Kṛṣṇa says, "My dear Arjuna, yes, your question is very intelligent question that you are asking Me how it is possible that forty millions of years before I spoke this science of Bhagavad-gītā to the sun-god. Yes. But you, you should know it that," bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cārjuna, "you and Myself . . . although I am God, I take incarnation many, many times. And you are a living entity; you are also taking your birth repeatedly so many times. So we have passed already. The difference between you and Me is this, that tāni veda . . . tāny ahaṁ veda sarvāṇi, I, I remember what I did in the past, long, long years before, but you cannot remember." That is the difference between God and man, or God and living entity.
Our, our position as living entity . . . we are also eternal. Just like God is eternal, similarly, we are also eternal. But the difficulty is that we change our body. We change our body. Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya (BG 2.22). Just like we change our dress, similarly, we change our body. And as soon as we change our body, now, we forget everything. Death means forgetfulness. That's all.
Just like at night, when you sleep, you forget yourself. You forget yourself that "I am the father of such-and-such children, I am the husband of such-and-such . . ." You dream that you are in a different place. Sometimes you are on the sea, sometimes on the sky, sometimes on something. You forget yourself. You forget yourself. Again, when you wake up, oh, you remember, "Oh, I am such-and-such person. I have to do such-and-such and such-and-such . . ." This is going on. So death means forgetfulness. That's all.
Now, if it is a fact that I am eternal, so before getting this body, I had another body or another father, mother, family or society or country and everything. But do we remember it, and what country I was there? In what family I was there? Sometimes we get news from newspaper that a child is born, he is speaking about his previous birth.
Perhaps you know. Sometimes it may be possible in extraordinary cases. But it is a fact. It is a fact that in my previous life I had also another body. I had my father and mother and country and family. It may be I was a dog or cat or man or bird. That doesn't matter. But as living entity, I am eternal. I had my another body. Similarly, we, we are preparing another body in this life.
Just like, under the preparation of my previous life, I have got this body. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur deha upapattaye (SB 3.31.1). We get our body according to our karma. According to our karma. If we do sāttvika-karma . . . ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18); "Those who are in the modes of goodness, they are promoted to higher status of life or higher planets, like that."
And madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ: "Those who are in the modes of passion, they remain here in this Bhūrloka." And adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ: "And those who are engrossed with the modes of ignorance, they may be degraded from this planet to another, degraded planet, or another life or animal life. This is the process, going on. And we forget. Forgetfulness.
There is some incidences that sometimes Brahmā, he was cursed to become a, a hog. He became a hog. Then after . . . not Brahmā—Indra, the king of heaven. The king of heaven, he made some offense under . . . on the feet of his spiritual master, Bṛhaspati, and he cursed him that "You are just like a hog. You take the birth of a hog." So he became a hog.
Now, when the throne of the heavenly kingdom was vacant due to the absence of Indra—he has become a hog in this earth—so Brahmā came. Brahmā came that, "Mr. Such-and-such, you have now become hog for your offensive activities. Now I have come to deliver you. Please come with me." Now, the hog said, "Oh, I cannot go with you. I cannot go with you. Oh, I have got so many responsibility. I have got my children. I have got my wife. I have got my country. I have got my society." The hog, he's . . . so even you offer the hog to take him to the heaven, he will refuse: "Oh, I have got so much responsibility." This is called forgetfulness. This is called forgetfulness.
Now, the Lord Kṛṣṇa comes that "What you are, nonsense, doing this material world?" Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66): "You come to Me. I give you all protection." "Oh, I don't believe You, Sir. I have got more important business here. I don't believe You." This is our position. This is our position—forgetfulness.
A conditioned soul is forgetful. Forgetful. Prakṣepātmikā, vikṣepātmikā. There are . . . two forces of nature is acting upon us by which we decide something that, "We now, this life, I shall make spiritual advancement. Now it is decided." And next moment the illusory māyā, or illusory energy, says: "What nonsense spiritual life you are going to do? Just enjoy this here. You have got so many enjoyment. Why you are thinking. So prakṣepātmikā, vikṣepātmikā. This is going on. So forgetfulness. So that is the difference between God and man.
Here, in the Bhagavad-gītā, it is clearly said that "My dear Arjuna, you also had many, many births. You were . . . you are also, because you are constant companion of Me, so whenever I take incarnation in the any planet, so you also, you are also with Me. So when I took incarnation in the sun planet and I spoke this Bhagavad-gītā to sun-god, you were also present with Me, but unfortunately, you have forgotten, because you are a living being and I am the Supreme Lord." That is the difference between the Supreme Lord . . . I cannot remember. Forgetfulness is my nature.