Text 10) Attack by Candavega on the City of Purarijana 1261

The real proprietor of all wealth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
He is the actual enjoyer. So-called earners of money are those who simply
know tricks by which they can take away God’s money under the guise
of business and industry. After accumulating this money, they enjoy
seeing it plundered by their sons and grandsons. This is the materialistic
way of life. In materialistic life one is encaged within the body and deluded
by false egoism. Thus one thinks, “I am this body. I am a human being.
I am an American, | am an Indian.” This bodily conception is due to false
ego. Being deluded by false ego, one identifies himself with a certain
family, nation or community. In this way one’s attachment for the material
world grows deeper and deeper. Thus it becomes very difficult for the
living entity to extricate himself from his entanglement. Such people are
graphically described in the Sixteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita in this way:

idam adya maya labdham
imam prapsye manoratham

idam astidam api me
bhavisyati punar dhanam

asau maya hatah Satrur
hanisye caparan api
ifvaro ‘ham aham bhogi

siddho ham balavan sukht

adhyo ’bhijanavan asmi
ko ’nyo ’sti sadrso maya
yaksye dasyami modisya
ity ajfidna-vimohitah

“The demoniac person thinks: ‘So much wealth do I have today, and I
will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it
will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I| have
killed him; and my other enemy will also be killed. I am the lord of every-
thing, I am the enjoyer, I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the
richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful
and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity,
and thus I shall rejoice.’ In this way, such persons are deluded by
ignorance.” (Bg. 16.13-15)

In this way people engage in various laborious activities, and their
attachment for body, home, family, nation and community becomes more
and more deep-rooted.
