चिन्तामपरिमेयां च प्रलयान्तामुपाश्रिताः | कामोपभोगपरमा एतावदिति निश्चिताः || ११ ||
cintām aparimeyāṁ ca pralayāntām upāśritāḥ kāmopabhoga-paramā etāvad iti niścitāḥ
cintām—anxieties; aparimeyām—immeasurable; ca—and; pralaya-antām—until death; upāśritāḥ—taking refuge in; kāma-upabhoga—sensory pleasure; paramāḥ—the highest goal; etāvat—this much; iti—thus; niścitāḥ—having concluded.
“Beset by immeasurable anxieties that end only at death, convinced that the enjoyment of sense pleasure is the highest aim, they conclude that this is all there is.”
The tragic irony of the demoniac life is that the pursuit of pleasure produces anxiety rather than satisfaction. Having decided that sensory enjoyment is the ultimate good, such persons are perpetually anxious about losing what they have or not getting what they want. The anxiety ends only with death—yet even this sobering fact does not prompt them to reconsider the premise.
Notice the correlation in your own life between craving and anxiety. The more urgently you believe you need something for happiness, the more anxious you become about getting it and keeping it. This verse suggests that permanently reducing anxiety requires questioning the premise—examining whether sensory pleasure is truly the highest available good, or whether something deeper and more stable exists.