Prabhupāda:
- acchedyo 'yam adāhyo 'yam
- akledyo 'śoṣya eva ca
- nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur
- acalo 'yaṁ sanātanaḥ
- (BG 2.24)
Here is the import of sanātana. Nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur acalo 'yaṁ sanātanaḥ. Sanātana . . . here is mention of sanātana. In another place, in the Seventh Chapter, er, Fifteenth Chapter, there is the mention of sanātana: mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ jīva-loke sanātanaḥ (BG 15.7).
Another place there is mention of sanātana: paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ avyaktaḥ avyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). In another place there is mention, in the Eleventh Chapter, Kṛṣṇa is addressed as sanātana.
So Kṛṣṇa is sanātana, and we living entities, we are also sanātana. And there is a place, paras tasmāt tu . . . "Place" means another nature, not this nature, not this prakṛti. There is another prakṛti. Para tasmāt. Para means transcendental. This nature is not sanātana; it is asanātana, perishable. Sanātana means not perishable.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is an attempt to bring all these sanātanas together: the living entity, sanātana; God, Kṛṣṇa, sanātana; and the place, sanātana. Just like here we are trying to live together, our family—father, mother, children, friends, countrymen, community men. We are trying to make a permanent settlement here, making very nice building, spending millions of dollars, making it very strong so that it may not . . . may not be destroyed.
So everyone is trying to keep himself permanent. A old man is trying to make himself young man. Nobody wants to become old man. Nobody wants to be destroyed. But the difficulty is that here everything is destroyed, asanātana. But we have got a tendency to become sanātana. We want permanent life. We want permanent place. We want permanent relationship. But that is not possible. That is not possible.
Therefore śāstra says, andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ (SB 7.5.31). The andha—means blind, blind leaders—they are giving us false hope that we shall make here permanent settlement. Therefore they are called andhas. They have no sense. You cannot make it sanātana. But the whole attempt is going on to make everything sanātana. This is called illusion. Illusion means you are accepting something which is not possible. But they do not know. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). Durāśā, this is a hope which is never to be fulfilled. Durāśayā. Āśā means hope.
So the whole material world is going on, durāśayā. They are trying to make permanent settlement. But there is always disruption, fight. Just like they have now created the United Nation: "My dear all nations, please do not fight. Let us make a permanent settlement, peace." But the result is the fighting is going on. It cannot be stopped.
Here . . . this is not a sanātana place. This is impermanent, temporary, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). This is the nature of this material world. Something is generated at a certain date and it stays for some times, it grows, it gives some by-products, then again dwindles and then it vanishes.
Just like this body. This body is given by the father and mother at a certain date. Then it stays, say for some times. It grows. Then it gives some by-products, from this body, there will be so many children. Or from the trees, there will be so many fruits and seeds. Then dwindling, then becomes older, and vanish. This is the nature.