श्रेयश्च प्रेयश्च मनुष्यमेतः
तौ सम्परीत्य विविनक्ति धीरः ।
श्रेयो हि धीरोऽभि प्रेयसो वृणीते
प्रेयो मन्दो योगक्षेमाद्वृणीते ॥ २॥
śreyaśca preyaśca manuṣyametaḥ
tau samparītya vivinakti dhīraḥ .
śreyo hi dhīro’bhi preyaso vṛṇīte
preyo mando yogakṣemādvṛṇīte .. 2..
Both the good and the pleasant present themselves to a man. The calm soul examines them well and discriminates. Yea, he prefers the good to the pleasant; but the fool chooses the pleasant out of greed and avarice.
Commentary:
That man is idiotic who, for the purpose of the immediate acquisition of property and the enjoyment thereof, chooses what is of sensory satisfaction and titillation. But the hero like Nachiketas, who shunned even the lordship of the three worlds, such people choose the blessedness of the soul, not the pleasures of the sense organs. The hero on the path of the Spirit carefully distinguishes between what is going to be his doom and what is going to be his real blessedness. As we distinguish between the characteristics of wisdom and action, sankhya and yoga, we try to distinguish between what is really going to be good in the end and what is apparently pleasurable at the present moment.