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I have been reading books published by ISKCON, a spiritual organization, and I constantly come across the term fruitive mentality. It is supposed to be the tendency to always seek personal gain, and to want to enjoy the fruits of one's actions, in a materialistic manner - the word has a definite negative connotation.

Here are some examples of the phrase's usage-

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We all have fruitive mentality. We invariably seek profit, adoration and distinction. We are thus attached to work for selfish motives

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Because karmic reactions are result of fruitive mentality, one who acts out of duty, free from the desire to enjoy the fruits of his action, is untouched by karma (link)

Fruitive is more than just self-centered, as there is the added meaning of doing something in order to enjoy the fruits of the action, as opposed to say, doing work out of a sense of duty. To clarify, a fruitive mentality is more like a materialistic mentality, with the intent of enjoying worldly pleasures - whether by fair or unfair means. The person has no sense of sacrifice or compassion and is only ever concerned about his/her own enjoyment. It is definitely a moral judgement and is a negative one, made from a perfect higher ground

So, what could be a one-word replacement for 'fruitive' in 'fruitive mentality'?

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  • << 'A fair day's wage for a fair day's work' is an objective of the labor movement, trade unions and other workers' groups, to increase pay, and adopt reasonable hours of work. It is a motto of the American Federation of Labor. >> [Wikipedia]. It seems like a lot of people think that wanting a living wage is not the same as '[invariably] seeking profit, adoration and distinction'.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Jun 3, 2017 at 14:53
  • @EdwinAshworth, I agree. But a fruitive mentality is more like a materialistic mentality, with the intent of enjoying worldly pleasures - whether by fair or unfair means. The person has no sense of sacrifice or compassion and is only ever concerned about his/her own enjoyment. It is definitely a moral judgement and is a negative one, made from a perfect higher ground. That is what I mean
    – user1993
    Jun 3, 2017 at 17:48
  • The desire for adoration / distinction hardly corresponds to a materialistic attitude.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Jun 3, 2017 at 23:20
  • self-indulgent or sybaritic comes to mind.
    – Lambie
    Jun 14, 2018 at 18:02
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    @user1993 'fruitive' is a pretty rare word (I've never heard it before now - it sounds like one of those weird made up names for a Silicon Valley startup company that ... oh of course it already exists. Spellcheck underlines it so it is rare enough (but that's not a guarantee). Anyway, the way that literature uses it, we can only guess what they really mean (and probably only tenuously connected to its dictionary meaning.
    – Mitch
    Jun 14, 2018 at 21:31

1 Answer 1

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This is a creative use of “fruitive” which has the meanings enjoyment, giving pleasure, and possession. “Possessive” might work, although it might require just as much context as the term it replaces. “Selfish” is close but lacks the nuance necessary to capture the concept in total. “Exploitative” likewise works in part. “Saturnalian” might be an artful, layered and suggestive way of conveying it, and being less common, is acquiescent to the unique conglomeration of meanings here required...it just might be flexible enough to get the job done.

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  • Thanks for the answer Dromer. I too think selfish and exploitative both partly work
    – user1993
    Jun 14, 2018 at 18:25

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