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Śrī-Caitanya-caritāmṛta
ly beneficial activities, but there are also  śreyas , or activities which are ultimately auspicious. According to Vedic civilization, a human being must be God conscious. He should understand what God is, what this material world is, who he is and what their interrelationships are. This is called  śreyas , or ultimately auspicious activity.
In this verse of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  it is said that one should be interested in  śreyas . To achieve the ultimate goal of  śreyas , or good fortune, one should engage everything, including his life, wealth and words, not only for himself but for others also. However, unless one is interested in  śreyas  in his own life, he cannot preach of  śreyas  for the benefit of others.
This verse cited by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu applies to human beings, not to animals. As indicated in the previous verse by the words  manuṣya-janma , these injunctions are for human beings. Unfortunately, human beings, although they have the bodies of men, are becoming less than animals in their behavior. This is the fault of modern education. Modern educators do not know the aim of human life; they are simply concerned with how to develop the economic condition of their countries or of human society. This is also necessary; the Vedic civilization considers all aspects of human life, including  dharma  (religion),  artha  (economic development),  kāma  (sense gratification) and  mokṣa  (liberation). But humanity's first concern should be religion. To be religious, one must abide by the orders of God, but unfortunately people in this age have rejected religion, and they are busy in economic development. Therefore they will adopt any means to get money. For economic development one does not need to get money by hook or by crook; one needs only sufficient money to maintain his body and soul. However, because modern economic development is going on with no religious background, people have become lusty, greedy and mad after money. They are simply developing the qualities of  rajas  (passion) and  tamas  (ignorance), neglecting the other quality of nature,  sattva  (goodness), and the brahminical qualifications. Therefore the entire society is in chaos.
The  Bhāgavatam  says that it is the duty of an advanced human being to act in such a way as to facilitate human society's attainment of the ultimate goal of life. There is a similar verse in the  Viṣṇu Purāṇa , Part Three, Chapter Twelve, verse 45, which is quoted in this chapter of  Caitanya-caritāmṛta  as verse 43.
TEXT 43
প্রাণিনামুপকারায় যদেবেহ পরত্র চ।
কর্মণা মনসা বাচা তদেব মতিমান্ ভঙ্গেৎ ॥ ৪৩ ॥
prāṇinām upakārāya yad eveha paratra ca karmaṇā manasā vācā tad eva matimān bhajet
SYNONYMS
prāṇinām —of all living entities;  upakārāya —for the benefit;  yat —whichever;  eva —certainly;  iha —in this world or in this life;  paratra —in the next life;  ca —and;  karmaṇā —by work;  manasā —by the mind;  vācā —by words;  tat —that;  eva —certainly;  matimān —an intelligent man;  bhajet —must act.