Because at the present moment I am acting on the concept of my life as this body. Because this body is born of a particular place in a particular country, therefore I am saying that, "I am American" or "Indian" or "China" or "German," due to this body. And because I have got relationship with some woman with this body, therefore I accept the woman as my wife. There are hundreds of thousands of women, but the woman who has got relationship with this body is my wife. There are thousands and millions of children, but one child who has got intimate relation with this body I call my son.
So if the body is falsely identified, then we can understand that our identification with this world is also false. The real identification is, as it is stated in the Vedic literature, ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am Brahman." "I am Brahman " means "I am spirit soul. I am not this matter." So this misconception has to be removed. Of course, it is not possible that everyone will understand or everyone will be able to understand it, but even a certain percentage of the human society can understand, immediately there is solution of so many problems—to understand ahaṁ brahmāsmi. And how that solution is made, that is described in the Bhagavad-gītā.
This Bhagavad-gītā is the science of God. Just like in your Christian Bible or any other scriptures, Muhammadan or Christian or Jews or Buddhist . . . so ahaṁ brahmāsmi means that "I am spirit soul," this realization. As soon as this realization is there, then the other things immediately follow. What is that? Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). Immediately one becomes cheerful. So long we have got this bodily concept of life, we cannot be cheerful. Full of anxiety. And as soon as we understand that, "I am not this body, I am spirit soul"—the next moment you will be cheerful. There will be no anxiety.
I am full of anxiety because on account of this bodily concept of life. Just like one man has got very costly motorcar, and he is running the car on the street. He is very careful so that there may not be any accident in the car, the car may not break. So much anxiety. But a man who is walking on the street, he has no such anxiety.
Why the man in the car is so anxious? Because he has identified himself with the car. If the car, if there is any accident with the car, if the car breaks, he thinks, "I am gone. Oh, my car is gone." Although he is different from car, he thinks like that due to identification, false identification. Similarly, because we are falsely identified with this body, therefore we have got so many problems of life.
So if we want to make solution of the problems of life, then we have to understand what I am. And unless this question arises in your mind—not only in your mind; everyone's mind—then we should . . . we must consider that whatever we are doing, that is our defeat, because we are doing everything in false consciousness.
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said, parābhavas tāvad abodha-jātaḥ (SB 5.5.5). Abodha-jātaḥ means one who is born fool. Every one of us is a born fool. Why? From the beginning of our life I know that, "I am this body," although I am not this body. Therefore we are all born fools—everyone. And therefore, according to Vedic civilization, one has to take his second birth. One birth is made possible by conjugation of the father and mother. That birth is called animal birth. Janmanā jāyate śūdraḥ. (Prema-vivarta)
Everyone, by birth, is śūdra, or the lowest class of man. And saṁskārād bhaved dvijaḥ (Prema-vivarta): "By reformation, one becomes twice-born." And what is that reformation? By understanding oneself, "What I am." Saṁskārād bhaved dvijaḥ. Veda-pathād bhaved vipraḥ (Prema-vivarta): "And after twice . . . after his second birth, if he tries to understand the spiritual science, the science of God, then he is called vipra." Vipra means quite cognizant. And brahma jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ (Prema-vivarta) : "And when he understands that he is Brahman, he is spirit soul, then he becomes a Brāhmin." Perhaps you have heard that in India the Brāhmin are called the topmost men of the society. Why? Because he knows that "I am Brahman; I am not this matter." Brahma jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ.
So by understanding Brahman your position will be that prasannātmā, you'll be joyful; na śocati na kāṅkṣati, you will never lament any loss, neither you will hanker after any so-called gain, na śocati na kāṅkṣati. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu, and you will look every living entity on the same level. Mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54). In that stage of realization, you can understand what is God and what is your relationship with God.