The real thing is the soul. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). So we should take care. Just like we can take care of the shirt and coat by soaping it, but we must take care of myself, the body which is putting on the shirt and coat. Similarly, this material body is shirt and coat. Real is the spirit soul. So what is the necessity of the spirit soul? The necessity of spirit soul, because it is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, he is hankering to unite with Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. That is Kṛṣṇa conscious . . . the soul is hankering after uniting with the supreme soul. That is natural. You study your body.
Why do you love your body? Or why do you love your son's body? So long the spirit soul is there. As soon as the spirit soul is off, you do not care for the son's body or daughter's body or your wife's body. Then who is the lovable object? The soul. It is very natural to understand. Why don't you love a dead body? Because the soul is not there. Then soul is the object of your love, not this body. And why you take care of the soul? Because it is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate object of love. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But they do not know.
So these Pāṇḍavas were trained up very nicely. Therefore vāsudeve bhagavati hy ekānta-matir āpa tam. They knew that, "Ultimately, Kṛṣṇa is everything." Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ (BG 7.19): "Anyone who understands that ultimately Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva, is everything," sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ, "such person is very rare, mahātmā, great soul." So all these Pāṇḍavas were great soul, and they ultimately . . . retirement means no more material activities.