One who is trying to be happy in this material world, he is durātmā; he is not mahātmā. Durātmā. Durāśayā. Durāśayā or durātmā, the same thing. Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. These rascals, durātmānam, they are trying to be happy. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). These rascals, they do not know that here there is no happiness. There cannot be any happiness, however you may be expert. Just like if you are thrown in the ocean, so you may be very expert swimmer, but that does not mean you are happy. Manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). Manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānī. This is struggle for existence. These things should come to our brain. It is not brainwash; it is brain-clearing. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni (CC Antya 20.12). If you want to end this suffering, then you must wash your brain—or heart, the same thing. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. But they are taking it otherwise. Therefore either the government or the spiritual master, they should not give program, big, big program, plans. Nowadays in material world... In material world this is always. The plan is... There is planning commission by the government. Why? To engage them to work very hard. That is going on. So when you are ruling, controlling, there may be some disobedience. Therefore it is the duty of the spiritual master not to be angry because the disciples or the followers, they are fools. Sometimes they commit mistake; they do not obey. But the ruler, the spiritual master, the government, has to tolerate. And still, vimanyava, sādhava. That is sādhu, vimanyava.
So itthaṁ vimanyur anuśiṣyād ataj-jñān. But they are foolish. Ataj-jñān. There is no knowledge. So simply see. Na yojayet karmasu karma-mūḍhān. They have natural tendency to work and get the benefit and make a plan, "How I shall become very rich man. How I shall own so many houses and so many properties, so many lands, so many, and..." Therefore why these people are so busy? Karma-mūḍhān, day and night. Ataj-jñān. They do not know that such persons cannot improve their economic position simply by working hard. That is not possible. Then everyone would have been rich man. In big, big cities like Calcutta, Bombay, London, New York, everyone is working very hard. Not that in big cities one can get their food easily. No. Everyone has to work. And everyone is working hard. Do you think that everyone is on the same level of position? No. That is not possible. Destiny. Destiny. One man is working hard day and night, twenty-four hours; simply he is getting two capātīs, that's all. We have seen in Bombay. They are living in such rotten condition that even in the daytime they'll have to a kerosene lamp. In such a place they are living, and so dirty condition. Does it mean that everyone in Bombay is living very luxuriantly? No. Similarly, every city. It is not possible. You cannot improve your economic position simply by working hard. That is not possible. You work hard or not work, whatever is destined to you, you'll get it. Therefore our energy should be utilized that mal-loka-kāmo mad-anugrahārthaḥ. The energy should be utilized how to please Kṛṣṇa. That should be done. Energy should be utilized for that purpose, not waste energy simply for a false hope that "I shall become happy. I shall do this. I shall do that. I shall make money like this. I..."
The story of the potter The potter is planning. He has got few pots and he is planning, "Now I have got these four pots and I will sell. I will make some profit. Then there will be ten pots. Then I'll sell ten pots, I'll make some profit. I'll get twenty pots and then thirty pots, forty pots. In this way I shall become millionaire. And at that time I shall marry, and I shall control my wife in this way and that way. And if she is disobedient, then I shall kick her like this." So when he kicked, he kicked the pots and all the pots broke. (laughter) So then his dream is gone. You see? Similarly, we are simply dreaming. With few pots we are simply dreaming that "These pots will be increased into so many pots, so many pots, so many pots," then finished. Don't make imagination, make plan. That is... The guru, the spiritual master and the government should be careful that "These rascals may not make plan. This rascal may not make plan to be happy." Na yojayet karmasu karma-mūḍhān. This is karma-jagat, this world. This material world is that. They are already inclined, so what is the use? Loke vyayāyāmiṣa-madya-sevā nityāstu jantuḥ. Just like sex life. Sex life is natural. It does not require any university education how to enjoy sex. They will enjoy it. Nobody... "Nobody is taught how to cry or how to laugh or how to enjoy sex life." There is a Bengali saying. That is natural. You don't require any education for this karma. Now they are making big, big plans to educate people how to work hard. This is waste of time. Educational institution should be for teaching people how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, not to become this or that. That is waste of time, because that program will never be successful. Tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukhaṁ kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā. The nature's law is working Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Whatever...
Therefore our Vedic civilization is that people are satisfied in his own position, a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. Whatever by God's grace he got, he was satisfied. The real energy was utilized how to become eligible to receive mercy of Kṛṣṇa. That is wanted, how to learn how to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Then ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi (BG 18.66). That was the end. In India we find not that... The great sages, ṛṣis, they wrote so many books, but they used to live in a cottage. Only the kings, the kṣatriya, because they had to rule over, they used to construct big, big palaces. No one else. They lived very simple life, very simple life. Not waste time for so-called economic development, skyscraper building, subways and so on, so on. This was not Vedic civilization. This is asuric civilization.