Bondage of material existence

Expressions researched:
"bondage in material existence" |"bondage of material existence" |"bondage to material existence"

BG Chapters 1 - 6

Although the mind may be engrossed in fruitive activities and influenced by ignorance, one must develop a love for devotional service to Vāsudeva. Only then can one have the opportunity to get out of the bondage of material existence.

BG 5.2, Purport:

Fruitive activities (seeking sense gratification) are cause for material bondage. As long as one is engaged in activities aimed at improving the standard of bodily comfort, one is sure to transmigrate to different types of bodies, thereby continuing material bondage perpetually. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.4-6) confirms this as follows:

nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma

yad indriya-prītaya āpṛṇoti

na sādhu manye yata ātmano 'yam

asann api kleśa-da āsa dehaḥ

parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto

yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam

yāvat kriyās tāvad idaṁ mano vai

karmātmakaṁ yena śarīra-bandhaḥ

evaṁ manaḥ karma-vaśaṁ prayuṅkte

avidyayātmany upadhīyamāne

prītir na yāvan mayi vāsudeve

na mucyate deha-yogena tāvat

"People are mad after sense gratification, and they do not know that this present body, which is full of miseries, is a result of one's fruitive activities in the past. Although this body is temporary, it is always giving one trouble in many ways. Therefore, to act for sense gratification is not good. One is considered to be a failure in life as long as he makes no inquiry about his real identity. As long as he does not know his real identity, he has to work for fruitive results for sense gratification, and as long as one is engrossed in the consciousness of sense gratification one has to transmigrate from one body to another. Although the mind may be engrossed in fruitive activities and influenced by ignorance, one must develop a love for devotional service to Vāsudeva. Only then can one have the opportunity to get out of the bondage of material existence."

SB Preface and Introduction

To attain mukti, or liberation from the bondage of material existence, is to attain to the service of the Lord.

SB Introduction:

Out of the hundred celebrated ślokas composed by the Bhaṭṭācārya in praise of the Lord, the following two are most important, and these two ślokas explain the mission of the Lord in gist.

1. Let me surrender unto the Personality of Godhead who has appeared now as Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He is the ocean of all mercy and has now come down to teach us material detachment, learning and devotional service to Himself.

2. Since pure devotional service of the Lord has been lost in the oblivion of time, the Lord has appeared to renovate the principles, and therefore I offer my obeisances unto His lotus feet.

The Lord explained the word mukti to be equivalent to the word Viṣṇu, or the Personality of Godhead. To attain mukti, or liberation from the bondage of material existence, is to attain to the service of the Lord.

SB Canto 1

All the Vedic literatures, are put into systematic order for the benefit of the fallen souls, and it is the duty of the fallen souls to take advantage of such literatures and be freed from the bondage of material existence.

SB 1.5.21, Purport:

Śrīla Vyāsadeva is the empowered plenary portion incarnation of the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He descended by his causeless mercy to deliver the fallen souls in the material world. The fallen and forgotten souls are detached from the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The living entities are parts and parcels of the Lord, and they are eternally servitors of the Lord. All the Vedic literatures, therefore, are put into systematic order for the benefit of the fallen souls, and it is the duty of the fallen souls to take advantage of such literatures and be freed from the bondage of material existence. Although formally Śrīla Nārada Ṛṣi is his spiritual master, Śrīla Vyāsadeva is not at all dependent on a spiritual master because in essence he is the spiritual master of everyone else. But because he is doing the work of an ācārya, he has taught us by his own conduct that one must have a spiritual master, even though he be God Himself. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Lord Śrī Rāma and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, all incarnations of Godhead, accepted formal spiritual masters, although by Their transcendental nature They were cognizant of all knowledge. In order to direct people in general to the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, He Himself in the incarnation of Vyāsadeva is delineating the transcendental pastimes of the Lord.

SB Canto 2

Self-realization is, as it were, offering a fight for eternal life against the material struggle for existence, and therefore by the illusory grace of the external energy, the yogī or the devotee is faced with many allurements which can entangle a great fighter again in the bondage of material existence.

SB 2.1.39, Purport:

In this verse, the process of devotional service is indicated by the great Gosvāmī, Śrīla Śukadeva. He tries to impress upon us that instead of diverting our attention to several branches of self-realization, we should concentrate upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the supreme object of realization, worship and devotion. Self-realization is, as it were, offering a fight for eternal life against the material struggle for existence, and therefore by the illusory grace of the external energy, the yogī or the devotee is faced with many allurements which can entangle a great fighter again in the bondage of material existence. A yogī can attain miraculous successes in material achievements, such as aṇimā and laghimā, by which one can become more minute than the minutest or lighter than the lightest, or in the ordinary sense, one may achieve material benedictions in the shape of wealth and women. But one is warned against such allurements because entanglement again in such illusory pleasure means degradation of the self and further imprisonment in the material world. By this warning, one should follow one's vigilant intelligence only.

This self-centered egoism of the materialistic living entities is the cause of their being conditioned by the other paraphernalia and continuing their bondage of material existence.

SB 2.5.24, Purport:

Materialistic ego, or the sense of identification with matter, is grossly self-centered, devoid of clear knowledge of the existence of God. And this self-centered egoism of the materialistic living entities is the cause of their being conditioned by the other paraphernalia and continuing their bondage of material existence. In the Bhagavad-gītā this self-centered egoism is very nicely explained in the Seventh Chapter (verses 24 through 27). The self-centered impersonalist, without a clear conception of the Personality of Godhead, concludes in his own way that the Personality of Godhead takes a material shape from His original impersonal spiritual existence for a particular mission. And this misleading conception of the Supreme Lord by the self-centered impersonalist continues, even though he is seen to be very interested in the Vedic literatures such as the Brahma-sūtras and other highly intellectual sources of knowledge. This ignorance of the personal feature of the Lord is due simply to ignorance of the mixture of different modes. The impersonalist thus cannot conceive of the Lord's eternal spiritual form of eternal knowledge, bliss and existence. The reason is that the Lord reserves the right of not exposing Himself to the nondevotee who, even after a thorough study of literature like the Bhagavad-gītā, remains an impersonalist simply by obstinacy.

It was said by the Lord in the midst of the battlefield that the warriors standing in front of Arjuna, Arjuna himself, and even the Lord had all existed before, they were existing on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, and they would all continue to be individual personalities in the future also, even after the annihilation of the present body and even after being liberated from the bondage of material existence.

SB 2.9.34, Purport:

Anything that appears as apparently not being "produced out of My energy" is called māyā. The conception that the living entity is formless or that the Supreme Lord is formless is also illusion. In the Bhagavad-gītā (2.12) it was said by the Lord in the midst of the battlefield that the warriors standing in front of Arjuna, Arjuna himself, and even the Lord had all existed before, they were existing on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, and they would all continue to be individual personalities in the future also, even after the annihilation of the present body and even after being liberated from the bondage of material existence. In all circumstances, the Lord and the living entities are individual personalities, and the personal features of both the Lord and living beings are never abolished; only the influence of the illusory energy, the reflection of light in the darkness, can, by the mercy of the Lord, be removed. In the material world, the light of the sun is also not independent, nor is that of the moon. The real source of light is the brahmajyoti, which diffuses light from the transcendental body of the Lord, and the same light is reflected in varieties of light: the light of the sun, the light of the moon, the light of fire, or the light of electricity. So the identity of the self as being unconnected with the Supreme Self, the Lord, is also illusion, and the false claim "I am the Supreme" is the last illusory snare of the same māyā, or the external energy of the Lord.

The Lord can award anyone and everyone liberation from the bondage of material existence, yet He rarely awards the privilege of love of Godhead, as confirmed by Nārada.

SB 2.9.35, Purport:

The Lord can award anyone and everyone liberation (mukti) from the bondage of material existence, yet He rarely awards the privilege of love of Godhead, as confirmed by Nārada (muktiṁ dadhāti karhicit sma na bhakti-yogam). This transcendental devotional service of the Lord is so wonderful that the occupation keeps the deserving devotee always rapt in psychological activities, without deviation from the absolute touch. Thus love of Godhead, developed in the heart of the devotee, is a great mystery. Brahmājī previously told Nārada that the desires of Brahmājī are never unfulfilled because he is always absorbed in the transcendental loving service of the Lord; nor has he any desire in his heart save and except the transcendental service of the Lord. That is the beauty and mystery of the process of bhakti-yoga. As the Lord's desire is infallible because He is acyuta, similarly the desires of the devotees in the transcendental service of the Lord are also acyuta, infallible. This is very difficult, however, for the layman to understand without knowledge of the mystery of devotional service, as it is very difficult to know the potency of touchstone. As touchstone is rarely found, a pure devotee of the Lord is also rarely to be seen, even amongst millions of liberated souls (koṭiṣv api mahāmune). Out of all kinds of perfections attained by the process of knowledge, yoga perfection in devotional service is the highest of all and the most mysterious also, even more mysterious than the eight kinds of mystic perfection attained by the process of yogic performances.

SB Canto 3

Their impersonal conception of the self as distinct from the body keeps them in the mode of goodness within material nature, and unless they are attracted by kṛṣṇa-kathā, they will never be liberated from the bondage of material existence.

SB 3.5.11, Purport:

Anyone who misunderstands this perishable body to be the self and who works for it in the name of sociology, politics, philanthropy, altruism, nationalism or internationalism, under the false plea of the bodily conception of life, is certainly a fool and does not know the implications of reality and unreality. Some of them are above the modes of ignorance and passion and are situated in the mode of goodness, but mundane goodness is always contaminated by tinges of ignorance and passion. Mundane goodness can enlighten one that the body and the self are different, and one in goodness is concerned with the self and not the body. But due to being contaminated, those in mundane goodness cannot understand the real nature of the self as a person. Their impersonal conception of the self as distinct from the body keeps them in the mode of goodness within material nature, and unless they are attracted by kṛṣṇa-kathā, they will never be liberated from the bondage of material existence. Kṛṣṇa-kathā is the only remedy for all people of the world because it can situate one in pure consciousness of the self and liberate one from material bondage. To preach kṛṣṇa-kathā all over the world, as recommended by Lord Caitanya, is the greatest missionary activity, and all sensible men and women of the world may join in this great movement started by Lord Caitanya.

SB Canto 4

When the Māyāvādī philosophers think of themselves as liberated, they are under the delusion of mental concoction. No one can become one with or equal to God. To imagine this is to continue one's bondage in material existence.

SB 4.29.26-27, Purport:

The living entity's constitutional position is very minute, and he can be misled in his choice. He may choose to imitate the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A servant may desire to start his own business and imitate his master, and when he chooses to do so, he may leave the protection of his master. Sometimes he is a failure, and sometimes he is successful. Similarly, the living entity, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, starts his own business to compete with the Lord. There are many competitors out to attain the Lord's position, but to become like the Lord is not at all possible. Thus there is a great struggle for existence with the material world as different parties try to imitate the Lord. Material bondage is caused by deviation from the service of the Lord and attempts to imitate Him. The Lord is imitated by Māyāvādī philosophers who try to become one with the Lord in an artificial way. When the Māyāvādī philosophers think of themselves as liberated, they are under the delusion of mental concoction. No one can become one with or equal to God. To imagine this is to continue one's bondage in material existence.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.1.35, Translation:

My dear King, a devotee who has taken shelter of the dust from the lotus feet of the Lord can transcend the influence of the six material whips—namely hunger, thirst, lamentation, illusion, old age and death—and he can conquer the mind and five senses. However, this is not very wonderful for a pure devotee of the Lord because even a person beyond the jurisdiction of the four castes—in other words, an untouchable—is immediately relieved of bondage to material existence if he utters the holy name of the Lord even once.

SB Canto 6

There are four objectives in human life-namely, religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation from the bondage of material existence.

SB 6.11.23, Purport:

There are four objectives in human life-namely, religiosity (dharma), economic development (artha), sense gratification (kāma), and liberation (mokṣa) from the bondage of material existence. People generally aspire for religiosity, economic development and sense gratification, but a devotee has no other desire than to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead both in this life and in the next. The special mercy for the unalloyed devotee is that the Lord saves him from hard labor to achieve the results of religion, economic development and sense gratification. Of course, if one wants such benefits, the Lord certainly awards them. Indra, for example, although a devotee, was not much interested in release from material bondage; instead, he desired sense gratification and a high standard of material happiness in the heavenly planets. Vṛtrāsura, however, being an unalloyed devotee, aspired only to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Lord arranged for him to go back to Godhead after his bodily bondage was destroyed by Indra. Vṛtrāsura requested Indra to release his thunderbolt against him as soon as possible so that both he and Indra would benefit according to their proportionate advancement in devotional service.

SB Canto 7

Prahlāda Mahārāja said, "Although you are sons of demons, keep aloof from such persons and take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, the origin of all the demigods, because the ultimate goal for the devotees of Nārāyaṇa is liberation from the bondage of material existence."

SB 7.6.17-18, Translation:

My dear friends, O sons of the demons, it is certain that no one bereft of knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead has been able to liberate himself from material bondage at any time or in any country. Rather, those bereft of knowledge of the Lord are bound by the material laws. They are factually addicted to sense gratification, and their target is woman. Indeed, they are actually playthings in the hands of attractive women. Victimized by such a conception of life, they become surrounded by children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and thus they are shackled to material bondage. Those who are very much addicted to this conception of life are called demons. Therefore, although you are sons of demons, keep aloof from such persons and take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, the origin of all the demigods, because the ultimate goal for the devotees of Nārāyaṇa is liberation from the bondage of material existence.

SB Canto 8

The goal of life is to become a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa so that one may be freed from the bondage of material existence.

SB 8.20.1, Purport:

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura remarks that Bali Mahārāja remained silent at a critical point. How could he disobey the instruction of Śukrācārya, his spiritual master? It is the duty of such a sober personality as Bali Mahārāja to abide by the orders of his spiritual master immediately, as his spiritual master had advised. But Bali Mahārāja also considered that Śukrācārya was no longer to be accepted as a spiritual master, for he had deviated from the duty of a spiritual master. According to śāstra, the duty of the guru is to take the disciple back home, back to Godhead. If he is unable to do so and instead hinders the disciple in going back to Godhead, he should not be a guru. Gurur na sa syāt (SB 5.5.18). One should not become a guru if he cannot enable his disciple to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The goal of life is to become a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa so that one may be freed from the bondage of material existence (tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mam eti so 'rjuna [Bg. 4.9)). The spiritual master helps the disciple attain this stage by developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Now Śukrācārya has advised Bali Mahārāja to deny the promise to Vāmanadeva. Under the circumstances, therefore, Bali Mahārāja thought that there would be no fault if he disobeyed the order of his spiritual master. He deliberated on this point—should he refuse to accept the advice of his spiritual master, or should he independently do everything to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead? He took some time. Therefore it is said, tūṣṇīṁ bhūtvā kṣaṇaṁ rajann uvācāvahito gurum. After deliberating on this point, he decided that Lord Viṣṇu should be pleased in all circumstances, even at the risk of ignoring the guru's advice to the contrary.

SB Canto 9

Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, one becomes free from the bondage of material existence and thus becomes eligible to return home, back to Godhead.

SB 9.14.48, Purport:

By worshiping the demigods, one worships the different parts of the Lord, just as one might water the branches and twigs of a tree. But worshiping Nārāyaṇa, the all-inclusive Supreme Personality of Godhead, is like pouring water on the root of the tree, thus supplying water to the trunk, branches, twigs, leaves and so on. In Satya-yuga people knew how to fulfill the necessities of life simply by worshiping Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The same purpose can be served in this age of Kali by the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, as recommended in the Bhāgavatam. Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet (SB 12.3.51). Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, one becomes free from the bondage of material existence and thus becomes eligible to return home, back to Godhead.

When the prajās become Kṛṣṇa conscious, they can then expect a good government and good society, a perfect life, and liberation from the bondage of material existence.

SB 9.15.15, Purport:

Human society is naturally grouped into four divisions, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg. 4.13)). But if this system is neglected and the qualities and divisions of society are not considered, the result will be brahma-viṭ-kṣatra-śūdrāṇāṁ yo balī bhavitā nṛpaḥ: the so-called caste system of brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra will be meaningless. As a result, whoever somehow or other becomes powerful will be the king or president, and thus the prajās, or citizens, will be so harassed that they will give up hearth and home and will go to the forest (yāsyanti giri-kānanam) to escape harassment by government officials who have no mercy and are addicted to the ways of plunderers. Therefore the prajās, or the people in general, must take to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, which is the sound incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kali-kāle nāma-rūpe kṛṣṇa-avatāra: Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has now appeared as an incarnation by His holy name. Therefore, when the prajās become Kṛṣṇa conscious, they can then expect a good government and good society, a perfect life, and liberation from the bondage of material existence.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 17.97, Translation:

"There was no offense in Your appearing as Nṛsiṁhadeva. Rather, any man who saw You in that mood was immediately liberated from the bondage of material existence."

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 3.8, Translation:

The real purpose of accepting sannyāsa is to dedicate oneself to the service of Mukunda. By serving Mukunda, one can actually be liberated from the bondage of material existence.

Sometimes yogīs and jñānīs in the beginning take to the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra as a way to begin their various practices. But when they falsely think that they have attained release from the bondage of material existence, they give up chanting.

CC Madhya 12.135, Purport:

Impersonal speculation, monism (merging into the existence of the Supreme), speculative knowledge, mystic yoga and meditation are all compared to grains of sand. They simply cause irritation to the heart. No one can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by such activities, nor do we give the Lord a chance to sit in our hearts peacefully. Rather, the Lord is simply disturbed by them. Sometimes yogīs and jñānīs in the beginning take to the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra as a way to begin their various practices. But when they falsely think that they have attained release from the bondage of material existence, they give up chanting. They do not consider that the ultimate goal is the form of the Lord or the name of the Lord. Such unfortunate creatures are never favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for they do not know what devotional service is. Lord Kṛṣṇa describes them in the Bhagavad-gītā in this way:

tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān saṁsāreṣu narādhamān

kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu

"Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life." (BG 16.19)

Without a pure devotee’s mercy, one cannot even escape the bondage of material existence.

CC Madhya 22.51, Translation and Purport:

"Unless one is favored by a pure devotee, one cannot attain the platform of devotional service. To say nothing of kṛṣṇa-bhakti, one cannot even be relieved from the bondage of material existence.

Pious activities bring about material opulence, but one cannot acquire devotional service by any amount of material pious activity—not by giving charity, opening big hospitals and schools or working philanthropically. Devotional service can be attained only by the mercy of a pure devotee. Without a pure devotee’s mercy, one cannot even escape the bondage of material existence. The word mahat in this verse means "a pure devotee," as Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.13):

mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ

bhajanty ananya-manaso jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam

"O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible."

Message of Godhead

Thākura Bhaktivinoda explains: "This real and transcendental happiness is attained only after liberation from the bondage of material existence. Any action which does not aim at such transcendental happiness is always temporary and baffling."

Message of Godhead 2:

"Those who do not care about any laws of life, but simply work on the principle of sense gratification—they are all illegitimate. They may be civilized or uncivilized, they may be learned or illiterate, they may be powerful or weak, but such illegitimate persons, generally known as outlaws, always act like the lower animals. There is no good in them, in spite of all appearances. But those who are legitimate or law-abiding persons may be divided into three transcendental divisions: namely, the lawful workers, the empiric philosophers, and the transcendental devotees. The lawful workers are again divided into two sections: namely, the workers with a desire to enjoy the fruits of their work; and the transcendental workers, without any such desire. The worker with a desire to enjoy the fruits of his work is hankering after transient material happiness, and such a worker is rewarded with worldly or heavenly happiness within the material worlds. But it must be known that all these forms of happiness are temporary. Thus, the worker cannot attain to real happiness, which is permanent and transcendental. This real and transcendental happiness is attained only after liberation from the bondage of material existence. Any action which does not aim at such transcendental happiness is always temporary and baffling."

Sri Isopanisad

The living being is eternal by nature, but due to his bondage in material existence he has to change his body over and over.

Sri Isopanisad 2, Purport:

No one wants to die: everyone wants to live as long as he can drag on. This tendency is visible not only individually but also collectively in the community, society and nation. There is a hard struggle for life by all kinds of living entities, and the Vedas say that this is quite natural. The living being is eternal by nature, but due to his bondage in material existence he has to change his body over and over. This process is called transmigration of the soul or karma-bandhana, bondage by one's work. The living entity has to work for his livelihood because that is the law of material nature, and if he does not act according to his prescribed duties, he transgresses the law of nature and binds himself more and more to the cycle of birth and death in the many species of life.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

So if we actually want to be free from the bondage of material existence you serve such mahātmā, just like Haridāsa Ṭhākura, who is always engaged in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, then your path of liberation is open.

Lecture on SB 3.25.20 -- Bombay, November 20, 1974:

If you serve such mahātmā, just like Haridāsa Ṭhākura, who is always engaged in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, then your path of liberation is open. And tamo-dvāram āhur yoṣitāṁ saṅgi-saṅgam. And if you associate with the materialistic persons who are after sense gratification, then your tamo-dvāram... That is the way to the darkness. The life's business is not tamo-dvāram. Tamasi mā jyotir gama. Jyotir gama, go to the light. Don't remain in... This is Vedic instruction.

So if we actually want to be free from the bondage of material existence... Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19)... A common sense. Because we have lost our common sense. Suppose we are sitting here. If somebody says, "Now get out! Sit down he... Sit down here." And again, a half an hour, if he says, "No, no, come here." So shall I like it? "No, I am not sitting here. I'll go." Similarly, here the life is, the materialistic way of life means bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). You accept one body, you'll not be allowed to remain in that body permanently. You must have to give it up. Again accept another body. Again you have to give it up. What is this business? But they are so rascal, they do not know that how much miserable condition we are in. We are simply accepting one body and again... Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). Tyaktvā deham. We are... We do not know that "I am not this body."

The point is discussed, how one can get out of the bondage of material existence, vimocita.

Lecture on SB 7.6.9 -- Vrndavana, December 11, 1975:

The point is discussed, how one can get out of the bondage of material existence, vimocita. But people do not know that "This is my business, how to get out of this entanglement." They do not know even what is that entanglement. Such foolish civilization is going on. And they are passing as scientist, philosopher, big, big politician, but they do not know what is the aim of life. The aim of life is vimocita. We are spirit soul, eternal, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20), nityo śāśvato 'yam. They do not know. At the present moment almost everyone, 99.9% people, they do not know what is our problem and how to get out of it.

Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā: "These four principles will deliver you from this bondage of material existence and, without any doubt, you'll come back to Me."

Lecture on SB 7.9.16 -- Mayapur, February 23, 1976:

Anyone who will come to this temple where the Deity is there, and even by imitating others, if one offers obeisances to the Lord, that is taken into account. That is not useless, because Kṛṣṇa says, mad-yājinaḥ. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). This is Kṛṣṇa's desire. He gives the four principles, that "Always think of Me," man-manā, "and become My devotee," mad-bhakta, mad-yājī, "worship Me," and mad-yājino Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru: (BG 18.65) "Just offer little obeisances. These four principles will deliver you from this bondage of material existence and," mām evaiśyasi asaṁśaya, "without any doubt, you'll come back to Me." So, so simple thing. It is not at all difficult. This child, he can do this. Old man can do this. Learned man can do this, without any knowledge. Even an animal can do it. Very simple. Bhakti-yoga is very simple. Therefore, somehow or other, if somebody comes into the temple, and even by imitating one offers obeisances.

1970 Correspondence

With the destruction of one body, the soul transmigrates to another body, thus the bondage of material existence.

Letter to Anil Grover -- Los Angeles 5 February, 1970:

Now coming to the point of questions—your first question is: "What am I? Is the body itself matter, or spiritual soul, or a combination of both?" Answer: You are eternal servant of Krishna. The body is matter. The spirit soul is different from the body—it is not exactly combination, but it is encagement. Just like if you put oil in the water, the oil does not mix up with the water. Similarly, soul does not mix with the material body; but due to our material consciousness, we are thinking that the movement of this body is movement of the soul. Therefore, when the body is destroyed, we think the soul is destroyed. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that the soul does not die with the destruction of the body. With the destruction of one body, the soul transmigrates to another body, thus the bondage of material existence. Therefore, to train the soul properly to revive his original consciousness, or Krishna Consciousness, is the real purpose of human life.