Text 53
nṛtyato gāyataḥ paśyan
yathaivānukaroti tān
evaṁ buddhi-guṇān paśyann
anīho ’py anukāryate
nṛtyataḥ — persons who are dancing; gāyataḥ — and singing; paśyan — observing; yathā — just as; eva — indeed; anukaroti — imitates; tān — them; evam — thus; buddhi — of the material intelligence; guṇān — the acquired qualities; paśyan — seeing; anīhaḥ — although not himself engaged in activity; api — nevertheless; anukāryate — is made to imitate.
Just as one may imitate persons whom one sees dancing and singing, similarly the soul, although never the doer of material activities, becomes captivated by material intelligence and is thus forced to imitate its qualities.
Sometimes people are captivated by professional singers and dancers and imitate within their minds the musical rhythms and melodies of the performers along with their romantic, humorous or heroic emotions. People sing songs heard on the radio and imitate dances and dramatic performances seen on television or in movies and theaters, entering into the emotions and art of the performer. The conditioned soul is similarly captivated by the concoctions of the material mind and intelligence, which convince him that he can become the enjoyer of the material world. Although different from the material body and never the actual performer of its activities, the conditioned soul is induced to engage his body in material activities, which entangle him in the cycle of birth and death. One should not accept the illicit propositions of material intelligence, but rather should engage himself fully in the service of the Lord in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.