Prabhupada, SB 6.1.26, Philadelphia, July 12, 1975: Mudha means rascal, ass, who does not know what is actual interest. Just like ass. Ass, mudha means ass. The ass does not know his own interest. We have seen that ass is loaded with three tons of cloth by the washerman, and he cannot go; still, he has to do it. And he does not know that “I am loading so many tons of cloth on my back, and what interest I have got with it?
Not a single cloth belongs to me.” So the ass has no such sense. Ass means he has no such sense. He is thinking, “It is my duty. To load upon me so much clothing, it is my duty.” Why it is duty? Now, “Because the washerman gives you grass.” So he has no sense that “Grass I can get anywhere. Why I have taken this duty?” This is the… Everyone is anxious about his duty. Somebody is politician, somebody is householder, somebody is something else.
Because he has taken up some false duty and working hard for it, therefore he is an ass. He is forgetting his real business. Real business is that death will come. It will not avoid me. Everyone says, “As sure as death.” Now, before death, I have to act in such a way that I may have a position in Vaikuntha, in Vrindavana, and I may have permanent life to live with Krishna. This is our real duty.
But we do not know that. Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum [SB 7.5.31]. We are in this conditioned state of life because we are separated from our original person, Krishna. Because we are part and parcel of Krishna, we have forgotten this. We are thinking we are part and parcel of America or India. This is called illusion. They are interested… Somebody is interested in his country; somebody is interested in his society or family.
We have created so many things, duty. Therefore sastra says that “These rascals do not know what is his actual self-interest.” Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum durasaya [SB 7.5.31]. He is hoping something which will never be fulfilled. Therefore he is rascal. We are trying to adjust things within this material world to become happy, but the rascal does not know that so long he will remain in this material world, there is no question of happiness. That is rascaldom.
Krishna says that this place is duhkhalayam asasvatam [Bg. 8.15]. This material world, where we are now living under different change of body one after another, it is duhkhalayam. Why I have to change my body? I am permanent. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. Therefore we have to learn, we have to be educated, we have to receive knowledge from the perfect. And Krishna personally, the Supreme Perfect Person, is giving you knowledge. Full Lecture
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