Shloka 2
Kapila’s Conclusion: Limits of Karma and Yoga; Supremacy of Bhakti and Qualification to Receive the Teaching
स चापि भगवद्धर्मात्काममूढ: पराङ्मुख: । यजते क्रतुभिर्देवान्पितृंश्च श्रद्धयान्वित: ॥ २ ॥
sa cāpi bhagavad-dharmāt kāma-mūḍhaḥ parāṅ-mukhaḥ yajate kratubhir devān pitṝṁś ca śraddhayānvitaḥ
Such a person, deluded by desire, turns away from the Lord’s dharma. Though he faithfully performs sacrifices for the demigods and forefathers, he has no interest in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in devotional service.
In Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) it is said that persons who worship demigods have lost their intelligence: kāmais tais tair hṛta jñānāḥ. They are much attracted to sense gratification, and therefore they worship the demigods. It is, of course, recommended in the Vedic scriptures that if one wants money, health or education, then he should worship the various demigods. A materialistic person has manifold demands, and thus there are manifold demigods to satisfy his senses. The gṛhamedhīs, who want to continue a prosperous materialistic way of life, generally worship the demigods or the forefathers by offering piṇḍa, or respectful oblations. Such persons are bereft of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and are not interested in devotional service to the Lord. This kind of so-called pious and religious man is the result of impersonalism. The impersonalists maintain that the Supreme Absolute Truth has no form and that one can imagine any form he likes for his benefit and worship in that way. Therefore the gṛhamedhīs or materialistic men say that they can worship any form of a demigod as worship of the Supreme Lord. Especially amongst the Hindus, those who are meat-eaters prefer to worship the goddess Kālī because it is prescribed that one can sacrifice a goat before that goddess. They maintain that whether one worships the goddess Kālī or the Supreme Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu or any demigod, the destination is the same. This is first-class rascaldom, and such people are misled. But they prefer this philosophy. Bhagavad-gītā does not accept such rascaldom, and it is clearly stated that such methods are meant for persons who have lost their intelligence. The same judgment is confirmed here, and the word kāma-mūḍha, meaning one who has lost his sense or is infatuated by the lust of attraction for sense gratification, is used. Kāma-mūḍhas are bereft of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service and are infatuated by a strong desire for sense gratification. The worshipers of demigods are condemned both in Bhagavad-gītā and in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
FAQs
This verse says that when one is deluded by desire and turns away from bhagavad-dharma (devotion to the Lord), one tends to rely on ritual sacrifices for demigods and rites for ancestors, even if done faithfully—implying it is secondary to pure bhakti.
Kapila is instructing Devahūti on the path of liberation through devotion; he contrasts bhagavad-dharma with desire-driven ritualism to show how attachment can divert the mind from direct service to the Supreme.
Examine whether spiritual practice is motivated by personal gain; prioritize sincere devotion and inner transformation over merely performing rituals for material results.