Samasa is one of the nine yogis who advise King Nimi, said P.T. Seshadri, in a discourse. King Nimi asks Samasa about what happens to those who are slaves to worldly attractions and who, therefore, do not worship Vishnu. Samasa says that there are many learned men in this world, who may do prescribed samskaras diligently, but they have no desire to acquire jnana. When they perform Vedic rites, it is only to attain something. And this result that they seek is fulfilment of some material desire. They do not understand the implications of their deeds. They are preoccupied with thoughts of their lives and of themselves. There are others in this world who mock Hari bhaktas. Obviously, they are not going to seek jnana.
There are people who are completely caught up in mundane matters. They think of what good will come to their families if they perform a sacrifice. Even if they do a meritorious deed like annadana, it is only with a view to getting some benefit out of it. They think that there is nothing beyond the joys of this world. They make fun of the Lord and His devotees. And because of such sinful acts, they develop more bad qualities. After detailing the behaviour of most people thus, yogi Samasa says that we must use wealth in dharmic ways in order to ultimately obtain jnana. A person with no jnana is a slave to his senses. There are four Purusharthas — artha, kama, dharma and moksha. A person with no jnana does not think about the most important purushartha, namely moksha. A jnani will never work for more and more comforts in life. Many mistake ajnana for jnana. Being attached to wealth helps in no way. When death occurs, in just a second a wealthy man is separated from the wealth he has so carefully accumulated over the years.
