So those who are engaged in the bhakti-yoga, unflinching bhakti-yoga, unalloyed bhakti-yoga, such person is above this material entanglement. Material entanglement is within the modes of material nature. That is brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, or brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa, eight division. From material condition, if you want to be promoted to the spiritual platform, then these are the regulative principles. Either you become brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya or vaiśya or śūdra, or brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha or sannyāsa, and gradually develop your spiritual constitutional position and be transferred to the transcendental position . . . paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). That is the process. But if you live in the conditioned life like animals, then you continue the life of animals—eating, sleeping, mating and defending, and struggle for existence. Manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). Then you struggle within this material world forever. Sometimes you become the King Indra, and sometimes you become that germ indra. This is karma-phala. This is karma-phala.
But we are so ignorant of this law of karma, we are thinking, "Now this position of American or Indian or this or that, for fifty years or sixty years, utmost—that is one, everything, all in all. There is no more life." Yes. I have talked with many big, big professors. They are under the impression: atheism, voidism, that after death there is nothing; everything is void, finished. Atheism. Bhasmi-bhūtasya dehasya kunaḥ . . . kutaḥ punar āgamanaṁ bhavet (Cārvāka Muni): "The body is burned into ashes. Who is coming again?" This is atheism. Because the atheist, they cannot see that how the soul is transmigrated by the subtle body from one body to another. They have no . . . gross. Gross materialists. So we should not follow the gross materialists, but we should follow the perfect leader, Kṛṣṇa, who says, tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). This we must follow. That is human civilization.
Therefore he prescribes that brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. Either you become brāhmaṇa or follow the instruction of the brāhmaṇas, then your life is perfect. Both things are there. If you like to be brāhmaṇa, that you can become also. Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya (BG 9.32). This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Because in this age everyone is a śūdra, kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ . . . there is no culture. There is no brahminical culture, kṣatriya culture. Therefore all together, they are simply śūdras. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to raise the śūdras or less than that. Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ. Plural number. Striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrāḥ. The pāpa-yoni . . . also stri-murti is also pāpa-yoni; śūdra also pāpa-yoni, vaiśya also pāpa-yoni. It is . . . Kṛṣṇa says. But everyone is open to come to Him. Everyone. It doesn't matter.