Text 34] — Prthu Maharaja’s Meeting with the Four Kumaras 931
constantly thinking of activities to earn money and gratify the senses is
following a path which is suicidal. Factually all human society is following
this path. Some way or other, people are determined to earn money or get
money by begging, borrowing or stealing and applying that for sense grati-
fication. Such a civilization is the greatest obstacle in the path of self-
realization,
TEXT 34
a wileatereas aaa feds: |
PAC WM esac ccc. GEC]
na kuryat karhicit sangam
tamas tivram titirisuh
dharmartha-kama-moksanam
yad atyanta-vighatakam

na—do not; kuryat—act; karhicit—at any time; sangam—association;
tamah—ignorance; tivram—with great speed; tittrisuh—persons who desire
to cross over nescience; dharma—religion; artha—economic development;
kama-—sense gratification; moksanam—of salvation; yat—that which;
atyanta—very much; vighatakam— obstruction or stumbling block.

TRANSLATION

Those who strongly desire to cross the ocean of nescience must not
associate with the modes of ignorance because hedonistic activities are the
greatest obstructions to realization of religious principles, economic
development, regulated sense gratification and, at last, liberation.

PURPORT

The four principles of life allow one to live according to religious princi-
ples, to earn money according to one’s position in society, to allow the
senses to enjoy the sense objects according to regulations, and to progress
along the path of liberation from this material attachment. As long as the
body is there, it is not possible to become completely free from all these
material interests. It is not, however, recommended that one act only for
sense gratification and earn money for that purpose only, sacrificing all
religious principles. At the present moment, human civilization does not
care for religious principles. It is, however, greatly interested in economic
development without religious principles. For instance, in a slaughterhouse
the butchers certainly get money easily, but such business is not based on
religious principles. Similarly, there are many night clubs for sense gratifi-
