Text 52]
Conversation Between Maitreya and Vidura
797
PURPORT
The importance of sacrifice is also mentioned in  Bhagavad-gītā , Third Chapter, tenth verse. The Lord confirms there that in the beginning of creation Brahmā created the Manus, along with the ritualistic sacrificial method, and blessed them: “Continue these sacrificial rites, and you will be gradually elevated to your proper position of self-realization and will also enjoy material happiness.” All the living entities created by Brahmā are conditioned souls and are inclined to lord it over material nature. The purpose of sacrificial rituals is to revive, gradually, the spiritual realization of the living entities. That is the beginning of life within this universe. These sacrificial rituals, however, are intended to please the Supreme Lord. Unless one pleases the Supreme Lord or unless one is Kṛṣṇa conscious, one cannot be happy either in material enjoyment or in spiritual realization.
TEXT 52
तपसा विद्यया युक्तो योगेन सुसमाधिना । ऋषीनृषिर्हृषीकेशः ससर्जाभिमताः प्रजाः ॥५२॥
tapasā vidyayā yukto yogena susamādhinā ṛṣīn ṛṣir hṛṣīkeśaḥ sasarjābhimatāḥ prajāḥ
tapasā —by penance;  vidyayā —by worship;  yuktaḥ —being engaged;  yogena —by concentration of the mind in devotion;  su-samādhinā —by nice meditation;  ṛṣīn —the sages;  ṛṣiḥ —the first seer (Brahmā);  hṛṣīkeśaḥ —the controller of his senses;  sasarja —created;  abhimatāḥ —beloved;  prajāḥ —sons.
TRANSLATION
Having equipped himself with austere penance, adoration, mental concentration and absorption in devotion, accompanied by dispassion, and having controlled his senses, Brahmā, the self-born living creature, evolved great sages as his beloved sons.
PURPORT
The ritualistic performances of sacrifice are meant for material economic development; in other words, they are meant to keep the body in good