The real knowledge begins when we understand that we are not this body, material body.
Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Hyderabad, April 27, 1974: This material nature is not permanent. It is bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate [Bg. 8.19]. Everything here, in the material world, everything comes into existence, takes birth, janma, then stays for sometimes, grows the body, then produces some by-products, then dwindles, and then finished. This is the material nature. Just like your body, my body, it has taken birth at a certain date, it is growing, and it is producing some children, by-products. Then, as we are growing old, then one day the body will be finished. This is the material nature. Either you take it personally, individually, your body, or this gigantic body of the universe, in whichever way you may take it, the nature is bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate [Bg. 8.19]. Here the material nature is you take your birth or appearance and again disappear and again appear. This is the instruction of spiritual life. The spirit soul is there, but it is not getting a permanent settlement. This is material world. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ [Bg. 2.13]. As the body is changing, there are so many children, they will also become old like me. But the spirit soul is there. In the presence of mother, although the body is changing, the mother knows that "My son is there." Although from babyhood the son has grown to boyhood, the body, original body, child's body, baby's body, is not existing, the mother knows that "My boy is there."
So this is commonsense understanding. People do not understand it, very nice common sense, that the body is changing but the soul is there. Exactly the same example: the mother knows that "My boy, my child, although he has changed body, now he has grown-up, say, fifty years old, but my child he is. He is my child." Where is the difficulty to understand? Anyone can understand. But people do not believe in the transmigration of the soul. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke [SB 10.84.13]. This kind of education, what is the value? The real knowledge begins when we understand that we are not this body, material body. I am different from body.
- dehino 'smin yathā dehe
- kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
- tathā dehāntara-prāptir
- dhīras tatra na muhyati
[Bg. 2.13]
This is our position. Then, when we understand that "I am not this body, I am spirit soul," ahaṁ brahmāsmi, then
real knowledge begins. Otherwise, so long we are in the bodily concept of life, we are animals. Because animal cannot think that the animal is not the body.
