When we speak of "Kṛṣṇa," means the Supreme Lord, God consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or our original consciousness. Just like every one of us, we remember always that, "I am the son of such-and-such gentleman. Such-and-such gentleman is my father." It is natural to remember one's father and his relationship with father. And, in ordinary business also, the etiquette is if one presents his identification, he has to give his father's name. In India it is very essential, and the father's name or the title is the last name of everyone.
So when we forget the supreme father, Kṛṣṇa, and we want to live independently . . . independently means if we want to enjoy life according to my whims. That is called so-called independence. But by such independence we are never happy, so we transmigrate for this so-called illusory happiness from one body to another. Because a particular body has got a particular facility of happiness. Just like every one of us, we want to fly in the sky. But because we are human being, we have no wings, we cannot fly. But the birds, although they are animals, lower animals, they can easily fly.
In this way, if you make analytical study, every particular body has got a particular type of facility, while others haven't got. But we want all facilities of life. That is our inclination. Just like modern scientists, they're trying to go to other planets, but they're conditioned; they cannot go. We can see, there are millions and trillions of planets before us—the sun planet, the moon planet, the Venus, the Mars. Sometimes we wish, "How I could go there." But because I am conditioned, I'm not independent, I cannot go. But originally, because you are spirit soul, originally you were free to move any way. Just like Nārada Muni. Nārada Muni moves everywhere; any planet he likes, he can go.
Still, there is one planet within this universe which is called Siddhaloka. That Siddhaloka, the inhabitants of Siddhaloka, they can fly from one planet to another without any airplane. Even yogīs, yogīs, haṭha-yogīs, those who have practiced, they can also go from anywhere to any place. The yogīs, they sit down in one place and immediately transferred in another place. They take a dip in some river nearby here, and they can get up in some river in India. They dip here, and they rise there. (laughter) These are yogic powers.
So we have got immense independence, but we are now conditioned by this body. Therefore in the human form of life it is an opportunity to get back our original independence. That is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Freedom. When we have got our spiritual body, without being covered by this material body . . . we have got our spiritual body within this material body, very small. That is my real identification. Now I'm covered by two kinds of material bodies. One is called subtle body and the other is called gross body. The subtle body is made of mind, intelligence and ego, false ego, and the gross body is made of earth, water, fire, air and ether mixed together, this body.
So two kinds of body we have got. And we are changing. Generally we can see the gross body; we cannot see the subtle body. Just like everyone knows . . . I know that you have got your mind. I know that you have got intelligence. You know I have got mind, I have got intelligence. But I cannot see your mind. I cannot see your intelligence. I cannot see your determination. I cannot see your thoughts, thinking, feeling and willing. Similarly, you cannot see. You see my gross body made of this earth, water, air, fire, and I can see your gross body. Therefore, when this gross body is changed and you are carried, you go away by the subtle body, that is called death.
We say: "Oh, my father has gone away." How do you see that your father has gone away? The body is here lying. But actually his father has gone away by the subtle body. Just like at night, we are sleeping on our nice apartment, but the subtle body takes me away on the top of a mountain. Sometimes we see I have come, in dream, I have come on the top of a mountain, very high, and I am falling down, although actually, my gross body is sleeping in a nice, comfortable apartment. But the subtle body carries me. We have got daily experience.
Similarly, death means this gross body we change. Just like you have got your shirt and coat. So you change the coat, but you keep your shirt. You do it, generally. Similarly, I keep my subtle body and I give up my gross body; that is called death. And I am carried by the subtle body in the womb of another mother by the laws of nature, and I develop another gross body, materials supplied by the mother. And when the body is prepared, I come out of the womb of mother and I work again with that subtle and gross body.
And bhāgavata-dharma means that we have to transcend both the gross and subtle body, come to the spiritual body. It is very scientific. And as soon as we come to the spiritual body, mukta saṅga, being freed from the gross and subtle body, we come to our real body, spiritual body, then actually we feel happiness and independence.
So this process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest benediction for the human society because it is trying to bring the human being to the platform of spiritual body—transcending the gross and subtle material body. That is the highest perfection. Human life is meant for coming to that platform, the spiritual platform, transcending the gross and material bodily concept of life. That is possible. It is made easy in this age. This age called Kali, it is not very good time. Simply disagreement, fighting, quarreling, misunderstanding. This age is full of that, all these happenings. Therefore to come to the spiritual platform is very difficult in this age.
Formerly, it was not so difficult. People were very easily trained up by the Vedic process. But now the people are not interested. They're simply interested with the gross body or, a little more, who is a little advanced, the subtle body. But they have no information of the spiritual body. Although there is advancement of education, there is no education about the spiritual body. They're simply concerned with the gross material and subtle body. Therefore this movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, is very important movement. Those who have taken to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, they're very, very fortunate.