140 THE SCIENCE OF SELF-REALIZATION
hear. But we must hear from the right source. That is stated in the
Srimad-Bhagavatam. One must hear from those who are devoted to the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. They are called satdm. If one hears
from the right source, from a realized soul, then it will act. And these
words of God, or Krsna, are very relishable. If one is intelligent enough,
he will listen to what is spoken by the realized soul. Then very soon he
will be released from material entanglements.

This human life is meant for advancing on the path of liberation. That
is called apavarga, freedom from entanglement. We are all entangled.
Our acceptance of this material body means that we are already en-
tangled. But we should not progress in the process of entanglement. That
process is called karma. As long as the mind is absorbed in karma, we will
have to accept a material body. At the time of death, our mind may be
thinking, ‘‘Oh, I could not complete this work. Oh, I am dying! I have to
do this. I have to do that.’’ This means that Krsna will give us another

_ Chance to do it, and so we will have to accept another body. He will give
us the chance: ‘‘All right. You could not do it. Now do it. Take this
body.’ Therefore the Srimad-Bhdgavatam says, ‘‘These rascals have
become madly intoxicated; because of intoxication they are doing some-
thing they should not have done.’’ What are they doing? Maharaja
Dhrtardstra is a very good example. Maharaja Dhrtarastra was cunningly
planning to kill the Pandavas in order to favor his own sons, so Krsna
sent His uncle, Akrira, to advise him not to do that. Dhrtarastra under-
stood Akrira’s instructions, but he said, ‘‘My dear Akrira, what you are
saying is quite right, but it does not stand in my heart, so I cannot change
my policy. I have to follow this policy and let whatever happens take
place.”

So when men want to satisfy their senses, they become mad, and in
this madness they’ll do anything and everything. For example, there
have been many instances in material life where someone has become
mad after something and has committed a criminal act such as murder.
The person could not check himself. Similarly, we are accustomed to
sense gratification. We are mad, and therefore our minds are fully ab-
sorbed in karma. This is very unfortunate because our body, although
temporary, is the reservoir of all misfortunes and miseries; it is always
giving us trouble. These matters are to be studied. We should not be
mad. Human life is not meant for that. The defect of the present civiliza-
tion is that people are mad after sense gratification. That is all. They do
not know the real value of life, and therefore they are neglecting the most
valuable form of life, this human form.
