Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 2: The Path of Understanding

Bhagavad Gita 2.43

kāmātmānaḥ svargaparā janmakarmaphalapradām | kriyāviśeṣabahulāṃ bhogaiśvaryagatiṃ prati ||

Full of desire and with heaven as their highest goal, they prescribe many elaborate rites aimed at pleasure and power, whose only fruit is rebirth.

Modern context

The portrait continues: people driven by desire, for whom even heaven is one more thing to acquire, absorbed in elaborate techniques for gaining pleasure and power. The trap Krishna describes is making enjoyment and status the purpose of everything, including one's spiritual life.