Everyone says that, "I am looking after my interest," but he does not know what is his interest. That he does not know. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum. He should know that his real interest is to make his progress toward Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They do not know it. Why they do not know it? Durāśayā. By their hope against hope, durāśayā. Duḥ means which is very difficult to fulfill. I may hope something which is possible—that is good—but if I hope something which is never possible, that is called durāśayā. Āśa means hope, and durāśa means which will never be fulfilled.
So here it is . . . the word is used, durāśayā. Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Bahiḥ. Bahiḥ means the external. Just we are composition of external and internal energies of God. The external energy is this gross body, and the internal energy is the mind and ego, intelligence. And behind this, both energies, external . . . this is external gross energy and external subtle energy. This body made of earth, water, air and ether, this is called gross external energy. And there is subtle external energy. What is that? Mind, intelligence and false ego. And behind that, I am, the soul, is there.
I am the proprietor of this body made of . . . just like you are covered by the shirt and coat. The shirt and coat is external body. Real body you are. Similarly this body, this gross body made of earth, water, air, fire, that is gross external energy of God, or Kṛṣṇa, and the mind and ego and intelligence, they are subtle. So we are covered. So one who has taken . . . just like if I think that, "Simply by having nice shirt and coat I will be happy," is it possible? Unless you eat nicely, unless you sleep nicely, unless you have got your sense gratification, simply by putting on costly nice shirt and coat, will you be happy? No. That is not possible.
So here we have taken this . . . bahir-artha-māninaḥ. We want to be happy by adjustment of this external energy. Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. That cannot be. You are spirit soul. You must have spiritual food. You must have spiritual life. Then you can be happy. Simply as you cannot be happy by having nice shirt and coat, similarly, simply by materialistic way of life, I mean a gross and fine . . . Gross means this high skyscraper building, machine, factories, nice road, good motorcar. These are gross. And subtle: nice song, poetry, philosophy. That is subtle, subtle matter.
So people are trying to be happy with this gross and subtle material existence. That cannot be. Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ, andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ. Why they have accepted this sort of civilization? Because they are led by blind leaders. Now, suppose we are conducting this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Nobody is interested. Very few interested. But if we give some false hope that, "If you follow this path, then within six months you will become God, and you will be all-powerful, and then . . ." oh, so many people will come. Yes. You see?
Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ. One blind leader giving . . . leading to other blind men. Suppose one blind man says that: "All right. Come. Follow me. I shall help you crossing this big street, Bloomsbury Street. All right." So he is blind, and the followers are also blind. The result will be that he is dashed by some motorcar or truck, and they all die. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ (SB 7.5.31). They are . . . they do not know that we are tied up very hard by the laws, stringent laws of material nature. How we can become free from this material bondage? That is not possible.