The eternal soul must recognize its sanātana nature by surrendering to Krishna as its permanent master.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Bhagavad-gītā 2.24 — November 28, 1972, Hyderabad 721128BG-HYDERABAD [47:43 Minutes] Bg-02.24_721128BG-HYDERABAD Prabhupāda: acchedyo 'yam adāhyo 'yam akledyo 'śoṣya eva ca nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur acalo 'yaṁ sanātanaḥ [Bg. 2.24] Here is the import of sanātana. Nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur acalo 'yaṁ sanātanaḥ. Sanātana... Here is mention of sanātana.
In another place, in the Seventh Chapter, er, Fifteenth Chapter, there is the mention of sanātana: mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ jīva-loke sanātanaḥ [Bg. 15.7]. Another place there is mention of sanātana: paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ avyaktaḥ avyaktāt sanātanaḥ [Bg. 8.20]. In another place there is mention, in the Eleventh Chapter, Kṛṣṇa is addressed as sanātana. So Kṛṣṇa is sanātana, and we living entities, we are also sanātana.
And there is a place, paras tasmāt tu... "Place" means another nature, not this nature, not this prakṛti. There is another prakṛti. Para tasmāt.
Para means transcendental. This nature is not sanātana; it is asanātana, perishable. Sanātana means not perishable. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is an attempt to bring all these sanātanas together: the living entity, sanātana; God, Kṛṣṇa, sanātana; and the place, sanātana.
Just like here we are trying to live together, our family—father, mother, children, friends, countrymen, community men. We are trying to make a permanent settlement here, making very nice building, spending millions of dollars, making it very strong so that it may not..., may not be destroyed. So everyone is trying to keep himself permanent. A old man is trying to make himself young man. Nobody wants to become old man.
Nobody wants to be destroyed. But the difficulty is that here everything is destroyed, asanātana. But we have got a tendency to become sanātana. We want permanent life.
We want permanent place. We want permanent relationship. But that is not possible. That is not possible. Therefore śāstra says, andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ [SB 7.5.31].