Bhagavatam-daily 114 – Canto-11, Chapter-08, Text-30 – Eureka moments help us see our own plight

Srimad Bhagavatam Canto-11, Chapter-08, Text-30
pingalovaca
aho me moha-vitatim
pasyatavijitatmanah
ya kantad asatah kamam
kamaye yena balisa

Translation:
The prostitute Pingala said: Just see how greatly illusioned I am! Because I cannot control my mind, just like a fool I desire lusty pleasure from an insignificant man.

Purport:
In material existence all of the senses are attracted by different objects, and thus the conditioned soul becomes a first-class fool. The cause of material life is one’s indifference to the Absolute Truth. The conditioned soul considers himself to be the lord and enjoyer of the material world and considers the purpose of life to be sense gratification. The more one tries to enjoy the material world, the more one’s illusion increases.

It appears from this verse that the prostitute Pingala was not only earning her livelihood through prostitution, but was actually enjoying her illicit contact with innumerable men. The words kantad asatah indicate that she was freely selling herself without discrimination to the most ordinary and useless men, considering them to be “lovers.” Thus she says, “I was a great fool.” The word balisa means “one who has a childish mentality, without practical experience of right and wrong.”

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