ŚB 11.5.17
Devanagari
एत आत्महनोऽशान्ता अज्ञाने ज्ञानमानिन: ।
सीदन्त्यकृतकृत्या वै कालध्वस्तमनोरथा: ॥ १७ ॥
सीदन्त्यकृतकृत्या वै कालध्वस्तमनोरथा: ॥ १७ ॥
Verse text
eta ātma-hano ’śāntā
ajñāne jñāna-māninaḥ
sīdanty akṛta-kṛtyā vai
kāla-dhvasta-manorathāḥ
ajñāne jñāna-māninaḥ
sīdanty akṛta-kṛtyā vai
kāla-dhvasta-manorathāḥ
Synonyms
ete — these; ātma-hanaḥ — killers of the self; aśāntāḥ — devoid of peace; ajñāne — in ignorance; jñāna-māninaḥ — presuming to have knowledge; sīdanti — they suffer; akṛta — failing to perform; kṛtyāḥ — their duty; vai — indeed; kāla — by time; dhvasta — destroyed; manaḥ-rathāḥ — their fanciful desires.
Translation
The killers of the soul are never peaceful, because they consider that human intelligence is ultimately meant for expanding material life. Thus neglecting their real, spiritual duties, they are always in distress. They are filled with great hopes and dreams, but unfortunately these are always destroyed by the inevitable march of time.
Purport
There is a similar verse in Śrī Īśopaniṣad (3):
asuryā nāma te lokā
andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ
tāṁs te pretyābhigacchanti
ye ke cātma-hano janāḥ
andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ
tāṁs te pretyābhigacchanti
ye ke cātma-hano janāḥ
“The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance.”