no spiritual knowledge

But there is next life. This body is now old enough. It will be finished, everyone knows. "As sure as death." Then after finishing the body, what will be your next body? Who will answer this? Where is the scientist? Where is the philosopher? Where is the learned man? Nobody knows. Nobody knows. Therefore he is blind. He does not know what is his future. But there is future. You cannot say no. The example is here. And besides that, Krsna says, tatha dehantara-praptiḥ [Bg 2.13].    (More...)

Prabhupada: So this is the analysis of the whole bodily construction. And beyond this bodily construction there is the soul. And when you study the characteristic of the soul, that is called spiritual knowledge. So long you are engaged with the characteristics of the bodily different elements, that is material study. So generally, people, they are interested the medical science. Medical science is also interested with this body. The physical science... The physical science interest will be bhūmir apaḥ analo vayuḥ, maha-bhūtani [Bg 7.4]. And psychology, they are interested with the internal senses, mind: thinking, feeling and willing.    (More...)

So this so-called advancement of material science means that we are kept in the darkness of spiritual knowledge; we are still in the platform of animal concept of life. Therefore sastra says,    (More...)

Go-khara. Go-khara. Go means cow, and khara means ass. So in spite of all our educational advancement, if we remain in the darkness of bodily concept of life, then we are no better than go-khara. Go, go means cow, and... So we should not remain that. The human life is meant for above this. Athato brahma-jijnasa. This human life is for inquiring about the soul. And the knowledge of the soul begins... That is the first instruction in the Bhagavad-gita, that don't be simply enwrapped or encumbered with these twenty-four elements, bodily ele..., material, but you should understand that asmin dehe, there is the possessor, or occupier, of the body. Dehinaḥ asmin dehe. Dehino 'smin... What is that verse?    (More...)

So Caitanya Mahaprabhu's movement is not on the bodily platform; it is on the spiritual platform. That He explained when He was talking with Rūpa Gosvami, er, Sanatana Gosvami, that what is the identity of this living entity. Or he said, "What is my identity? Actually, people address me as very learned man." He was very learned man. He was minister and was a brahmana. Naturally in those days he knew Sanskrit very well and Urdu, because Muhammadan kingdom, the Urdu language was state language, just like during British period the state language was English. So he was quite conversant with these two languages, Urdu, Parsi, and Sanskrit. So he first of all submitted to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, "My dear Lord, people address me as panditji." The brahmanas are generally addressed still in India as panditji, means learned. Because brahmana means learned. A brahmana cannot be mūrkhaji. That is not possible. Brahmana means brahma janatiti brahmanaḥ. One who knows the Absolute Truth, he becomes brahmana; therefore he is addressed as panditji. So Sanatana Gosvami submitted that "These ordinary people address me as very learned man, panditji. But I know my position. I do not know myself, what I am. This is my position." Gramya-vyavahare kaha ei panḍita satya kori mani: "These fools calls me as panḍita, and I also think that I am panḍita, but actually I do not know what I am."    (More...)