Human life is the opportunity to practice godly austerity and return to God, not to live like animals for fleeting sense pleasure.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.1–2 — August 12, 1973, Paris 730812SB-PARIS [42:54 Minutes] SB-05.05.01–02_730812SB-PARIS [This lecture was simultaneously translated into French by Jyotirmayī-devī dāsī]
Prabhupāda: nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam [SB 5.5.1] This evening I shall explain to you some of the important verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the greatest contribution of Vedic literature. In the Vedic literature we find a desire tree. Whatever knowledge you want to derive, there is in the Vedic literature, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is described as nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ [SB 1.1.3], the desire tree of Vedic literature. And a tree is eulogized on account of the fruit.
So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the ripened fruit of that desire tree. Just like God has given our food, nice milk, fruits, food grains, sugar, rice, wheat, so many nice things. So we are not meant for eating stool. But at the present moment we have discovered a civilization that every man is work..., is to work very, very hard day and night, and he is satisfied only in sex intercourse.
This is the tendency of this material world. For sense gratification one is advised to work hard day and night, like asses, dogs and hogs. Therefore Ṛṣabhadeva advises His sons, "My dear sons, do not waste your valuable body, human form of body, like the dogs and hogs." Then what, what is the purpose of human life? If we are not meant for living like the dogs and hogs, then what is the standard of human life?
The answer is, tapo divyaṁ putrakā [SB 5.5.1]: "My dear son, this life is meant for tapaḥ." Tapaḥ means austerity. Tapaḥ, another meaning is that temperature. Just like if we go in front of the fire, or if you go in the open sunlight, we get some temperature. That is called tapaḥ, or tāpaḥ, sometimes it is called tāpaḥ, temperature.
Yes. So this tāpaḥ means some temperature. [aside:] Why it is not working? That means voluntarily we have to accept some tāpaḥ, or little temperature. So generally the animal, they are meant for sense gratification, but human life has to practice tapasya to control sense gratification. Just like we are prescribing to our disciples: no illicit sex life, no intoxicants, no meat-eating and no gambling. No illicit sex means, just like the dogs and hogs, they have no consideration with whom they're having sex intercourse.
The hog especially, pig, he does not discriminate whether sister, mother or anyone, you see. So tapaḥ means... We are accustomed to so many, I mean to say, sinful activities, so we have to restrain from them. So tapasya, accepting voluntarily some painful situation, that is required.