1. Economic development. What is this nonsense?

    Because we are in this material condition, we require economic development also. So that is very easy also. Krsna has given you enough land — you just little work. The animals are there. The cows will give you milk. If you till a little land, you get some grains. That is sufficient. Economic development. You don't require big factories, big workshop, and whole day and night with motorcar going this way and that way. No. There is no necessity for economic development. This is maya. Simply at the end he will eat some grains or some this or that, little. And by whole day… Therefore they are called mudha. According to Bhagavad-gita, they are rascals, mudha, ass.

    Just like ass, the beast of burden. He takes washerman's load, three tons, four tons. Whole day working, but eating a morsel of grass, that's all. He has no knowledge that "I take a morsel of grass only, I live. And why whole day I bear these so much tons of clothing of the washerman?" You have no experience of the ass, ass's business. In India the washerman loads the ass three tons and he goes to the waterside and the washerman washes all these clothings in some bank of river or reservoir of water. Again evening, the ass brings back the clothing.

    So the karmis, they have been described in the Bhagavad-gita: mudha, ass, simply unnecessarily working day and night, whole day and night. You see. Without taking care of the atma, without taking care of the religion. Economic development. What is this nonsense? You are losing yourself.

    From Srila Prabhupada's lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.9-11 — New Vrindaban, June 6, 1969