You can understand. If you practice this yoga, keeping Kṛṣṇa in the center, always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, the form of the Kṛṣṇa, then it will be revealed. Yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau (ŚU 6.23). This is the yoga system of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So next verse He says:
- jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam
- idaṁ vakṣyāmy aśeṣataḥ
- yaj jñātvā neha bhūyo 'nyaj
- jñātavyam avaśiṣyate
- (BG 7.2)
"I am speaking to you a process of knowledge, jñānam." Jñānam means knowledge. Te: "unto you." Ahaṁ sa-vijñānam. Sa-vijñānam means . . . jñānam is theoretical, and vijñānam means practical. Just like in scientific knowledge, the student has to pass both theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge. Theoretical . . . "Combination of this chemical and that chemical makes this chemical," this is theoretical knowledge. But when you mix these two chemicals or three chemicals and produce that object, that is practical.
Recently, I may say, in California University, one learned professor came there to speak about the evolutionary theory of chemicals, and he said that life is produced—perhaps you know—from four chemicals. But when one student, he said that, "If I supply these four chemicals, whether you can produce life?" in answer to this he said: "That I cannot say." That is imperfect knowledge. If you say: "Life is produced from chemicals," then you must make experimental demonstration: by mixing those chemicals you produce life. That is called vijñānam, practical demonstration. Otherwise it is not perfect. Scientific knowledge means observation, then experiment. If you fail in your experiment, that is not scientific knowledge. It must be experimented.
So here also it is said, jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam: "I am speaking to you this knowledge, which you can practically experience." Not theoretical simply. Jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam idaṁ vakṣyāmy aśeṣataḥ (BG 7.2). Aśeṣataḥ means "without any reservation, as far as possible." "As far as you can understand, I am explaining." Yaj jñātvā, "If you understand this," na iha bhūyaḥ anyaj jñātavayam avaśiṣyate . . . "If you can understand this knowledge with practical experience, then there will be nothing to know any more." That means your knowledge is complete, perfect.
In the Vedas also, it is stated that yaj jñātvā . . . yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3). If you simply try to understand what is God . . . not try to understand. If you understand scientifically what is God, then you understand everything. Because God is everything. God is the central point of everything. Yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 3.1). These are the Vedic version. "From whom all these material cosmic manifestation has come into being." In the Vedānta-sūtra it is said, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1): the Absolute Truth is that from which everything has come down. So if you understand the Absolute Truth, yasmin vijñāte, sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati, then you can understand all other departments of knowledge. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam idaṁ vakṣyāmy aśeṣataḥ: "Explicitly, elaborately I am saying." Yaj jñātvā, "If you understand," na iha, "in this world," anyat bhūyaḥ, "again," anyat, "anything else," jñātavyam avaśiṣyate, "there is anything remains to understand. Everything is understood." So Kṛṣṇa said:
- manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu
- kaścid yatati siddhaye
- yatatām api siddhānāṁ
- kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ
- (BG 7.3)
Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu. There are living entities, 8,400,000 species or forms. And nine . . . jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi (Padma Purāṇa), 900,000 forms in the water. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. Two millions forms of the trees and plants. In this way there are, altogether, different forms of life, 8,400,000. Don't think that the plants and trees, they have no life. They are also living entities. We do not accept this theory that the animals have no soul. No. Everyone has got soul. Even the plants, trees—everyone has got soul. They have got different bodies only. It is not that only human being has got the soul, not others. No. Actually if we make analysis what is the symptoms of possessing soul, you will find everywhere. Even in plants' life you will find. Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, one of the greatest scientist of the world, he has proved by machine that when you cut the trees or the leaves, they feel sensation, pain, and that is recorded by machine. So everyone has got soul. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says:
- sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya
- mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ
- tāsāṁ mahad yonir brahma
- ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā
- (BG 14.4)
So here it is said that manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). There are millions and millions human beings. Out of them, one is very much anxious how to get perfection of life. Because everyone is carried by the animal propensities. What are the animal propensities? Eating, sleeping, sex life and defense. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca, sāmānyam etat paśubhir narāṇām (Hitopadeśa 25). These are the common formulas both to the animals and the human being. What is that? Eating, sleeping, mating, sex life and defending, defense. Everyone is doing that according to his own capacity. Cats and dogs, they also eat, they also sleep, they also have sex life, and they also try to defend when there is danger, when there is enemy. So these things are common formulas both for the animals and the human being. But what is the special prerogative for the human being? That is siddhi, how to make life perfect. Therefore here it is said, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). Siddhaye means "for perfection."
What is the perfection of life? Perfection of life is no more birth, no more death, no more disease, no more old age. That is perfection. That the people do not know, that there is possibility of attaining a stage when there is no more birth, no more death, no more old age. There are so many universities, so many educational institution all over the world, but nowhere there is department of understanding this science, how to stop birth, death, old age and disease. In the chemical laboratory, they are trying to manufacture chemicals for stopping birth—contraceptive. But there is no medicine that after taking this medicine or these chemicals there will be no more death or no more birth, no more old age and no more disease. You can manufacture chemical or combination of medicine as counteracting the disease, just like in the Western countries the cancer disease. There are so many chemicals and medicines they are discovering, but there is no medicine, no chemical, which can say that no more cancer disease. That is not possible.
So actual siddhi means to overcome these four principles of miserable condition of life. That is perfection. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). Everything is being attempted to suppress our miserable condition of life. That is going on. All advancement of science, knowledge, philosophy, theology—anything—the idea is how to stop the miserable condition of life. But the real miserable condition of life, according to Bhagavad-gītā, is birth, death, old age and disease. Don't go, take seriously, the side—miserable condition. Just like people are very much anxious to feed the hungry, the hungry men. Well, that you can do. That is nice business. But why don't you try that . . . the hungry man and the welfare man both will die. You cannot stop death, either you feed him well or he is hungry. Death is there. "As sure as death."
So actual benefit is . . . if you can stop death, that is actual benefit. So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to stop death. You will be surprised. You may not be very much pleased, but it is possible. It is possible. Because we are eternal. We living entities, soul, we are part and parcel of God, we are eternal. Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). These are the statements. First of all we have to understand the constitutional position of ourself. That is self-realization. Our nature: we are eternal. We are not dying. When this body dies or is annihilated, it does not mean I die. I exist. Just like my childhood body is no more existing. It is died. My youthhood body is no more existing. So, so many bodies I had in the past, they are no more existing. But I am existing. I remember. Therefore I am eternal.