levels

"Within the body there are five different departments of existence, known as annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, vijnanamaya, and at last anandamaya. In the beginning of life, every living entity is food conscious. A child or an animal is satisfied only by getting nice food. This stage of consciousness, in which the goal is to eat sumptuously, is called annamaya. Anna means food. After this one lives in the consciousness of being alive. If one can continue his life without being attacked or destroyed, one thinks himself happy. This stage is called pranamaya, or consciousness of one's existence. After this stage, when one is situated on the mental platform, that consciousness is called manomaya. The material civilization is primarily situated in these three stages, annamaya, pranamaya and manomaya. The first concern of civilized persons is economic development, the next concern is defense against being annihilated, and the next consciousness is mental speculation, the philosophical approach to the values of life.    (More...)

"If by the evolutionary process of philosophical life one happens to reach to the platform of intellectual life and understands that he is not this material body, but is a spirit soul, then by evolution of spiritual life he comes to the understanding of the Supreme Lord or the Supreme Soul. When one develops his relationship with Him and executes devotional service, that stage of life is called Krsna consciousness, the anandamaya stage. Anandamaya is the blissful life of knowledge and eternity. As it is said in the Vedanta-sūtra, anandamayo 'bhyasat. The Supreme Brahman and the subordinate Brahman, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entities, are both joyful by nature. As long as the living entities are situated in the lower four stages of life, annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya and vijnanamaya, they are considered to be in the material condition of life, but as soon as one reaches the stage of anandamaya he becomes a liberated soul. This anandamaya stage is explained in the Bhagavad-gita as the brahma-bhūta stage. There it is said that in the brahma-bhūta stage of life there is no anxiety and no hankering. This stage begins when one becomes equally disposed toward all living entities, and it then expands to the stage of Krsna consciousness in which one always hankers to render service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This hankering for advancement in devotional service is not the same as hankering for sense gratification in material existence. In other words, hankering remains in spiritual life, but it becomes purified. When our senses are purified, they become freed from all material stages, namely annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya and vijnanamaya, and they become situated in the highest stage-anandamaya, or blissful life in Krsna consciousness. The Mayavadi philosophers consider anandamaya to be the state of being merged in the Supreme. To them, anandamaya means that the Supersoul and the individual soul become one. But the real fact is that oneness does not mean merging into the Supreme and losing one's own individual existence. Merging in the spiritual existence is the living entity's realization of qualitative oneness with the Supreme Lord in His eternity and knowledge aspects. But the actual anandamaya (blissful) stage is obtained when one is engaged in devotional service. That is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita. Mad-bhaktim labhate param: the brahma-bhūta anandamaya stage is complete only when there is the exchange of love between the Supreme and the subordinate living entities. Unless one comes to this anandamaya stage of life, his breathing is like the breathing of a bellows in a blacksmith's shop, his duration of life is like that of a tree, and he is no better than the lower animals like the camels, hogs and dogs.    (More...)

Undoubtedly the eternal living entity cannot be annihilated at any point. But the lower species of life exist in a miserable condition, whereas one who is engaged in devotional service of the Supreme Lord is situated in the pleasurable or anandamaya status of life. The different stages described above are all in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although in all circumstances there exist both the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entities, the difference is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead always exists in the anandamaya stage, whereas the subordinate living entities, because of their minute position as fragmental portions of the Supreme Lord, are prone to fall to the other stages of life. Although in all the stages both the Supreme Lord and the living entities exist, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always transcendental to our concept of life, whether we are in bondage or in liberation. The whole cosmic manifestation becomes possible by the grace of the Supreme Lord, it exists by the grace of the Supreme Lord, and when it is annihilated, it merges into the existence of the Supreme Lord. As such, the Supreme Lord is the supreme existence, the cause of all causes. Therefore the conclusion is that without development of Krsna consciousness, one's life is simply a waste of time.    (More...)