Death means when this body cannot be carried any more, the consciousness has to be transferred to another, new body. Just like when your garment is too old, it has to be changed—similarly, when this material body is too old to carry on, then this consciousness is transferred to another body and you begin another life. This is the process of nature.
But unfortunately, in the modern education system, there is no departmental education about this consciousness or spirit soul, although it is the most important factor. Without consciousness, without the soul's being present, this body is useless. But unfortunately we take care very much for this body, but we have no knowledge of the consciousness or the spirit soul. This is called illusion, ignorance or māyā.
We are very much serious about the nonpermanent things, the body, which will not exist, which will be vanquished after certain period of years, but we do not take care of the eternal consciousness, which is changing from one body to another. This is the defect of the modern civilization. And so long we are unaware of the presence of the spirit soul in the body, so long we do not inquire what is the spirit soul, so long our all activities are simply wasting our time.
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said that parābhavas tāvad abhodha-jātaḥ (SB 5.5.5). The foolish person or the foolish living entity. Anyone who has accepted this temporary body is understood to be foolish. So every one of us is born foolish, because we identify with this temporary body as myself. Therefore we are foolish. Everyone knows that the body does not exist, and still, everyone identifies himself with this body. This is called ignorance, or illusion.
So the whole world, or the mostly people, are hovering in ignorance, and he does not know that he is spirit soul and he is transmigrating from one body to another. He does not want to die, but the death, cruel death, is enforced upon him. So these problems they do not consider very seriously, and they are thinking very happy on the principles of animal life. The animal life is based on four principal things: eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. And at the present moment the human civilization is very much proud of advancement of knowledge, but they are concerned with these four principles of life, namely eating, sleeping, defending and mating.
So according to Vedic literature, this way of life is no better than animal life. Human life is meant for advanced knowledge. And what is that advanced knowledge? To know oneself, what I am. In every civilized country, in every civilized form of civiliza . . . of society, there is some kind of religious principles, either you accept Muhammadanism or Christianism or Jewism or Hinduism or Buddhism. And what is the purpose of the scriptures and religious principles? To understand this consciousness, to understand the spirit soul and how it is fallen into this material conditional life, how they are transforming or transmigrating in different species of life.
There are 8,400,000's of species of life, and we are wandering in so many species of life. And this is the opportunity, when we have got this human form of life, to understand "What I am." If we do not understand "What I am," then I am missing the opportunity. If I simply waste my time in the propensities of animal life—the same thing: eating, sleeping, defending and mating—and if you do not inquire that, "I do not wish to die.
"I do not wish to die. Why death is enforced upon me? I do not want to be diseased. Why disease is enforced upon me?" They do not inquire. They simply think, "All right, I am diseased. Let me go to the doctor and have some medicine." But from innermost part of his heart, he doesn't want to be diseased or doesn't want to be dead. Why? Because he is eternal. His real position is eternal life, blissful life, without any death, without any birth, without any disease.
So this is the opportunity. This human form of life is the opportunity to achieve that highest perfection of life. If we do not make progress with that vision of life, then we are simply spoiling our this opportunity of human civilized life. Especially I mean this civilized form of life with developed consciousness, developed education. If you do not take care, "What I am? Why I am meeting death? I do not wish to die. Why calamities are enforced upon me?" Nobody wants to meet calamities. In your country, especially I see in every city, the fire brigade, ambulance car is always wandering in the street. That means who wants that his house should be set in fire? Who wants that he should meet an accident?
But these things are being enforced, but there is no question that, "Why these things are enforced? I do not want this. Why this . . .?" This is self-realization. As soon as we become inquisitive that, "I do not want all these miserable condition of life. Why they are enforced . . .?" They are trying to solve these problems by so-called scientific research or so-called philosophical research, but actually the solution is to reform or to purify your consciousness.