Category:Engaging in Fruitive Activities
Theme Analysis
Fruitive activities, or karma, constitute the subtle trap of material existence. Srila Prabhupada explains that the conditioned soul is bound by the desire to enjoy the results of their labor, driven by the modes of passion and ignorance. Although the Vedas offer a section called karma-kanda which promises elevation to heavenly planets through ritualistic ceremonies, Srila Prabhupada dismisses this as the "flowery language" of the Vedas meant for less intelligent persons. Engaging in such activities leads only to the repetition of birth and death (samsara), comparable to wandering endlessly in a banyan tree.
The analysis of this category reveals several layers: the psychological root of fruitive work (lust and illusion), the consequences (bafflement and anxiety), historical examples like King Pracinabarhisat who was entangled in sacrifices until rescued by Narada Muni, and the ultimate solution—renouncing the fruits of labor for the satisfaction of Visnu. A pure devotee, therefore, never instructs others to engage in karma but directs them solely to the service of Acyuta.
- The Motivation: Driven by lust and the desire for material expansion, the living entity works hard, thinking this temporary engagement will bring happiness.
- The Vedic Trap: The "sweet words" of the Vedas entice the unintelligent to perform yajnas for heavenly promotion, distracting them from the real goal of life.
- The Cycle of Samsara: Fruitive activity creates a chain of reactions (karma-bandhana) that forces the soul to take birth repeatedly, sometimes in higher planets and sometimes in animal species.
- Historical Lessons: The story of King Pracinabarhisat illustrates how even pious fruitive activities can become an obstacle to self-realization until removed by the mercy of a bona fide spiritual master.
- The Solution: One must stop acting for personal sense gratification and instead act for the satisfaction of Krishna (yajna), which frees one from all reaction.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Trap of Engaging in Fruitive Activities.
Pages in category "Engaging in Fruitive Activities"
The following 86 pages are in this category, out of 86 total.
A
- A devotee is not required to engage in fruitive activities. As stated in the sastra, sarvarhanam acyutejya (SB 4.31.14). By worshiping Acyuta, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one satisfies everyone
- A devotee never enters upon the path of karma, or elevation by fruitive activities. Narada Muni took compassion upon King Pracinabarhisat when he saw the King engaged in fruitive activity
- A devotee should not be very enthusiastic about attaining any material goal. He should not be like persons who engage in fruitive activities, who work very hard day and night to attain material rewards
- A Krsna conscious person, or unflinching devotee of the Lord, should not be disturbed by the flowery language of the Vedas nor be engaged in fruitive activities for promotion to the heavenly kingdom. BG 1972 purports
- A man in the modes of passion and goodness may be engaged in fruitive activity; he owns as much as he can and spends for good causes. BG 1972 purports
- A person is said to be elevated in yoga when, having renounced all material desires, he neither acts for sense gratification nor engages in fruitive activities
- A person is said to have attained to yoga when, having renounced all material desires, he neither acts for sense gratification nor engages in fruitive activities. BG 6.4 - 1972
- A pure devotee who is fully accomplished in the science of devotional service will never instruct a foolish person to engage in fruitive activities for material enjoyment, not to speak of helping him in such activities
- Abandoning all attachment to the results of his activities, ever satisfied and independant, he performs no fruitive action, although engaged in all kinds of undertakings. BG 4.20 - 1972
- According to all the instructions of the Vedas, we can understand that unless one takes to Krsna consciousness and devotional service, he is simply wasting his time engaging in the fruitive activities of material existence
- After performing sacrifices, sometimes a person engaged in fruitive activity customarily offers the results to Visnu. But it is said, bhagavaty addha: one must directly offer everything to Visnu. This is called sannyasa - not merely nyasa
- Ahaituky apratihata. Of course, for those who are engaged in fruitive activities on the material platform, the times and seasons mentioned above (in SB 7.14.24) are extremely congenial
- Although I live in household life with my wife and children, I honestly follow the Vedic injunctions by engaging in fruitive activities to enjoy life without sinful reactions. I have performed deva-yajna, rsi-yajna, pitr-yajna and nr-yajna
- As long as one is engaged in fruitive activity, one is sure to be baffled in the attempt to attain the ultimate goal of life - CC Preface
- Asuras, they are engaged for fruitive result. They are working, but they are expecting that "I shall enjoy the result" So that freedom is given to everyone, that "You can work at your responsibility and enjoy or suffer"
- Asvini-kumaras once approached him and begged him to instruct them in spiritual science (brahma-vidya). Dadhici Muni replied, "I am now engaged in arranging sacrifices for fruitive activities. Come back some time later"
- At that time (when one fully engages in service of the Lord by performing activities without fruitive results) he has no obligation to follow the Vedic injunctions or the different rules and regulations of the Vedas
- At the present moment almost everyone is engaged in some kind of fruitive activity
E
- Even if one completes only a minute percentage of devotional service and then falls down from his immature position, he is better than a person who fully engages in the fruitive activities of this material world
- Even though King Pracinabarhisat was engaged in fruitive activity, the great sage Narada appeared before him. The King was very fortunate to be able to associate with Narada, who enlightened him in spiritual knowledge
- Everyone has to suffer or enjoy the fruits of his activity; no one can check the laws of material nature which govern such things. As long as one is engaged in fruitive activity, he is sure to be baffled in an attempt to attain the ultimate goal of life
- Everyone in this material world engages in achieving the fruits of his labor
H
- He (Narada Muni) had delivered Uttanapada's son Dhruva and had even delivered Pracinabarhi, who was engaged in fruitive activities. Nevertheless, he could not deliver Prajapati Daksa
- However, when such persons come in contact with the pure devotee, they give up their fruitive activity and fully engage in the service of the Lord
I
- If a person is engaged in any kind of karma, his mind is called karmatmaka, colored with fruitive activity. As long as the mind is impure, consciousness is unclear, and as long as one is absorbed in fruitive activity, he has to accept a material body
- If an ahangrahopasaka-mayavadi, a person engaged in fruitive activities or a person interested only in sense gratification describes the Absolute Truth, he immediately becomes an offender
- If one does not understand how he is being tossed by the waves (of the river maya), but simply engages in temporary fruitive activities, what benefit will he derive?
- If one engages in temporary fruitive activities, not knowing that Supreme Person, what benefit will he derive?
- If one foolishly engages in temporary fruitive activities and does not look toward the cessation of this bondage, what will be the benefit of his actions?
- If one fully engages in temporary fruitive activities and does not solve this real problem, what profit will he gain
- If one fully engages in temporary fruitive activities, not understanding how this is taking place, what does he actually gain?
- If someone is ignorant and addicted to the path of samsara, how can one who is actually learned, merciful and advanced in spiritual knowledge engage him in fruitive activity and thus further entangle him in material existence?
- In every revealed scripture there is condemnation of fruitive activities. It is advised everywhere to give up engagement in fruitive activities, for no one can attain the highest goal of life, love of Godhead, by executing them
- In the material potency, the living entity engages himself in fruitive activities, thinking that he can be happy through expansion in terms of material energy. This fact is prominently manifest in this Age of Kali
- In the Padma Purana, man's sinful activities have been analyzed and are shown to be the results of sin after sin. Those who are engaged in fruitive activities are entangled in different stages and forms of sinful reactions. BG 1972 purports
- In the propagation of the Krsna consciousness movement, we actually see that many people are not attracted because they are mudhas engaged in fruitive activity
- In transcendental state, a devotee attains all the benefits of karma, jnana and yoga. Although he never engages in fruitive activities or empiric speculation to attain mystic powers, automatically mystic powers appear in his service
- It is really foolishness to engage oneself all the days of one's life in material enjoyment and fruitive activities
K
- King Pracinabarhisat was too much engaged in fruitive activities due to performing different types of yajnas
- Krsna persisted, "All persons are engaged in fruitive activities. Some know what these activities are, and they know the result, and some execute activities without knowing the purpose or the result"
M
- Material existence is a life of revolt against the SPG. There are many ways in which the living entities can manifest this spirit of revolt, such as engaging in fruitive activities, mental speculation, or mystic yoga to achieve material perfections
- My dear brahmana, there are contradictions between your instructions and those of my spiritual teachers who engaged me in fruitive activities. I now can understand the distinction between devotional service, knowledge and renunciation
P
- People in general, bound by the sweet words of the Vedas, engage themselves again and again in fruitive activities, enamored by the results of their actions
- Persons who are engaged in fruitive activities for sense enjoyment must perform the prescribed sacrifices because that is the only means to get free from the reaction of all sins committed by fruitive workers
- Persons who are intelligent, who have taken shelter of a bona fide spiritual master to see things as they are, do not take to fruitive activities but engage themselves in the transcendental loving service of the Lord
- Persons who are materialistic and always engaged in fruitive activities for material profit cannot endure seeing the flourishing life of others. Except for a few persons in Krsna consciousness, the entire world is full of such envious persons
- Prthu was engaged in performing the ordinary Vedic rituals and sacrifices according to karma-kanda, or fruitive activities, but the Lord, being so kind and magnanimous, was ready to award Prthu Maharaja the highest perfectional stage of life, namely ds
S
- Sati said that the opulence possessed by her husband could not be understood by materialistic persons like Daksa and his followers, who were flatterers and were engaged in fruitive activities. Her husband's position was different
- Simply by receiving the glories of the Lord through purified transcendental ears, the devotees of the Lord are immediately freed from strong material desires and engagement in fruitive activities
- Since their hearts (of materialistic persons engaged in fruitive activities) are always filled with anxiety, it is understood that they have already been killed by providence. Thus Lord Siva, as a self-realized Vaisnava, was advised not to kill Daksa
- Sri Narada Muni is personally acting as the spiritual master of King Barhisman. It was Narada Muni's intention that through his instructions the King would immediately give up all engagement in fruitive activity and take to devotional service
- Sri Narada Muni wanted to stop King Barhisman from engaging in such fruitive activities. Therefore he is now directly telling him, "Don't be interested in such temporary benefits."
T
- The candidates for punishment are those who are confirmed by these many witnesses to have deviated from their prescribed regulative duties. Everyone engaged in fruitive activities is suitable to be subjected to punishment according to his sinful acts
- The entanglement of this material world is compared here (in BG 15.1) to a banyan tree. For one who is engaged in fruitive activities, there is no end to the banyan tree. He wanders from one branch to another, to another, to another. BG 1972 purports
- The karmis are generally engaged in fruitive activities for material bodily comforts. The jnanis, however, are disgusted with searching after material comforts. They understand that they have nothing to do with this material world, being spirit souls
- The King replied: My dear brahmana, whatever you have said I have heard with great attention and, considering all of it, have come to the conclusion that the acaryas (teachers) who engaged me in fruitive activity did not know this confidential knowledge
- The less intelligent class of men (avipascitah), attracted by the flowery language of the Vedas, engage in fruitive activities to become materially benefited. Thus they continue life after life, in different bodily forms, to search very, very hard
- The opulence we possess is impossible for either you or your flatterers to imagine, persons who engage in fruitive activities by performing great sacrifices are concerned with satisfying their bodily necessities by eating foodstuff offered as a sacrifice
- The purpose of pranayama, or mystic yoga, is to stop the mind and senses from engaging in fruitive activities
- The word pasandi refers to nonbelievers engaged in fruitive activities and to idolatrous worshipers of many demigods. Pasandis do not believe in one God, the Supreme Personality, Lord Visnu; they think that all the demigods have the same potency as He
- The yajna-patnis were the wives of ordinary brahmanas engaged in fruitive activities. Although the brahmanas were learned and advanced in Vedic knowledge, they could not get the mercy of Krsna-Balarama, but their wives got complete perfection in bhakti
- There are millions and trillions of living entities everywhere, and they are engaged by maya in suffering and enjoying the results of their fruitive activity, life after life. This is the position of the materially conditioned living entities
- There are people who believe the body to be the self, & they are engaged in many fruitive activities, including bathing rituals & ordinary worldly activities. However, when they come in contact with a pure devotee, they engage in transcendental service
- They (so-call yogis) engage themselves in fruitive activities, and thus they are bound by desire to accept another body. They are not aware that the ultimate goal of life is to approach Krsna
- Those who are engaged in fruitive activities (karmis) attain the higher planetary systems as a result of their past activities & the jnanis, who seek unification or a monistic merging with the effulgence of the Supreme Lord, also attain their desired end
- Those who are engaged in fruitive activities are described by the Vedas personified as andha-parampara, or blind followers of the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies
- Those who are engaged in fruitive activities, or prescribed duties according to the four orders of social and spiritual life, are not actually pure devotees
- Those who are engaged in fruitive, pious activities and who are ultimately hoping to be liberated from this material entanglement will never be successful either because they deride the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. BG 1972 purports
- Those who are in the bodily conception mainly engage in fruitive activity. Those who perform yajnas and ritualistic ceremonies are also considered in the same category
- To enable people to reach the stage of activities that are not tinged by fruitive results, great saints first engage people in fruitive activities
W
- What is the process of punishing others? Who are the actual candidates for punishment? Are all karmis engaged in fruitive activities punishable, or only some of them?
- Whatever we earn, if not the whole thing, but if at least some portion of our income we engage in the service of the Lord for propagating the teaching of God consciousness, that is engaging our fruitive activities
- When one cultivates knowledge for this purpose, he is considered to be on a higher platform than one who is engaged in karma-yajna, or fruitive activities
- When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruitive activities; and when he dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the animal kingdom. BG 14.15 - 1972
- When one fully engages in the transcendental service of the Lord by performing activities without fruitive results, one is elevated to the transcendental position
- When we refer to the urge to speak, we refer to useless talking, such as that of the impersonal Mayavadi philosophers, or of persons engaged in fruitive activities