What is the value of our independence? Can you avoid death? Suppose you are independentness. What is the meaning of this independence? When death will come, will catch you by your neck and throw you away, your independence, nonsense independence . . . what is the value of this independence? Be independence from the clutches of māyā. No more death—that is independence. That is independence. No more birth—oh, that is independence. No more death. Otherwise, what is the meaning of independence? You are not independent. You are under the clutches of māyā. You are struggling. You are struggling to get out of the clutches of māyā or the material nature, external energy of God. You are trying to make nice medicine to get out of the attack of disease. But you can manufacture a better medicine, but you cannot get out of disease. That is not possible. This is struggle. Now we have manufactured such a nice medicine that cancer or any other disease will not attack us. That is very nice. But find out some medicine that death will not attack you, "Oh, that is not possible." Then where is the meaning of your advancement?
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is that medicine by which you can conquer over death. Therefore this is the best medicine. Bhavauṣadhi. It is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, bhavauṣadhi. Nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānāt . . . (aside) You can stand on the wall, not in the middle. Nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād bhavauṣadhi (SB 10.1.4). This word bhavauṣadhi means the panacea for all material diseases. Bhavauṣadhi chrotra-mano-'bhirāmāt. Parīkṣit Mahārāja says that, "This chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, it is chanted by whom?" Nivṛtta-tarṣaiḥ, one who has finished his hankering after material pleasure. Nivṛtti. Nivṛtti means finished, no more. There are two ways: pravṛtti and nivṛtti. I want to smoke—that is called pravṛtti. And when I give up, that is called nivṛtti. Pravṛtti and nivṛtti.
So there are two things: pravṛtti and nivṛtti. But asuras, demons, they do not know "In which way I shall guide my pravṛtti and which way I shall guide my nivṛtti." This is the paśu, "In which way I will . . ." Pravṛtti and nivṛtti, these two things are there, but the difference between a demon and demigod is that a demon does not know how to direct these two propensities, pravṛtti and nivṛtti. And a demigod knows how to guide these two things, pravṛtti and nivṛtti. These two . . . one who does not know . . . pravṛttir eṣā bhūtānāṁ nivṛttis tu mahā-phalā (Manu-saṁhitā). Śāstra says that these things . . . just like, loke vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevā nityā hi jantu na hi tatra codanā (SB 11.5.11). This eating, sleeping, mating and defending, every animal, every small animal, knows it very well, how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex intercourse and how to defend. These four things, everyone knows by nature. So this is called pravṛtti. Pravṛtti. But it has to be made nivṛtti, stop. They do not know what is the perfection. The perfection is . . . the pravṛtti, propensity is eating, sleeping, mating, defending. And when you make it just the opposite—no more eating, no more sleeping, no more mating, no more defending—oh, that is perfection of life.