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TEXT 49
na veda krpanah sreya
atmano guna-vastu-drk
tasya tan icchato yacched
yadi so pi tatha-vidhah
SYNONYMS
nanot; vedaknows; krpanaha miserly living entity; sreyahthe ultimate necessity; atmanahof the soul; guna-vastu-drkwho is attracted by the creation of the modes of material nature; tasyaof him; tanthings created by the material energy; icchatahdesiring; yacchetone bestows; yadiif; sah apihe also; tatha-vidhahof the kind (a foolish krpana who does not know his real self-interest).
TRANSLATION
Those who think material assets to be everything or to be the ultimate goal of life are called misers [krpanas]. They do not know the ultimate necessity of the soul. Moreover, if one awards that which is desired by such fools, he must also be considered foolish.
PURPORT
There are two classes of mennamely the krpana and the brahmana. A brahmana is one who knows Brahman, the Absolute Truth, and who thus knows his real interest. A krpana, however, is one who has a material, bodily concept of life. Not knowing how to utilize his human or demigod life, a krpana is attracted by things created by the material modes of nature. The krpanas, who always desire material benefits, are foolish, whereas brahmanas, who always desire spiritual benefits, are intelligent. If a krpana, not knowing his self-interest, foolishly asks for something material, one who awards it to him is also foolish. Krsna, however, is not a foolish person; He is supremely intelligent. If someone comes to Krsna asking for material benefits, Krsna does not award him the material things he desires. Instead, the Lord gives him intelligence so that he will forget his material desires and become attached to the Lords lotus feet. In such cases, although the krpana offers prayers to Lord Krsna for material things, the Lord takes away whatever material possessions the krpana has and gives him the sense to become a devotee. As stated by the Lord in the Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 22.39):
Since I am very intelligent, why should I give this fool material prosperity? Instead I shall induce him to take the nectar of the shelter of My lotus feet and make him forget illusory material enjoyment. If one sincerely prays to God for material possessions in exchange for devotional service, the Lord, who is not foolish like such an unintelligent devotee, shows him special favor by taking away whatever material possessions he has and gradually giving him the intelligence to be satisfied only by rendering service to His lotus feet. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura comments in this regard that if a foolish child requests his mother to give him poison, the mother, being intelligent, will certainly not give him poison, even though he requests it. A materialist does not know that to accept material possessions means to accept poison, or the repetition of birth and death. An intelligent person, a brahmana, aspires for liberation from material bondage. That is the real self-interest of a human being.
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