Eternal spiritual identity transcends temporary material bodies; reconnect with Krishna through genuine devotion.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Hṛdayānanda: …my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakācārya Aṣṭottara-śata Śrī Śrīmad A. C. Bhaktivedanta Goswami Mahārāja Prabhupāda, who has opened my eyes with the torchlight of knowledge while I was standing in the darkness of ignorance. So on behalf of our spiritual master, jagat-guru Śrīla Prabhupāda, we take this opportunity to welcome all of you, very cordially, to this Third International Bombay paṇḍāl, in order to push forward the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement in this city of Bombay, which is one of the world's important cities. So, as you have been hearing from our spiritual master, through his books and his disciples, the actual purpose of human life is to understand God.
As it has been quoted from the Vedānta-sūtra, athāto brahma-jijñāsā: the human form of…"Now you should try to understand what is Brahman." In other words, we can understand that externally we are covered by a particular body, material body, either Indian body or American body, German body, English body or Christian or Hindu body, or even animal body. Of course, the animals cannot understand, but at least we can understand that I have accepted a particular body due to my previous activities. As it is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu. puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu [Bg 13.22] By my desire, I have associated with particular modes of material nature, either sattva-guṇa or rajo-guṇa or tamo-guṇa, and by my desire, by that saṅga, guṇa saṅga, I have accepted a particular body. Sad-asad-yoni-janmasu: either I have accepted the body of a demigod or I have accepted the body of a man or I have accepted a hellish body or animal body, but I have accepted some body within this material atmosphere, and due to that body which I have accepted, I will have to suffer. So we can analyze, in this human form of life, that that body which I have accepted, that is asat, temporary.
As Prahlāda Mahārāja says, asat-grahām, we have accepted the asat, and we have forgotten that which is sat, or eternal. Therefore it is said, durlabha mānuṣa janama sat-saṅge: now, in this mānuṣa-janama, which is so difficult to obtain, we should take the opportunity and associate with that which is eternal. Otherwise, if we cannot take this opportunity to find out what is eternal, or Brahman, whatever we are doing at the present time, that is useless, because by the subtle power of time it will be finished, whatever it may be. As Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā [10.34], mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham: "I will come as death and take everything away." So therefore, as our spiritual master His Divine Grace Śrīla Prabhupāda is tirelessly and so eloquently preaching all around the world, people should not remain in darkness, falsely identifying themselves with this temporary material body for sense gratification, but they should come out of this darkness and try to understand that they are eternal.
Their real position is eternal, and they are eternal servants of Kṛṣṇa. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa [Cc Madhya 20.108]. It is no use trying within this material world artificially to become master. No one will become master, because everyone, every one of us, by our constitutional nature, we are servants. As it is said in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, ekala īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya [Cc Ādi 5.142]: "The only master is Kṛṣṇa.
Everyone else is His servant." Therefore we may try by so many means—by national strength or by our own economic strength or by our military strength, bodily strength—we may try to become master, but we are not becoming master. We are under the grip of material nature, and we will be smashed, and again we will have to take another body. That body will also be smashed, and again we will take another body, and that will also be smashed. So this is going on, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate [SB 2.10.43]. Therefore we should understand that we are tiny spiritual sparks.
As it is said in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatāṁśa-sadṛśātmakaḥ [Cc Madhya 19.140]: our real constitution is that we are minute spiritual sparks, one ten-thousandth of the tip of a hair, keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatāda. So we are by nature servants; we are part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit, Kṛṣṇa. We can never become independent. Just like the finger is part and parcel of the body, so that finger can never be independent.
The finger has no independent existence outside of the body. If the finger is cut off from the body and falls down on the ground, then it is useless; it has no value. While the finger is attached to the body, we may pay millions of rupees, crores of rupees, to save our finger, but once it is cut off, then we kick it away; it is useless. So in the same way we are by nature infinitesimal, we are tiny spiritual sparks, part of God, and if we break that connection with the Supreme Lord, our existence has no meaning; it is useless existence.