Text 18
hitvātma-māyā-racitā
gṛhāpatya-suhṛt-striyaḥ
tamo viśanty anicchanto
vāsudeva-parāṅ-mukhāḥ
hitvā — giving up; ātma-māyā — by the illusory energy of the Supreme Soul; racitāḥ — manufactured; gṛha — homes; apatya — children; suhṛt — friends; striyaḥ — wives; tamaḥ — into darkness; viśanti — they enter; anicchantaḥ — without desiring; vasudeva-parāk-mukhāḥ — those who have turned away from Lord Vāsudeva.
Those who have turned away from the Supreme Lord, Vāsudeva, being under the spell of the Lord’s illusory energy, are eventually forced to give up their so-called homes, children, friends, wives and lovers, which were all created by the illusory potency of the Supreme Lord, and enter against their will into the darkest regions of the universe.
The living entity turns his back on the Supreme Personality of Godhead and tries instead to enjoy temporary sense gratification. The result is simply anxiety as the conditioned soul struggles to maintain his temporary wife, children, friends, home, nation, etc. Finally all of these things are taken away, and the bewildered soul, in great frustration, sometimes tries to take shelter of an impersonal concept of God and liberation. Thus the conditioned soul is always in ignorance, either pursuing illusory sense gratification or trying to avoid sense gratification by merging into the impersonal aspect of the Lord, called Brahman. But the actual position of the living entity is to serve the Supreme Person, who is his master. And unless one gives up one’s inimical feelings toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no question of peace or happiness.
kṛṣṇa-bhakta — niṣkāma, ataeva ‘śānta’
bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī — sakali ‘aśānta’
(Cc. Madhya 19.149)