Human Life Means Understanding God, Not Sense Gratification

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Bhagavad-gītā 7.3 — March 11, 1975, London 750311BG-LONDON [45:57 Minutes] BG-07.03_750311BG-LONDON Nitāi: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse, etc.] manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ [Bg. 7.3] [break] [00:42] "Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth." Prabhupāda: manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ [Bg. 7.3] So manuṣyā means human being.

So human being is the life where one can understand what is God. It is not stated here jīvanam, the living entities. There are, we have several times explained, many types of living entities. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati [Padma Purāṇa].

The aquatics, they are also living entities. There are 900,000 forms of body within the water. They are also living entities. And...

Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. Sthāvarāḥ means living entities who cannot move—trees, plants, herbs, grass. They cannot move. So they are two millions.

So in this way you come to the human being. They are also living entities. There are 400,000 different forms. We can see here.

We are human being, but we have got different forms, different color. So this is the variety of creation. So out of all these living entities, the human form of living entity is very important. So that is the life wherein we can understand what is God. Therefore in the human society there is some process of understanding God, which is called religion.

Religion means a process by which we can understand what is God, what is our relationship with Him, and what is our duty towards Him. So therefore it is said these human being, who are actually trying to fulfill the mission of human life... To fulfill the mission of human life means that we living being, spirit soul, we are now entangled within this material body. This is our problem.

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