SB 1.8.26-My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.
PURPORT–
Being materially advanced means taking birth in an aristocratic family and possessing great wealth, an education and attractive personal beauty. All materialistic men are mad after possessing all these material opulences, and this is known as the advancement of material civilization. But the result is that by possessing all these material assets one becomes artificially puffed up, intoxicated by such temporary possessions. Consequently, such materially puffed up persons are incapable of uttering the holy name of the Lord by addressing Him feelingly, “O Govinda, O Kṛṣṇa.” It is said in the śāstras that by once uttering the holy name of the Lord, the sinner gets rid of a quantity of sins that he is unable to commit. Such is the power of uttering the holy name of the Lord. There is not the least exaggeration in this statement. Actually the Lord’s holy name has such powerful potency. But there is a quality to such utterances also. It depends on the quality of feeling. A helpless man can feelingly utter the holy name of the Lord, whereas a man who utters the same holy name in great material satisfaction cannot be so sincere. A materially puffed up person may utter the holy name of the Lord occasionally, but he is incapable of uttering the name in quality. Therefore, the four principles of material advancement, namely (1) high parentage, (2) good wealth, (3) high education and (4) attractive beauty, are, so to speak, disqualifications for progress on the path of spiritual advancement. The material covering of the pure spirit soul is an external feature, as much as fever is an external feature of the unhealthy body. The general process is to decrease the degree of the fever and not to aggravate it by maltreatment. Sometimes it is seen that spiritually advanced persons become materially impoverished. This is no discouragement. On the other hand, such impoverishment is a good sign as much as the falling of temperature is a good sign. The principle of life should be to decrease the degree of material intoxication which leads one to be more and more illusioned about the aim of life. Grossly illusioned persons are quite unfit for entrance into the kingdom of God.
Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/sb/1/8/26
►740524r2.rom Conversations … Yes, naturally. If this man is fed up with this industry, he can go back to village and produce his own food. But he is attached to this industrial activity because he is thinking that “We are getting more money for wine and woman and meat. Let me enjoy.” That is the perfect, imp… But if he chants Hare Krsna maha-mantra, his consciousness will be purified and he will be made not interested this kind of work. He will go back to village and produce food.
►760731r2.par Conversations … little cottages, grow little vegetable, little barley or wheat and milk. That is sufficient. We don’t require much. We don’t want luxury. We want just to subsist. Yavad artha prayojana. We hate the idea of luxury, unnecessary.
►761102rc.vrn Conversations Prabhupada: No, we don’t care for Indians and Europeans. We care for Krsna, that’s all. I didn’t care for anyone. I simply care … s protection, that’s all. That is wanted. Guru-krsna-krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija. We want two favours. One from guru, one from Krsna. That’s all. We don’t want anyone’s favour.
June 22 1969 New Vrndavana
So our main business is how to improve Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We should not divert our attention in any other material condition of improvement. That is actually not improvement. It is simply illusion, that “I am making improvement.” What improvement? Suppose you are earning now, say, five hundred dollars per month. If you earn, say, five million dollars, so then what? Will you eat more than four cāpāṭis? (laughter) You’ll eat the same four cāpāṭis. And you’ll occupy the same six feet bed. You may acquire the whole property of West Virginia, (laughter) but you’ll have to lie down on six feet. (laughter) That’s all. And you’ll have to eat four cāpāṭis. So this is māyā. This is māyā, “I am improving.” What you are improving?