Smart Quote of the Day, July 29, 2020
"Who in this world does not want to possess wealth, beauty and the social respectability that come from these opulences?"
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This is from the Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.8.9
[This chapter of the Srimad-Bhagavatam is entitled, "The Churning of the Milk Ocean." It describes how the goddess of fortune appeared during the churning of the Ocean of Milk and how she accepted Lord Vishnu as her husband. As described later in the chapter, when Dhanvantari appeared with a pot of nectar the demons immediately snatched it from him, but Lord Vishnu appeared as the incarnation Mohini, the most beautiful woman in the world, just to captivate the demons and save the nectar for the demigods.]
TRANSLATION
Because of her exquisite beauty, her bodily features, her youth, her complexion and her glories, everyone, including the demigods, the demons and the human beings, desired her. They were attracted because she is the source of all opulences.
PURPORT (excerpt):
Who in this world does not want to possess wealth, beauty and the social respectability that come from these opulences? People generally desire material enjoyment, material opulence and the association of aristocratic family members (bhogaisvarya-prasaktanam).
Material enjoyment entails money, beauty and the reputation they bring, which can all be achieved by the mercy of the goddess of fortune. The goddess of fortune, however, never remains alone. As indicated in the previous verse by the word bhagavat-para, she is the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is enjoyable only by Him. If one wants the favor of the goddess of fortune, mother Laksmi, because she is by nature bhagavat-para one must keep her with Narayana.
The devotees who always engage in the service of Narayana (narayana-parayana) can easily achieve the favor of the goddess of fortune without a doubt, but materialists who try to get the favor of the goddess of fortune only to possess her for personal enjoyment are frustrated. Theirs is not a good policy.
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