Ramanuja's Gita Bhashyam - Chapter 2 - sloka 44

The entire content of this mail is from Swami Adidevananda's translation of  Ramanuja's  Gita Bhashya, published by Ramakrishna Mission.

The Way of the Worldly - 42-44

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 2 - Samkhya Yoga - Sloka 44 

Bhoga aishwarya prasaktanam taya apahrta chetasam I

Vyavasayatmika buddhih samadhau na vidhyate II sloka 44

भोग ऐश्वर्य प्रसक्तानां तया अपहर्त  चेतसां ।

व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिः समाधौ न विधीयते ।। श्लोक ४४ 

Those who cling so to pleasure & power are attracted by that speech (offering heavenly rewards) and are unable to develop the resolute will of a concentrated mind.

The ignorant whose knowledge is little, and who have as their sole aim the attainment of enjoyment and power, speak the flowery language ie showing fruits, which look apparently beautiful at first sight. They rejoice in the letter of the vedas ie they are attached to heaven and such other results (promised in the karma kanda of the vedas). They say that there is nothing else, owing to their intense attachment to these results. They say that there is no fruit superior to heaven etc. They are full of worldly desires and their minds are highly attached to secular desires. They hanker for heaven & its enjoyment, after which one can again have rebirth which offers again the opportunity to perform varied rites devoid of true knowledge. This leads towards the attainment of enjoyments and power once again. 

With regard to those who cling to pleasure and power and whose understanding is contaminated by rites related to pleasure and lordly powers, the mental disposition characterised by resolution will not arise in their samadhi. Samadhi here means the mind. The knowledge of the self will not arise in such minds. In the minds of these persons, there cannot arise the mental disposition that looks at all vedic rituals as means of liberation based on the determined conviction about the real form of self. Hence in an aspirant for liberation, there should be no attachment to rituals out of conviction that they are meant for the acquisition of objects of desire only. 

It may be questioned why the vedas, which have more of love for jivas than thousands of parents, and which are endeavouring to save the jivas should prescribe in this way rites whose  fruits are infinitesimal   and which produce only new births. It can also be asked if it is proper to abandon what is given in the vedas. These questions are answered in the following slokas.