Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.10
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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 Bhāgavatam 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.
The pleasure of the senses (indriya-pritiḥ) arising from enjoying senses objects is not the goal (lābhaḥ). Rather, as long as one lives (yāvatā jiveta) one should work for the fulfillment of life (apavarga). The pleasure of the senses from enjoyment for the jṣānīs or the yogīs consisting of the secondary results that appear along with the desired results is designated as “results of action.” Since jṣāna and yoga are transformations of niṣkāma-karma, they perceive whatever happiness and distress they experience as results of karma. For the devotees, the pleasure of the senses from sense objects which accompany bhakti however are not called fruits of action (karma) since bhakti is not a transformation of karma. The devotees, however, perceive happiness to be the result of bhakti only. They regard suffering as the mercy of the Lord:
yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ | tato ’dhanaṁ tyajanty asya svajanā duḥkha-duḥkhitam ||
If I especially favor someone, I gradually deprive him of his wealth. Then the relatives and friends of such a poverty-stricken man abandon him. In this way he suffers one distress after another. SB 10.88.8
Taking this statement of the Lord into consideration, according to the particular case, the devotee’s suffering should be regarded as direct action of the Lord or a result of devotional offenses. The goal of life (jīvasya) is inquiry into the highest truth (tattva-jijṣāsā). What is accomlished (iha) by performance of karmas, such as attaining Svarga, is not the goal.
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- SDAP SB 01-02-10 - 2017-12-07 Bhaktivedanta Manor
- SDAP SB 01-02-10 Russian Translation - 2014-05-10 Kalinigrad
- Shubha Krishna Pr SB 01-02-10 Indonesian Translation
- BCaitanyaSw SB 01-02-10 - The Weakness of Material Life - 2013-03-19 Singapore
- BCaitanyaS SB 01-02-10 - The Weakness of Material Life - 2013-03-19 Singapore
- BCaitanyaS SB 01-02-10 - The Weaknesses of Material Life - 2013-03-19 Singapore
- BVVNarsimhaS SB 01-02-10
- Bhakti Vikas Sw SB 01-02-10 - Sense Gratification is foolish
- Bhakti Vikas Sw SB 01-02-10 - Understanding the Truth
- Bhakti Vikas Sw SB 01-02-10 - Follow Your Heart - 2019-08-02 Kazan
- CMS SB 01-02-10 - Goal Of Human Life - 2000-02-26
- GKG SB 01-02-10 - 2011-10-01 Novorossiysk
- JPS SB 01-02-10 Bengali Translation - 2020-09-05 ISKCON Mayapur
- JPS SB 01-02-10 - 2008-01-21 Moscow
- JPS SB 01-02-10 - Give up even licit sense gratification and get the higher taste - 05-09-18 Intan
- PrahladAnS SB 01-02-10 Slovenian Translation - Ne prevec in ne premalo - 2024-07-06 ISKCON Slovenia
- PrahladAnS SB 01-02-10 - Not too much and not too little - 2024-07-06 ISKCON Slovenia
- Romapada Sw SB 01-02-10 - Aug 2006 - St- Louis
- SNS SB 01-02-10 - 2018-07-15
- Subhag Sw SB 01-02-10 - Replacing Attachment
- Subhag Sw SB 01-02-10 - If you have Love you will work for Krishna
- SP Tamil Translation SB 01-02-10 - Love Comes from Krishna - 1973-11-16 DEL
- SP Tamil Translation SB 01-02-10 - Faith That is the Beginning - 1972-12-28 BOM
- SP Tamil Translation SB 01-02-10 - No Industrial Development - 1972-10-21 VRN
- SP SB 1-02-10 Delhi 1973-11-16 Love Comes from Krishna
- SP SB 01-02-10 Hyderabad 1974-04-24
- SP SB 1-02-10 Vrindavan 1972-10-21 New Orleans Industrial Development
My note
Source: vedabase.io