards the
fulfillment of desires in sense gratification. In such civilization, in
all spheres of life, the ultimate end is sense gratification. In
politics, social service, altruism, philanthropy and ultimately in
religion or even in salvation, the very same tint of sense gratification
is ever-increasingly predominant. In the political field the leaders of
men fight with one another to fulfill their personal sense
gratification. The voters adore the so-called leaders only when they
promise sense gratification. As soon as the voters are dissatisfied in
their own sense satisfaction, they dethrone the leaders, The leaders
must always disappoint the voters by not satisfying their senses. The
same is applicable in all other fields; no one is serious about the
problems of life. Even those who are on the path of salvation desire to
become one with the Absolute Truth and desire to commit spiritual
suicide for sense gratification. But the Bhagavatam
says that one should not live for sense gratification. One should
satisfy the senses only insomuch as required for self-preservation, and
not for sense gratification. Because the body is made of senses, which
also require a certain amount of satisfaction, there are regulative
directions for satisfaction of such senses. But the senses are not meant
for unrestricted enjoyment. For example, marriage or the combination of
a man with a woman is necessary for progeny, but it is not meant for
sense enjoyment. In the absence of voluntary restraint, there is
propaganda for family planning, but foolish men do not know that family
planning is automatically executed as soon as there is search after the
Absolute Truth. Seekers of the Absolute Truth are never allured by
unnecessary engagements in sense gratification because the serious
students seeking the Absolute Truth are always overwhelmed with the work
of researching the Truth. In every sphere of life, therefore, the
ultimate end must be seeking after the Absolute Truth, and that sort of
engagement will make one happy because he will be less engaged in
varieties of sense gratification. And what that Absolute Truth is is
explained as follows.
