sarveá¹£u Å›aÅ›vat tanu-bhá¹›tsv avasthitaá¹
yathÄ kham ÄtmÄnam abhīṣá¹am īśvaram
vedopagÄ«taá¹ ca na śṛṇvate 'budhÄ
mano-rathÄnÄá¹ pravadanti vÄrtayÄ
sarveá¹£u - in all; Å›aÅ›vat - eternally; tanu-bhá¹›tsu - embodied living beings; avasthitam - situated; yathÄ - just as; kham - the sky; ÄtmÄnam - the Supreme Soul; abhīṣá¹am - most worshipable; īśvaram - ultimate controller; veda-upagÄ«tam - glorified by the Vedas; ca - also; na śṛṇvate - they do not hear; abudhÄḥ - unintelligent persons; manaḥ-rathÄnÄm - of whimsical pleasures; pravadanti - they go on discussing; vÄrtayÄ - the topics.
In Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ Lord Kṛṣṇa says, vedaiÅ› ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. The goal of all Vedic knowledge is to know the Lord, who is the Absolute Truth. Although this purpose of the Vedas is clearly revealed both in the Vedic literature itself and by the self-realized ÄcÄryas, foolish people cannot grasp this simple truth. They prefer to cultivate knowledge of illicit sex by discussing their sexual partners and experiences. They also eagerly describe and recommend to their friends the best restaurants for eating meat, and they are fond of glorifying drugs and liquor by elaborately describing the drunken and hallucinogenic effects of their sinful experiences. The materialistic sense gratifiers eagerly call one another on the telephone, congregate in clubs and committees, and enthusiastically go on hunting, drinking and gambling excursions, thus filling their lives with the mode of ignorance. They have neither the time nor the inclination to discuss the Absolute Truth, Kṛṣṇa. Unfortunately, they neglect the Supreme Lord, who therefore severely punishes such foolish persons in order to bring them back to their senses. Everything belongs to the Lord, and everything is meant for the Lord’s enjoyment. When the living entity dovetails his activities for the pleasure of the Lord, he experiences unlimited happiness. Yena sattvaá¹ Å›uddhyed yasmÄd brahma-saukhyaá¹ tv anantam. There is actually no happiness in material affairs, and the Lord mercifully punishes the intoxicated conditioned soul to bring him back to his real life.
Unfortunately, materialistic persons do not heed the advice of the Supreme Lord in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ or that of the Lord’s representatives, who speak in allied literatures such as ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. Instead, such sense gratifiers consider themselves to be most eloquent and learned. Every materialistic person actually feels that he is the most intelligent person, and thus he has no time to hear the actual truth. Nevertheless, the Personality of Godhead, as described in this verse, waits patiently within the heart of the conditioned soul, encouraging him to recognize the Lord, who is sitting beside him. Such recognition of the Personality of Godhead is the beginning of all auspiciousness and happiness for the conditioned soul.