In the human form of life, if you do not make inquiries what is Brahman, athāto brahma jijṣāsā . . . Jijṣāsā means inquiry. This is the first aphorism in the Vedānta-sūtra, that atha. Atha means "thus." Ataḥ, ataḥ means hereafter. "Hereafter" means that we have passed through 8,400,000's of species of life—now we have got civilized form of human body, now it is the time to inquire what I am, what is God, what is my relationship with God.
So in every human society there is such inquiry and there is some answer also. So cultivating this knowledge, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness, is essential. If we do not take to these inquiries, simply if we engage ourself in the animal propensities . . . because this material body is animal body, but the consciousness is developed. In the animal body or in the lower than animal body—just like trees and plants, they are also living entities—the consciousness is not developed.
If you cut a tree, because the consciousness is not developed, it does not protest. But it feels the pain. That is scientifically proved by Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose. It feels. But the feeling is not so strong. But if you kill one animal, it protests, because the consciousness is developed. Similarly, if you kill a man, that protest is still vehement, because the consciousness is still more advanced.
So in this way, in different forms of life we are developing different types of consciousness. Just like this child, because it has got a certain type of body, its consciousness is not so developed. But when this body will be grown up, when this girl will be young, then her consciousness is also will be different.
Not will be; it will develop. Similarly, our consciousness should develop. The perfection, the ultimate goal, the limit of development is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The consciousness is developing one after another in different bodies, but Kṛṣṇa consciousness means that is the ultimate development.
That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jṣānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). This is the definition how consciousness reaches its perfection. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante. That perfection is reached after many, many births. Just like aquatics, plants, trees, reptiles, birds, beasts, then uncivilized human form of body, then civilized form of body, and especially the Vedic style of body. That is considered to be the highest perfectional body. And Vedic perfectional stage also achieves the highest goal when it is Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest goal of life. We should always remember. And Bhagavad-gītā says, bahūnāṁ janmanaṁ ante jṣānavān māṁ prapadyate. After many, many births of evolution, one after another, one after another, one after another—that evolution is going, every moment—so when one is perfectly wise, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jṣānavān.
Jṣānavān means perfectly wise. Jṣāna means knowledge, and vān, vān means one who has. The Sanskrit word vān . . . just like bhagavān. Bhaga means opulence, and vān means one who has. So Bhagavān means one who has got six kinds of opulences in full.
Every Sanskrit word has got its root meaning. It is not . . . just like Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa has got His root meaning. Kṛṣṇa, "the greatest." Kṛṣ, and ṇa means negation. There are different meanings, but this is one of the meanings. Another kṛṣṇa meaning is "all-attractive." So God is great. That very idea is perfectly expressed in the word kṛṣṇa. So bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jṣānavān. Jnanavān means who has attained, who has possessed, who is in possession of highest wisdom. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jṣānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19).
And what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Kṛṣṇa says: "One who surrenders unto Me. One who comes to Me and surrenders, 'My dear Kṛṣṇa, I now understand that You are my eternal protector, You are my eternal friend, You are my eternal maintainer. I forgot You, now I understand. So I come to You and surrender. Please give me protection.' " This is called śaraṇāgati. So he is wisest man, and he continues to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jṣānavān māṁ prapadyate. What is that mām? If Kṛṣṇa says: "Unto Me," so "unto Me," Kṛṣṇa is everything. Because He is the Supreme Lord, therefore He is everything. But what sort of? Vāsudeva. That form of Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva. Vāsudeva means the son of Vasudeva. That means the Kṛṣṇa of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, who appeared Himself as the son of Vasudeva, Vāsudeva. Son of Vasudeva is known as Vāsudeva. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti (BG 7.19). And Vāsudeva is all-pervasive. Whatever we see, whatever we experience, that is expansion of Vāsudeva's energy.
So one who understands . . . in the Ninth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā also it is said, mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam (BG 9.4): "Everything, whatever you see, I am there. It is My expansion." Mayā tatam idam. Tatam means expanded. "I have been expanded everywhere." Just like this watch, this is also Kṛṣṇa. This is also Kṛṣṇa. The Māyāvāda philosophy, they misunderstand that if Kṛṣṇa has expanded to become this watch, to become this pot, to become this light, to become this room, to become this cloth, then Kṛṣṇa is finished; no more Kṛṣṇa. That is impersonalism.
But that is not the fact. Kṛṣṇa exists. That is also confirmed by the Vedas. Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate (Īśo Invocation). The Absolute Truth is so perfect that if perfectly taken from the perfect—everything is taken—still He's there. Just like this is a watch. If you take its hands, if you take its glass, if you take its machine, then what remains there? Nothing. It becomes zero. But Kṛṣṇa is so full and complete, if you take millions of Kṛṣṇa from Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa is still there. That is Kṛṣṇa's omnipotency.