So every living entity is suffering or enjoying. There is no enjoyment. Everyone is suffering, but he . . . that is called māyā. He is suffering, but he takes it as enjoying. Even the hog, the pig, he is eating stool, but he is thinking that he is enjoying. He is enjoying. He enjoys a certain type of food according to his quality. Nowadays, because people are becoming more and more in the modes of darkness, they are eating so many abominable things. And prakṛti also, I mean to say, minimizing the supply of sāttvika food. Just like nowadays it has become scarcity of grains, of milk, of sugar. It is practical experience. Because people are becoming more and more in the modes of ignorance, therefore the foodstuff . . .
These foodstuff are in the modes of goodness. Just like Kṛṣṇa wants patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). Kṛṣṇa does not say: "Give me meat and drinking wine." Kṛṣṇa can eat everything. He is omnipotent. But He does not say that, "You give me anything and everything." No. He specifically mentions, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati. These things are the foodstuff in goodness: rice, ḍāl, wheat—that means grains—then sugar, fruits, vegetables, milk products. These foods are in the goodness. Similarly there are foods, very chili, very hot, these are in the passion. And similarly in ignorance also there are many foods, stale food, meat—these are in the ignorance.
So our business is, this human form of life, to get out of this cycle of birth and death and wandering in different species of life. This is the mission of human life. Human life, advanced consciousness, it is meant for getting out of the cycle of birth and death and wandering in different species of life. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says:
- ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
- guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
- (CC Madhya 19.151)
In this way the living entities, puruṣaḥ prakṛti-sthaḥ, within this material world, he is wandering in different species of life, in different planets.
But the disease is birth and death. Even if you take birth in the Brahmaloka, Kṛṣṇa says, ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna (BG 8.16). Even if you (are) promoted to the Brahmaloka, the highest planet, there is also death. You cannot avoid.
Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). That is real knowledge, that "I don't want to die, but I am forced to die. I don't want to become old man, but I am forced to become old man. I don't want any disease, but disease is forced upon me." So these are the real problems.
So Kṛṣṇa says that ābrahma lo . . . if . . . you may get very long duration of life, very comfortable life, in higher planetary system. Just like people are engaged in doing, I mean to . . . pious activities. The result of pious activities is that you get your birth in a very good family, in a rich family; you get beauty, you become educated, janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrībhiḥ (SB 1.8.26). Janma means birth, high-class birth, and aiśvarya means opulence, riches, and śruta means education, and śrī means beauty.
So by pious activities you can get all these things. And impious activities, the opposite number: in a family, abominable, pāpa-yoni, lower-grade family, not very beautiful, not educated, suffering in so many ways. So either you get this life or that life, the janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi is there. It is not that because you have got very beautiful body and born in very high-class family and highly educated, you will avoid janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi. That is not possible. The real problem is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi.