Wants and Needs

2019-08-17
Srimad Bhagavatam 11.21.23 - Wants and Needs (download mp3)
by Gopinath Chandra Prabhu at ISKCON Chowpatty
www.iskcondesiretree.com

SB 11.21.23

phala-srutir iyam nrnam

 na sreyo rocanam param

sreyo-vivaksaya proktam

 yatha bhaisajya-rocanam

Translation:

Those statements of scripture promising fruitive rewards do not prescribe the ultimate good for men but are merely enticements for executing beneficial religious duties, like promises of candy spoken to induce a child to take beneficial medicine.

Purport:

In the previous verse Lord Krsna stated that persons absorbed in sense gratification certainly deviate from the real purpose of human life. But since the Vedas themselves promise heavenly sense gratification as the result of sacrifice and austerity, how can such promotion to heaven be considered a deviation from the goal of life? The Lord here explains that the fruitive rewards offered in religious scriptures are merely inducements, like candy that is used to induce a child to take medicine. It is actually the medicine that is beneficial, and not the candy. Similarly, in fruitive sacrifices it is the worship of Lord Visnu that is beneficial, not the fruitive reward itself. According to Bhagavad-gita, those professing fruitive rewards to be the ultimate goal of religious scripture are certainly less intelligent fools inimical to the purpose of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord desires that all conditioned souls be purified and come back home, back to Godhead, for an eternal life of bliss and knowledge. One who opposes the Lord’s purpose in the name of religiosity is certainly bewildered about the purpose of life.