Rescuing the Foolish Materialists from the Dark Region of Sense Gratification
The human form of life is an incredibly rare opportunity meant for spiritual awakening, yet the vast majority of the population squanders it in the pursuit of temporary bodily pleasures. Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently describes these individuals as foolish materialists because they remain completely oblivious to the impending danger of death and the stringent laws of material nature. Blinded by their attachment to family, society, and economic development, they mistake the darkest region of God's creation for a place of permanent happiness. However, the Supreme Lord does not leave these conditioned souls without hope. Pure devotees voluntarily take up the immense responsibility of traveling the globe to deliver them from the illusion of sense gratification. This article explores the dangerous illusion of bodily attachment, the futile waste of time in economic development, the false independence of the conditioned soul, and the glorious rescue mission undertaken by the sincere servants of Kṛṣṇa.
The Illusion of Temporary Bodies and Impending Death
The most striking feature of materialistic life is a profound forgetfulness of death. Even though everyone sees their ancestors and relatives pass away, materially attached individuals heedlessly try to enjoy whatever property and wealth is left behind. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that because they lack true knowledge of the eternal soul, they decorate their temporary physical bodies and consider them to be the ultimate reality. This callous neglect of their impending demise ensures that they are completely unprepared when it is time to leave their temporary situations behind.
- Alas! How wonderful it is that the foolish materialist does not heed the great danger of impending death! He knows that death will surely come, yet he is nevertheless callous and neglectful.
- The body is temporary, and only foolish, materialistic persons, who do not have full knowledge of the soul, regard the temporary body as reality and engage in decorating this body.
- If his (the foolish materialist's) father dies, he wants to enjoy his father's property, and if his son dies, he wants to enjoy his son's possessions as well. In either case, he heedlessly tries to enjoy material happiness with the acquired money.
- Sri Sukadeva Gosvami has described how the foolish materially attached men are wasting their valuable time 2) by developing economic conditions and maintaining a band of relatives who are to be vanquished in the air of oblivion.
Wasting Time on Economic Development and Sense Gratification
A materialistic life is defined by the endless and exhausting endeavor to accumulate money. People make elaborate plans to secure their future, forgetting that they only have a brief number of years to live. This precious time is heavily squandered on sleeping, sex life, and the manufacturing of unnecessary material comforts. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out the supreme irony of this effort: the money collected through immense hardship cannot be kept permanently. It must eventually be spent or lost, leaving the soul empty-handed at the end of life.
- Materialists foolishly make many plans to become happy in this material world. They do not stop to consider that they will live only for a certain number of years, out of which they must spend the major portion acquiring money for sense gratification.
- Foolish materialistic people collect money and steal from other thieves, but they cannot keep it. In any case, it must be spent.
- The foolish materialists cannot understand that they are simply wasting time in producing material necessities, which are destined to be vanquished in due course of time.
- Sri Sukadeva Gosvami has described how the foolish materially attached men are wasting their valuable time in the improvement of the material conditions of life 1) by sleeping, indulging in sex life.
Controlled by Nature and False Independence
Due to a poor fund of knowledge, materially attached people often consider themselves to be entirely independent and free. They pose as prominent leaders and immerse themselves in family affairs, thinking they are controlling their own destinies. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that this independence is completely false. At every single moment, they are being stringently controlled and punished by the superior laws of material nature. Because they refuse to cut off their mundane attachments, they are forced by these exact laws to accept another gross material body in their next life.
- Foolish materialistic persons do not know how they are being controlled and punished at every step by the laws of nature. They think they are very happy in the conditioned state of material life.
- The materialists foolishly play that they are independent, but such false independence is vanquished at every instance by the superiority of the material nature.
- Foolish materialists, in the garb of leaders of the people in general, stick to family affairs without attempting to cut off relations with them, and thus they become victims of nature's law and get gross bodies again, according to their work.
- The foolish, childlike materialists cannot reach beyond the conception of the maidservant, material nature.
The Rescue Mission of Pure Devotees
The material universe is described as the darkest region of creation, yet conditioned souls are so bewildered that they do not even desire to escape it. To counteract this immense ignorance, genuine devotees of the Supreme Lord take up a highly confidential mission. They travel extensively across the world to distribute transcendental knowledge and awaken Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the hearts of the heavily conditioned population. Śrīla Prabhupāda states that the activities of these traveling preachers introduce a completely new order of life, rescuing society from the depths of material bondage.
- All the brahmanas listed here (in SB 6.15.12-15), being devotees, travel all over the world to awaken Krsna consciousness in the hearts of such foolish materialists.
- The devotees of the Lord who voluntarily take the responsibility of raising the foolish materialistic sense enjoyers are as confidential to the Lord as Lord Brahma.
- Transcendental activities of the devotees for the service of the Lord can bring a new order of life to the foolish society of materialistic men.
- The materialistic world is called the darkest region of God's creation. Yet the unhappy materialists can get out of it simply by desiring to get out. Unfortunately they are so foolish that they do not want to escape.
Conclusion
The tragic reality of materialistic life is that it binds the eternal soul to a temporary world destined for destruction. As Śrīla Prabhupāda comprehensively explains, those who dedicate their lives exclusively to accumulating wealth, maintaining bodily comforts, and enjoying family attachments are acting in complete foolishness. They live under the false impression of freedom while being mercilessly crushed by the laws of material nature. True intelligence means recognizing the great danger of impending death and desiring to escape this dark region of existence. By taking shelter of the pure devotees who travel the world to distribute the transcendental message of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, any conditioned soul can break free from the illusion of sense gratification and attain the eternal, unobstructed happiness of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Foolish Materialists. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.