The Allurement of the World

Just as the goat’s beard
wanders and wags for nothing,
people roam about merrily but in vain,
doing Karmas for the fulfilment
of their worldly desires,
while despising the disciplines
[followed by aspirants]
which lead to eternal Moksha in Self.
Ah, what a pitiable spectacle
is the condition of these worldly people!
Longing for a tiny grain of pleasure,
people toil so hard using the mind
to plough the field of the five senses,
but they never wish for the flood of Bliss
which is the fruit that comes
by ploughing the Heart,
the Source of the mind,
with [simple] Self-attention.
Ah, what a wonder!
The moon-like jiva [the mind],
ever wedded to the sun-like Self,
should always remain in her home,
the Heart;
to forsake the Bliss of Self
and go astray for worldly pleasures,
is like the madness of a wife
who spoils her precious chastity.
Only when the world’s allurement is lost
will true Liberation be possible
[and its allurement cannot be lost
unless it is found to be unreal].
Hence, to try to foist reality upon this world is to be just like an infatuated lover who tries to foist chastity upon a prostitute.
Sadhu Om: A lover foists chastity upon a prostitute only because of his infatuation with her, and similarly some schools of thought argue and try to insist upon the world’s reality, only because of their immense desire for the enjoyment of this world. Therefore Liberation, which is the
fruit of desirelessness, is absolutely impossible for them.

— The teachings of Sri Ramana.
Guru Vachaka Kovai. Verses 71 - 74.
An Analysis of the Truth. Chapter 3.
The Allurement of the World.