# Conditioned Life *On the nature of material conditioning* --- ### You Cannot Violate > So there are different varieties of planets. That is God's creation. This is also God's creation, that is also God's creation, but I cannot go there. Land is God's creation, water is God's creation, but you cannot live in the water, and the fish cannot live on the land. Similarly, although there are millions and trillions of planets within this universe, you have to live in that particular planet where you are destined to live. That is condition. You cannot go to the sun planet or moon planet. Otherwise, what is the meaning of conditioned life? Conditioned life means you are given opportunity to live on this planet, or the other living entities, they have been given opportunity to live in the sun planet. So they cannot come and live here, and we cannot go there and live there. This is called conditioned life. You must live under condition. You are not free. Otherwise, they are attempting so much to go to the moon planet. But we are doubtful whether they are actually going. But no benefit has been derived by this excur. Simply you have spoiled your energy, time and money. That is., means conditioned, that you cannot violate the conditions of the nature. That is not possible. But they are thinking they are free: they can do whatever they like. That is called ignorance, *mūḍha,* rascal. They are living under condition, but they are falsely thinking that "We are free." Is it not? Where is that freedom? *Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ*. This rascal civilization do not admit this. They are so fool that they are conditioned in every step, and still they are thinking they are free. This is called illusion. — [[spoken/1975/750303sb.dal|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.12.19, Dallas, March 3, 1975]] --- ### The Hog and Dog Civilization > So why this tendency? He does not want to die. He does not want to work. This is spiritual. Why man should work like. Therefore real civilization is that minimize work. Minimize work, save time, and go back to your spiritual life. That is civilization. And this is not civilization, to get the necessities of life, sense gratification, and work like hog and dog. That is condemned. *Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭan kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye.*. This human life is not meant for working so hard for sense gratification, which are done by the dogs and hogs. Human life is meant: *tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ śuddhyed.* Human life is for *tapasya.* Why *tapasya? Yena sattvaṁ śuddhyed:* their existence will be purified. Then you will get unlimited pleasure. *Yato brahma-saukhyam anantam.* We are seeking after unlimited pleasure. So that is not possible in this material life. And we are thinking, "By working very hard like hogs and dogs, we'll get happiness." This is. — [[spoken/1975/750304mw.dal|Morning Walk, Dallas, March 4, 1975]] --- ### The Stool-Eater > The dogs and hogs, they work day and night for searching out where is stool, and as soon as he gets stool, he becomes very strong and stout. Then sex. Never mind, the mother, sister, daughter. This is hog life. Therefore this particular animal has been. *Kaṣṭan kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye.*. *Viḍ-bhujāṁ* means this hog, stool-eater. — [[spoken/1975/750304mw.dal|Morning Walk, Dallas, March 4, 1975]] --- ### Mad After Sense Gratification > These rascals, they do not know. They think, "If I get a body of a king or a rich man, that is my success." But that is not success, because you may get a king's body or very exalted body this life, but you have to change this body. That is., you will be forced. Suppose you are very in exalted position—you are minister or king or some—but you'll not be allowed to stay. But these foolish persons, they do not know. They do not try to understand that "What is my next position?" Therefore they are called mad. *Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vi.* Madman doing, he does not know what is the ultimate goal because they do not know that there is life after death. *Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ*. They do not know that. Therefore they are mad after this sense gratification. — [[spoken/1974/740301cc.may|Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 7.1, Māyāpur, March 1, 1974]] --- ### Running After the Mirage > That means that although He had nothing material, but to show us that material things should be renounced, that is *sannyāsa;* and enter into the spiritual family of Kṛṣṇa. *Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti.* He does not become again entangled in these material varieties of life. In material world there is also varieties, but that is false. This morning we were discussing this point, mirage. In the mirage there is a show of false water, and the animal runs after it. But there is no water, and finally he becomes more thirsty, and it is desert; he falls down and dies. So the material world means we are running after false family. But don't think that there is no real family life. There is real family. That is Kṛṣṇa's real family, eternal family, blissful family. — [[spoken/1975/750303le.dal|Lecture, Dallas, March 3, 1975]] --- ### Eating, Sleeping, Mating, and Defense > So the real business is *saṁsāriṇām, saṁsāriṇām, adhyātma-dīpam atititīrṣatām.* One should come to senses, that "I am eternal. I hear from Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that *na hanyate śarīre, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre*, I am not finished after my body's finished. Then, if I am not finished, where do I go? Where I remain?" This is intelligence. But they have no information that the eternal soul, *na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre*. They are thinking, "All of a sudden my this body has developed, and we have got good senses. Let us enjoy the senses. There is no life. It is finished." Big, big professor in Russia, that Professor Kotovsky, he told me, "Swāmījī, after finishing this body, there is anything... Everything is finished." That is the basic principle of modern civilization, that "There is no life after death, and whatever senses we have got, let us enjoy it." — [[spoken/1974/740528sb.rom|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.4, Rome, May 28, 1974]] --- ### Dog Civilization > This sense can come in human form of life, that "I have suffered so much. I have coming through so many species of life. Now I have got sense." So the reply is there that *mām upetya kaunteya duḥkhālayam aśāśvataṁ nāpnuvanti*: "Anyone who comes to Me, he does not come again to this miserable condition of material existence." We should take advantage of these things. That is human civilization. What is this human civilization? Jumping like dog, in a motorcar, that's all. This is not civilization. This is dog civilization, that's all. And actually what the benefit they have derived? They are not satisfied. One man has got this car, and next year another car, another car. And the car manufacturer also giving fashion: "This is 1974 edition, this is 1975 edition." And they are earning money with hard labor. "All right, get a motorcar." And again, next year change. What is this civilization? No satisfaction. They do not know where is the point of satisfaction. It is dog civilization. — [[spoken/1974/740528mw.rom|Morning Walk, Rome, May 28, 1974]] --- ### Madman Civilization > So this civilization, modern civilization, is just like madman civilization. They have no knowledge of past life, neither they are interested in the future life. *Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma*. And fully engaged in sinful activities, because they have no knowledge of the past life. Just like a dog. Why he has become dog, that he does not know, and what he is going to have next? So a dog might have been in his past life the prime minister, but when he gets the dog's life, he forgets. That is also another influence of *māyā.* — [[spoken/1975/750801sb.no|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.49, New Orleans, August 1, 1975]] --- ### Spiritual Life vs Material Life > Spiritual life means eternity, blissful life of knowledge. And this material life means nonpermanent, ignorance and full of miseries. This body means it will not stay, and it is always full of miserable condition. And there is no blissfulness. Always in the material we have got some kind of unhappiness. But on account of our long association with this material life we have become so dull-headed that it is very difficult to understand what is spiritual life, what are spiritual activities, what is spiritual world, what is God, what is our relationship with Him. — [[spoken/1973/730905ar.sto|Arrival Speech, Stockholm, September 5, 1973]] --- *9 verified verbatim quotes from Śrīla Prabhupāda on conditioned life*