TEXT 14
nana-rupatmano buddhih
svairiniva gunanvita
tan-nistham agatasyeha
kim asat-karmabhir bhavet
SYNONYMS
nanavarious; rupawho has forms or dresses; atmanahof the living entity; buddhihthe intelligence; svairinia prostitute who freely decorates herself with different types of cloths and ornaments; ivalike; guna-anvitaendowed with the mode of passion, and so on; tat-nisthamthe cessation of that; agatasyaof one who has not obtained; ihain this material world; kim asat-karmabhih bhavetwhat is the use of performing temporary fruitive activities.
TRANSLATION
[Narada Muni had described a woman who is a professional prostitute. The Haryasvas understood the identity of this woman.] Mixed with the mode of passion, the unsteady intelligence of every living entity is like a prostitute who changes dresses just to attract ones attention. If one fully engages in temporary fruitive activities, not understanding how this is taking place, what does he actually gain?
PURPORT
A woman who has no husband declares herself independent, which means that she becomes a prostitute. A prostitute generally dresses herself in various fashions intended to attract a mans attention to the lower part of her body. Today it has become a much advertised fashion for a woman to go almost naked, covering the lower part of her body only slightly, in order to draw the attention of a man to her private parts for sexual enjoyment. The intelligence engaged to attract a man to the lower part of the body is the intelligence of a professional prostitute. Similarly, the intelligence of a living entity who does not turn his attention toward Krsna or the Krsna consciousness movement simply changes dresses like a prostitute. What is the benefit of such foolish intelligence? One should be intelligently conscious in such a way that he need no longer change from one body to another.
Karmis change their professions at any moment, but a Krsna conscious person does not change his profession, for his only profession is to attract the attention of Krsna by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra and living a very simple life, without following daily changes of fashion. In our Krsna consciousness movement, fashionable persons are taught to adopt one fashionthe dress of a Vaisnava with a shaved head and tilaka. They are taught to be always clean in mind, dress and eating in order to be fixed in Krsna consciousness. What is the use of changing ones dress, sometimes wearing long hair and a long beard and sometimes dressing otherwise? This is not good. One should not waste his time in such frivolous activities. One should always be fixed in Krsna consciousness and take the cure of devotional service with firm determination.

Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/sb/6/5/14

Previous: SB 6.5.13     Next: SB 6.5.15

If you Love Me Distribute My Books -- Srila Prabhupada