SB 1.16.9 (1965)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT No. 9
- Mandasya manda prajnasya vaya manda ayuscha vai
- Nidraya hrigate naktam diva cha byartha karmabhih.
ENGLISH SYNONYMS
Mandasya—of the lazy, Manda—paltry, Pradnaty—of intelligence, Vayo—age, hfanda—short, Aywhah-of duration of life, Vai—exactly, Nitlrva—by sleeping, Hriyate—passes away, naktam—night, dwa—day time, Cha—also, Byartha—for nothing, tannabhih—by activities.
TRANSLATION
Lazy human beings with paltry intelligence and short duration of life passes away the night exactly by sleeping and day time by activities meant for nothing.
PURPORT
Less intelligent person does not know the real value of human form of life. The human form of life is a special gift of the material nature in course of her enforcing stringent laws of miseries upon the living being. It is a chance for achieving the highest boon of life namely to get out of the entanglement of repeated birth and death and intelligent persons only take care of this important gift of life by strenuously endeavouring for getting out of the entanglement. But less intelligent person is lazy enough and is unable to evaluate the prima facie value of the human body. Instead of employing the reserved energy of the human body in the matter of achieving liberation from the material bondage the less intelligent person becomes more interested in the matter of so called economic development and works very hard throughout the life simply for sense enjoyment of this temporary body. Sense enjoyment is also allowed to the lower animals by the law of nature and as such a human being is also destined to a certain standard of sense of enjoyment according to his past or present assessment of life. But one should definitely try to understand it that sense enjoyment is not the ultimate goal of human life. Herein it is said that during day time one works 'for nothing' because the aim is nothing but sense enjoyment. We can particularly observe it how the human being is engaged 'for nothing' in great cities and industrial towns. There are so many things manufactured by the human energy but they are all meant for sense enjoyment and nothing for getting out of the material bondage. And after working hard during day time the tired man either sleeps or engages in sex habits at night. That is the programme of materialistic civilized life for the less intelligent class of person and as such he is designated herein as the lazy, unfortunate with a short duration of life.