We are materially so much entangled that even if we do not want to commit any sin, consciously or unconsciously we are obliged to commit some sort of sins. We are in such a circumstances.
Say, for example, just like animal killing. Animal killing, according to Buddhist philosophy, or even according to Hindu philosophy, animal killing is a sort of sin. Now, suppose I am not inclined to kill animals or I do not kill animals; I avoid it. But intentionally or unintentionally, sometimes we have to kill animals. How is that?
Now, suppose we are walking on the street. There are many ants who are being killed by the pressure of our legs—unintentionally. Now, suppose . . . of course, here you have got gas oven, but at India they have got ordinary country oven, and that is washed daily. And sometimes in the oven some small germs and flies they take shelter. But when you fire the oven, they die. So that is unintentional. Sometimes we kill . . . the jug of water, and within the . . . underneath the jug of water there are many, I mean to say, small germs and flies; they take shelter. But when you take the jug, they are killed.
In this way there are so many processes, unintentionally or intentionally we have to kill. But they are taken into account; they are also sin. According to strict Vedic literature, if you kill even a bug, oh, you are sinful. You cannot kill even a bug. These are mentioned in the scriptures. Now, how we can avoid? How we can avoid? That is this . . . I do not like to kill, but sometimes unintentionally they are killed. Therefore, according to Vedic literature, there are five kinds of yajña performed to get oneself free from this unintentional killing of animals.
Now, here Kṛṣṇa says that śārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam. If you make your principle of life that, "I have to work simply for maintaining my body and soul together . . . sārīram. Śarīram means body. Because I have to execute, I have to understand, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but without this body, how can I understand or culture Kṛṣṇa consciousness? So my body must be maintained. And if I want to maintain my body, intentionally or unintentionally I have to commit so many sins. Take, for example, those who are vegetarians. They may think that, "We are not killing animals." No. They are also committing sins, because vegetables, they have also got life.
So the nature's law is that to keep up your body you have to kill another body. Never mind it is vegetable or, I mean to say, animal or some fish or something else. You see? Jīvo jīvasya jīvanam (SB 1.13.47): "One living entity is the subsistence, life-giving subsistence, for another living being." That is the nature's law. You'll find, ahastāni sahastānām. The everything has been very nicely discussed in Vedic literature. They have discussed all the points.
Ahastāni sahastānām: "Those who have got hands, they are eating," I mean to say, "living entities who have no hand." That means we are human being, we have got hands, and we are eating animals. They have got only legs; they have no hands. So sahastānām ahastāni: "Those who have got hands, they are eating the animals which have no hand." And apadāni catuṣ-padām: "Those who have no legs, they are being eaten by the four-legged." Just as a cow eating grass. So grass cannot move. It has life, but it cannot move.
So, apadānam sa padāni, nūnaṁ mahatāṁ tatra. Nunam, "those who are weak, they are being eaten by the . . . just like we find lizard. In your country you don't find lizard. In India we have got many lizard in the wall. They are eating small ants. Nūnaṁ mahatāṁ tatra. And in the snake, snake kingdom, you will find the small snakes are being (eaten) by the big snakes. Similarly, in seawater also, you will find small fishes are being eaten by the big fishes. And the same law is applicable in human society. A big nation is trying to swallow up a small nation. You see? This is going on. This is nature's law. Nature's law. You cannot avoid it.
But there are . . . those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious. They . . . it is said that śārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam (BG 4.21): "Those who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are not entangled in these sinful acts." How? They are also maintaining their body. So when they are maintaining their body, they have to commit sins. They have to eat other animals or vegetables, never mind. So how they are not committing sins? These are very intelligent questions.
But there is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he does not eat anything which is not offered to Kṛṣṇa. Just like you take the remnants of your master. Just the servant takes the remnants after the master eats. In India the process is that husband and wife, that after the husband eats, the remnants are taken by the wife. The wife does not eat along with the husband. That is the old system. Now it is being changed. The husband and wife, they do not . . . the husband is supplied by the wife all kinds of good dishes, and when the husband is satisfied, some foodstuff is left, and that is taken by the wife.