100
THE PATH OF PERFECTION
śrī-bhagavān uvāca pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśas tasya vidyate na hi kalyāṇa-kṛt kaścid durgatiṁ tāta gacchati
“The Blessed Lord said: Son of Pṛthā, a transcendentalist engaged in auspicious activities does not meet with destruction either in this world or in the spiritual world; one who does good, My friend, is never overcome by evil.”
prāpya puṇya-kṛtāṁ lokān uṣitvā śāśvatīḥ samāḥ śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhrasto 'bhijāyate
“The unsuccessful  yogī , after many, many years of enjoyment on the planets of the pious living entities, is born into a family of righteous people, or into a family of rich aristocracy.”
atha vā yoginām eva kule bhavati dhīmatām etad dhi durlabhataraṁ loke janma yad īdṛśam
“Or he takes his birth in a family of transcendentalists who are surely great in wisdom. Verily, such a birth is rare in this world.”
tatra tam buddhi-samyogam labhate paurva-dehikam yatate ca tato bhūyaḥ samsiddhau kuru-nandana
“On taking such a birth, he again revives the divine consciousness of his previous life, and he tries to make further progress in order to achieve complete success, O son of Kuru.”
Failure and Success in Yoga
101
pūrvābhyāsena tenaiva  
 hriyate hy avaśo 'pi saḥ  
 jijñāsur api yogasya  
 śabda-hraḥmātivartate
“By virtue of the divine consciousness of his previous life, he automatically becomes attracted to the yogic principles—even without seeking them. Such an inquisitive transcendentalist, striving for  yoga , stands always above the ritualistic principles of the scriptures.”
Purification of consciousness is the purpose of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Presently we are preparing this divine consciousness, for our consciousness goes with us at the time of death. Consciousness is carried from the body just as the aroma of a flower is carried by the air. When we die, this material body composed of five elements—earth, water, air, fire, and ether—decomposes, and the gross materials return to the elements. Or, as the Christian Bible says, “Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.” In some societies the body is burned, in others it is buried, and in others it is thrown to animals. In India, the Hindus burn the body, and thus the body is transformed into ashes. Ash is simply another form of earth. Christians bury the body, and after some time in the grave, the body eventually turns to dust, which again, like ash, is another form of earth. There are other societies—like the Parsee community in India—that neither burn nor bury the body but throw it to the vultures, and the vultures immediately come to eat the body, and then the body is eventually transformed into stool. So in any case, this beautiful body, which we are soaping and caring for so nicely, will eventually turn into either stool, ashes, or dust.
At death, the finer elements (mind, intelligence, and ego), which, combined, are called consciousness, carry the small particle of spirit soul to another body to suffer or enjoy, according to one's work. Our consciousness is molded by our work. If we associate with stool, our consciousness, which is like the air, will carry the aroma of stool, and thus at the time of death will