Animal is standing, eating some grass. Although next moment he'll be taken to the slaughterhouse and he'll be killed, but he has no information. He is very happy eating the grass. And even if it is informed, "My dear Mr. Ox, you are eating grass here very happily. Just half an hour after, you will be taken to the slaughterhouse. You go away from this place," but he has no knowledge. This grass-eating is very palatable to him than to take protection from being killed.
So this is called ignorance, ignorance, sleeping state. Therefore the Veda is crying, uttiṣṭham jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhatam, kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.14). "You have got now this human form of life, a great boon, not like animals. Please do not therefore waste your time sleeping like animals simply in the matters of eating, sleeping, mating and defending." That is the verdict of Vedas. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15).
Therefore, human life should be very much responsible. This life is the preparation for the next life. Next life we have always, but we do not know what kind of life we are getting next. That we should know. That is the business of human form of life, not to waste life like animals and evolve. By the laws of nature, we get another form of life.
We are evolving by the evolution theory. It is not theory. Of course, Mr. Darwin has called it theory, but in the Padma Purāṇa, Vedic literature . . . this evolutionary process is very nicely explained in Vedic literature: aśītiṁs caturaś caiva bhramadbhiḥ jīva-jātiṣu (Padma Purāṇa). These Sanskrit words are there in the Padma Purāṇa, that "A living entity is traveling or evolving from lower grades of life to the higher grades of life in 8,400,000 species of life." There are 900,000 species of life in the water. There are 2,000,000 species of life of plants and vegetables. Similarly, microbes, reptiles, there are 1,100,000 species of life.
Then birds, 1,000,000 species of life. Then beasts, four-legged beasts, there are 3,000,000 species of life. Then, from beastly life, we come to the human form of life. There also variety, 400,000's of varieties. In this way we come to the point of civilized human form of life.
The evolution is coming, just like we evolve our body or grew our body from the womb of our mother. It is stated . . . everything is there in the Vedic literature. After the sex intercourse of the man and woman, there is an emulsification of the two kinds of secretion. And in the first night there is a pealike form that takes place. Then he grows, growing. Then many holes come out of that pealike form—that becomes our eyes and other nine holes. In this way the body is developed in seven months.
Then the child gets consciousness, and he feels very much inconvenience. Therefore moves this side, that side. Then, if he is fortunate, he prays to God, "My Lord, please save me from this inconvenience, this position." Just imagine, airtight packed. In this way he comes up and cries, you see, and again grows. But after coming out, he does not . . . he forgets in what position he was. But mother, father takes care. He forgets, again grows.
So this evolution is going on. In the material stage of our life, we have got birth, growth, sustenance, by-products, then dwindling, then this body vanishes; again accepting another body. This is called cycle of birth and death. But in this human form of life one can understand what he is, what is this world, who is controlling, what is God, what is his relationship with God, what is this time factor, what are his activities. These things are to be learned, not that simply like animal, cats and dogs and hogs, whole day working for getting food. You see? And satisfied only by some sense gratification, business finished. No. That is animal life.
Simply people are engaged for eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That is the modern trend of civilization. Everyone is busy how to eat and how to sleep nicely in big palatial building, nice apartment, very good room. Sleeping, the business of sleeping. And economic condition, developing economic condition means the business of eating. And defending—either you defend with atomic energy or with your nails and claws, the process is defending. That is in the animal life also. And mating, sex intercourse for sense gratification.