# Birth, Death, Old Age and Disease *On the real problems that must be solved* --- ### These Are My Distresses > Our real problem is not this temporary problem that we are in such-and-such distressed condition. That is temporary. But real problem is, as Kṛṣṇa says in the *Bhagavad-gītā, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam*. If anyone is intelligent enough, he should always keep before him that there are..., these are my distresses: *janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi.* I don't want to die, so what I have done for stopping my death? What have I done to stop my birth? Huh? Because as soon as I die, again I enter into the womb of a particular type of mother. Again I have to live there, packed up. That is the... Everyone knows. I cannot move even. No independence. — [[spoken/1973/730217sb.syd|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.6, Sydney, February 17, 1973]] --- ### Punishment of Material Body > The different types of body means that is our punishment. We may think it as happiness, but as soon as you accept a material body, you are subjected to the four principles of material distresses. What is that? *Janma, mṛtyu, jarā, vyādhi.* You may think that you are very scientifically advanced—"There is no more distress in my life''—but Kṛṣṇa says, "No. If you are intelligent, then you should think of these four principle as distresses.'' What is that? Birth, death, old age and disease. But the modern so-called scientist, they cannot make any solution for birth, death, old age and disease; therefore they have left them aside: "Oh, don't care for them.'' That is ignorance. — [[spoken/1973/730217sb.syd|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.6, Sydney, February 17, 1973]] --- ### Real Suffering Is Transmigration > "This is real suffering. Why the eternal soul should be subjected to birth, death, old age and disease? We are seeing to this. You are thinking that 'If I can place myself in a very high skyscraper building and motorcar,' your business is finished. We are not so fool. We know that 'Any moment, I shall be kicked out of the skyscraper building and motorcar by the laws of nature.' " That's a fact. But fools cannot understand. They think, "This is my permanent..." That is not permanent, but you are permanent. "Where is my permanent situation?"—we are seeking after that. So we are not so fools. We are taking that "I am permanent. Why I should be encapped or entangled in this nonpermanent?" This is our philosophy. — [[spoken/1977/770219r2.may|Room Conversation with Ādi-keśava Swami, Māyāpur, February 19, 1977]] --- ### Troubles of Old Age > And then, *janma-mṛtyu-jarā,* old age. Just like we have now come to the old age. There are so many troubles. Sometimes heart failure, sometimes there is... So many troubles. You know, everyone. So *janma-mṛtyu-jarā* and *vyādhi.* So long we have got this body, you'll have so many diseases. So how you can get rid of these *duḥkha?* Therefore it is *duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam*. How you consider that "We shall make it adjusted"? That is not possible. Therefore it is the duty. This human form of life is meant for realizing what is my position. — [[spoken/1971/710218le.gor|Lecture, Gorakhpur, February 18, 1971]] --- ### We Should Not Be Irresponsible > So these are the problems. So we should not be irresponsible. But in this age people are very irresponsible. *Prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ,* short-living; *mandāḥ. Mandāḥ,* means "slow"; he does not understand that "I have got a responsibility. I must quickly finish that responsibility before the death comes. Before the next death comes I must prepare myself in such a way that I will not have to come back again to this material world, miserable world." That is your responsibility. But we are callous: "All right, let it become what it is." *Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo.* — [[spoken/1973/730222sb.auc|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.15–17, Auckland, February 22, 1973]] --- ### These Are Our Problems > That the whole aim is how to get out of this material attachment, and in our spiritual body, we go back to home, back to Godhead. Actually, at the present moment, there is no education of the understanding of spiritual life. Everyone is interested with this material body only. Nobody is educated, neither interested in the spiritual life. But unless you take interest in spiritual life, our this material condition of miserable life will continue. The miserable conditions of material life have been pointed out by Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the *Bhagavad-gītā.* Kṛṣṇa says that the problem of life is *janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi*, meaning that death..., birth, death, old age and disease, these are our problems. — [[spoken/1974/740525bg.rom|Bhagavad-gītā 4.10, Public Lecture, Rome, May 25, 1974]] --- *6 verified verbatim quotes from Śrīla Prabhupāda on birth, death, old age and disease*