As we get some land and work for ourself, similarly, this body is also like that land. And I am . . . this "I," the soul, I can reap good result or bad result as I work with this body. This is very similar. This is the knowledge. Kṛṣṇa says, idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram (BG 13.2). Kṛṣṇa does not say that "Arjuna, you are this body." That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). Within this body, the owner of the body is there. This is the beginning of knowledge. So this knowledge is lacking. Nobody knows that "I am within this body." Everyone is thinking, "I am this body." "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am Czechoslovakian," or "I am Swiss," and . . . everyone is thinking. That means they have no knowledge. All fools and rascals.
So the all fools and rascals civilization, how we can be happy? There must be intelligence. They have no intelligence. They are thinking of philanthropic work, but still thinking that "I am this body." So what that philanthropic work will do? We . . . with ignorance, with no knowledge, whatever you do, it is foolish. As there are . . . sometimes they divide, four classes of men: lazy intelligent, active intelligent, and lazy fool and active fool. The active fool is fourth class because whatever he'll do, it is foolish. So result will not be very good. Active fool. So lazy fool is better than the active fool. Just like the monkey, it is active fool. In your country, in the Western country, you don't see many monkeys. But in India, there are many monkeys. As soon as a monkey will come, he will create some mischief. He's very busy, jumping here, there, here, here, there, but always creating mischief. So modern civilization . . . and the Darwin's theory is that they have come from monkey. (laughter) So they are also doing like that, jumping like monkey, this way, that way, this way, that way, but always creating mischief.
So this is very good example, that idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram. He has given . . . God has given you a piece of land, this body. Now you work. You make your future with this body. karmaṇā . . . because the body is produced according to my karma. Otherwise, why there are so many varieties of body? We are all human being. Everyone, we are, we possess two hands, two legs. Still, the bodies are different. We don't find anybody's body is exactly equal to the other. No. Because we have got different mentality. Every one of us, we are individual soul; we have got different mentality, different propensities, different ideas. So in this way we have got different bodies. This is the science. Science, they are searching out so many things, but they do . . . why they cannot explain that why there are varieties of body? Why not exactly one human being exactly of the same feature, same . . .? Just like we do some . . . in mold the, all the dolls come out of the same body. It is not like that. For each and every living entity, Kṛṣṇa has to prepare a different type of body. Therefore we have got different types of body according to karma.
So this is knowledge that, "I have got this body as field." As one gets the land for cultivating his food grains according to his labor, according to his choice, similarly, we have got this field of activity. Now we can make our future good or bad according to our choice. Idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram iti abhidhīyate. This is called kṣetra, working land. Just like father gives some capital to the son: "You do some business." Now, you lose the money or increase it hundred times, that depends on you. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa has given us. We wanted to enjoy this material world, and Kṛṣṇa has given us. The first beginning body is Brahmā, very exalted body. But on account of our abominable activities, from Brahmā, we come down to become the worm of stool. This is called karma, kṣetra.
There are 8,400,000 species of life, and according to our work we get some body, some type of body. And if we work in the modes of goodness, then we get still better body in higher planetary system—long duration of life, better standard of living condition, more and more, thousand times thousand times. Whatever comforts and facilities we have got here on this planet, if we work in the modes of goodness, then we get more and more facilities. Similarly, if we work just like animals, then you are degraded more and more downwards—Tala, Atala, Talātala, Pātāla, like that. There are planetary system, and similarly, there are higher planetary system. You can see every day. Each and every star means they are different planetary system. So according to your work, you are promoted or degraded or you keep here.