From the next verse she gives examples of Lord Rāma’s supremacy and Rāvaṇa’s insignificance.

NOTE. Texts 36 to 43 are of very great significance when we consider the following statements by Prabhupāda:

So everyone is after Lakṣmījī—Rāvaṇa’s philosophy. The whole world is after material acquisition (lakṣmī). Money is called lakṣmī. Everyone is after money, but nobody knows that money can be properly utilized when there is Nārāyaṇa. Lakṣmī can stay when there is Nārāyaṇa: Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. You cannot keep Lakṣmī alone without Nārāyaṇa. That is not possible. Then you’ll be finished, like Rāvaṇa. He wanted to keep Sītā without Rāma; therefore he was finished with his whole family. (Lecture on Bhagavad-gītā 13.14 in Bombay on October 7, 1973)

Lakṣmī is to be engaged in the service of Nārāyaṇa. Just like Sītā-devi, Lakṣmī, she is meant for serving Nārāyaṇa, Rāmacandra. Rāvaṇa thought, “Take away the Lakṣmī from Rāma.” He became vanquished, finished. He could not keep Lakṣmī, but he became vanquished because [he] wanted to enjoy Lakṣmī without Rāma. But Lakṣmī cannot stay without Rāma, Nārāyaṇa. That is [a] false attempt. So he became vanquished—with money, with family [and] everything. So if we want to keep Lakṣmī without Nārāyaṇa, then it will not be very good. (Evening Darśana in Bombay on August 14, 1976)

If anyone tries to separate Śrī from Nārāyaṇa, then he will be vanquished. The example is Rāvaṇa. Rāvaṇa wanted to separate Lakṣmī from Rāma. This attempt is so dangerous that Rāvaṇa, instead of becoming happy, he became vanquished with all his friends. So don’t try to separate Lakṣmī from Nārāyaṇa. She cannot be separated. But if anyone attempts like that, he’ll be ruined. He’ll be ruined. The example is Rāvaṇa.

So at the present moment people are very much fond of śrī (money): śriyaiśvarya-prajepsavaḥ: [The] general people want śrī (money or beautiful woman), riches, family [and] society. So Śrī is always hankered after. But do not try to keep Śrī alone. Then you’ll be ruined. This is the instruction. You do not try to keep Śrī alone. Keep [her] always with Nārāyaṇa. Then you’ll be happy. So those who are rich should worship Nārāyaṇa with their money. Spend money [in His service]. Money is meant for [the] service of Nārāyaṇa. So if you have got money, don’t spoil it like Rāvaṇa, but engage it in Kṛṣṇa’s service. If you have got money, spend it for very costly temple, for installing Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Sītā-Rāma, like that. Don’t spoil your money in other way. Then you’ll always remain rich. You’ll never become poor. But as soon as you try to cheat Nārāyaṇa, that “I have taken Your Lakṣmī,” you starve. That policy is very bad. (Lecture on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.2 given in Māyāpur on February 12, 1977)¹

Foolish materialistic people collect money and steal from other thieves, but they cannot keep it. In any case, it must be spent. One person cheats another, and another person cheats someone else; therefore the best way to possess Lakṣmī is to keep her by the side of Nārāyaṇa. This is the point of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We worship Lakṣmī (Rādhārāṇī) along with Nārāyaṇa (Kṛṣṇa). We collect money from various sources, but that money does not belong to anyone but Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa (Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa). If money is utilized in the service of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, the devotee automatically lives in an opulent way. However, if one wants to enjoy Lakṣmī the way Rāvaṇa did, he will be vanquished by the laws of nature, and whatever few possessions he has will be taken away. Finally death will take everything away, and death is the representative of Kṛṣṇa. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.14.24 purport)

People generally desire material enjoyment, material opulence and the association of aristocratic family members (bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānām [Bg. 2.44]). Material enjoyment entails money, beauty and the reputation they bring, which can all be achieved by the mercy of the goddess of fortune. The goddess of fortune, however, never remains alone. As indicated in the previous verse by the word bhagavat-parā, she is the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is enjoyable only by Him. If one wants the favor of the goddess of fortune, mother Lakṣmī, because she is by nature bhagavat-parā one must keep her with Nārāyaṇa. The devotees who always engage in the service of Nārāyaṇa (nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇa) can easily achieve the favor of the goddess of fortune without a doubt, but materialists who try to get the favor of the goddess of fortune only to possess her for personal enjoyment are frustrated. Theirs is not a good policy. The celebrated demon Rāvaṇa, for example, wanted to deprive Rāmacandra of Lakṣmī, Sītā, and thus be victorious, but the result was just the opposite. Sītā, of course, was taken by force by Lord Rāmacandra, and Rāvaṇa and his entire material empire were vanquished. The goddess of fortune is desirable for everyone, including human beings, but one should understand that the goddess of fortune is the exclusive property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One cannot achieve the mercy of the goddess of fortune unless one prays both to her and to the supreme enjoyer, the Personality of Godhead. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.8.9 purport)

In essence, money is a form of Lakṣmī-devī and is exclusively meant to be kept with Lord Nārāyaṇa. In other words, money is only meant to be used for His service and not for our service, because all money belongs to the Supreme Lord. Not using money for the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and collecting money for the service of the Supreme Lord without using all of that for His service are equivalent to Rāvaṇa’s attempt to steal Mother Sītā. And as we learn from the previous verses, such an attempt simply leads to disaster.²