302
THE SCIENCE OF SELF-REALIZATION
contamination of this material existence. That is the aim of human life and the actual self-interest of all people. Self-interest is actually realizing, “I am part and parcel of God. I have to return to the kingdom of God and join with Him.” Just as we have a social life here, God has a social life in the spiritual kingdom, and we can join Him there. It is not that after finishing this body we become void. In the  Bhagavad-gītā  [2.12] Kṛṣṇa told Arjuna, “Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings, nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.” Our existence is therefore eternal, and the changes of birth and death are simply the changes of the temporary material bodies.
The actual process for achieving eternal life is not at all difficult. This process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is based on knowledge received from Kṛṣṇa, the most perfect being. Knowledge received from others is defective because the conditioned soul is certain to commit mistakes, certain to be illusioned, certain to cheat, and certain to have imperfect senses. The knowledge received from Kṛṣṇa, however, actually enables us to see Kṛṣṇa. Someone may challenge, “Can you show me God?” and our answer is, “Yes. God can be seen at every moment.” Kṛṣṇa says,  raso ‘ham apsu kaunteya:  “I am the taste of water.” We drink water every day, and the taste of water is there, so if we think of this taste as Kṛṣṇa, we will have begun realizing God every day. In the  Bhagavad-gītā  Kṛṣṇa further says,  prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ:  “I am the light of the sun and the moon.” Every day we receive sunlight, and in the evening there is moonshine, so if we think of the source of these emanations, we will ultimately become God conscious. There are so many similar instances given in the  Bhagavad-gītā , for Kṛṣṇa is the beginning, middle, and end of all manifestations. If we want to become God conscious and realize our own essence, it is not very difficult. We only have to understand God in truth—how He appears, how He disappears, and what His functions are—then we can become eligible to enter into the kingdom of God. After quitting this material body, a person who understands God, Kṛṣṇa, does not return again to earth to accept another material body. Where does he go? Kṛṣṇa says,  mām eti:  “He comes to Me.” That should be the aim of any intelligent human being.