844
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 4, Ch. 21]
birth, such  asuras  go still farther down, finally to animal forms like those of tigers or similar ferocious beasts. Thus for millions of years they have to remain in darkness without knowledge of Kṛṣṇa.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as Puruṣottama, or the best of all living entities. He is a person like all other living entities, but He is the leader or the best of all living beings. That is stated in the  Vedas  also.  Nityo nityānām cetanaś cetanānām . He is the chief of all eternals, the chief of all living entities, and He is complete and full. He has no need to derive benefit by interfering with the affairs of other living entities, but because He is the maintainer of all, He has the right to bring them to the proper standard so that all living entities may become happy. As a father wants all of his children to become happy under his direction, similarly, God, or Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has the right to see that all living entities are happy. There is no possibility of becoming happy within this material world. The father and the sons are eternal, but if a living entity does not come to the platform of his eternal life of bliss and knowledge, there is no question of happiness. Although Puruṣottama, the best of all living entities, has no benefit to derive from the common living entities, He does have the right to discriminate between their right and wrong ways. The right way is the path of activities meant to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as we have already discussed ( svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam ). A living entity may engage in any occupational duty, but if he wants to have perfection in his duties, he must satisfy the Supreme Lord. As such, one who pleases Him gets better facilities for living, but one who displeases Him gets involved in undesirable situations.
It is therefore concluded that there are two kinds of duties—mundane duty and duty performed for the sake of  yajña  or sacrifice ( yajñārthāt karma ). Any  karma  or activity one performs which is not for the purpose of  yajña  is a cause of bondage.  Yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ : “Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world.” (Bg. 3.9)  Karma-bandhanaḥ , or the bondage of  karma , is administered under the regulations of the stringent laws of material nature. Material existence is a struggle to conquer the impediments put forth by material nature. The  asuras  are always fighting to overcome these impediments, and by the illusory power of material nature the foolish living entities work very hard within this material world and take this to be happiness. This is called  māyā . In that hard struggle for existence, they deny the existence of the supreme authority, Puruṣottama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.