O Son of Prithā! Those who are absorbed in desires, who regard heaven alone as the supreme goal, who delight in the desire-prompted actions prescribed in the Vedas, and who declare that there is nothing beyond enjoyments—such undiscerning men utter this kind of flowery speech, which promises results in the form of rebirth and which describes numerous rituals for the attainment of enjoyments and power.
Commentary: 'Absorbed in desires'—they are so deeply entangled in desires that they become desire itself. They perceive no distinction between themselves and desire. Their belief is that without desire a person cannot live, without desire no work can be done, without desire a person becomes like an inert stone, devoid of consciousness. Such persons are 'absorbed in desires.'
The Self remains eternally constant, never increasing or decreasing, whereas desire comes and goes, waxes and wanes. The Self is a fragment of the Supreme Lord, while desire pertains to the fragment of the material world. Thus, the Self and desire are entirely distinct. However, those entangled in desire have no awareness of their separate, true nature.
'Who regard heaven as the supreme goal'—since the most exquisite celestial enjoyments are attained in heaven, that becomes their highest aim, and they remain constantly engaged in striving for its attainment.
Here, the term 'who regard heaven as the supreme goal' refers to those people who have faith in the heavenly and other realms described in the Vedas and scriptures.
'Who delight in the Vedic declarations, O Pārtha, and who say, "There is nothing else"'—They delight in the desire-prompted actions prescribed in the Vedas, meaning they consider the purport of the Vedas to be solely about enjoyments and the attainment of heaven. Hence, they are 'delighted in the Vedic declarations.' In their view, there is nothing beyond the enjoyments of this world and heaven; that is, in their sight, there exists nothing apart from enjoyments—not God, not knowledge of the Truth, not liberation, not divine love. Therefore, they remain deeply entangled in enjoyments. Indulging in pleasures is their primary goal.
'This flowery speech is uttered by the undiscerning'—Those men who lack discrimination between the real and the unreal, the eternal and the temporary, the indestructible and the destructible, such undiscerning men utter that flowery speech of the Vedas which describes worldly life and enjoyments.
Here, the intent of calling it 'flowery' is that the speech which describes the attainment of enjoyments and power is merely leaves and flowers, not fruit. Satisfaction comes only from fruit, not from the beauty of leaves and flowers. That speech does not bestow lasting fruit. The result of that speech—the enjoyment of heaven, etc.—only appears beautiful to behold; it lacks permanence.
'Which promises results in the form of rebirth'—That flowery speech yields the fruit of action in the form of rebirth; because it gives importance only to worldly enjoyments. Attachment to those enjoyments is the cause of future births (Gita 13.21).
'Which prescribes numerous specific rituals for the attainment of enjoyments and power'—That flowery, i.e., outwardly showy, speech, which describes the desire-prompted observances for attaining enjoyments and power, contains an abundance of rituals. That is, those observances involve various types of procedures, various kinds of actions to be performed, require various kinds of materials, and also involve considerable physical exertion, etc. (Gita 18.24).
★🔗
