Text 6
karmaṇy akovidāḥ stabdhā
mūrkhāḥ paṇḍita-māninaḥ
vadanti cāṭukān mūḍhā
yayā mādhvyā girotsukāḥ
karmaṇi — about the facts of fruitive work; akovidāḥ — ignorant; stabdhāḥ — puffed up by false pride; mūrkhāḥ — fools; paṇḍita-māninaḥ — thinking themselves great scholars; vadanti — they speak; cāṭukān — flattering entreaties; mūḍhāḥ — bewildered; yayā — by which; mādhvyā — sweet; girā — words; utsukāḥ — very eager.
Ignorant of the art of work, such arrogantly proud fools, enchanted and enlivened by the sweet words of the Vedas, pose as learned authorities and offer flattering entreaties to the demigods.
The words karmaṇy akovidāḥ refer to those who are ignorant of the art of performing work in such a way that there will be no future bondage. This art is described in Bhagavad-gītā: yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ. Work must be performed for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu, otherwise work is the cause of future bondage in the cycle of repeated birth and death. The word stabdhāḥ, “puffed up by false pride,” indicates that although ignorant persons do not know the art of working properly, they do not inquire from learned devotees, nor do they accept the advice of the Lord’s own men. Being infatuated by the fruitive results offered in the Vedas, such mūrkhas, or fools, think, “We are learned Vedic scholars; we have understood everything perfectly.” Thus they are attracted to such Vedic statements as apāma somam amṛtā abhūma (“We have drunk the soma juice and now we are immortal”), akṣayyaṁ ha vai cāturmāsya-yājinaḥ sukṛtaṁ bhavati (“For one who executes the cāturmāsya sacrifice there is inexhaustible pious reaction”), and yatra noṣṇaṁ na śītaṁ syān na glānir nāpy arātayaḥ (“Let us go to that material planet where there is no heat, no cold, no diminution and no enemies”). Such foolish persons are unaware that even Lord Brahmā, the creator of the universe, will die at the end of universal time, what to speak of materialistic followers of the Vedas who jump like frogs to the different celestial planets, seeking the highest standard of sense gratification. Such bewildered Vedic scholars dream of frolicking with the Apsarās, the gorgeous society girls of the heavenly planets who are expert in singing, dancing and in general stimulating uncontrollable lusty desires. Thus, those who are carried away by the heavenly phantasmagoria offered in the karma-kāṇḍa section of the Vedas gradually develop an atheistic mentality. Actually, the entire universe is meant to be offered to Lord Viṣṇu as sacrifice. The conditioned soul can thereby gradually elevate himself to the eternal kingdom beyond the hallucination of material sense gratification. However, being puffed up by false pride, the materialistic followers of the Vedas remain perpetually ignorant of the supremacy and beauty of Lord Viṣṇu.