Minimize material desires through austerity and dedicate human life to Krishna consciousness, not endless wealth accumulation.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Pradyumna: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Seven, Chapter Six, text number 10. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.
[Prabhupāda and Devotees repeat] [break] ko nv artha-tṛṣṇāṁ visṛjet prāṇebhyo 'pi ya īpsitaḥ yaṁ krīṇāty asubhiḥ preṣṭhais taskaraḥ sevako vaṇik [SB 7.6.10] [break] [00:51] Translation "Money is so dear that one conceives of money as being sweeter than honey. Therefore, who can give up the desire to accumulate money, especially in household life? Thieves, professional servants, or soldiers, and merchants try to acquire money even by risking their very dear lives." Prabhupāda: ko nv artha-tṛṣṇāṁ visṛjet prāṇebhyo 'pi ya īpsitaḥ yaṁ krīṇāty asubhiḥ preṣṭhais taskaraḥ sevako vaṇik So, the beginning of instruction was kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha [SB 7.6.1]. This material world, beginning..., those who are not trained up, their beginning is hankering after union for sex.
And puṁsāṁ striya mithuni-bhāvam [SB 5.5.8], this is the material world, attraction, and when they are united the attraction increases, we have already discussed. In this way our attraction for material wealth, ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair [SB 5.5.8]. In this way material possessions, material facilities, we increase. Modern civilization is that.
They are simply increasing material wants. The process is pravṛttir eṣaṁ bhūtānāṁ nivṛttes tu mahā-phalaṁ. Natural tendency is, because we have come to enjoy this material world... Conditioned soul means we wanted to enjoy this material world, not to serve anyone.
Although our constitutional position is to serve, but artificially we want to give up service and we want to enjoy. That is material disease. So gradually, if we want to enjoy material world, then we require money. Money is the via media for enjoyment of material world.
People are working so hard day and night just to get money, because money is the source or the means of sense enjoyment. That is the disease, sense enjoyment. But actually our life, especially in the human life, we should be sober to understand... That has already been explained by Prahlāda Mahārāja, that this sense enjoyment, it can be obtained in any form of life. Sukham aindriyakaṁ daityā deha-yogena dehinām [SB 7.6.3].
Just this morning we were discussing about mosquito. The mosquito is so tiny, a little slap, immediately finished. But he has got all the facilities of sense enjoyment. We have to study nature in this way.