The human being, if he does not realize God, he's simply engaged in animalistic way of life—eating, sleeping, mating—then nature will call, "All right, sir, again become animal." Punar mūṣiko bhava: "Again become a mouse." You know this story, punar mūṣiko bhava? There is a story. There is a very nice story. One rat, a mouse, he came to a saintly person. Everyone comes to saintly person for some blessing, you see. Real blessing they don't want. Some material blessing. Real blessing, Kṛṣṇa, they don't want. But if you give him some blessing that "You become very rich man and this . . ." they'll be very much pleased. So this mouse also came and begged the saintly person, "Sir, I am in difficulty. If you give me some blessings?" "What is that?" "Now, the cat chases after me always. I'm very unhappy." "So what do you want?" "Now, if you make me a cat, then I can get relief from this." "All right, you become cat." So he became cat.
So after few days, again he comes: "Sir, again I am in trouble." "What is that?" "The dog is chasing me." (laughter) Don't laugh; hear seriously. "Dog is chasing." "All right, then what do you want?" "Now, make me a tiger." "All right, you become a tiger." So when he became a tiger he was staring on the saintly person like this. So he asked, "Why you are staring upon me? You want to eat me?" "Yes." So he again curses, punar mūṣiko bhava: "Again you become mouse. Again you become mouse."
So that is our position. We are advanced in civilization; now we want to kill God. So we are again going to be uncivilized, to remain in the forest and to remain naked. Actually, they are practicing that: nature's life. So again they are going to be aborigines. And that is being practiced. They are going to the forest; they remain naked. So actually, punar mūṣiko bhava: "Again become mouse." Civilized human being means God conscious, happy life, no trouble, no enviousness, everything happy, no hard labor. Why hard labor? Everything is there. You just employ your little intelligence, you get sufficient food by grains, by fruits, by flowers, milk. There is no difficulty if we remain in our own way.
So that is the difficulty, that we do not know that our ultimate goal of life is God-realization. Then God has got all arrangement. You cannot produce fruits and grains in factory. They are given by God. Why? That "You eat them and be Kṛṣṇa conscious and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." But we don't want that. We want slaughterhouse, unnecessarily. Actually, if you go to the store . . . there are so many storehouses. How many stores are selling only meat? It is not possible. Ninety-nine percent fruits, vegetable, grains you are taking, and maybe a little percentage of meat. So why you cannot give up this little percentage? If you think that meat is very palatable, why don't you live on meat? Russia is also trying like that. That has become the fashion. In Moscow, it was very difficult to find out nice grains. With great difficulty Śyāmasundara used to spend two hours daily to secure these things.
So this is the problem. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). They are trying to be happy by the arrangement of these material activities. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās te 'pīśa-tantryām. They do not know that the material nature is so strong that you cannot get out of it unless you are prepared to suffer more and more. If you take to natural life and live peacefully and take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is your real life. And if you simply increase botheration and problem, then you'll have to suffer. That is the position of modern civilization.
Actually, superficially we see that material advancement of material science, people have got so many machines, so many facilities. But actually, they are in trouble. Just like I gave you one example: the computer machine. It can work for thousands of men. So thousands of men means the thousands of men must be unemployed. And especially in your country they are taking advantage of this machine, because the salary is . . . if you want to pay to the worker a big, big salary, so they want to save. They are taking machine, and they think they will save money, so many worker. But the workers are becoming unemployed. The government has to give them welfare. The government will tax. That's all. (laughter.) Government will not give money, welfare, from government's pocket. The government will increase your taxation.
So you are . . . you stop payment by importing some machine; now you have to pay that money to the government. This is called entanglement. This is a crude example. I don't say that you stop all this business, but the material world is like that. You want to solve something; instead of solving, you'll create so many problems. This is material life. Because our life is not meant for solving problems and creating problem. Our life is meant for understanding God. Then everything is all right. But that you have given up.
- na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ
- durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ
- andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās
- te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ
- (SB 7.5.31)
They do not know that you cannot go an inch beyond the stringent laws of material nature. That is not possible.
Then the next question is that how . . . people are not interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and then, they are misled by blind leaders. So how . . . what is the solution? That is Prahlāda Mahārāja saying:
- naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ
- spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ
- mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-'bhiṣekaṁ
- niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat
- (SB 7.5.32)
Therefore one has to take shelter of a pure devotee. That is the only solution. He says, naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅgrhim. The beginning was that "They are not interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness." Then how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious if that is the solution? Then Prahlāda Mahārāja says, naiṣāṁ matis tāvad: "So long one does not approach a pure devotee," mahīyasāṁ niṣkiñcanānām, "great personalities, who has no more any material interest," niṣkiñcana, "and takes the dust of his lotus feet on the head . . ." Naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghrim: "So long one does not approach such personality, there is no possibility of becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious." Naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghrim. As soon as one approaches the pure devotee and takes the dust of his lotus feet and puts it on his head, immediately, anartha apagamaḥ, he'll be freed from all this nonsense. That means he'll forget this idea that "Materially we can advance." This is the process.
So we have to approach a niṣkiñcana, who has nothing to do with this material world. His only ambition is to serve more Kṛṣṇa. And if somebody approaches him and takes the dust of his lotus feet, then he can understand. Mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-'bhiṣekaṁ niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat.