Text 3] The First Step in God Realization 5

name, form, attributes, etc., of the ultimate truth. One should not, there-
fore, become a grhamedhi simply to exist for envying others, but one
should become a real householder in terms of the scriptural injunctions.

TEXT 3

faa fea aH FTAA 17a: |
fear apie aay ZETA aT I 3 UI

nidraya hriyate naktam
vyavayena ca va vayah

diva carthehayd rajan
kutumba-bharanena va

nidraya—by sleeping; hriyate—wastes; naktam—night; vyavd@yena—sex
indulgence; ca—also; va—either; vayah—duration of life; diva—days; ca—
and; artha—economic; ihayad—development; rajan—O King; kutumba—
family members; bharanena— maintaining; va—either.

TRANSLATION

The lifetime of such envious householders is passed at night either in
sleeping or in sex indulgence, and in the daytime either in making money
or maintaining family members.

PURPORT

The present human civilization is primarily based on the principles of
sleeping and sex indulgence at night and earning money in the day and
spending the same for family maintenance. Such form of human civiliza-
tion is condemned by the Bhadgavata school.

Because human life is a combination of matter and spirit soul, the whole
process of Vedic knowledge is directed at liberating the spirit soul from
the contamination of matter. The knowledge concerning this is called
atma-tattva. Those men who are too materialistic are unaware of this
knowledge and are more inclined to economic development for material
enjoyment. Such materialistic men are called karmis or fruitive laborers,
