Lessons learned in life : Wisdom of today.

 Text 7:

Sometimes the living entity is interested in the yellow stool known as gold and runs after it. That gold is the source of material opulence and envy, and it can enable one to afford illicit sex, gambling, meat-eating and intoxication. Those whose minds are overcome by the mode of passion are attracted by the color of gold, just as a man suffering from cold in the forest runs after a phosphorescent light in a marshy land, considering it to be fire.

ŚB 5.14.7

क्‍वचिच्चाशेषदोषनिषदनं पुरीषविशेषं तद्वर्णगुणनिर्मितमति: सुवर्णमुपादित्सत्यग्निकामकातर इवोल्मुकपिशाचम् ॥ ७ ॥

kvacic cāśeṣa-doṣa-niṣadanaṁ purīṣa-viśeṣaṁ tad-varṇa-guṇa-nirmita-matiḥ suvarṇam upāditsaty agni-kāma-kātara ivolmuka-piśācam.

Synonyms

kvacit — sometimes; ca — also; aśeṣa — unlimited; doṣa — of faults; niṣadanam — the source of; purīṣa — of stool; viśeṣam — a particular type; tat-varṇa-guṇa — whose color is the same as that of the mode of passion (reddish); nirmita-matiḥ — whose mind is absorbed in that; suvarṇam — gold; upāditsati — desiring to get; agni-kāma — by the desire for fire; kātaraḥ — who is troubled; iva — like; ulmuka-piśācam — a phosphorescent light known as a will-o’-the-wisp, which is sometimes mistaken for a ghost.

Translation

Sometimes the living entity is interested in the yellow stool known as gold and runs after it. That gold is the source of material opulence and envy, and it can enable one to afford illicit sex, gambling, meat-eating and intoxication. Those whose minds are overcome by the mode of passion are attracted by the color of gold, just as a man suffering from cold in the forest runs after a phosphorescent light in a marshy land, considering it to be fire.

Purport

Parīkṣit Mahārāja told Kali-yuga to leave his kingdom immediately and reside in four places: brothels, liquor shops, slaughterhouses and gambling casinos. However, Kali-yuga requested him to give him only one place where these four places are included, and Parīkṣit Mahārāja gave him the place where gold is stored. Gold encompasses the four principles of sin, and therefore, according to spiritual life, gold should be avoided as far as possible. If there is gold, there is certainly illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication. Because people in the Western world have a great deal of gold, they are victims of these four sins. The color of gold is very glittering, and a materialistic person becomes very much attracted by its yellow color. However, this gold is actually a type of stool. A person with a bad liver generally passes yellow stool. The color of this stool attracts a materialistic person, just as the will-o’-the-wisp attracts one who needs heat.

Source : https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/5/14/7/