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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.7.17
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A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 17
- yaś ca mūḍhatamo loke
- yaś ca buddheḥ paraṁ gataḥ
- tāv ubhau sukham edhete
- kliśyaty antarito janaḥ
yaḥone who is — one who is; caalso — also; mūḍhathe lowest of the fools-tamaḥthe lowest of the fools — the lowest of the fools; lokein the world — in the world; yaḥand one who is caand one who is — and one who is; buddheḥof intelligence — of intelligence; paramtranscendental — transcendental; gataḥgone — gone; tauof them — of them; ubhauboth — both; sukhamhappiness — happiness; edheteenjoy — enjoy; kliśyatisuffer — suffer; antaritaḥsituated between — situated between; janaḥpersons — persons.
Both the lowest of fools and he who is transcendental to all intelligence enjoy happiness, whereas persons between them suffer the material pangs.
The lowest of fools do not understand material miseries; they pass their lives merrily and do not inquire into the miseries of life. Such persons are almost on the level of the animals, who, although in the eyes of superiors are always miserable in life, are unaware of material distresses. A hog's life is degraded in its standard of happiness, which entails living in a filthy place, engaging in sex enjoyment at every opportune moment, and laboring hard in a struggle for existence, but this is unknown to the hog. Similarly, human beings who are unaware of the miseries of material existence and are happy in sex life and hard labor are the lowest of fools. Yet because they have no sense of miseries, they supposedly enjoy so-called happiness. The other class of men, those who are liberated and are situated in the transcendental position above intelligence, are really happy and are called paramahaṁsas. But persons who are neither like hogs and dogs nor on the level of the paramahaṁsas feel the material pangs, and for them inquiry about the Supreme Truth is necessary. The Vedānta-sūtra states, athāto brahma jijñāsā: "Now one should inquire about Brahman." This inquiry is necessary for those who are between the paramahaṁsas and the fools who have forgotten the question of self-realization in the midst of life in sense gratification.