Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.22.53

nṛtyato gāyataḥ paśyan

yathaivānukaroti tān

evaḿ buddhi-guṇān paśyann

anīho 'py anukāryate

SYNONYMS

nṛtyataḥ — persons who are dancing; gāyataḥ — and singing; paśyan — observing; yathā — just as; eva — indeed; anukaroti — imitates; tān — them; evam — thus; buddhi — of the material intelligence; guṇān — the acquired qualities; paśyan — seeing; anīhaḥ — although not himself engaged in activity; api — nevertheless; anukāryate — is made to imitate.

TRANSLATION

Just as one may imitate persons whom one sees dancing and singing, similarly the soul, although never the doer of material activities, becomes captivated by material intelligence and is thus forced to imitate its qualities.

PURPORT

Sometimes people are captivated by professional singers and dancers and imitate within their minds the musical rhythms and melodies of the performers along with their romantic, humorous or heroic emotions. People sing songs heard on the radio and imitate dances and dramatic performances seen on television or in movies and theaters, entering into the emotions and art of the performer. The conditioned soul is similarly captivated by the concoctions of the material mind and intelligence, which convince him that he can become the enjoyer of the material world. Although different from the material body and never the actual performer of its activities, the conditioned soul is induced to engage his body in material activities, which entangle him in the cycle of birth and death. One should not accept the illicit propositions of material intelligence, but rather should engage himself fully in the service of the Lord in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari