So Prahlāda Mahārāja recommends to the world society that from the very beginning of childhood this science should be taught. Why? Durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tad apy adhruvam arthadam. Now this human form of life is very important.
Śrīdhara Swami comments on this, kaumāra ity Adinā, ihaiva mānuṣa-janmani dharmān ācaret. Now question may be why in this birth of human life it is so much stressed? The answer is durlabham. Durlabham means the intelligence that you have got now in this form of body, it is very rare.
The intelligence, how it is rare? How it is important? Now here we are discussing about science of God, maybe very small number of men we are sitting, but we are all, because we are human being, we are able to discuss. But we cannot call a cat or dog and sit down here and understand the science of God. That is not possible. So except human body, in any other form of life there is no possibility. You can become a tiger or a lion, very powerful, but it is a useless life. Useless life.
I had correspondence with one gentleman in England. He says that "We want to be tiger." So I answered: "What is the use of tiger?" Tigers, to become tiger . . . tiger is very important animal? It is, rather, enemy of the human society. So actually, the present society is producing tigers or hogs or dogs or camels, like that—in the form of human body. The real human body, the intelligence should be utilized to understand God consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Tad api janma.
Why . . . somebody may say that, "I may . . . let me enjoy this life. I shall try for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness, next life. Or after enjoying life in my youthhood, then we shall try." So Prahlāda Mahārāja answers, "No, don't remain confident that you shall live long or remain confident that you are getting next life also human form of life."
No. Adhruvam. There is no certainty. But if you begin Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this life and try to achieve the result to some extent, even one percent, two percent, your life, next life, is guaranteed a human form of life. It is such a nice thing.
Because it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga bhraṣṭo sanjāyate (BG 6.41). One who cannot fulfill the entire course of understanding the science of God, but because he has begun to understand it, never mind he has understood it one percent, two percent, ten percent . . . not ten percent. Unless one understands the science cent per cent, he does not get liberation. But even one percent. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt (BG 2.40). In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find this stanza, that even little percentage of God consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is attempted, then you can be saved from the greatest danger.
There are many instances in the śāstra, Ajāmila. Simply he was most, I mean to say, a sinful man. All through his life he acted simply sinfully, but at the end of his life, just at the point of death, he remembered Nārāyaṇa. That also in connection with his youngest son. And because he uttered the name "Nārāyaṇa," he remembered Nārāyaṇa, and simply by remembering Nārāyaṇa he was, I mean to say, liberated. So there were many instances. So svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt. (BG 2.40). In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata, Nārada has instructed Vyāsadeva:
- tyaktvā sva dharmaṁ caraṇāmbhujaṁ harer
- bhajann apakvo 'tha patet tato yadi
- (SB 1.5.17)
Nārada, he's instructing. Vyāsadeva is disciple of Nārada Muni. So Vyāsadeva was not very happy, even he wrote so many books, even Vedānta-sūtra. He wrote Mahābhārata, he wrote all the Purāṇas, and he wrote the philosophy, Vedānta-sūtra, and still, he was feeling unhappy. So at that time Nārada Muni came and instructed him, and he asked that, "Why I'm not feeling happy? In spite of working so hard about writing all these different kinds of Vedic literature, why I am not feeling happy?"
So Nārada Muni instructed him, "Because you have not very elaborately discussed about the science of God. You have simply superficially given some moral instruction to the society, some social instruction, but . . . some political instruction, Mahābhārata." Just like Mahābhārata, you'll find first-class political discussion, first-class social, economics, everything is there. But still, there is Bhagavad-gītā.
So Vyāsadeva has done, but still he was not feeling. So at that time Nārada Muni instructed him that "You simply describe about God, about Kṛṣṇa." Then he wrote this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.