Text 30] The Behavior of a Perfect Person 117
duhkhatyayam cdnisasya
kriya moghah krtah krtah

deha-ddibhih—with the body, mind, ego and intelligence; daiva-
tantraih—under the control of superior power; atmanah—of the self;
sukham—happiness; ihatah—searching after; duhkha-atyayam—
diminution of miserable conditions; ca—also; anifasya—of the living
entity fully under the control of material nature; kriyah—plans and ac-
tivities; moghah krtah krtah—become baffled again and again.

TRANSLATION

The living entity tries to achieve happiness and rid himself of
the causes of distress, but because the various bodies of the living
entities are under the full control of material nature, all his plans
in different bodies, one after another, are ultimately baffled.

PURPORT

Because the materialist is in gross ignorance of how the laws of ma-
terial nature act upon him as a result of his fruitive activity, he
mistakenly plans to enjoy bodily comfort in the human form of life
through so-called economic development, through pious activities for
elevation to the higher planetary systems, and in many other ways, but
factually he becomes a victim of the reactions of his fruitive activities.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is situated as the Supersoul within
the cores of the hearts of all living entities. As the Lord says in
Bhagavad-gita (15.15):

sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto
mattah smrtir jidnam apohanam ca

“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance,
knowledge and forgetfulness.” The desires and activities of the living
being are observed by the Supersoul, who is the upadrastd, the overseer,
and who orders material nature to fulfill the various desires of the living
being. As clearly stated in Bhagavad-gita (18.61):
