Prabhupāda: Yes. This is our ignorance. Just like this example is given in the śāstra that the river waves are flowing, water is flowing, and by the combination of the waves many straws come together at one time, and, after some time, again they are distributed, thrown here and there. We have got, everyone, experience. Similarly, in this material world every one of us, we have gathered together like the straws. Actually we are under the waves of the material nature. So when we gather together, we make a community that, "We are Americans," "We are Indians," "We are this," "We are that," "We are family . . ." That is exactly like that. By chance we meet together; again, by the waves of the nature, we are separated: no more son, no more country, no more . . . everything's finished. This is going on. But so long we've gathered together, we take it very seriously. We forget that at any moment we'll be kicked out of this gathering. That is ignorance. They do not try to understand what is our real position.
Real position is that we are being carried by the waves. We have no independence. That is . . . Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings, māyār bose jāccho bhese', khāccho hābuḍubu bhāi: "You are being carried away by the waves of material nature. You are sometimes you are becoming drowned, sometimes you're floating. In this way your life is going on." You have no fixity. You have no fixity. The fixity is when you are Kṛṣṇa conscious. Jīva kṛṣṇa-dāsa e viśvāsa korle to' ār duḥkho nāi. When he takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and develops this cult, then he becomes perfect one day. Then tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9), he comes back. Kṛṣṇa gives guarantee, "After giving up this body, he comes to Me." That is perfection.
Otherwise, now I am in this family. Suppose now I am American or Indian. Is there guarantee that next life I shall become American or Indian? No. There's not. Kṛṣṇa does not say that. Kṛṣṇa says, dehāntaram, tathā dehā . . . you have to change your body. You have to change your body. Tathā dehā . . . as you are changing constantly our body—that's a fact—similarly, when this body is no more useful, then you're transferred to another body. That's very simple to understand. Suppose you are living in a room, if it is not good, then we change another body. But that does not mean "I am finished." But these foolish people, the so-called advanced scientists, so-called advanced philosopher, they do not understand this simple thing. And still they are very much proud of their education. This simple thing they do not understand.