94 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 2

dharmah svanusthitah pumsam
visvaksena-kathasu yah
notpadayed yadi ratim
§rama eva hi kevalam

dharmah—occupation; svanusthitah—executed in terms of one’s own
position; pumsam—of humankind; visvaksena—Personality of Godhead
(plenary portion); kathasu—in the message of; yah—what is; na—not;
utpadayet—does produce; yadi—if; ratim—attraction; sramah—useless labor;
eva—only; hi—certainly; kevalam—entirely.

TRANSLATION

Duties [dharma] executed by men, regardless of occupation, are only
so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of
the Supreme Lord.

PURPORT

There are different occupational activities in terms of man’s different
conceptions of life. To the gross materialist who cannot see anything
beyond the gross material body, there is nothing beyond the senses. There-
fore his occupational activities are limited to concentrated and extended
selfishness. Concentrated selfishness centers around the personal body—
this is generally seen amongst the lower animals. Extended selfishness is
manifested in human society and centers around the family, society,
community, nation and world with a view to gross bodily comfort. Above
these gross materialists are the mental speculators who hover aloft in the
mental spheres, and their occupational duties involve making poetry,
philosophy or propagating some ism with the same aim of selfishness
limited to the body and the mind. But above the body and mind is the
dormant spirit soul whose absence from the body makes the whole range
of bodily and mental selfishness completely null and void. But less intelli-
gent people have no information of the needs of the spirit soul.

Because foolish people have no information of the soul and how it is
beyond the purview of the body and mind, they are not satisfied in the
performance of their occupational duties. The question of the satisfaction
of the self is raised herein. The self is beyond the gross body and subtle
mind. He is the potent active principle of the body and mind. Without
knowing the need of the dormant soul, one cannot be happy simply with
