So our present position is like this, that sammohita, bewildered, puzzled by maya. We are eternal part and parcel of God, but on account of being enchanted by this material energy, or external energy of God, we have forgotten ourself, and we are now entangled. We have forgotten our goal of life. Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum durasaya ye bahir-artha-maninah [SB 7.5.31]. The conditioned soul... Conditioned soul means the living being, the spirit soul who is conditioned by these laws of material nature. The laws of material nature is that you have to accept a certain type of body according to your propensity. We create propensity. And Krsna is so kind that He gives you the facility: "All right." Just like the tiger. He wants to suck blood. Or any man, if he wants to suck blood, then he will be given the facility of a tiger's body. If a person has no discrimination in eatingwhatever available, he can eatthen he will be given facility of become a pig. Up to stool, he can eat.

This is very significant. Yantrarudhani mayaya. We are riding on a machine. This body is a machine, but we are accepting machine as myself. This is called sammohita, bewildered. If you are running on a car, if you think, "I am the car," as it is foolishness, similarly, I have got this yantra, machine, body, and it is running on on account of my presence, or I am driving, or Krsna is giving me intelligence how to drive, but if I identify myself with this body, exactly like a foolish manhe is driving the car, and if he identifies himself with the car, he is a foolish manso this is called sammohita. Yaya sammohito jiva. Therefore the example, as I was citing last night, that we do not see the driver, and when the driver goes away, then we see that the car is not moving, and then I can understand, "Oh, the driver, my father, or my son, has gone away." We sometimes cry, "My father has gone away," or "My son has gone away," but because we are sammohita, we actually never saw the father or the son. We accepted this coat-pant body as father and son. This is called sammoha, bewildered.

So Krsna consciousness is so nice. If we take to it as our goal of life, then our life is successful. Otherwiseyaya sammohito jiva atmanam tri-gunatmakamwe shall continue the life of changing this body. That we have to do. We cannot be independent. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah, ahankara-vimudhatma [Bg. 3.27]. If we think that we are independent, that is due to our ignorance. We are not independent. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah, ahankara-vimudhatma. He is simply sammohita, by false prestige. He is not independent at all. We should always remember this. We are dependent on the laws of nature. We cannot say, "Now I invented some scientific discovery. We shall not going to die." That is not possible. You must die. That is the law of nature. You must die, you must take birth also, and you must be diseased, and you must suffer from old age. These are the four disadvantages of material existence. So if we want to get out... This is anartha. That will be explained in the next verse. Read it.

This Srimad-Bhagavatam is satvata-samhitam, spiritual knowledge. It has nothing to do with anything material. Simply spiritual knowledge. So vidvan. Vidvan means the most learned, Vyasadeva, not ordinary. Srimad-bhagavate maha-muni-krte. He is maha-muni. Muni means thoughtful philosopher, and he is maha-muni. He is greater than any thoughtful philosopher, Vyasadeva, Veda-vyasa. His name is Veda-vyasa. Veda-vyasa means he compiled all this Vedic literature. And, at last, he summarized the whole Vedic knowledge into Vedanta-sutra, Vedanta-sutra, a small aphorism: janmady asya yatah [SB 1.1.1], athato brahma jijnasa, anandamayo 'bhyasat... (Vedanta-sutra 1.1.12). In short aphorism. And it has got very deep meaning. That is Vedanta-sutra. And this Srimad-Bhagavatam is commentary on the Vedanta-sutra by the author himself under the instruction of his guru, Narada Muni. Therefore we began this that according to the advice of Narada Muni, that "You write about the Supreme Personality of Godhead." So he began... We began this.

By bhakti-yoga... The bhakti-yoga is also mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita. Bhagavad-gita is bhakti-yoga, but about jnana-yoga, karma-yoga, hatha-yoga and other yogas there are description, but at last Krsna advises that "The most confidential part of knowledge I am speaking to you, Arjuna, is sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]." This is real gain.

You want to realize yourself as Brahman. We are Brahmanthere is no doubt about itbut we have no realization because sammohita, yaya sammohitah: the maya has captured us. So immediately if you want to be liberated... Mukti means, mukti... Muktir hitvanyatha rupam. Muktir hitvanyatha rupam svarupena vyavasthitih [SB 2.10.6]. This is mukti, svarupa. Our svarupa is our spiritual life. When we give up other activities, anyatha, which is not spiritual... Material activities, that is not our actual business. Actual business is spiritual activity. Material activity means this body, to keep this body in comfortable position. And the body is changing. Now, today, I am IndianI am very great Indian leader or very good philanthropist. Now, tomorrow, or the next life, I may not be Indian; I may be Chinese or I may be European. Then my whole business program changed. Again another nationality, another feeling. So in this way... And if I become cats and dogs, then another mentality. This is going on.

So this question does not strike us, that "If I am immortalI have no birth, I have no death..." na jayate mriyate va kadacit "...at any time. Not that sometimes I was dying. No, never." Nityah sasvato yam na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. This is the position. "Then why I am accepting this birth and death and old age, disease? This is my problem." So we do not think that, neither we are educated how to stop it. But there is process. Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti [Bg. 4.9]. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita. If you simply try to understand Krsna... Janma karma ca me divyam yo janati tattvatah [Bg. 4.9]. Not Krsna ordinarily-factually, krsna-tattvatah. Janma karma me divyam yo janati tattvatah, actually, in fact, in truth. Then what is the result? Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti: "His, the cycle of birth and death, old age, and dis..., stopped." Tyaktva deham. We have to give up this body; that is certain. But after giving up this body, no more material body. Then what happens? He is finished? No, he is not finished. Mam eti: "He comes to Me, back to home." And when you go there, then you must possess the same body as Krsna has got. Krsna has sac-cid-ananda-vig... Just like if you want to enter into the sun planet. The sun planet is made of fiery elements. Everyone there, their body is made of fire. So if you want to enter into the sun planet, then you must also make your body made of fire. Just like this body is made of earth, so similarly, there are different types of bodies made of air, made of water, made of fire, these five elements, material. Ksitir apas tejo marud vyoma. So in different planets... So if you go back to home, back to Godhead, then you have to gain your original, spiritual body.

So, bhakti-yogam adhoksaje. This is real purpose of life. This is real purpose of religion. Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje [SB 1.2.6]. The same thing. That is first-class religion. It doesn't matter what kind of religion you are following, but if the religious system teaches you how to become a devotee to Adhoksaja-adhoksaja means beyond our sense perception, the Supreme Lordthen your life is perfect. Then you will be happy.

You want satisfaction. If you want real life, then you accept this, yato bhaktir adhoksaje. Here the same thing, anarthopasa... This business, struggle for existence, "Survival of the fittest," they say. But nobody is fit to survive. Everyone has to die. Nobody, even big, big scientists or big, big philosophers and... They cannot survive. They talk of millions of years, but personally they live only fifty or sixty years. This is their position. They simply cheat people: "Maybe." "Perhaps." "Millions of years." And you are going to live for fifty years. Why talking of millions of years? So this is anartha.