Synonyms ṛṣabhaḥ — Lord Ṛṣabhadeva; uvāca — said; na — not; ayam — this; dehaḥ — body; deha-bhājām — of all living entities who have accepted material bodies; nṛ-loke — in this world; kaṣṭān — troublesome; kāmān — sense gratification; arhate — deserves; viṭ-bhujām — of stool-eaters; ye — which; tapaḥ — austerities and penances; divyam — divine; putrakāḥ — My dear sons; yena — by which; sattvam — the heart; śuddhyet — becomes purified; yasmāt — from which; brahma-saukhyam — spiritual happiness; tu — certainly; anantam — unending.

Translation Lord Ṛṣabhadeva told His sons: My dear boys, of all the living entities who have accepted material bodies in this world, one who has been awarded this human form should not work hard day and night simply for sense gratification, which is available even for dogs and hogs that eat stool. One should engage in penance and austerity to attain the divine position of devotional service. By such activity, one’s heart is purified, and when one attains this position, he attains eternal, blissful life, which is transcendental to material happiness and which continues forever.

Synonyms mahat-sevām — service to the spiritually advanced persons called mahātmās; dvāram — the way; āhuḥ — they say; vimukteḥ — of liberation; tamaḥ-dvāram — the way to the dungeon of a dark, hellish condition of life; yoṣitām — of women; saṅgi — of associates; saṅgam — association; mahāntaḥ — highly advanced in spiritual understanding; te — they; sama-cittāḥ — persons who see everyone in a spiritual identity; praśāntāḥ — very peaceful, situated in Brahman or Bhagavān; vimanyavaḥ — without anger; suhṛdaḥ — well-wishers of everyone; sādhavo — qualified devotees, without abominable behavior; ye — they who.

Translation One can attain the path of liberation from material bondage only by rendering service to highly advanced spiritual personalities. These personalities are impersonalists and devotees. Whether one wants to merge into the Lord’s existence or wants to associate with the Personality of Godhead, one should render service to the mahātmās. For those who are not interested in such activities, who associate with people fond of women and sex, the path to hell is wide open. The mahātmās are equipoised. They do not see any difference between one living entity and another. They are very peaceful and are fully engaged in devotional service. They are devoid of anger, and they work for the benefit of everyone. They do not behave in any abominable way. Such people are known as mahātmās.

Synonyms nūnam — indeed; pramattaḥ — mad; kurute — performs; vikarma — sinful activities forbidden in the scriptures; yat — when; indriya-prītaye — for sense gratification; āpṛṇoti — engages; na — not; sādhu — befitting; manye — I think; yataḥ — by which; ātmanaḥ — of the soul; ayam — this; asan — being temporary; api — although; kleśa-daḥ — giving misery; āsa — became possible; dehaḥ — the body.

Translation When a person considers sense gratification the aim of life, he certainly becomes mad after materialistic living and engages in all kinds of sinful activity. He does not know that due to his past misdeeds he has already received a body which, although temporary, is the cause of his misery. Actually the living entity should not have taken on a material body, but he has been awarded the material body for sense gratification. Therefore I think it not befitting an intelligent man to involve himself again in the activities of sense gratification by which he perpetually gets material bodies one after another.

Synonyms parābhavaḥ — defeat, misery; tāvat — so long; abodha-jātaḥ — produced from ignorance; yāvat — as long as; na — not; jijñāsate — inquires about; ātma-tattvam — the truth of the self; yāvat — as long as; kriyāḥ — fruitive activities; tāvat — so long; idam — this; manaḥ — mind; vai — indeed; karma-ātmakam — absorbed in material activities; yena — by which; śarīra-bandhaḥ — bondage in this material body.

Translation As long as one does not inquire about the spiritual values of life, one is defeated and subjected to miseries arising from ignorance. Be it sinful or pious, karma has its resultant actions. If a person is engaged in any kind of karma, his mind is called karmātmaka, colored with fruitive activity. As long as the mind is impure, consciousness is unclear, and as long as one is absorbed in fruitive activity, he has to accept a material body.

Synonyms puṁsaḥ — of a male; striyāḥ — of a female; mithunī — attraction for sexual life; bhāvam — this; etam — attraction for sexual life; tayoḥ — of both of them; mithaḥ — between one another; hṛdaya — the knot of the hearts; granthim — the knot of the hearts; āhuḥ — they call; ataḥ — thereafter; gṛha — by home; kṣetra — field; suta — children; āpta — relatives; vittaiḥ — and by wealth; janasya — of the living being; mohaḥ — illusion; ayam — this; aham — I; mama — mine; iti — thus.

Translation The attraction between male and female is the basic principle of material existence. On the basis of this misconception, which ties together the hearts of the male and female, one becomes attracted to his body, home, property, children, relatives and wealth. In this way one increases life’s illusions and thinks in terms of “I and mine.”

Synonyms rahūgaṇa — O King Rahūgaṇa; etat — this knowledge; tapasā — by severe austerities and penances; na — does not become revealed; yāti — one attains; na — not; ca — also; ijyayā — by a great arrangement for worshiping the Deity; nirvapaṇāt — or from finishing all material duties and accepting sannyāsa; gṛhāt — from ideal householder life; vā — or; na — nor; chandasa — by observing celibacy or studying Vedic literature; na — nor; eva — nor; jala — by severe austerities such as keeping oneself in water; agni — in a burning fire; sūryaiḥ — or in the scorching sun; vinā — without; mahat — of the great devotees; pāda — the dust of the lotus feet; rajaḥ — smearing all over the body; abhiṣekam — smearing all over the body.

Translation My dear King Rahūgaṇa, unless one has the opportunity to smear his entire body with the dust of the lotus feet of great devotees, one cannot realize the Absolute Truth. One cannot realize the Absolute Truth simply by observing celibacy [brahmacarya], strictly following the rules and regulations of householder life, leaving home as a vānaprastha, accepting sannyāsa, or undergoing severe penances in winter by keeping oneself submerged in water or surrounding oneself in summer by fire and the scorching heat of the sun. There are many other processes to understand the Absolute Truth, but the Absolute Truth is only revealed to one who has attained the mercy of a great devotee.

Synonyms yat — of whom (the devotees); saṅga — association; labdham — achieved by; nija — own; vīrya — potency; vaibhavam — whose influence is uncommon; tīrtham — holy places like the Ganges; muhuḥ — repeatedly; saṁspṛśatām — of those touching; hi — certainly; mānasam — the dirty things in the mind; harati — vanquishes; ajaḥ — the supreme unborn one; antaḥ — in the core of the heart; śrutibhiḥ — by the ears; gataḥ — entered; aṅga-jam — dirty things or infections of the body; kaḥ — who; vai — indeed; na — not; seveta — would serve; mukunda — the glorious activities of Mukunda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vikramam — the glorious activities.

Translation By associating with persons for whom the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Mukunda, is the all in all, one can hear of His powerful activities and soon come to understand them. The activities of Mukunda are so potent that simply by hearing of them one immediately associates with the Lord. For a person who constantly and very eagerly hears narrations of the Lord’s powerful activities, the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead in the form of sound vibrations, enters within his heart and cleanses it of all contamination. On the other hand, although bathing in the Ganges diminishes bodily contaminations and infections, this process and the process of visiting holy places can cleanse the heart only after a long time. Therefore who is the sane man who will not associate with devotees to quickly perfect his life?

Synonyms kṣetra-jñaḥ — the individual soul; etāḥ — all these; manasaḥ — of the mind; vibhūtīḥ — different activities; jīvasya — of the living entity; māyā-racitasya — created by the external, material energy; nityāḥ — from time immemorial; āvirhitāḥ — sometimes manifested; kvāpi — somewhere; tirohitāḥ — not manifested; ca — and; śuddho — purified; vicaṣṭe — sees this; hi — certainly; aviśuddha — unpurified; kartuḥ — of the doer.

Translation The individual soul bereft of Kṛṣṇa consciousness has many ideas and activities created in the mind by the external energy. They have been existing from time immemorial. Sometimes they are manifest in the wakening state and in the dream state, but during deep sleep [unconsciousness] or trance, they disappear. A person who is liberated in this life [jīvan-mukta] can see all these things vividly.