Accept only what sustains the body; save all energy and consciousness for returning to Krishna.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Bhagavad-gītā 4.21 — April 10, 1974, Bombay 740410BG-BOMBAY [40:26 Minutes] Bg-04.21_740410BG-BOMBAY Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [Prabhupāda and devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse] nirāśīr yata-cittātmā tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ śārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam [Bg. 4.21] [break] [03:00] Translation: "Such a man of understanding acts with mind and intelligence perfectly controlled, gives up all sense of proprietorship over his possessions and acts only for the bare necessities of life.
Thus working, he is not affected by sinful reactions." Prabhupāda: nirāśīr yata-cittātmā tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ śārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam [Bg. 4.21] This is required in human life. It is not forbidden, that "You starve." No. That is not stated in the śāstra. Yāvad artha-vinirṇayam.
To keep your health and body, and the body and the soul together, you must live very nicely so that you may not be diseased. Because this human form of life is meant for making progress so that all the problems of life may be solved. It is required. Yukta.
Yuktāhāra-vihārasya, in another place. Yuktāhāra-vihārasya yogo bhavati siddhi-hā [Bg. 6.17]. When one becomes yogī... Our real purpose of life is to become yogī. Yogī means to reestablish our connection, our lost connection, with God.
At the present moment, in our material condition, we have forgotten our relationship, our eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa, or God. nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-bhakti sādhya kabhu naya śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya The kṛṣṇa-bhakti, our love for Kṛṣṇa, is there eternally. But on account of our contamination with this material world, we have forgotten our relationship. Just like a madman, he forgets his relationship with the family. He loiters in the street.
He eats anywhere and everywhere, and all rubbish thing. Although he may have very rich father, well-to-do family, but forgetting... Madness means forgetfulness of his real life. So we are now forgetful of our real life. This has been also exemplified by a Vaiṣṇava poet, piśācī pāile yena mati-cchanna haya māyār grasta jīvera haya se dāsa udaya [Prema-vivarta] Piśācī.
When a man is haunted by ghosts, as he speaks all nonsense, he cannot recognize his father, mother or relative... Sometimes he calls them by ill names, on account of being ghostly haunted. Piśācī pāile. Similarly, in the conditioned state, under the influence of māyā, we are also talking so many nonsense things: "I belong to this family," "I belong to this nation," "I belong to this community," "My business is this," simply forgetting Kṛṣṇa consciousness.