A human body, human being, has the chance to understand the philosophy of life as it was enunciated by Ṛṣabhadeva.
He said,
- nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke
- kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye
- tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyed sattvaṁ
- yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam
- (SB 5.5.1)
He said, "My dear boys, this human form of life," ayaṁ deha, this body . . . Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājām. Everyone has got body. The Brahmā has got body, and the small insect, it has got also body. The spirit soul is encaged in this material body. So lower than the human being, up to the animals, there are so many forms of life. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati (Padma Purāṇa). In this way, varieties of life. But Ṛṣabhadeva said, "Now you have got this human form of life, don't spoil it like the hogs and dogs simply by sense gratification." Sense gratification is available by the hogs and dogs also. That was the instruction of Ṛṣabhadeva. And what is the duty of human life? Tapo, tapasya. Tapasya, voluntarily accepting some inconvenience. That is called tapasya