Even one percent of Krishna consciousness never perishes; all material gains vanish with the body.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Bhagavad-gītā 2.40–45 — December 13, 1968, Los Angeles 681213BG-LOS ANGELES [79:17 Minutes] Prabhupāda: [kīrtana] [prema-dhvani] Thank you very much. [devotees offer obeisances] [16:59] Yes, somebody read.
Devotee: "Thus far I have declared to you the analytical knowledge of sāṅkhya philosophy. Now listen to the knowledge of yoga, whereby one works without fruitive result." Prabhupāda: Come here.
Devotee: "Thus far I have declared to you the analytical knowledge of sāṅkhya philosophy. Now listen to the knowledge of yoga, whereby one works without fruitive result." Prabhupāda: Which one this is reading? Second Chapter?
Devotee: Yes. Text 39. [Bg 2.39] [Thus far I have declared to you the analytical knowledge of sāṅkhya philosophy. Now listen to the knowledge of yoga whereby one works without fruitive result. O son of Pṛthā, when you act by such intelligence, you can free yourself from the bondage of works.]
Devotee: "O son of Pṛthā, when you act by such intelligence you can free yourself from the bondage of works." Verse 40: "In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear." Purport: "Activity in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or acting for the benefit of Kṛṣṇa without expectation of sense gratification, is the highest transcendental quality of work. Even a small beginning of such activity finds no impediment, nor can that small beginning be lost at any stage. Any work begun..." Prabhupāda: Yes. Is the purport going on? Devotee: Yes.
"Any work begun on the material plane has to be done nicely till the end, otherwise the whole attempt becomes a failure. But any work begun in Kṛṣṇa consciousness has a permanent effect, even though not finished. The performer of such work is therefore not at a loss even if his work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is incomplete. One percent done in Kṛṣṇa consciousness bears permanent results, so that the next beginning is from the point of two percent, whereas in material activity, without a hundred percent success there is no profit. "There is a nice verse in this connection in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
It says if someone gives up his occupational duty and works in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and then again falls down on account of not being complete in such activities, still, what loss is there on his part? And what can one gain if one performs his material activities very perfectly? Or, as the Christians say, 'What profiteth a man if he gain the whole world yet suffers the loss of his eternal soul?' "Material activities and the results of such actions will end with the body, but work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness will carry a person again to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even after the loss of this body. At least one is sure to have a chance in the next life of being born into human society, either in the family of a great cultured brāhmaṇa or else a rich aristocratic family that will give the man a further chance for elevation.