Human life exists solely to practice austerity and celibacy, curing the disease of repeated birth, death, and suffering.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.13–15 — February 21, 1973, Auckland 730221SB-AUCKLAND [53:58 Minutes] C-094 SB-06.01.13-15_730221SB-AUCKLAND Prabhupāda: yam... yamena niyamena vā [SB 6.1.13] So, this human form of life… [aside: Is it working?]
Prabhupāda: …especially meant for these things: tapasā—austerities; brahmacarya—celibacy; samā, śamena—controlling mind; śamena—controlling the senses; tyāgena—by giving in charity; satya—truthfulness; śaucābhyām—cleanliness; yamena—by practice of the yoga system; yamena, niyamena—by following the regulative principles. This is the chance, human form of life, to practice this and cure the disease of repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. This is not our condition of life to die or to take birth. Things have come to such horrible condition that birth has become also very much risky.
One child, one living entity, takes birth in the womb of a human being, and that child is being killed by the conspiration of the mother and the doctor. This is going on. Without any hesitation, the mother is agreeing to kill the child, and the doctor is killing. And the small child, because it has taken birth in that womb, he is subjected to so many tribulations.
After all, again death. Just see, birth and death. The human civilization is coming to such horrible condition that mother is killing the child. Naturally, even the tigress has got motherly affection.
The cubs, small tiger cubs, playing on the back of the mother, and the mother is patting. This natural tendency for raising or for getting children, child, there is even in tigress. But human civilization is coming to that stage that it is lesser than the tigress. Lesser than the tigress. But whatever it may be, the real thing is that our disease is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi [Bg. 13.9].
We have to stop this disease, simply repetition of birth and death and disease. If we tolerate… You can tolerate, but suppose if I become that child who is being killed by the conspiration of the mother and doctor. So, would I like? This is tribulation; it is going on by nature’s law.
That child which has taken birth in that womb is not allowed to come out of the mother’s womb. He is being killed within the womb, and again he enters another womb; there also he may be killed again. This is the law of nature going on. But they do not know; they do not care.