Human life demands choosing eternal spiritual service over temporary material sense gratification through proper social training.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Press Conference — July 9, 1975, Chicago 750709PC-CHICAGO [41:18 Minutes] PressConf_750709PC-CHICAGO Prabhupāda: oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ Ladies and gentlemen, regarding Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement... [about microphone:] It is working? We are talking about the spiritual existence of the living being. By evolutionary process we come to the human form of life, and here we have got developed consciousness.
We can decide now which way to go forward. There are different planetary system. That we can experience. We can see innumerable planets, upwards and downwards.
So the upper planetary system is called Svargaloka, or the heavenly planets, and the middle planetary system is called Martyaloka or Bhurloka, in which we are staying at the present moment, and the down planetary system is called Pātālaloka or downwards. Downwards means fall down; upwards means getting promotion; and middle means we remain where we are now. That is... Indication is given in the Bhagavad-gītā, ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā [Bg. 14.18]: "Those who are cultivating the modes of goodness, they are promoted to the higher planetary system." And madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ: "Those who are passionate, or under the modes of passion, they remain in the middle planetary system." And jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ: "And those character is very abominable, they go down." And beyond this, there is another nature.
That is called spiritual nature, which is beyond this material universe. There, we understand, that is eternal. This material nature is not eternal. It is manifested, or created, and again it is dissolved, or annihilated.
But beyond this material nature, there is another nature. There are also innumerable planets. They are known as Vaikuṇṭha planets, or Vṛndāvana planets. That is the kingdom of God.
If we transfer ourself to that eternal nature, then we won't have to come back to this material nature again. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama [Bg. 15.6]. Anyone who goes to that eternal nature, he hasn't got to come back again to this material nature. The material nature has been explained as duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam [Bg. 8.15]. Material nature is full of miserable condition.
And the most miserable condition is explained as janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi [Bg. 13.9]: birth, death, old age and disease. So we living entities, we are eternal, part and parcel of God. God is eternal and we are also eternal. Just like gold and little portion of gold: both of them are gold, but the big gold and the small gold, that is different.