So you are a very prominent country all over the world—America. You have got your prestige as the richest nation. Not only that: you are advanced in economic development, scientific development. There is unity with you on account of your benevolent activities that you are forward in supplying foodstuff to the undeveloped countries. You supply money also for development. You have got very philanthropic work, and your country is respected all over the world. But one thing you should know, that at the present moment we are united chronologically, historically, by economic development, by scientific advancement, but still we are fighting one another. In spite of our willingness to cooperate, there is fighting. Just in today's paper I was reading that there is some indication that Mr. Nixon, your president, has declared something that is very agitating.
So the point is that in spite of educational advancement, in spite of economic development, in spite of historical oneness, why we are fighting with one another? That is the question. That answer is given in the Vedic literature. What is that?
- yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
- sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
- yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
- janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
- (SB 10.84.13)
Go-kharaḥ. Go-kharaḥmeans . . . go means "cow," and kharaḥ means "ass." So persons who are identifying this body as self—yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke—this body is a bag made of bones, fleshes, blood, urine, stool, muscles and so many things. So many things. This is a lump of matter. It is a good machine, a very complicated machine, but we have taken that it is a bag of complicated machine. It is bag, just like you carry some type of bag. Actually this is a bag, but unfortunately we have identified ourselves with this bag. A bag you keep something, but the something is not the bag. Similarly I, you and every one of us, we are now encased with this bag.