"There are eighteen chapters in the Bhagavad-gītā. The first six chapters explains only the constitutional position of the living entities. And when it is understood... just like when you understand your actual position, then your activities actually begins. If you do not know what is your actual position... suppose in a office, if your post is not settled up what duty you have to execute, then you cannot do anything very nicely. Here is a typist, here is clerk, here is a peon, here is a this and that. So they are executing their work very nicely.
So one has to understand what is the constitutional position of the living entity. So that is explained in the first six chapters. Adyena śastena upāsakasya jīvasya svarūpa-prāpti-sādhanaṁ ca pradhānaṁ niṁ proktam. Baladeva Vidyābhūṣana, has a very nice, authorized commentator on the Bhagavad-gītā, he says that in the first six chapters the constitutional position of the living entity has been very nicely explained. And how one can understand his constitutional position, that is also explained. So the yoga system means to understand his constitutional position. Yoga indriya samjyam.
We are busy with sense activities. The material life means business of sense activities. The whole world activity, when you go stand on the street, you will see everybody's very busy. The storekeeper is busy, the motor-driver is busy. Everyone is very busy—so busy that so many accidents in business. Now, why they are busy? If you minutely study what is their business, the business is sense gratification. That's all. Everyone is busy how to gratify senses. This is material. And yoga means to control the senses, to understand my spiritual position, my constitutional position.
Just like a boy who is accustomed to playing only, he cannot concentrate in his study, in understanding his future life or in elevating himself, a higher position. Similarly, if we are engaged like child without knowing the future of life, simply playing with the senses, that is called material life. The difference between material life and spiritual life is that if somebody is simply engaged in sense gratification business, that is called material life. And out of many thousands of such materialistic persons, if somebody is trying to understand, 'What I am? Why I have come here? Why I am put into so many miserable condition of life? Is there any remedy?' these questions, when arises, then, practically, his spiritual life begins.
And the human form of life is meant for that. In animal life they do not know anything except sense gratification. They have no power. Their consciousness is not developed. Just like in the Green Lake park, there are so many ducks. As soon as somebody goes there with some little food, oh, they gather: 'quack! quack! quack! quack!' (laughter) That's all. And after eating, they are enjoying sex life. That's all. So similarly, like cats and dogs and these animals, the human life is also like that if there is no question 'What I am?' If they are simply directed by the sense urges, they are no better than these ducks and dogs.
So therefore, in the first six chapters it has been decided that a living entity is a spiritual spark. It is very difficult to find out where the spark is, because it is so small, minute. There is no material microscope or machine to find out. But it is there. It is there. The symptom is, because it is there in my body, because it is there in your body, therefore you are moving, you are talking, you are planning—so many things you are doing—simply for that spiritual spark.
So we are very minute spark of the supreme spirit. Just like there are in the sunshine minute particles, shining particles. With shining, these shining particles, when they are mixed together, that is sunshine. But they are molecules. They are separate, atomic molecules. Similarly, in relationship with God and ourself, we are also minute particles of God, shining.
Shining means we have got the same propensities—thinking, feeling, willing, creating, everything. Whatever you see in yourself, that is there in God. So God cannot be impersonal, because we are all person. I have got so many propensities—that is very minute quantity. The same propensities are there in Kṛṣṇa, or God, but that is very great, unlimited.
This is the study of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Simply greatness, my position is very small. And we are so small, infinitesimal; still, we have got so many propensities, so many desires, so many activities, so many brain work. Just imagine how much greater brain work and desire and propensities are there in God, because He's great.
His greatness means all these things, what you have got, that is existing in Him in greatness. That's all. Qualitatively, we are one, but quantitatively, we are different. He's great, we are small. He is infinite; we are infinitesimal. Therefore the conclusion is, just like infinite particles of fire, sparks, when they are with the fire, they look very nice with fire and spark.
But when the sparks are out of the fire, main fire, they extinguish. No more fire. Similarly, we are sparks of Kṛṣṇa, or God. When we associate with God, then our that illuminating power, fire, is renovated. Otherwise, we are extinguished.
Although you are sparks, our present life, this material life, is covered. The spark is covered, or extinguished almost. This is only example; it cannot be extinguished. If it is extinguished, how we are manifesting our living condition? It is not extinguished, but it is covered. Just like when fire is covered, you'll feel heat on the covering, but you cannot see the fire directly. Similarly, this spiritual spark is covered by his material dress; therefore we cannot see."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Seattle, October 18, 1968)
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