Prabhupāda: That's all right. Even if you make a full estimate, then still, you are nothing in the face of the creator. Even if you can count.
Yaśomatīnandana: They are so stupid, Prabhupāda, that they do not recognize that the most important things in life is birth, death, old age and disease. And if they really want to conquer the nature, they should try to conquer birth, death, old age and disease.
Prabhupāda: That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14).
Yaśomatīnandana: Duratyayā, very hard to overcome.
Prabhupāda: It is not possible.
Hṛdayānanda: They have a whole new department, called gerontology, to stop death. In one article they had about twenty different methods, and they said all of them . . . or none of them have succeeded yet. But they were very confident.
Yaśomatīnandana: Even for them, there is some medicine in the Vedas. If they go to heavenly planets they will be able to live longer. They are so stupid, śūdra class, that they can't . . .
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Yaśomatīnandana: Even if they go to heavenly planets by following Vedas, still they will be able to live longer. But by their mundane efforts they will not be able to increase . . .
Prabhupāda: No, nobody . . . in the material world there is no question of living forever. That is not possible. That is in the spiritual world.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Śrīla Prabhupāda? In the . . . when the scientists explain why there are so many varieties of living entities, they explain. They have an explanation.
Prabhupāda: What is that?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: They'll say: "At the time of evolution, the cells, the genes, sometimes . . ." When it is . . . normally the gene is perfectly copied for the next generation, but sometimes there is a mistake in copying. Just like in the printing press sometimes we do some mistakes. Just like that, there are some mistakes along the path of evolution. So those mistakes, sometimes they just, according to the circumstances, they can stand, and they form a different living entity because of the difference of the genes.
Prabhupāda: But the mistake is continuing forever, because you'll find the varieties of living entities ever existing. Therefore the mistake is permanent. So when it is permanent, it is not mistake; it is intelligence.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: They'll say if there is no mistake, there will be only one living entity in the whole universe.
Prabhupāda: Why? Because you have got different mind, therefore you create different situation. Just like we are walking here. Not that everyone is coming to join us. Because they have got different mentality. They want to sleep. We want to rise early in the morning. Why this difference?
Śrutaśrava: It is a great mistake they're making.
Prabhupāda: It is not mistake. It is your desire. And exactly according to the desire, you get a body. It is not mistake.
Yaśomatīnandana: It is not a mistake.
Prabhupāda: No. Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran loke tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6). At the time of death, whatever you think, exactly nature will give you a similar body. That's all. That is not in your hand. That is in the nature's hand. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27).
Svarūpa Dāmodara: But scientifically it can be proved that there is a mistake. It can be proved by, er . . .
Prabhupāda: Then that is your mistake. In the laws of nature there is no mistake. There is no mistake. Your mistake. Just like in the railway carriage there is first class, second class, third class. So you have purchased third-class ticket. By mistake, you can go to the first class and just give him, but you will not be allowed to stay there. So it is your mistake. But these first class, second class, third . . . that is not a mistake. That is arrangement. Similarly, these varieties . . . God is so clever that He knows that so many mistakes can be done, and so many varieties are there. As you commit mistake, you enter . . . "You come here. It is ready."
And it is very exact mathematically calculated. Because the nature is working in three modes, so you mix up these three modes, it becomes three into three equal to nine, and again you multiply nine into nine, equal eighty-one. Again eighty-one into eighty-one. So many varieties come. Therefore generally it is taken, 84,000,000 varieties . . . er, 8,400,000. That is already there. Just like government creates a prison house. Although the city is not constructed, but they construct a prison house. Why? The government knows that "There are so many rascals. They will be criminals; they must come here." So it is not government mistakes. Your mistake. You become criminal and come here. It is your mistake. Why should you be criminal? That is your mistake.
Yaśomatīnandana: And also, if nature made a mistake, then how could nature supply the necessities of all the living entities? After all . . .
Prabhupāda: No, no, there is no mistake. Mayādhyakṣeṇa. It is said, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). Under the supervision of Kṛṣṇa, God, nature is working. How there can be mistake? In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said, sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni vibharti durgā (Bs. 5.44). This nature is working just like shadow. Real direction is from God. Icchānurūpam api yasya ca ceṣṭate sā. By His will, nature is working. So how He can be mistaken? Nature is working under the will of God, so how there can be mistake in the part of God? There is no mistake.