TEXT 10
magara-daratmaja-vitta-bandhusu
sango yadi syad bhagavat-priyesu nah
yah prana-vrttya paritusta atmavan
siddhyaty aduran na tathendriya-priyah
SYNONYMS
manot; agarahouse; darawife; atma-jachildren; vittabank balance; bandhusuamong friends and relatives; sangahassociation or attachment; yadiif; syatthere must be; bhagavat-priyesuamong persons to whom the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very dear; nahof us; yahanyone who; prana-vrttyaby the bare necessities of life; paritustahsatisfied; atma-vanwho has controlled his mind and realized his self; siddhyatibecomes successful; aduratvery soon; nanot; tathaso much; indriya-priyaha person attached to sense gratification.
TRANSLATION
My dear Lord, we pray that we may never feel attraction for the prison of family life, consisting of home, wife, children, friends, bank balance, relatives and so on. If we do have some attachment, let it be for devotees, whose only dear friend is Krsna. A person who is actually self-realized and who has controlled his mind is perfectly satisfied with the bare necessities of life. He does not try to gratify his senses. Such a person quickly advances in Krsna consciousness, whereas others, who are too attached to material things, find advancement very difficult.
PURPORT
When Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu was requested to explain the duty of a Vaisnava, a Krsna conscious person, He immediately said, asat-sanga-tyagaei vaisnava-acara. The first business of a Vaisnava is to give up the association of persons who are not devotees of Krsna and who are too attached to material thingswife, children, bank balance and so on. Prahlada Maharaja also prays to the Personality of Godhead that he may avoid the association of nondevotees attached to the materialistic way of life. If he must be attached to someone, he prays to be attached only to a devotee.
A devotee is not interested in unnecessarily increasing the demands of the senses for gratification. Of course, as long as one is in this material world, one must have a material body, and it must be maintained for executing devotional service. The body can be maintained very easily by eating krsna-prasada. As Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita (9.26):
If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it. Why should the menu be unnecessarily increased for the satisfaction of the tongue? Devotees should eat as simply as possible. Otherwise, attachment for material things will gradually increase, and the senses, being very strong, will soon require more and more material enjoyment. Then the real business of lifeto advance in Krsna consciousnesswill stop.

Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/sb/5/18/10

Previous: SB 5.18.9     Next: SB 5.18.11

If you Love Me Distribute My Books -- Srila Prabhupada