The human life is meant for tapasya. That is human life. Human life is not meant for living like cats and dogs. That is not human life. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). To live like cats and dog is not meant for the human life. Human life is meant for tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattva (SB 5.5.1). We have to execute tapasya, austerity. Why? Now, to purify our existence. This present existence is not purified; therefore we have to meet death. Otherwise we are eternal, "Why should we meet death?" This question does not arise at all. The modern civilization, they do not care for death. This is another daring. Death . . . they never question that, "We are eternal." Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). "Why I shall meet death?" But this question does not arise for . . . they think, "Death? We can finish everything." This is called mūḍha. They do not know things are there, what it should be. They do not know that.
So in order to know all this transcendental subject matter, it is recommended, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12): "One must approach to the proper guru to understand this subject matter." And that is success of human life. Otherwise, to live like cats and dogs—sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13), cows and asses, animal life—this is not civilization. So our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is an attempt, however small it may be, to bring back the human society to real civilization. It is not ordinary movement. They are not civilized. Mūḍha. This is a civilization of rascals and fools. But to bring them back to knowledge, that is civilization. That civilization is spiritual life. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This human life is meant for spiritual life, not for material life like cats and dogs. This is not required. This is Vedānta philosophy, athāto brahma jijñāsā. One must try to learn what is the ultimate source of everything, not that theorizing or, what is called, imagining something. Take knowledge from the right source, brahma-vidyā, the Vedic knowledge, and try to understand the situation, what is Brahman, what you are. We are also Brahman. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. These things are to be known. And when we neglect to understand these things, that means we are going to the wrong way of life. The wrong way of life can be allowed up to the animal life. Out of 8,400,000 forms of life, the animal life, 3,000,000 types of animal life, by evolutionary process we come to the human life. Now we should inquire about spiritual life. That is civilization. Without spiritual life, without inquiring the spiritual life, it is animal life, sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13).
So try to understand this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. And spiritual life means to understand Kṛṣṇa. That is spiritual life. Kṛṣṇa comes to explain Himself. And hear from Him and understand Him as He says. Then, as soon as you understand Kṛṣṇa, your life is successful. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Kṛṣṇa, or God, is very difficult to understand.
- manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu
- kaścid yayati siddhaye
- yatatām api siddhānāṁ
- kaścid vetti māṁ tattvataḥ
- (BG 7.3)
To understand God, to understand Kṛṣṇa, is not very easy job; very, very difficult job. Therefore we don't find anyone is interested in Kṛṣṇa. Anywhere you go, all over the world, you make a statistic: nobody is interested in Kṛṣṇa. Is it not a fact? Out of millions of. Kṛṣṇa says, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu, "Out of millions." That's a fact. Nobody is interested in Kṛṣṇa. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu. So therefore, to understand Kṛṣṇa is not very easy job. But by the grace of Kṛṣṇa you can understand Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is explaining Himself. That is Kṛṣṇa, great. You take. And again Kṛṣṇa is coming as Caitanya Mahāprabhu to show us the way how to understand Kṛṣṇa. Caitanya Mahāprabhu means Kṛṣṇa Himself, present to teach us how to understand Kṛṣṇa.