Text 17] Bali Maharaja Surrenders His Life 173
opulence, but if such material opulence causes one to become puffed up
and forget the process of self-realization, the Lord certainly takes all the
opulence away. The Lord bestows mercy upon His devotee by helping
him find out his constitutional position. For that purpose, the Lord is al-
ways ready to help the devotee in every way. But material opulence is
sometimes dangerous because it diverts one’s attention to false prestige
by giving one the impression that he is the owner and master of every-
thing he surveys, although actually this is not the fact. To protect the de-
votee from such a misunderstanding, the Lord, showing special mercy,
sometimes takes away his material possessions. Yasyaham anugrhnami
harisye tad-dhanam Sanaih.
TEXT 17
aa fe frat gad az-
~ N
aq at fae afar TAT |
wea AM ag 8
ATAMAASA BATT (LI
yaya hi vidvdn api muhyate yatas
tat ko vicaste gatim Gtmano yatha
tasmai namas te jagad-isvardya vai
narayanayakhila-loka-sdksine
yaya—by which material opulence; hi—indeed; vidvan api—even a
person fortunately advanced in education; muhyate—becomes
bewildered; yatah—self-controlled; tat—that; kah—who; vicaste—can
search for; gatim—the progress; dtmanah—of the self; yatha —prop-
erly; tasmai—unto Him; namah—I offer my respectful obeisances; te—
unto You; jagat-isvaraya—unto the Lord of the universe; vai—indeed;
ndérayanéya—unto His Lordship Narayana; akhila-loka-sdksine—who
are the witness of all creation.
TRANSLATION
Material opulence is so bewildering that it makes even a
learned, self-controlled man forget to search for the goal of
