Mantra Three 23

many millions of years of transmigration of the soul. This
material world is sometimes compared with an ocean, and
this human body is compared with a solid boat, designed to
cross over the ocean. The Vedic Scriptures and the dcaryas
or saintly teachers, are compared with the expert boatman, and
the facilities of a human body are compared with favorable
breezes, which can help the boat smoothly ply to the desired
destination. If, with all these facilities, a person does not fully
utilize his human life for self realization, such an asura must be
considered dtma-hana, a killer of the soul. The killer of the soul
is destined to enter into the darkest region of ignorance to
suffer perpetually, and here is a warning by Sri [sopanisad in
clear terms.

There are swine, dogs, camels, asses, etc. whose economic
necessities are just as important as ours. But the economic
problems of these animals are solved under nasty conditions,
while the human being is given all facilities for comfortable
life by the laws of Nature, because the human form of life is
more important than animal life. And why is man given a
better life than the swine and other animals? Why is a highly
placed servant given all the facilities of comfortable life, rather
than an ordinary clerk? The answer is that the highly placed
officer has to discharge duties of a higher nature. Similarly,
the human being has higher duties in life than the animals who
are engaged always in the business of feeding their hungry
stomachs.

The modern soul-killing civilization has only increased the
problems of a hungry stomach. We approach some polished
animal, a modern civilized man, and he says thal he wants to
work for the salisfaction of the stomach and there is no
necessily for self realization. But the laws of Nature are so
crucl that in spite of his eagerness to work hard for his stomach,
there is always the question of unemployment, even after de-
nouncing the prospect of self-realization.

We are given this human form of life not to work hard like
