So at the present moment . . . that is śūdra. Kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ. In this age of Kali, everyone is in the modes of ignorance. Śūdra. They do not know, because they have no . . . One who knows that "I am spirit soul; I am not this body," he is brāhmaṇa. And one who does not know, he is śūdra, kṛpaṇa. Etad vidita prāye sa brāhmaṇa. One . . . everyone dies, that's all right, but one who dies after knowing the spiritual truth . . . just like here, the students who are trying to understand what is spiritual life and, somehow or other, if he understands that he's spirit soul, at least, then he becomes brāhmaṇa. He becomes brāhmaṇa. Etad viditya. And one who does not understand, he is kṛpaṇa. Kṛpaṇa means miser. Brāhmaṇa means liberal. These are the śāstric injunction.
So first of all, we have to become brāhmaṇa. Then Vaiṣṇava. Brāhmaṇa simply knows that "I am spirit soul," ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇa. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). By such knowledge one becomes prasannātmā. Means relieved. As you feel relief . . . if there is burden on your head, and when the burden is taken away you feel relieved, similarly, this ignorance that, "I am this body" is a great burden, a burden upon us. So when you get out of this burden, then you feel relieved. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā. Means when actually one understands that, "I am not this body; I am soul," then he has to work so hard for maintaining this body, so he gets relief that, "Why I am working so hard for this lump of material thing? Let me execute my real necessity of life, spiritual life." That is great relief. That is great relief. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54). The relief means there is no hankering, no more lamentation. These are the brahma-bhūtaḥ.
So our actual business is to become brahma-bhūtaḥ. So who can become? That is explained already. Kṛṣṇa has already explained that, what is that verse? Yaṁ hi na vyathayanty ete (BG 2.15). Vyathayanti, "Does not give pain." Material, material burden, that is always troublesome. Even this body. This is also another burden. We have to carry it. So when one is not disturbed by this bodily pain and pleasure . . . there is no pleasure, simply pain. Here, pleasure means a little absence of pain. Just like you have got a boil here. What is called? Boil? Phoṛā. So it is always painful. And by some medical application, when the pain is little relieved, you think that "Now it is happiness." But the boil is there. How you can be happy?
So here, actually there is no happiness, but we think we have discovered so many counteraction. Just like there is disease. We have discovered medicine. We have discovered medical college. Manufacturing, big, big physician, MD, FRCS. But that does not mean you'll live. No, you'll have to die, sir. So the boil is there. A little application of temporary medicine, it may . . . therefore there is no happiness at all in this material world. Therefore Kṛṣṇa said that, "Why you are feeling happy? You have to die, after all, which is not your business. You are eternal, but still you have to accept death." Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). This is your real problem.