Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 32
Paramahaṁsa-Dharma: The Avadhūta-like Sannyāsī and Prahlāda’s Dialogue with the ‘Python’ Saint
पश्यामि धनिनां क्लेशं लुब्धानामजितात्मनाम् । भयादलब्धनिद्राणां सर्वतोऽभिविशङ्किनाम् ॥ ३२ ॥
paśyāmi dhanināṁ kleśaṁ lubdhānām ajitātmanām bhayād alabdha-nidrāṇāṁ sarvato ’bhiviśaṅkinām
Nakikita ko ang pagdurusa ng mayayaman—alipin ng mga pandama, sakim at walang pagpipigil-sa-sarili; dahil sa takot ay hindi makatulog at laging nagdududa sa lahat ng panig.
Greedy capitalists accumulate wealth under so many miserable conditions, the result being that because they collect money by questionable means, their minds are always agitated. Thus they are unable to sleep at night, and they have to take pills for mental tranquillity to invite sleep. And sometimes even the pills are a failure. Consequently the result of having accumulated money by so much labor is certainly not happiness, but only distress. What is the value of acquiring a comfortable position if one’s mind is always disturbed? Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has therefore sung:
FAQs
This verse says that greed and an unconquered mind make even wealthy people suffer—causing fear, sleeplessness, and constant suspicion.
In Canto 7 Chapter 13, Prahlāda instructs about true well-being and renunciation, showing that material prosperity without self-control and devotion leads to distress.
Reduce greed-driven goals, practice self-control, and cultivate contentment and devotion; otherwise, possessions can increase worry, insecurity, and mental unrest.