At the present moment we are on the dress consciousness: "I am German dress," "I am Englishman dress," "I am Indian dress," "I am male dress," "I am female dress." So this is called conditioned life.

Beyond Gender

Transcending our material conditioning

We are conditioned in every step by the laws of material nature. Still, foolishly we are thinking we are free. This is foolishness. We are so much controlled by the material nature, exactly like a small child is pulled by the ear by its mother. "Come here"—he comes here. "Go there." Just like a dog. A dog may feel very freedom jumping, but as soon as the master says, "Come here," he comes and immediately chained. This is our position. So that is our position, that we are completely under the clutches of material nature, and according to the modes of material nature, we are acting and changing our body in different species of life.

So our real business in this human form of life is to get, try to accept the process by which we can get free from this conditioned life. The process is that we have to give up all our false consciousness. We are under false consciousness. I am thinking, "I am Indian," you are thinking you are German, and the dog is thinking, "I am dog," and cat is thinking, "I am cat." So this bodily consciousness, bodily concept of life, will keep us conditioned within the material nature. Therefore our first business is how to get free from all these designations. Just like I am putting on this saffron cloth, but I am not saffron cloth. Or you are putting red cloth or black coat; you are not black coat. Within the coat, you are the person. Similarly, within the dress, I am the person. So at the present moment we are on the dress consciousness: "I am German dress," "I am Englishman dress," "I am Indian dress," "I am male dress," "I am female dress." So this is called conditioned life.

So in this conditioned life we are accepting one type of body and we are dying. Dying means giving up and being transmigrated, transferred to another body by the laws of material nature. It is not under my control. You cannot say that "After giving up this German body, I shall accept again another German body." That is not in your hands, sir. It is under the laws of nature. You cannot propose. You cannot force material nature. After this body, I can get any other body. That is stated here: tatha dehantara-praptih [Bhagavad-gita 2.13]. Another form of a body. That form of body may be any one of the 8,400,000 forms of body. Therefore, if we are actually intelligent, we should try for being awakened or placed in our original body, the spiritual body. That will stop this constant change of body.

So the simple process is, as we are preaching in this Krishna consciousness movement, that if you try to understand only what is Krishna—Krishna or Christ, the same thing—then you get your original, spiritual body. This Krishna consciousness can be awakened simply by chanting the maha-mantra, Hare Krishna, or the holy name of God. So keep yourself aloof from four kinds of sinful life, and keep always in touch with Krishna and God. Then you will go back to home back to Godhead. This advantage is possible in this human form of life; otherwise, we are missing the chance. We may be again put in the cycle of that 8,400,000 forms of body. The process is very simple and easy because you can remain in your occupation, in whatever position you are. Simply you chant the holy name of God. Not only Hare Krishna, you can chant the holy name of God, "Christ." Christ is also the same as Krishna. So do it. There is no expenditure, but the profit is very, very great.

So the conclusion is we should not put ourself in the cycle of birth and death continually in 8,400,000 species of life, to stop it and go back to home, back to Godhead, and regain your original spiritual life.