अर्थव्ययनाशचिन्तया परिशुष्यमाणहृदयवदनो निर्वृतिमनवगतो ग्रह
इवार्थमभिरक्षति स चापि प्रेत्य तद्उत्पादनोत्कर्षणसंरक्षणशमलग्रहः सूचीमुखे
नरके निपतति यत्र ह वित्तग्रहं पापपुरुषं धर्मराजपुरुषा वायका इव
सर्वतोऽङ्गेषु सूत्रैः परिवयन्ति ॥३६॥
yas tv iha vÄ Äá¸hyÄbhimatir ahaá¹…ká¹›tis tiryak-preká¹£aṇaḥ sarvato 'bhiviÅ›aá¹…kÄ« artha-vyaya-nÄÅ›a-cintayÄ pariÅ›uá¹£yamÄṇa-há¹›daya-vadano nirvá¹›tim anavagato graha ivÄrtham abhiraká¹£ati sa cÄpi pretya tad-utpÄdanotkará¹£aṇa-saá¹raká¹£aṇa-Å›amala-grahaḥ sÅ«cÄ«mukhe narake nipatati yatra ha vitta-grahaá¹ pÄpa-puruá¹£aá¹ dharmarÄja-puruá¹£Ä vÄyakÄ iva sarvato 'á¹…geá¹£u sÅ«traiḥ parivayanti
yaḥ - any person who; tu - but; iha - in this world; vÄ - or; Äá¸hya-abhimatiḥ - proud because of wealth; ahaá¹…ká¹›tiḥ - egotistic; tiryak-preká¹£aṇaḥ - whose vision is crooked; sarvataḥ abhiviÅ›aá¹…kÄ« - always fearful of being cheated by others, even by superiors; artha-vyaya-nÄÅ›a-cintayÄ - by the thought of expenditure and loss; pariÅ›uá¹£yamÄṇa - dried up; há¹›daya-vadanaḥ - his heart and face; nirvá¹›tim - happiness; anavagataḥ - not obtaining; grahaḥ - a ghost; iva - like; artham - wealth; abhiraká¹£ati - protects; saḥ - he; ca - also; api - indeed; pretya - after dying; tat - of those riches; utpÄdana - of the earning; utkará¹£aṇa - increasing; saá¹raká¹£aṇa - protecting; Å›amala-grahaḥ - accepting the sinful activities; sÅ«cÄ«mukhe - named SÅ«cÄ«mukha; narake - in the hell; nipatati - falls down; yatra - where; ha - indeed; vitta-graham - as a money-grabbing ghost; pÄpa-puruá¹£am - very sinful man; dharmarÄja-puruá¹£Äḥ - the commanding men of YamarÄja; vÄyakÄḥ iva - like expert weavers; sarvataḥ - all over; aá¹…geá¹£u - on the limbs of the body; sÅ«traiḥ - by threads; parivayanti - stitch.
One who in this world or this life is very proud of his wealth always thinks, “I am so rich. Who can equal me?†His vision is twisted, and he is always afraid that someone will take his wealth. Indeed, he even suspects his superiors. His face and heart dry up at the thought of losing his wealth, and therefore he always looks like a wretched fiend. He is not in any way able to obtain actual happiness, and he does not know what it is to be free from anxiety. Because of the sinful things he does to earn money, augment his wealth and protect it, he is put into the hell called SÅ«cÄ«mukha, where the officials of YamarÄja punish him by stitching thread through his entire body like weavers manufacturing cloth.
When one possesses more wealth than necessary, he certainly becomes very proud. This is the situation of men in modern civilization. According to the Vedic culture, brÄhmaṇas do not possess anything, whereas ká¹£atriyas possess riches, but only for performing sacrifices and other noble activities as prescribed in the Vedic injunctions. A vaiÅ›ya also earns money honestly through agriculture, cow protection and some trade. If a śūdra gets money, however, he will spend it lavishly, without discrimination, or simply accumulate it for no purpose. Because in this age there are no qualified brÄhmaṇas, ká¹£atriyas or vaiÅ›yas, almost everyone is a śūdra (kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ). Therefore the śūdra mentality is causing great harm to modern civilization. A śūdra does not know how to use money to render transcendental loving service to the Lord. Money is also called laká¹£mÄ«, and Laká¹£mÄ« is always engaged in the service of NÄrÄyaṇa. Wherever there is money, it must be engaged in the service of Lord NÄrÄyaṇa. Everyone should use his money to spread the great transcendental movement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If one does not spend money for this purpose but accumulates more than necessary, he will certainly become proud of the money he illegally possesses. The money actually belongs to Kṛṣṇa, who says in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (5.29), bhoktÄraá¹ yajña-tapasÄá¹ sarva-loka-maheÅ›varam: “I am the true enjoyer of sacrifices and penances, and I am the owner of all the planets.†Therefore nothing belongs to anyone but Kṛṣṇa. One who possesses more money than he needs should spend it for Kṛṣṇa. Unless one does so, he will become puffed up because of his false possessions, and therefore he will be punished in the next life, as described herein.
