SB 1.2.8 (1962)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT No. 8
Dharma swanusthtah punsam viswaksena kathasu yah Na utpadayet yadi ratim sharma eva hi kevaiam
ENGLISH SYNONYMS
Dharma—occupation, Swanusthitah—executed in terms of one's own position, Punsam—of the humankind, Viswaksena—personality of Godhead (plenary portion), Kathasu—in the message of, Yah—what is, na—not, Utpadayet—does produce, Yadi—if, Ratih—attraction, Shrama—useless labour, Eva—only, Hi—certainly.
TRANSLATION
Occupational activities according to one's own position executed by the human kind, turns into useless labour only if such activities do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead.
PURPORT
There are different occupational activities in terms of man's different conceptions of life. To the gross materialist who cannot see anything beyond the gross material body, there is nothing beyond the senses and as such their occupational activities are limited by concentrated and extended selfishness. Concentrated selfishness is around personal body as it is generally seen amongst the lower animals. Extended selfishness is manifested in human society in the form of family, social, communal, national or international selfishness of the gross bodily comfort. Above these gross materialists there are other mental speculationists who hover aloft the mental spheres and the occupational duties become thoughtful poetry, philosophy or some ism with the same aim of selfishness limited by the body and the mind. But above the body and mind there is the dormant spirit soul whose absence from the body makes the whole range of bodily and mental selfishness completely null and void. But less intelligent people have not information of the need of the spirit soul.
Because the foolish people have no information of the soul and how the spirit soul is beyond the purview of the body and the mind, therefore all their occupational duties can not give them complete satisfaction. Herein the question of satisfaction of the self is raised. The self is beyond the gross body and subtle mind and he is the potent active principle of the body and mind. Without knowing the need of the dormant soul how one can be happy simply by emolument of the body and mind. The body and the mind are but superfluous outer coverings of the spirit soul but the soul's needs must be fulfilled. Without knowing the needs of the bird in the cage, simply by cleansing the cage the bird can not be satisfied.
The need of the spirit soul is that he wants to get out of the limited sphere of material bondage and wants to fulfil the desire for complete freedom. He wants to get out of the covered walls of the greater universe. He wants to see the free light and the spirit. That complete freedom is achieved when he meets the complete Spirit Personality of Godhead. There is dormant affection of God within everyone; spiritual existence is manifested through the gross body and mind in the form of perverted affection for the matter gross and subtle. We have to engage ourselves, therefore, in such occupational engagement as will be able to evoke our divine consciousness. This is possible only by the process of hearing and chanting of the divine activities of the Supreme Lord and any occupational activity which does not help in achieving such Stage of attachment for hearing and chanting the transcendental message of Godhead, is said herein as simply waste of time. Because other occupational duties call it by any ism can not give liberation to the soul. Even the activities of the salvationists are considered to be useless on account of its failure to pick up the Fountain head of all liberties. Gross materialists can see it practically that his material gain is limited only by time and space either in this world or in the other. Even he goes up to the Swargaloka that is also not the permanent abode for the hankering soul. The hankering soul must be satisfied by the perfect scientfic process of perfect devotional service.