818
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[ Canto 3, Ch. 21 ]
अहं च लोकानुगतो वहामि बलि च शुक्लानिमिषाय तुम्यम् ॥१६॥
prajāpates te vacasādhīśa tantyā lokaḥ kilāyaṁ kāma-hato 'nubaddhaḥ ahaṁ ca lokānugato vahāmi baliṁ ca śuklānimiṣāya tubhyam
prajāpateḥ —who are the master of all living entities;  te —of You;  vacasā —under the direction;  adhīśa —O my Lord;  tantyā —by a rope;  lokaḥ —conditioned souls;  kila —indeed;  ayam —these;  kāma-hataḥ —conquered by lusty desires;  anubaddhaḥ —are bound;  aham —I;  ca —and;  loka-anugataḥ —following the conditioned souls;  vahāmi —offer;  baliṁ —oblations;  ca —and;  śukla —O embodiment of religion;  animiṣāya —existing as eternal time;  tubhyam —to You.
TRANSLATION
O my Lord, You are the master and leader of all living entities. Under Your direction, all conditioned souls, as if bound by rope, are constantly engaged in satisfying their desires. Following them, O embodiment of religion, I also bear oblations for You, who are eternal time.
PURPORT
In the  Kaṭha Upaniṣad  it is stated that the Supreme Lord is the leader of all living entities. He is their sustainer and the awarder of all their necessities and desires. No living entity is independent; all are dependent on the mercy of the Supreme Lord. Therefore the Vedic instruction is that one should enjoy life under the direction of the supreme leader, the Personality of Godhead. Vedic literatures like  Īśopaniṣad  direct that since everything belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one should not encroach upon another's property, but should enjoy his individual allotment. The best program for every living entity is to take direction from the Supreme Lord and enjoy material or spiritual life.
A question may be raised: Since Kardama Muni was advanced in spiritual life, why then did he not ask the Lord for liberation? Why did he want to enjoy material life in spite of his personally seeing and experiencing the Supreme Lord? The answer is that not everyone is competent to be liberated from material bondage. It is everyone's duty, therefore, to enjoy according to his present position, but under the direction of the Lord or the  Vedas . The  Vedas  are considered to be the direct words of the Lord.