One must go to the guru. And who is guru? Guru, śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham—"One who has heard from the paramparā system and he has become completely convinced in the understanding of Brahman."
So, so this is the process. This bhūmir āpaḥ, this material, it is not a fact. People are so much attached to this material world. That is called ignorance. Mūḍha. They are called mūḍha. Māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ (BG 7.15). Their knowledge has been taken away. These things will be explained in the later verses, that do not try to take knowledge from imperfect person; take knowledge from the perfect person, perfect Supreme Personality. Who is perfect? God is perfect. And who carries the word of God, he is perfect. This is the definition of perfection. So Kṛṣṇa says, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ (BG 7.4). Matter is produced by Kṛṣṇa's energy. It is not automatically produced. Just like I have given the example that this body, this material gross body, is produced out of the soul which is put into the womb of the mother by the semina of the father. These are... These descriptions are there in the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, very nicely, you consult.
So that knowledge is perfect because experimentally... Science means observation and experiment. If you are observing something, then you must experiment. Jñānaṁ vijñānam. In the previous verses we have already studied that jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam (BG 7.2). Jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam. Theoretical knowledge, that is observation. And sa-vijñānam means experiment. If you say, if you have observed that life is produced of chemical, then make experiment. Then it is science; otherwise it is hodge-podge. It has no meaning. Life is never produced of matter; matter is produced out of life. This is the... Therefore we are fragmental matter, life. We living entities, small portion, very small portion. That is also given in the śāstras: keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya ca (CC Madhya 19.140). One ten-thousandth part of the top of the hair, that is the magnitude of soul.
- keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya
- śatadhā kalpitasya ca
- jīva-bhāgaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ
- sa cānantyāya kalpate
- (CC Madhya 19.140)
That jīva, ananta, unlimited. That is our magnitude. They cannot find out one ten-thousandth part of the upper portion of the hair. There is no machine, no microscope which. Therefore these foolish people, because they cannot see the dimension, length and breadth, of the soul, they say the soul is nirākāra. It is not nirākāra. It has ākāra, but you cannot see with the blunt eyes. "Then how can I understand?" Śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). You have to learn by hearing. There is no other process. The Vedas says, the śāstra says, "This is the magnitude of the soul." You have to take it. Then you will understand. Otherwise, by so-called experiment, you have neither instrument nor facility to make, find out. The first-class medical man or physiologist, find out where is the soul in this body. But they cannot. They have no such power, but there is something which, being absent, the body is dead. That is a fact. That is a fact. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). That... Because that soul has gone out of this body, therefore the body is now dead. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ. Therefore it is authority.
What is the distinction between dead man and living man? That you have to understand. You cannot make experiment why the body is dead. But you can understand when you touch Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā says,
- dehino 'smin yathā dehe
- kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
- tathā dehāntara-prāptir
- dhīras tatra na muhyati
- (BG 2.13)
Dhīraḥ, those who are actually learned, sober, he is not agitated by the death of a man because he knows that the soul has now changed this body to another body, just like he was changing from child's body to baby's body, baby's body to boy's body, boy's body to youth's body, from youth to old man's body. Now, from this old man's body, now the body cannot be used. Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya (BG 2.22). Just like old garments we give up and take another garment, similarly, so long we are in the material world, we accept another material body. This is called transmigration of soul, death and birth. But when you are liberated from this conditioned life—you are fit for going to the spiritual world in your spiritual body—that is perfection of life. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti (BG 4.9). That is wanted. That is wanted. You give up this body. Don't accept any more any material body, either Indra's body, Brahmā's body, or the body of the worm of the stool. You can have any body, according to your mentality. Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6). Your body, are you making now. So at the time of death, the condition of your mind will transfer you with mind, intelligence, subtle body. They are seeing that this gross body's finished, but they cannot see that there is another body which is made of mind, intelligence and ego. That is called subtle body. That will be explained, next verse.
So this knowledge... So people are simply mad after this material enjoyment. He does not know that this material body is temporary. It is for a certain years only. But you are eternal. Just try to understand what is your eternal business. Why you are so much mad after this temporary business? That is stated in the Śrīmad-B...
- nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma
- yad indriya-prītaya āpṛṇoti
- na sādhu manye yata ātmano 'yam
- asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ
- (SB 5.5.4)
Kleśada. This material body is kleśada. Kleśada means always giving us trouble, always giving. Kleśada āsa. So one should always remember that "I have got this material body, which is suffering heat, cold, mātrā, sukha, duḥkha, happiness, distress." Why? Because this material body...
- mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya
- śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ
- āgamāpāyino 'nityās
- tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata
- (BG 2.14)
So long you have this material body, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhiḥ (BG 7.4), then... Material world means suffering. You cannot avoid suffering. But the endeavor is how to get out of suffering. That is called struggle for existence.