Human Beings: Lazy, Unfortunate, and Short-Lived

(written on Nov 9, 2019)

The difference between a devotee and the less intelligent men is that the less intelligent men do not know the actual value of human life. Human life is meant for learning about the Supreme Personality of Godhead and escaping the cycle of birth and death. Because the less intelligent men do not know this, they engage their body in performing acts which are of no use. This is explained in SB 1.16.9, “Lazy human beings with paltry intelligence and a short duration of life pass the night sleeping and the day performing activities that are for naught.” Because they are always doing useless activities, these less intelligent men become lazy, unfortunate, and short-lived, due to their engagement in bad habits. The program of the unintelligent men is as follows: work hard, sense gratification, work hard, etc. In the purport of the verse Srila Prabhupada says that, “There are so many things manufactured by human energy, but they are all meant for sense enjoyment, and not for getting out of material bondage. And after working hard during the daytime, a tired man either sleeps or engages in sex habits at night. That is the program of materialistic civilized life for the less intelligent. Therefore they are designated herein as lazy, unfortunate and short-lived.” The indicator of an unintelligent man lies in his actions; if people act as mentioned above, without having the endeavor to understand the Supreme knowledge, they would be characterized as the lazy, unfortunate, and short-lived men described in this verse.