This is beginning of asuras' life, pravṛtti and nivṛtti. Pravṛtti means the, what is called, incentive which makes... There is a grain of sugar, and the ant knows there is a grain of sugar. He is running after it. That is pravṛtti. And nivṛtti means I have passed my life in this way, but it is not actually my progress of life. I should stop this way of life. I should go to the spiritual realization. That is nivṛtti-mārga. There are two ways: pravṛtti and nivṛtti. Pravṛtti means we are going to the dark, darkest region. Adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisram (SB 7.5.30). Because we cannot control our senses, adānta... Adānta means uncontrolled, and go, go means senses. Adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisram. Just like we see varieties of life, so there is life also in the hell, tamisra. So either you go to the hellish condition of life or you go to the path of liberation, both ways are open to you. So if you go to the hellish condition of life, that is called pravṛtti-mārga, and if you go towards the path of liberation, that is nivṛtti-mārga.
Our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is training of nivṛtti-mārga, the basic principles, so many no's. "No" means nivṛtti. No illicit sex, no meat-eating, no gambling, no intoxication. So this is the no, "no" path. So that they do not know. When we say so many no's, they think it is brainwash. Not brainwash. It is actual. If you want to develop your spiritual life, then you have to stop so many nuisance. That is nivṛtti-mārga. The asuras, they do not know. Because they do not know, when nivṛtti-mārga, "no," the path of "no" is recommended, they become angry. They become angry.
- upadeṣo hi mūrkhāṇāṁ
- prakopāya na śāntaye
- payaḥ-pānaṁ bhujaṅgānāṁ
- kevalaṁ viṣa-vardhanam
- (Nīti Śāstra)
Those who are rascals, fools, if you speak something valuable for his life he'll not hear you; he will become angry. The example is given, payaḥ-pānaṁ bhujaṅgānāṁ kevalaṁ viṣa-vardhanam. Just like if a snake, if you ask the snake that "I shall give you daily a cup of milk. Do not commit this harmful life, biting unnecessarily others. You come here, take a cup of milk and live peacefully," that he will not be able. He... By drinking, by drinking that cup of milk, his poison will increase, and as soon as the poison is increased—it is also another itching sensation—he wants to bite. He'll bite. So the result will be payaḥ-pānaṁ bhujaṅgānāṁ kevalaṁ viṣa-vardhanam. The more they starve, that is good for them, because the poison will not increase. The nature's law is there.
And as soon as one sees a snake, immediately everyone becomes alert to kill the snake. And by nature's law... It is said, "Even a great saintly person, he does not lament when a snake is killed." Modeta sādhur api sarpa..., vṛścika-sarpa-hatyā (SB 7.9.14). Prahlāda Mahārāja said. When his father was killed and Nṛsiṁha-deva was still angry, so he pacified Lord Nṛsiṁha, "Sir, now You can give up Your anger because nobody is unhappy on account of my father being killed." Means, "I am also not unhappy. I am also happy, because my father was just like a snake and a scorpion. So even a great saintly person is happy when a scorpion or a snake is killed." They are not happy if somebody is killed. Even an ant is killed, a saintly person is unhappy. But a saintly person, when he sees that a snake is killed, he is happy. He is happy.
So we should not follow the life of a snake, pravṛtti-mārga. Human life is meant for nivṛtti-mārga. We have got so many bad habits. To give up these bad habits, that is human life. If we cannot do that, then we are not making any spiritual progress of life. Spiritual progress... So long you will have a little desire for committing sinful life for your sense gratification, you will have to accept a next body. And as soon as you accept a material body, then you will suffer.