Our Krishna consciousness movement is trying to educate people on this science of sciences to understand first of all that "What you are? Are you this body or different from this body?" This is essential. And if you go on constructing your big building on a defective foundation, then it will not stay. There will be danger.

Building on a Solid Foundation

My life is an expansion on my understanding of who and what I am

So our Krishna consciousness movement is not on the bodily concept of life. It is the movement on the basic principle of the soul — what is the soul, what is the soul's necessity, how the soul will be peaceful, happy. Then everything will be all right. The same example, that if you are healthy, it doesn't matter what kind of dress you are putting on; you will feel happy. But if you are diseased and if your dress is very nice, that will not give you any happiness. Because you have got a very nice dress and you are diseased, suffering from some pains, the dress will not give you happiness. You must be healthy. Then it doesn't matter, whatever dress you are putting on. Any circumstances, you will feel happiness. This is the basic principle of our movement, Krishna consciousness movement. You try to understand whether you are this body or something beyond this body. This is to be understood. Anyone who is thoughtful, he can understand by little thinking that if you study your body, you will never say that "I body." You will say, "My body." You study your finger; you will say, "It is my finger." You will never say, "I finger." "My head, my hand." Then who is that "my" or "I"? That is the subject matter of thinking. If we do not find out what is that "I..." On the basis of "I," I am thinking "I am my body, my head, my leg." But if you think little, you will find that you are not this body. You are different from this body. And as soon as we understand that "I am different from this body," then the business will be "How I shall be happy?" not "How my dress will be nice?"

So the Krishna consciousness movement is very important movement. We are inviting all intelligent persons, the leaders of the society, to understand the basic principle of this movement. And if the leaders of the society lead the people in the proper channel on the basic principle of spiritual life, then everything will be solved. Everyone will be happy. These instructions are there in the Bhagavad-gita very elaborately. Simply we have to follow the instruction. It is not at all difficult. Then all the questions — social problem, political problem, economical problem, religious problem — everything will be nicely solved. We are presenting, therefore, Bhagavad-gita As It Is. And you take any question and the answer is there in the Bhagavad-gita, very nicely given. Just like, say, our first problem is economic problem. So Bhagavad-gita says, "Yes. Economic problem will be solved very easily if you produce food grains." Annad bhavanti bhutani [Bg. 3.14]. You produce food grain. Just like in your country I see there is enough land. If you people produce your food grain, within three months you can get all the necessities of life for the whole year. And the balance time you can save, nine months. And these nine months you can utilize for advancing in spiritual life, because your life or my life, this human form of life, it is distinct from the cats' and dogs' life. The cats and dogs, they cannot understand what is the basic principle of life. But a human being can understand. If he takes little care, he can understand that his problem of life is due to misunderstanding, accepting this body as self. This is the problem.

So we shall advise according to Bhagavad-gita that "Make your life very simple, plain living, but the thinking should be very high." Plain living and high thinking. So thinking is that "I am the soul. I am not this body. I am eternal. I am changing only body. And due to change of body I am suffering." For this reason, the shastra says,

yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke
sva-dhih kalatradishu bhauma ijya-dhih
yat tirtha-buddhih salile na karhichit
janeshv abhijñeshu sa eva go-kharah [Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.84.13]

Everyone is living on the bodily concept of life. This body is a bag. Actually it is a bag. So long the soul is there, it is useful. As soon as the soul is not there, it is nothing but a bag of skin and bones. That's all. Everyone knows it. It is thrown away. It has no value. So actually it is a material bag made of this blood, skin, nails, bones, urine, stool. This is the ingredient of this body. If you think that this body is self, then you can create with this ingredient another soul. If you analyze this body, what is the ingredient? You will find some blood, some veins, some bones, some skin, and some urine, some stool and some secretion. So they are available. So why don't you take all these ingredients and create another soul? They are available anywhere. But that is not possible. The big, big chemist, big, big scientists, they are trying to create living entities. Their theory is: "By chemical evolution there is living symptoms." But it is not possible. The soul is different from these material elements. Soul is different from the material elements. In the Bhagavad-gita you will find that first of all, material elements, they have been described, Bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva cha, bhinna me prakriti ashtadha [Bg. 7.4]. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakritim para, jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam dharyate jaga [Bg. 7.5].... Jiva-bhuta, the living entity, is completely different from this matter.

So unless we understand this philosophy... Philosophy you can call, because the philosophy means the science of sciences. Philosophy is not a mental speculation. Philosophy is the prime science from which all other sciences are derived. That is philosophy. So our Krishna consciousness movement is trying to educate people on this science of sciences to understand first of all that "What you are? Are you this body or different from this body?" This is essential. And if you go on constructing your big building on a defective foundation, then it will not stay. There will be danger. So modern civilization is based on this defective idea that "I am this body." "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian" — these are all bodily concept of life. "Because I have got this body from a Christian father and mother, therefore I am a Christian." But I am not this body. "Because I have got this body from a Hindu father and mother, therefore I am Hindu." But I am not this body. So for spiritual understanding, this is the basic principle to understand, that "I am not this body; I am soul," aham brahmasmi. This is the Vedic instruction: "Try to understand that you are spirit soul; you are not this body."

The yoga system is practiced just to understand this by controlling the senses, especially the mind. Mind is the master or the chief of the senses. Manah-shashthanindriyani prakriti-sthani karshati [Bg. 15.7]. We are undergoing a struggle for existence with this mind and the senses under the false conception of identifying this body as self. So if we concentrate our mind by controlling the senses, then we can gradually understand. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pashyanti yam yoginah [SB 12.13.1]. The yogis, they meditate upon the Supreme Person, Vishnu, and by that process they realize the self. Self-realization is the prime object of human life. So the beginning of self-realization is to understand that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul." Aham brahmasmi.

So these things are very nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gita. If we simply read Bhagavad-gita carefully, under proper guidance, then everything will be clear, without any difficulty, that "I am not this body, I am spirit soul. My business is different than this bodily concept of life. I shall never be happy taking, accepting this body as self. That is a wrong foundation of knowledge." In this way, if we make progress, then we shall understand, aham brahmasmi: "I am spirit soul."

Then wherefrom I have come? Everything is described in the Bhagavad-gita, that the spirit soul, Krishna says, the Lord says, mamaivamsho jiva-bhutah: [Bg. 15.7] "These living entities, they are My part and parcel, fragment, or minute sparks." As the big fire and the small fire, both of them are fire, but big fire and small fire... So far the fire quality is concerned, God and we are the same. So we can understand, we can study God by studying ourselves. That is another meditation. But it will be perfect when we understand that "Although qualitatively I am a sample of God or the same quality, but still, He is the great, I am the small." That is perfect understanding. Anu, vibhu; Brahman, Parabrahman; ishvara, parameshvara — this is perfect understanding. Because I am qualitatively one, it does not mean that I am the Supreme. In the Vedas it is said, nityo nityanam chetanash chetananam (Katha Upanishad 2.2.13). We are nitya, eternal; God is also eternal. We are living being; God is also a living being. But He is the chief living being; He is the chief eternal. We are also eternal, but we are not chief. Why? Eko yo bahunam vidadhati kaman. Just like we require a leader, similarly, He is the supreme leader. He is maintainer. He is providence. He is providing everyone's necessities. We can see that there are elephants in Africa. Who is providing them food? There are millions of ants within the hole of your room. Who is feeding them? Eko yo bahunam vidadhati kaman. So in this way, if we realize ourself, that is self-realization.

And then the next question will be, "Then what is our function?" When we understand our relationship with God, that is called sambandha. And if the sambandha, if the relationship is established, understood properly... Just like in Christian religion they go to the church. Or every religion, generally, people go to temple, church, mosque, to pray, to offer prayer to the Supreme, and generally we ask for our necessities of life because eko yo bahunam vidadhati kaman: He is supplying the necessities. But in higher standard, He is already supplying the necessities, but then why shall I bother Him for supplying the necessities? He is already supplying without asking. The ants and the elephants, they do not go to the church for asking God, "Oh, give us our daily bread," but still, they are getting. Then the next question is that "What is our duty?" Our duty is to feel obliged to God and try to serve Him. That is our duty. Just like a child, when he is unable to move or to work, the parents, the father, supplies everything. But when the child is grown up, if he thinks as a young man that "Father has given us so much service. Now we shall give service," oh, that is perfection. That is wanted. Therefore Krishna says, mam ekam sharanam vraja. At the present moment we are taking so much supplies from God, but we are not eager to serve Him. This is our position. Eko yo bahunam vidadhati kaman. He is supplying us everything. We require light; there is the sunlight. We require water; there are oceans of water. Who has created this? We require these things, and God has created. He has given us enough. Purnam idam purnam adah purnat purnam udachyate [Ishopanishad, Invocation]. Everything is complete. Ishavasyam idam sarvam [Isho mantra 1]. Everything is completely arranged by the Supreme Lord. So we should be cognizant how we are benefited by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and what is our duty. Our duty is to serve God. That is our duty. Hrishikena-hrishikesha sevanam bhaktir uchyate [Chaitanya-charitamrita Madhya 19.170]. We are taking so much service, already taken. Now, when we are grown up as human being, then we should serve God. This is the instruction we get from Bhagavad-gita, how Arjuna in the beginning was declining to serve Krishna on consideration of his bodily attachment, but at the end he decided, "No, it is my duty to serve Krishna, not to serve my senses." And that is the instruction of Bhagavad-gita. Similarly, when we actually become self-realized and agree to serve the Supreme Lord... Another point is that Lord is perfect. He doesn't require our service, but if we are engaged in His service, that is our healthy condition. Just like this finger is part and parcel of my body. Now I am asking this finger, "Keep like this. Move like this." This is healthy condition of the finger. But if I want to take service from the finger in some way but if the finger cannot serve me, this means unhealthy condition. Similarly, when we do not serve God, that is our unhealthy condition. That is material condition. Therefore... There was a big meeting in Naimisharanya. All the great learned sages and brahmanas were present, and the resolution was passed,

atah pumbhir dvija-shreshtha
varnashrama-vibhagashah
svanushthitasya dharmasya
samsiddhir hari-toshanam [SB 1.2.13: "O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve ...is to please the Personality of Godhead."]

This is perfection of life. If you want perfection of life, then try to satisfy God, Krishna. Samsiddhir hari-toshanam [SB 1.2.13]. So our Krishna consciousness movement is teaching this conclusion of the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam that if you want perfection of life, then try to satisfy the Supreme Lord. This is the conclusion.