150
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 6, Ch. 9]
TEXT 49
न वेद कृपणः श्रेय आत्मनो गुणवस्तुदृक् । तस्य तानिच्छतो यच्छेद् यदि सोऽपि तथाविधः॥४९॥
na veda kṛpaṇaḥ śreya ātmano guṇa-vastu-dṛk tasya tān icchato yacched yadi so 'pi tathā-vidhaḥ
na —not;  veda —knows;  kṛpaṇaḥ —a miserly living entity;  śreyaḥ —the ultimate necessity;  ātmanaḥ —of the soul;  guṇa-vastu-dṛk —who is attracted by the creation of the modes of material nature;  tasya —of him;  tān —things created by the material energy;  icchataḥ —desiring;  yacchet —one bestows;  yadi —if;  saḥ api —he also;  tathā-vidhaḥ —of the kind (a foolish  kṛpaṇa  who does not know his real self-interest).
TRANSLATION
Those who think material assets to be everything or to be the ultimate goal of life are called misers [ kṛpaṇas ]. They do not know the ultimate necessity of the soul. Moreover, if one awards that which is desired by such fools, he must also be considered foolish.
PURPORT
There are two classes of men—namely the  kṛpaṇa  and the  brāhmaṇa . A  brāhmaṇa  is one who knows Brahman, the Absolute Truth, and who thus knows his real interest. A  kṛpaṇa , however, is one who has a material, bodily concept of life. Not knowing how to utilize his human or demigod life, a  kṛpaṇa  is attracted by things created by the material modes of nature. The  kṛpaṇas , who always desire material benefits, are foolish, whereas  brāhmaṇas , who always desire spiritual benefits, are intelligent. If a  kṛpaṇa , not knowing his self-interest, foolishly asks for something material, one who awards it to him is also foolish. Kṛṣṇa, however, is not a foolish person; He is supremely intelligent. If someone comes to Kṛṣṇa asking for material benefits, Kṛṣṇa does not award him the material things he desires. Instead, the Lord gives him intelligence so that he will forget his material desires and become attached to the Lord's