SB 11.22.36 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीउद्धव उवाच त्वत्त: परावृत्तधिय: स्वकृतै: कर्मभि: प्रभो । उच्चावचान् यथा देहान् गृह्णन्ति विसृजन्ति च ॥ ३५ ॥ तन्ममाख्याहि गोविन्द दुर्विभाव्यमनात्मभि: । न ह्येतत् प्रायशो लोके विद्वांस: सन्ति वञ्चिता: ॥ ३६ ॥

Verse text

śrī-uddhava uvāca tvattaḥ parāvṛtta-dhiyaḥ sva-kṛtaiḥ karmabhiḥ prabho uccāvacān yathā dehān gṛhṇanti visṛjanti ca tan mamākhyāhi govinda durvibhāvyam anātmabhiḥ na hy etat prāyaśo loke vidvāṁsaḥ santi vaṣcitāḥ

Synonyms

śrī — uddhavaḥ uvāca — Śrī Uddhava said ; tvattaḥ — from You ; parāvṛtta — diverted ; dhiyaḥ — whose minds ; sva — kṛtaiḥ — done by them ; karmabhiḥ — by the fruitive activities ; prabho — O supreme master ; ucca — avacān — higher and lower ; yathā — in which way ; dehān — material bodies ; gṛhṇanti — they accept ; visṛjanti — give up ; ca — and ; tat — that ; mama — to me ; ākhyāhi — please explain ; govinda — O Govinda ; durvibhāvyam — impossible to understand ; anātmabhiḥ — by those who are not intelligent ; na — not ; hi — indeed ; etat — about this ; prāyaśaḥ — for the most part ; loke — in this world ; vidvāṁsaḥ — knowledgeable ; santi — they are ; vaṣcitāḥ — who are cheated (by material illusion) .

Translation

Śrī Uddhava said: O supreme master, the intelligence of those dedicated to fruitive activities is certainly deviated from You. Please explain to me how such persons accept superior and inferior bodies by their materialistic activities and then give up such bodies. O Govinda, this topic is very difficult for foolish persons to understand. Being cheated by illusion in this world, they generally do not become aware of these facts.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Uddhava said: O supreme master! Please explain to me how persons with diverted intelligence accept superior and inferior bodies by their materialistic activities and then give up such bodies. O Govinda, this topic is very difficult for foolish persons to understand. Bewildered by your māyā, no one generally knows this. If their minds are diverted from you, then they become bound by karma. Then they accept and give up higher or lower bodies. Explain how the materialists are born and die. Fools cannot understand this. What more can be said? “But there are many wise people in the world. You should ask them, not me.” Bewildered by your māyā, people do not know.

Purport

No one can be considered intelligent without understanding the science of God, which includes a description of the negative results of those who have forgotten their eternal relationship with Him. There are many so-called wise men in the world, but although considering themselves to be most intelligent, they generally do not surrender to the supreme intelligence of the Lord. Thus they concoct varieties of philosophies according to their positions within the modes of nature. However, one cannot escape the influence of material nature through philosophy generated from that same illusory nature. Liberation is achieved by perfect knowledge coming from the spiritual platform, the kingdom of God. By faithfully hearing from Lord Kṛṣṇa and His authorized representatives one can easily achieve liberation and go back home, back to Godhead.