Generally, people take to religious to make economic development very easily. Therefore at the modern age the educated public, they are not interested in religious life, because they think that in primitive stage the people were taking to religious life for economic development. Actually, that is the idea, because ordinarily people go to ask for bread in the church, "O God, give us our daily bread." So modern advanced in science people, they think, "Oh, what is the use of asking bread in the church? Why not take to industry?" That is their aim.
In India, especially, this is the situation. The government is thinking that Indian people, being too much religiously inclined, they have fallen down economically; therefore these religious sentiments should be stopped completely. It is not encouraged. Here in Vṛndāvana so many pilgrims, they come from all parts of India—now all parts of world they're coming. But it is kept in such unclean state to discourage people not to come here. That is the idea, so that people, educated people, modernized people, may not come here. They do not want. That is the policy, I am seeing.
They are introducing in the Vṛndāvana area so many industrial things so that the spiritual atmosphere is to be killed. That is the policy is going on. Nobody . . . the chur . . . I mean to say, the temples are neglected. No question of improvement. The whole idea is not to come here, "Please do not come." They cannot say directly, but this is the idea going on.
But this is due to wrong direction of civilization. They do not know what is the aim of civilization. The aim of civilization is to understand Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But they're missing the point. They're thinking motor tire civilization, very nice road, and running motorcar in seventy, eighty miles speed, that is civilization. Not to understand Viṣṇu. That is the difference between materialism and spiritualism.
But we should not be misled by such conception of civilization. Our aim is different. That is right different. I am spirit soul, you are spirit soul. Somehow or other, I have been entangled with this material body, one after another. So I must get out of this entanglement and go back to home, back to Godhead, to Viṣṇu, and live there eternally, blissful life of knowledge. That is our aim.
The materialistic person, they think these are all utopian thinking, conception. Because they have no brain they are no better than animals, polished animals. That's all. They cannot understand. In the tamo-guṇa. Tamasaḥ. Tamasaḥ. Two: tamas and rajas. Two, these two qualities, material qualities, are there. What is . . .? That in the Bhagavad-gītā there is verse: kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgaḥ asya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). Kāraṇam. Why one is born in low-grade body? Why one is born in high-grade body? The . . . what is the reason?
The reason is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: kāraṇam. Kāraṇam means reason. Kāraṇ am asya saṅgaḥ. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgaḥ asya. Because he is associating with some . . . one of the three modes of material nature—some . . . one is associating with sattva-guṇa, one is associating with tamo-guṇa, one is associating with rajo-guṇa—so this is the reason. This is the reason that one is getting low-grade form of body or high-grade form of body. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgaḥ asya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu.
Now . . . in another place it is also clearly stated: yānti deva-vratā devān pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ (BG 9.25). So kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya (BG 13.22). Therefore the first-class civilization is that which associates with the modes of goodness. That is, means, brahminical civilization: truthful, satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā ārjava . . . jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). This is first-class civilization.
People must be truthful, they must be equipoised, not disturbed, not being disturbed by different situations. They must learn how to control the senses. They must learn how to control the mind. Śamo damas ti . . . they must be tolerant, titikṣā. Ārjava: they must be very simple, no duplicity, ārjava. Jñānam: they must know everything in full knowledge. Vijñānam: apply the knowledge in practical life. Āstikyam: they must believe in the Vedic injunctions, āstikya. That is called āstikya.
The atheist and, and theist, the theist believe in the Vedic injunction. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). That is theist. Not that, "I believe in God." They must believe in the injunction of the Vedas, what is said in the Vedas, one must believe. That is called theist. As we have given several times the example: the Vedas says that cow dung is pure. One who believes in that, he is theist. And one who does not believe in the words of the Vedas, they want to change, they want to misinterpret, interpolate, they are atheists.