34
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 6, Ch. 7]
kaḥ —who;  gṛdhyet —would accept;  paṇḍitaḥ —a learned man;  lakṣmīm —opulences;  tri-piṣṭa-pa-pateḥ api —although I am the King of the demigods;  yayā —by which;  aham —I;  āsuram —demoniac;  bhāvam —mentality;  nītaḥ —carried to;  adya —now;  vibudha —of the demigods, who are in the mode of goodness;  īśvaraḥ —the King.
TRANSLATION
Although I am King of the demigods, who are situated in the mode of goodness, I was proud of a little opulence and polluted by false ego. Under the circumstances, who in this world would accept such riches at the risk of falling down? Alas! I condemn my wealth and opulence.
PURPORT
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu prayed to the Supreme Personality of Godhead,  na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye : “O my Lord, I do not aspire for material opulence or wealth, nor do I want a great number of followers to accept me as their leader, nor do I want a very beautiful wife to please me.”  Mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi : “I do not even want liberation. All I want, life after life, is to be a faithful servant of Your Lordship.” According to the laws of nature, when one is extremely opulent one becomes degraded, and this is true both individually and collectively. The demigods are situated in the mode of goodness, but sometimes even one who is situated in such an exalted position as King Indra, the king of all the demigods, falls down because of material opulence. We are now actually seeing this in America. The entire American nation has tried to advance in material opulence without striving to produce ideal human beings. The result is that Americans are now regretting the wholesale criminality of American society and are wondering how America has become so lawless and unmanageable. As stated in  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  (7.5.31),  na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum : persons who are unenlightened do not know the aim of life, which is to return home, back to Godhead. Therefore, both individually and collectively, they try to enjoy so-called material comforts, and they become addicted to wine and women. The men produced in such a society are less than fourth class.