Text 30] Prahlāda, the Saintly Son of Hiraṇyakaśipu
267
TRANSLATION
Prahlāda Mahārāja replied: Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclinations toward Krṣṇa are never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both.
PURPORT
In this verse the words  matir na krṣṇe  refer to devotional service rendered to Krṣṇa. So-called politicians, erudite scholars and philosophers who read  Bhagavad-gītā  try to twist some meaning from it to suit their material purposes, but their misunderstandings of Krṣṇa will not yield them any profit. Because such politicians, philosophers and scholars are interested in using  Bhagavad-gītā  as a vehicle for adjusting things materially, for them constant thought of Krṣṇa, or Krṣṇa consciousness, is impossible ( matir na krṣṇe ). As stated in  Bhagavad-gītā  (18.55),  bhaktyā mām abhijānāti : only through devotional service can one understand Krṣṇa as He is. The so-called politicians and scholars think of Krṣṇa as fictitious. The politician says that his Krṣṇa is different from the Krṣṇa depicted in  Bhagavad-gītā . Even though he accepts Krṣṇa and Rāma as the Supreme he thinks of Rāma and Krṣṇa as impersonal because he has no idea of service to Krṣṇa. Thus his only business is  punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām —chewing the chewed again and again. The aim of such politicians and academic scholars is to enjoy this material world with their bodily senses. Therefore it is clearly stated here that those who are  gṛha-vrata , whose only aim is to live comfortably with the body in the material world, cannot understand Krṣṇa. The two expressions  gṛha-vrata  and  carvita-carvaṇānām  indicate that a materialistic person tries to enjoy sense gratification in different bodily forms, life after life, but is still unsatisfied. In the name of personalism, this ism or that ism, such persons always remain attached to the materialistic way of life. As stated in  Bhagavad-gītā  (2.44):
bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānām tayāpahṛta-cetasām