SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM - Prabhupada

Text 30] Prahlada, the Saintly Son of Hirar_tyak&Sipu 267TRANSLATIONPrahliida Maharaja replied: Because of their uncontrolledsenses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progresstoward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which hasalready been chewed. Their inclinations toward I;ta are neveraroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts,or by a combination of both.PURPORTIn this verse the words matir na kmJ.e refer to devotional service renderedto Kra. So-called politicians, erudite scholars and philosopherswho read Bhagavad-gita try to twist some meaning from it to suit theirmaterial purposes, but their misunderstandings of Kra will not yieldthem any profit. Because such politicians, philosophers and scholars areinterested in using Bhagavad-gita as a vehicle for adjusting things materially,for them constant thought of Kra, or Kra consciousness, isimpossible (matir na km:te). As stated in Bhagavad-gita (18.55),bhaktya mam abhijaniiti: only through devotional service can oneunderstand Kra as He is. The so-called politicians and scholars think ofKra as fictitious. The politician says that his i(rQa is different fromthe i(rQa depicted in Bhagavad-gita. Even though he accepts Kra andRama as the Supreme he thinks of Rama and i(rQa as impersonal becausehe has no idea of service to i(rQa. Thus his only business is puna/:tpuna§ carvita-carvaniim -chewing the chewed again and again. Theaim of such politicians and academic scholars is to enjoy this materialworld with their bodily senses. Therefore it is clearly stated here thatthose who are grha-vrata, whose only aim is to live comfortably with thebody in the material world, cannot understand Kra. The two expressionsgrha-vrata and carvita-carvaniim indicate that a materialisticperson tries to enjoy sense gratification in different bodily forms, lifeafter life, but is still unsatisfied. In the name of personalism, this ism orthat ism, such persons always remain attached to the materialistic way oflife. As stated in Bhagavad-gitd (2.44):bhogaiSvarya-prasaktaniimtayapahrta-cetasam