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TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTĪ
A scientist friend was asking me, “What is the proof of eternity?” Kṛṣṇa says,  na hanyate hanyamāne śārīre : “The soul is not killed when the body is killed.” This statement in itself is proof. This type of proof is called  śruti , the proof established by that which is heard through the disciplinary succession from the Supreme. One form of proof is proof by logic ( nyāya-prasthāna ). One can get knowledge by logic, arguments, and philosophical research. But another form of proof is  śruti , proof established by hearing from authorities. A third form of proof is  smṛti , proof established by statements derived from the  śruti . The  Bhagavad-gītā  and the  Purāṇas  are  smṛti , the  Upaniṣads  are  śruti , and the  Vedānta  is  nyāya . Of these three the  śruti-prasthāna , or the evidence from the  śruti , is especially important.
Pratyakṣa , the process of receiving knowledge through direct perception, has no value, because our senses are all imperfect. For example, every day we see the sun to be just like a small disc, perhaps twelve inches in diameter, but in fact it is a hundred times larger than the earth. So what is the value of our direct perception through our eyes? We have so many senses through which we can experience knowledge—the eyes, the ears, the nose, and so on—but because these senses are imperfect, whatever knowledge we get by exercising these senses is also imperfect. Because scientists try to understand things by exercising their imperfect senses, their conclusions are always imperfect. Svarūpa Dāmodara, a scientist among our disciples, inquired from a fellow scientist who says that life comes from matter, “If I give you the chemicals with which to produce life, will you be able to produce it?” The scientist replied, “That I do not know.” This is imperfect knowledge. If you do not know, then your knowledge is imperfect. Why then have you become a teacher? That is cheating. Our contention is that to become perfect one must take lessons from the perfect.
Kṛṣṇa is perfect, so we take knowledge from Him. Kṛṣṇa says,  na hanyate hanyamāne śārīre : “The soul does not die when the body dies.” Therefore this understanding that the soul is eternal is perfect.
Kuntīdevī says,  ime jana-padāḥ svṛddhāḥ supakkauṣadhi-vīrudhaḥ : “The grains are abundant, the trees full of fruits, the rivers flowing, the hills full of minerals, and the ocean full of wealth.” What more should one want? The oyster produces pearls, and formerly people decorated their bodies with pearls, valuable stones, silk, gold, and silver. But where are those things now? Now, with the advancement of civilization, there are so many beautiful girls who have no ornaments of gold, pearls, or