174
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 10, Ch. 2]
feet of the Lord, one falls down. That is the verdict given by Lord Brahmā in this verse.
There are persons who advocate accepting any process and who say that whatever process one accepts will lead to the same goal, but that is refuted in this verse, where such persons are referred to as  vimukta-māninaḥ , signifying that although they think they have attained the highest perfection, in fact they have not. In the present day, big, big politicians all over the world think that by scheming they can occupy the highest political post, that of president or prime minister, but we actually see that even in this life such big prime ministers, presidents and other politicians, because of being nondevotees, fall down ( patanty adhaḥ ). To become president or prime minister is not easy; one must work very hard ( āruhya kṛcchreṇa ) to achieve the post. And even though one may reach his goal, at any moment one may be kicked down by material nature. In human society there have been many instances in which great, exalted politicians have fallen from government and become lost in historical oblivion. The cause of this is  aviśuddha-buddhayah : their intelligence is impure. The  śāstra  says,  na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum  ( Bhāg.  7.5.31). One achieves the perfection of life by becoming a devotee of Viṣṇu, but people do not know this. Therefore, as stated in  Bhagavad-gītā  (12.5),  kleśo 'dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām . Persons who do not ultimately accept the Supreme Personality of God-head and take to devotional service, but who instead are attached to impersonalism and voidism, must undergo great labor to achieve their goals.
śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktiṁ udasya te vibho kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye (Bhāg. 10.14.4)
To achieve understanding, such persons work very hard and undergo severe austerities, but their hard labor and austerities themselves are their only achievement, for they do not actually achieve the real goal of life.
Dhruva Mahārāja at first wanted to achieve the greatest material kingdom and greater material possessions than his father, but when he was actually favored by the Lord, who appeared before him to give him