Religion means liberation from material entanglement, never the pursuit of temporary material gain for sense gratification.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.9 — October 20, 1972, Vṛndāvana 721020SB-VRNDAVAN [37:55 Minutes] SB-01.02.09_721020SB-VRNDAVAN Pradyumna: [leads chanting of verse] [Prabhupāda and devotees repeat] dharmasya hy āpavargyasya nārtho 'rthāyopakalpate nārthasya dharmaikāntasya kāmo lābhāya hi smṛtaḥ [SB 1.2.9] Prabhupāda: Next. Pradyumna: [leads chanting of synonyms] [break] ...not; arthaḥ—end; arthāya—for material gain; upakalpate—is meant for; na—neither; arthasya—of material gain; dharma-eka-antasya—for one who is engaged in the ultimate occupational service; kāmaḥ—sense gratification; lābhāya—attainment of; hi—exactly; smṛtaḥ—is described by the great sages. [02:06] Translation: "All occupational engagements, or dharmas, are certainly meant for ultimate liberation. They should never be performed for material gain.
Furthermore, one who is engaged in the ultimate occupational service, or dharma, should never use material gain to cultivate sense gratification." Prabhupāda: Hm. So Sūta Gosvāmī is describing the purpose of religiosity. Dharmasya hy āpavargyasya. Dharma, to accept a system of religion, means to accept the path of liberation. Āpavargyasya.
This apavarga is very significant word. Pavarga and apavarga. Pavarga means pa, pha, ba, bha, ma. In grammatical ways, ka, kha, ga, gha; ka-varga, ca-varga, ṭa-varga, ta-varga and pa-varga.
Five vargas. Vargīya varṇas. And there are antaḥ-stha varṇas. This is grammatical. So dharmasya hy āpavargyasya.
"A" means negation, negation of pavarga. Pa means pariśrama, labor. Here, in this material world, the sense gratificatory platform is not very easy. You have to work very hard.
Karma. Even Arjuna was advised, śarīra-yātrāpi ca te na prasiddhyed akarmaṇaḥ [Bg. 3.8]: "My dear Arjuna, you are denying to fight, but you do not know that without fighting, you cannot live even. You cannot maintain your body." Śarīra-yātrāpi. Just see how hard they are laboring. Even just like an ass.
In big cities we have seen, human beings are pulling on rickshaws, ṭhelās. What for? Simply for maintaining this body. In the Kali-yuga, the working will be more harder and harder.