Text 26] The Forest of Enjoyment 37
from one side or the other. The conditioned soul must be disturbed by at
least one of these three miseries. There is no escape.
TEXT 26

staat sae afafsgartea a attire aay
Ufeatszar frarafa Freraenq lt 28 1
kvacin mitho vyavaharan yat kiricid dhanam anyebhyo va kakinika-
matram apy apaharan yat kifcid va vidvesam eti vitta-sathyat.

kvacit—sometimes: mithah—with one another: vyavaharan—trad-
ing: yat kifcit—whatever little bit: dhanam—money: anyebhyah—
from others; vd—or; kakinikd-matram—a very small amount (twenty
cowries): api—certainly; apaharan—taking away by cheating: yat
kiicit—whatever small amount: va—or: vidvesam eti—creates enmity:
vitta-sathyat—because of cheating.

TRANSLATION

As far as transactions with money are concerned, if one person

cheats another by a farthing or less, they become enemies.
PURPORT

This is called sarnsdra-davanala. Even in ordinary transactions be-
tween two people, there is invariably cheating because the conditioned
soul is defective in four ways—he is illusioned. he commits mistakes. his
knowledge is imperfect, and he has a propensity to cheat. Unless one is
liberated from material conditioning. these four defects must be there.
Consequently every man has a cheating propensity. which is employed in
business or money transactions. Although two friends may be living
peacefully together, due to their propensity to cheat they become
enemies when there is a transaction between them. A philosopher ac-
cuses an economist of being a cheater, and an economist may accuse a
philosopher of being a cheater when he comes in contact with money. In
any case. this is the condition of material life. One may profess a high
philosophy, but when one is in need of money. he becomes a cheater. In
this material world. so-called scientists. philosophers and economists are
