Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan

Bg 16.23

yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya
vartate kāma-kārataḥ
na sa siddhim avāpnoti
na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim

Synonyms: 

yaḥ — anyone who; śāstra–vidhim — the regulations of the scriptures; utsṛjya — giving up; vartate — remains; kāma–kārataḥ — acting whimsically in lust; na — never; saḥ — he; siddhim — perfection; avāpnoti — achieves; na — never; sukham — happiness; na — never; parām — the supreme; gatim — perfectional stage.

Translation: 

He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.

yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya, one who utsṛjya, give up, reject, one gives up the vidhi of Shashtra that means on rejects it neglects it then we have to act, so how we will act? vartate kāma-kārataḥ, one act because of selfish desire, na sa siddhim avāpnoti, the person will not attain perfection, na sukhaṁ, will not attain happiness and certainly na parāṁ gatim, one will not attain the Supreme destination.

When one is impelled by lust, lust cannot think about long term perfection so lust covers our spiritual nature, there is no question of parāṁ gatim. And lust keeps us perpetually dissatisfied more and more duspurena*** it is like a fire and indulgence is like fuel, that makes the fire blaze more and more, so na sukhaṁ, one cannot gain happiness, na sa siddhim avāpnoti, one cannot get siddhi also, siddhi can refer to perfection, there are different kinds of perfections material or yogic and spiritual perfections. But lust makes a person difficult to achieve anything, even if a person is in sports there also a person has to control selfish desires. A person has to be fit to be energetic and eat in a regulated way, act in a regulated way discipline is important for success in any field. Unregulated desire will not allow a person to do anything properly. That is why in Vedic culture or even in western culture co-education was not there as when boy and girl are together then they get obsessed thoughts about each-other, then it become difficult for them to focus on anything higher like studies. So this is one example of kāma-kārataḥ, how kama can distract a person. Now śāstra-vidhim is injunction of scripture when one gives it up one acts according to lust. 

We should not be acting whimsically.

End of transcription.