Purport

Human civilization, by its so-called advancement of knowledge, has created many material things, including space capsules and atomic energy. But it has failed to create a situation in which man need not die, take his birth again, become old, or suffer from diseases. Whenever these questions are raised by an intelligent man before a so-called scientist, the scientist very cleverly replies that material science is progressing, and that it will ultimately be possible to render man deathless and ageless. Such answers by material scientists prove their gross ignorance of material Nature. In material Nature everything is under the stringent laws of matter, and must pass through six stages of existence: birth, growth, duration of life, transformation, deterioration, and death at last. Nothing that is in contact with material Nature can be beyond the above-mentioned six laws of existence, and therefore no one, whether demigod, man, animal, or tree, can survive forever here in the material world.

The duration of life may vary in different species. Lord Brahma, the chief living being within this material world, may continue his life for millions and millions of years, while the minute germs may live just for some hours; that does not matter. No one in this material world can survive eternally. Things here are born or created under certain conditions, they stay for some time, and, if they have life then they grow, create generations, then dwindle gradually, and at last are annihilated. By that law even the Brahmas (there are millions of Brahmas in different universes-each one bigger than the last) are all liable to death, either today or tomorrow. Therefore, the whole material world is called "Martya Loka," the place of death.

The material scientists and politicians are trying to make this place deathless because they have no information of the deathless spiritual nature, due to their ignorance of the Vedic literature. The Vedic literature is full of knowledge matured by experience. But modern man is averse to receive knowledge from the Vedas, Puranas, and other scriptures.

In the Vishnu Purana we have information that Lord Vishnu, the Personality of Godhead, possesses different energies, known as "Para," superior, and "Apara," or "Avidya"-inferior. The material energy in which we are at present involved is called the Avidya, inferior, energy; and the material creation is made possible by such energy. But there is another, superior energy called the "Para Shakti," where everything is different from this material inferior Nature. That nature is the eternal or deathless creation of the Lord.

All the material planets-upper, lower and intermediate, including the Sun, Moon and Venus-are scattered over the universe. These planets exist only during the lifetime of Brahma. Some lower planets, however, are vanquished after the end of one day of Brahma, and they are again recreated during the next daytime of Brahma. Time calculation on the upper planets is different from that of ours. One of our years is equal to twenty-four hours, or one day and night, on many of the upper planets. The four ages of Earth (Satya, Treta, Dwapara, and Kali) make a duration of twenty-two thousand years and five months in terms of the time of these upper planets. Such a length of time multiplied by one thousand is one day of Brahma, and one night of Brahma is the same. With such days and nights accumulating into months and years, Brahma's life is estimated at one hundred years. And at the end of his life, the complete universal manifestation becomes vanquished.

The living beings residing in the Sun and Moon, as well as those in the "Martya Loka" system-which includes this Earth and many planets below the Earth-are all merged into devastating water during the nighttime of Brahma. During this time no living beings or species of life remain manifested, although spiritually they continue to exist. This non-manifested stage is called "Avyakta." And again, when the entire universe is vanquished at the end of Brahma's lifetime, there is an Avyakta state. But beyond these two non-manifested states there is another, spiritual atmosphere or nature, where there is a great number of spiritual planets, existing eternally even when all the planets within this material universe are vanquished.

The cosmic manifestation within the jurisdiction of the various Brahmas is a display of one-fourth the energy of the Lord, and this energy is called inferior. The spiritual nature beyond the jurisdiction of Brahma is called "Tripadavibhuti," three-fourths the energy of the Lord, and is the superior energy, or "Para Prakriti."

The predominating Supreme Person in the spiritual nature is Lord Sri Krishna. He can be approached only by unqualified devotional service, and not by anything else, such as the processes of Jnana (philosophy) and Yoga (mysticism), much less that of Karma (fruitive work). The "karmis," or fruitive workers, can elevate themselves to the "Swarga Loka" planets, including the Sun and the Moon. Jnanis and yogis can reach still higher planets, such as the Brahma Loka; and, becoming still more qualified by devotional service, they are allowed to enter into the spiritual nature, either in the illuminating cosmic atmosphere of the spiritual sky (the Brahman), or on the planets, according to qualification. It is certain, however, that no one can enter into the spiritual planets called Vaikunthas without being trained in devotional service.

On the material planets, everyone from Brahma down to the ant is trying to lord it over material Nature, and this is called the material disease. So long as this material disease continues, the living entity has to undergo the process of changing bodies, whether in the form of a demigod, a man, or an animal; and ultimately has to endure the unmanifested condition during the two kinds of devastations: the night of Brahma, and at the end of Brahma's life. If we want to cease the process of repeated birth and death, and the concomitant factors of old age and disease, then we must try to enter into the spiritual planets, and Lord Krishna by His plenary expansions is the dominating Figure on each and every one of them.

No one can predominate over Krishna. And anyone trying to predominate over material Nature is called a conditioned soul, being subject to the laws of material Nature, suffering the pangs of repeated birth and death. The Lord comes here to re-establish the principles of religion, and the basic principle is to develop the attitude of surrender toward Him. The Lord teaches this in the last portion of The Bhagavad-gita, but foolish men have tactfully misinterpreted this prime teaching, and have misled the people in diverse ways. They have been urged to open hospitals, but are not interested in educating themselves to enter into the spiritual kingdom by devotional service. They have been taught to take interest only in temporary relief work, which can never bring about real happiness for the living entity. They start varieties of public and semi-governmental institutions for tackling the devastating power of Nature. But they don't know how to pacify insurmountable Nature.

Many men are advertised as great scholars of The Bhagavad-gita, but they overlook the factual method presented there to pacify material Nature. Powerful Nature can only be pacified by the awakening of God consciousness, as is clearly mentioned in The Gita.

Sri Ishopanishad, however, teaches in this mantra that one must know both the "Sambhuti" and the "Vinasa" perfectly, side by side. By knowing the Vinasa alone-the temporary material manifestation-you cannot save anything: In the course of Nature, there is devastation at every moment. No one can be saved from these devastations by any efforts of hospital-opening. They can be saved only by complete knowledge of the eternal life of bliss and awareness. The whole Vedic scheme is meant to educate men in this art of achieving eternal life. People are often misguided by other, temporarily attractive things based on sense-gratification, but that sort of service which thus misleads them is most degraded.

You must save your fellow man in the right sense. There is no question of liking or disliking the truth. It is there. If you want to be saved from repeated birth and death you must take to the devotional service of the Lord. There can be no compromise in this matter of necessity.