We must know that whatever we possess, whatever we are seeing, these are all dream, temporary. Therefore if we become engrossed with the temporary things—so-called socialism, nationalism, family-ism or this-ism, that-ism—and waste our time, without cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then that is called śrama eva hi kevalam (SB 1.2.8), simply wasting our time, creating another body. Our own business is that we should know that, "I am not this dream. I am fact, spiritual fact. So I have got a different business." That is called spiritual life.
That is spiritual life, when we understand that, "I am Brahman. I am not this matter." Brahmā-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). That time we shall be joyful. Because we are afflicted with so many changes of the material features, and we are sorry, unhappy, being afflicted by all these external activities. But when we understand rightly that, "I am not concerned with all these things," then we become joyful: "Oh, I have no responsibility. Nothing . . . I have nothing to do with all these things." Brahmā-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54).
At that time, you can feel that every living entity is exactly like you. It doesn't matter whether he is a learned brahmin, whether he's a dog, whether he is a caṇḍāla, whether he's an elephant.
- vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
- brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
- śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
- paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
- (BG 5.18)
That is required. That is spiritual vision. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ.
Therefore a devotee is first-class paṇḍita, a devotee. Because he's sama-darśinaḥ. Sama-darśinaḥ means he's feeling for others. A Vaiṣṇava . . . para-duḥkha-duḥkhī, kṛpāmbudhir yaḥ (Vilāpa-kusumāñjali, 6). Vaiṣṇava is very kind-hearted, merciful, because he feels for others. He feels for others in this sense, that he knows what he is.