844 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 4, Ch. 21

birth, such asuras go still farther down, finally to animal forms like those
of tigers or similar ferocious beasts. Thus for millions of years they have to
remain in darkness without knowledge of Krsna.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as Purusottama, or the
best of all living entities. He is a person like all other living entities, but He
is the leader or the best of all living beings. That is stated in the Vedas also.
Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam. He is the chief of all eternals, the chief
of all living entities, and He is complete and full. He has no need to derive
benefit by interfering with the affairs of other living entities, but because
He is the maintainer of all, He has the right to bring them to the proper
standard so that all living entities may become happy. As a father wants
all of his children to become happy under his direction, similarly, God, or
Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has the right to see that all
living entities are happy. There is no possibility of becoming happy within
this material world. The father and the sons are eternal, but if a living
entity does not come to the platform of his eternal life of bliss and knowl-
edge, there is no question of happiness. Although Purusottama, the best of
all living entities, has no benefit to derive from the common living entities,
He does have the right to discriminate between their right and wrong ways.
The right way is the path of activities meant to satisfy the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, as we have already discussed (svanusthitasya
dharmasya samsiddhir hari-tosanam). A living entity may engage in any
occupational duty, but if he wants to have perfection inhis duties, he must
satisfy the Supreme Lord. As such, one who pleases Him gets better fa-
cilities for living, but one who displeases Him gets involved in undesirable
situations,

It is therefore concluded that there are two kinds of duties—mundane
duty and duty performed for the sake of yajra or sacrifice (yajnarthat
karma). Any karma or activity one performs which is not for the purpose
of yajna is a cause of bondage. Yajndrthat karmano ‘nyatra loko ’yam
karma-bandhanah: “‘Work done as a sacrifice for Visnu has to be per-
formed, otherwise work binds one to this material world.” (Bg. 3.9)
Karma-bandhanah, or the bondage of karma, is administered under the
regulations of the stringent laws of material nature. Material existence is a
struggle to conquer the impediments put forth by material nature. The
asuras are always fighting to overcome these impediments, and by the
illusory power of material nature the foolish living entities work very hard
within this material world and take this to be happiness. This is called
maya. In that hard struggle for existence, they deny the existence of the
supreme authority, Purusottama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
