Returning to Our Natural Consciousness 115

Therefore, taking care of the body only is called dharmasya glanih, or
pollution of one’s duty.

One must know the necessities of the body and also the necessities of
the soul. The real necessity in life is to supply the comforts of the soul,
and the soul cannot be comforted by material adjustments. Because the
soul is a different identity, the soul must be given spiritual food, and that
spiritual food is Krsna consciousness. When one is diseased, he must be
given the proper diet and the proper medicine. Both are required. If he is
simply given medicine but not a proper diet, the treatment will not be
very successful. Therefore the Krsna consciousness movement is meant
to give both the proper medicine and the proper diet for the soul. The
diet is krsna-prasada, food that has first been offered to Krsna, and the
medicine is the Hare Krsna mantra.

nivrtta-tarsair upagiyamanad
bhavausadhac chrotra-mano-’bhiramat
ka uttamasloka-gunanuvadat
puman virajyeta vind pasu-ghnat
(Bhag. 10.1.4)

Pariksit Maharaja said to the great sage Sukadeva Gosvami, ‘‘The dis-
courses on Srimad-Bhagavatam that you are giving me are not ordinary.
These Bhagavata discourses are relishable for persons who are nivrtta-
trsna, free from hankering.’’ Everyone in this material world is hankering
for enjoyment, but one who is free from this hankering can taste how
relishable the Bhagavatam is. The word bhagavata refers to anything in
relationship to Bhagavan, the Supreme Lord, and the Hare Krsna mantra
is also bhagavata. Thus Pariksit Maharaja said that the taste of the
Bhagavata can be relished by one who is free from hankering to satisfy
material desires. And why should this Bhagavata be tasted? Bhavausadhi:
it is the medicine for our disease of birth and death.

At the present moment, we are ina diseased condition. Materialists do
not know what is disease and what is health. They do not know anything,
but still they are posing as great scientists and philosophers. They do not
inquire, ‘‘I do not want to die. Why is death enforced upon me?”’ Nor do
they have any solution to this problem. But still they call themselves
scientists. What kind of scientists are they? Advancement in science
should bring about knowledge by which misery can be minimized. Other-
wise, what is the meaning of science? Scientists may promise that they
can help us in the future, but we may ask them, ‘‘What are you giving us
