56
On the Way to Kṛṣṇa
In this way the fools are categorized. A  duṣkṛtī  is always acting against the scriptural injunctions. The business of current civilization is to break scriptural rules—that’s all. By definition, a pious man is one who doesn’t. There must be some standard to distinguish between  duṣkṛtī  (an evil doer) and  sukṛtī  (a virtuous man). Every civilized country has some scripture—it may be Christian, Hindu, Moslem or Buddhist. That doesn’t matter. The point is that the book of authority, the scripture, is there. One who does not follow its injunctions is considered an outlaw.
Another category mentioned in this verse is  mūḍha , fool number one. The  narādhama  is one who is low in the human scale, and  māyayāpahṛta-jñāna  refers to one whose knowledge is carried away by  māyā , or illusion.  Āsuram bhāvam āśritāḥ  refers to those who are out and out atheists. Although there are no disadvantages to surrendering unto the Father, people who are thus characterized never do it. As a result, they are constantly punished by the agents of the Father. They have to be slapped, caned and kicked severely, and they have to suffer. Just as a father has to chastise his unruly boy, so material nature has to employ certain punishments. At the same time nature is nourishing us by supplying food and other necessities. Both processes are going on because we are sons of the wealthiest Father of all, and Kṛṣṇa is kind even though we do not surrender unto Him. Yet despite being furnished so well by the Father, the  duṣkṛtī  still performs unsanctioned actions. One is foolish if he persists in being punished,