So these materialists... Anyone, even if you go to the higher planets, still, you are materialist. Even you go to the highest planet, Brahmaloka, where the duration of life you cannot calculate, still there is death. The material pangs, birth, death, old age and disease, there is. So in the Bhagavad-gītā we get all this information, where other planets are, what is the condition. Simply we have to know it from this book. Similarly, we have got information of the supreme planet Kṛṣṇaloka, or the planet of Kṛṣṇa, where you can go. The Lord says, yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama: (BG 15.6) "The planet where going you have no more to come back." Now, these planets, these material planets, as it is mentioned here, surendra-loka... Surendra means highly qualified demigods, their planets. Surendra-lokam aśnanti. Aśnanti means they enjoy. And what do they enjoy? Divyān divi deva-bhogān. They enjoy godly comforts, deva-bhogān.
Now, Lord Kṛṣṇa says, then what is after? The after result is, is said here,
- te taṁ bhuktvā svarga-lokaṁ viśālaṁ
- kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti
- evaṁ trayī-dharmam anuprapannā
- gatāgataṁ kāma-kāmā labhante
- (BG 9.21)
So those who are so materially attached, their business is that they qualify themselves to be promoted in higher planets, undoubtedly. And there... Te taṁ bhuktvā svarga-lokaṁ viśālam. And they enjoy life for a very, very long duration of life and godly facilities. That's all right. But kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti (BG 9.21). Then, when their pious, I mean to say, asset of pious activities finished, then they are again driven out from that planet; they come to here, this material, I mean say, earthly planet. And again they try here. Again they try here by sacrifices, by other means, to go there. So Lord Kṛṣṇa says these materialists, they, gatāgataṁ kāma-kāmā labhante, sometimes up, sometimes down. This is going on, sometimes up, sometimes down. Just like... What is called, that wheel? Sometimes go up, the boys enjoy in this way. What is the name of that wheel?
Devotee: Ferris wheel.
Prabhupāda: Oh. So it is something like that. Sometimes you go, sarva-ga, sarva-ga. Sarva... Jīva. Jīva means the living entities, they have got a propensity to go from here to there, there to here. That is their... Because they are living force, they cannot stay at one place. That is not their nature. Even in this life also, you Americans, you try to go to India; the Indians try to come here or some other country. This is nature. In the birds, beasts, everywhere, they want to transfer in some different... So it is going on. So the materialists who want to go to the higher planets by pious activities, they can go there, but they will have to come back again. But what is the idea of going there? The idea of going there is the materialists, they are always seeking of better comforts of life. There is no limit, where is better comfort. In this earth also, people are trying, advancement of material... Just like in your city I see very nice building. They are being dismantled, very strong, nice buildings. When I go to the Chamber side. I see that one very nice building, very strong building. But you think that "After dismantling this building, we shall prepare another skyscraper covered by nice glasses and we will be comfortable." That is the idea. You see?
So materialists, they do not know where their advancement of material civilization will be perfect. They do not know that. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). That perfection will never come, but they are after that perfection, dismantling and building. And after fifty years they will dismantle this building and prepare another kind of building. That will be... At that time further material advancement will be there. So this is going on, gatāgatam. Gatāgatam means, what is called, stereotyped. Everyone is going. The exact Hindi word is variyagasan(?). They call variyagasan. Variyagasan means that the goats, the goats, the goat merchant, they are taking to the slaughterhouse, and they are going hither and thither. But if one goat enters the door, all the variyas, they will enter. You see? So because one has entered... But nobody will consider that he has entered the slaughterhouse. No. "One has entered; therefore let us enter all." This is advancement. "Oh, one has entered; therefore I must enter also. I do not care where I am entering. That I do not know." So this is going on, gatāgatam.