250
Krṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
have to come back again to the miserable material world.'
"My dear Lord, it is imperative that the living entities be engaged in Krṣṇa consciousness, always rendering devotional service by prescribed methods such as hearing and chanting and executing Your orders. If a person is not engaged in Krṣṇa consciousness and devotional service, it is useless for him to exhibit the symptoms of life. Generally it is accepted that if a person is breathing he is alive. But a person without Krṣṇa consciousness may be compared to a bellows in a blacksmith's shop. The big bellows is a bag of skin which exhales and inhales air, and a human being who is simply living within the bag of skin and bones without taking to Krṣṇa consciousness and loving devotional service is no better than the bellows. Similarly, a nondevotee's long duration of life is compared to the long existence of a tree, his voracious eating capacity is compared to the eating of dogs and hogs, and his enjoyment in sex life is compared to that of hogs and goats.
"The cosmic manifestation has been possible because of the entrance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Mahā-Viṣṇu within this material world. The total material energy becomes agitated by the glance of Mahā-Viṣṇu, and only then does the interaction of the three material qualities begin. Therefore it should be concluded that whatever material facilities we are trying to enjoy are available only due to the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
"Within the body there are five different departments of existence, known as  annamaya ,  prāṇamaya ,  manomaya ,  vijñānamaya , and at last  ānandamaya . In the beginning of life, every living entity is food conscious. A child or an animal is satisfied only by getting nice food. This stage of consciousness, in which the goal is to eat sumptuously, is called  annamaya .  Anna  means food. After this one lives in the consciousness of being alive. If one can continue his life without being attacked or destroyed, one thinks himself happy. This stage is called  prāṇamaya , or consciousness of one's existence. After this stage, when one is situated on the mental platform, that consciousness is called  manomaya . The material civilization is primarily situated in these three stages,  annamaya ,  prāṇamaya  and  manomaya . The first concern of civilized persons is economic development, the next concern is defense against being annihilated, and the next consciousness is mental speculation, the philosophical approach to the values of life.
"If by the evolutionary process of philosophical life one happens to reach the platform of intellectual life and understands that he is not this material body, but is a spirit soul, then by evolution of spiritual life he