914
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 4, Ch. 22]
artha —riches;  indriya —senses;  ārāma —gratification;  sa-goṣṭhī —with their companion;  atṛṣṇayā —by reluctance;  tat —that;  sammatānām —since approved by them;  aparigraheṇa —by nonacceptance;  ca —also;  vivikta-rucyā —disgusted taste;  paritoṣe —happiness;  ātmani —self;  vinā —without;  hareḥ —of the Supreme Personality of Godhead;  guṇa —qualities;  pīyūṣa —nectar;  pānāt —drinking.
TRANSLATION
One has to make progress in spiritual life by not associating with persons who are simply interested in making money and sense gratification. Not only such persons, but one who associates with such persons should be avoided. One should mold his life in such a way that he cannot live in peace without drinking the nectar of the glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari. One can be thus elevated by losing taste for sense enjoyment.
PURPORT
In the material world everyone is interested in money and sense gratification. The only objective is to earn as much money as possible and utilize it for satisfaction of the senses. Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī thus described the activities of the materialistic persons:
nidrayā hriyate naktaṁ vyavāyena ca vā vayaḥ divā cārthehayā rājan kuṭumba-bharaṇena vā (Bhāg. 2.1.3)
This is a typical example of materialistic persons. At night they waste their time by sleeping more than six hours or by wasting time in sex indulgence. This is their occupation at night, and in the morning they go to their office or business place just to earn money. As soon as there is some money, they become busy in purchasing things for their children and others. Such persons are never interested in understanding the values of life—what is God, what is the individual soul, what is its relationship with God, etc. Things are degraded to such an extent that those who are supposed to be religious are also at the present moment only interested in sense gratification. The number of materialistic persons in this age of Kali has increased more than in any other age; therefore persons who are interested in going back home, back to Godhead, should not only engage in the service of realized souls but should give up the company of materialistic persons whose only aim is to earn money and employ it in sense gratification. They should also not