This material world is only imitation. This material sky and everything, whatever you see—all imitation, shadow. It is shadow. Just like in cinematographic picture you see the shadow of the real thing behind, similarly, this is only shadow.

The material world and virtual reality

Real and imitation worlds

paras tasmat tu bhavo 'nyo
'vyakto 'vyaktat sanatanah
yah sa sarveshu bhuteshu
nashyatsu na vinashyati

Yet there is another unmanifest nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is. [Bhagavad-gita 8.20]

Now, this material universe you are seeing manifested... Practically not seeing, but at least at night we can see how the stars are twinkling, so many planets innumerable. This is manifested. And beyond that manifestation there is covering of the universe. And beyond that, there is another spiritual nature.

So Krishna is pointing out that, that nature is eternal. Paras tasmat tu bhavo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktat sanatanah. Sanatana means eternal. This nature, this material nature, it has got its beginning and end. But that spiritual nature, that has no beginning and no end. How it is? You can understand by simple example. Just like this sky, and in some insignificant part of the sky there is some cloud, and the cloud covers us. When there is cloud or snowfall we see everything is covered. But that covering is only an insignificant part of the whole sky. That covering is not for the whole sky. Because we are very minute, small, so a few hundred miles, if it is covered, this sky, we see that everything is covered. Similarly, this material sky is within the covering, with the covering of mahat-tattva, matter. And as this cloud, when it is clear, the original sky you can see, similarly, this covering of material matter, when it begins... Just like cloud has beginning and end, similarly, this material nature has beginning and end. Just like your body. It has got its beginning and end—simply for some time. We get our birth of this body, we stay for some time, it grows, it gives some by-products, then it dwindles, then vanishes—these six transformations. So similarly, anything material, manifestation that you are seeing, observing, that is under these six kinds of transformation. So at the end it will be vanquished. So Krishna says, paras tasmat tu bhavah anyo 'vyakto 'vyaktat sanatanah: [Bhagavad-gita 8.20] "Beyond this vanquishing, cloudlike material nature, there is another superior nature which is sanatana, eternal. It has no beginning, no end." And yah sa sarveshu bhuteshu nashyatsu na vinashyati: "When this material manifestation will be annihilated, that will remain." Just like the cloud, when it is vanquished, when it is annihilated, the sky remains, similarly, spiritual sky will remain; the material covering of the spiritual sky will be vanquished.

So there are many volumes of knowledge of this material sky and spiritual sky. In Srimad-Bhagavatam, Second Canto, you will find description of the spiritual sky, what nature it is, what kind of people remain there, what is their feature—everything. Even we get information that in spiritual sky there is aeroplane, spiritual aeroplane in the spiritual sky. And the living entities, they are liberated. They travel on the spiritual sky on that plane, and it is so nice, just like lightning. The description is they travel just like lightning. So everything is there.

This material world is only imitation. This material sky and everything, whatever you see—all imitation, shadow. It is shadow. Just like in cinematographic picture you see the shadow of the real thing behind, similarly, this is only shadow. And in Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said janmady asya yatah anvayad itaratash cha artheshu abhijñah svarat, yatra tri-sargo 'mrisha [SB 1.1.1]. This material world is a combination of matter. Just like you have seen a nice girl's doll in the showcase of the shopkeeper's exactly just like a nice, beautiful girl. But that is imitation. Imitation. Every sane man knows, "Oh, this is imitation." So whatever we are seeing here, beautiful, they are all imitation of the real. As the doll is imitation of a beautiful girl, similarly, yasya satyataya nityapi satyam eva abhipadyate. Sridhara Svami says, "Because the spiritual world is real and this unreal manifestation appears to be real—appears to be real, but it is not real—we can understand reality will exist; reality will not vanquish." That is, reality means eternal.

Therefore real pleasure, that is Krishna. The material pleasure is temporary, not actual. Therefore those who are after reality, they don't take part in this shadow pleasure. Shadow pleasure, they don't take part. So Lord Krishna says yah sa sarveshu bhuteshu nashyatsu na vinashyati ["Yet there is another nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is."]. That is reality. "When everything will be vanquished, that spiritual nature will continue to remain." That remains always.

So our aim is, the human life's aim is, to reach that spiritual sky, but they do not know. Bhagavata says, na te viduh: "They do not know that there is reality." There is reality. Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi vishnum [Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.31]. They do not know their self-interest, that this human life is meant for understanding that reality and prepare for being transferred into that real reality, not to remain. The whole Vedic literatures instructs us like that. Tamasi ma jyotir gama: "Don't remain in this darkness." This material world is darkness. We are artificially making it illuminated with electric light and fire and so many things, but the nature is dark. But that nature, that spiritual nature, is not dark. That is full of light. Just like the sun planet, there is no possibility of darkness, similarly, every planet there, they are self-illuminated, so there is no darkness. This description we'll get from Bhagavad-gita (15.6):

na tad bhasayate suryo
na shashanko na pavakah
yad gatva na nivartante
tad dhama paramam mama

Lord Krishna says, "Oh, that spiritual sky, there is no need of sun; there is no need of moon; there is no need of electricity." Na tad bhasayate suryah. Surya means sun. Na shashankah: "Neither moon." Na pavakah. Pavakah means fire, electricity. These things are not required there. Yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama: [Bg. 15.6] "That is My abode. Anyone who goes there, he doesn't come back again." We get eternal life.

So Krishna says, avyakto 'kshara ity uktas tam ahuh paramam gatim [Bg. 8.21: "That supreme abode is called unmanifested and infallible, and it is the supreme destination. When one goes there, he never comes back. That is My supreme abode."]. That nonmanifested... Because in the material eyes, material science... It is not possible to, I mean to say, disclose by material science. What is material science? We cannot go even to this moon planet, what to speak of the spiritual planet. It is not possible. It is not possible. So avyakto 'kshara ity uktas tam ahuh paramam gatim. If we want to penetrate the outer space, we should be able to penetrate this outer space or this covering, then enter into that spiritual sky, and there it is called paramam gatim. That sort of journey is called supreme. Not that you go up 25,000 miles away from this planet and again come back. This is not very heroic. Oh, you should have to penetrate the whole material space and then penetrate the cover and then reach the real sky. Yes. And that information is here also in the Bhagavad-gita. Paramam gatim. That is the superior journey. That you cannot do with your tiny sputniks. It is not possible. That you have to do by Krishna consciousness. Sada tad-bhava-bhavitah [Bg. 8.6]: one who is always absorbed in Krishna consciousness, and if by fortune at the time of death he thinks of Krishna, he is at once transferred within a second. That is the process.

Therefore if we at all want to go to that spiritual sky and attain real life, eternal life, blissful life, and full of knowledge—sach-chid-ananda-vigrahah... Ishvarah paramah krishnah sach-chid-ananda-vigrahah [Brahma-samhita 5.1: "Krishna, who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes."]. The Lord has got this body, sach-chid-ananda-vigrahah [eternal, blissful, spiritual]. We have also that sort of body, but it is very small. Now it is covered by this matter, by this dress, and if we some way or other able to give up this false dress, then we reach that spiritual kingdom, God's kingdom. That is paramam gatim. Yam prapya: "If you can reach there, if you can achieve that perfection," yam prapya na nivartante, "if at once you go, you cannot..., no more to come back. No more to come back." Yam prapya na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama: "That is My superior abode."

So everyone should try to go there. God Himself comes to call you, He sends His son to call you, and the literatures are there, the scriptures are there. We should take advantage of this. This is meant for human body, human life, not for the cats and dogs. So we should take advantage of it. Human life is meant for that achievement. When we finish all this trouble... This trouble of repeating birth and death, the cycle of birth and death, this should be stopped. This is the information of Bhagavad-gita. This is the perfection. Any system, either yoga system or jñana system or bhakti system—anything, if you... Whatever you like, you can accept, but the ultimate goal is this paramam gatim. If this is not achieved, then all yoga exercise and all philosophical speculation—all nonsense, simply waste of time, simply a waste of time. If you can achieve this stage, then there is no other necessity of philosophizing or yogic practice or anything—if you receive that, if you reach that perfection. And if you do not reach that perfection, then it is all useless. Aradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim [Narada-pañcaratra]: "One who reaches there, for him, all kinds of penances, austerities—no more required. And one who does not reach that place, all these austerities, penances—useless, simply waste of time."

So this should be the aim of human life. Human civilization, human society, should be so formed that they should have the opportunity. The human form of life is the opportunity to get this boon. So it is the duty of the state, duty of the parents, duty of the guardians, duty of the husband, duty of the father—everyone's duty is how to elevate a living creature who has got this fortunate human form of life to understand this paramam gatim, highest perfection of life. That should be the mode of living. Simply have some eating and sleeping and mating and some defense and quarreling like cats and dogs—this is not civilization. The human civilization is this, that he should properly utilize this human form of life and take advantage of this knowledge and prepare himself in Krishna consciousness so that always, 24 hours, cent percent, he will be absorbed in Krishna and at the time of death at once transferred there. This should be the process of life. Therefore we have taken this movement, Krishna consciousness. Join us. Cooperate with us. You'll be benefited, and the world will be benefited, this Krishna consciousness.