Gour Govinda Swami Swami (reading from purport 7.7.21):
Translation:
An expert geologist can understand where there is gold and by various processes can extract it from the gold ore. Similarly, a spiritually advanced person can understand how the spiritual particle exists within the body, and thus by cultivating spiritual knowledge he can attain perfection in spiritual life. However, as one who is not expert cannot understand where there is gold, a foolish person who has not cultivated spiritual knowledge cannot understand how the spirit exists within the body.
Purport:
Here is a very good example concerning spiritual understanding. Foolish rascals, including so-called jñānīs, philosophers and scientists, cannot understand the existence of the soul within the body because they are lacking in spiritual knowledge. The Vedas enjoin, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet:
tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet
samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham
“To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth.” [Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12]
To understand spiritual knowledge, one must approach a bona fide spiritual master. Unless one has been trained in geology, one cannot detect gold in stone. Similarly, unless one has been trained by a spiritual master, he cannot understand what is spirit and what is matter. Here it is said, yogais tad-abhijñaḥ. This indicates that one who has connected himself with spiritual knowledge can understand that there is a spiritual soul within the body. However, one who is in an animalistic conception of life and has no spiritual culture cannot understand. As an expert mineralogist or geologist can understand where there is gold and can then invest his money to dig there and chemically separate the gold from the ore, an expert spiritualist can understand where the soul is within matter. One who has not been trained cannot distinguish between gold and stone. Similarly, fools and rascals who have not learned from an expert spiritual master what is soul and what is matter cannot understand the existence of the soul within the body. To understand such knowledge, one must be trained in the mystic yoga system, or, finally, in the bhakti-yoga system. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55), bhaktyā mām abhijānāti. Unless one takes shelter of the bhakti-yoga process, one cannot understand the existence of the soul within the body. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā begins by teaching:
dehino ’smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati
“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Bhagavad Gita. 2.13) Thus the first instruction is that one should understand that the soul is within the body and is transmigrating from one body to another. This is the beginning of spiritual knowledge. Any person who is not expert in understanding this science or is unwilling to understand it remains in the bodily conception of life, or the animalistic conception of life, as confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke. .. sa eva go-kharaḥ [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.84.13]). Every member of human society should clearly understand the instructions of Bhagavad-gītā, for only in this way can one be spiritually elevated and automatically give up the false, illusory knowledge by which one thinks, “I am this body, and everything belonging to this body is mine [ahaṁ mameti Srimad Bhagavatam 5.5.8].” This doggish conception should be rejected immediately. One should be prepared to understand the spirit soul and the supreme spirit, God, who are eternally related. Thus one may return home, back to Godhead, having solved all the problems of life.
Purport by Gour Govinda Swami:
The translation of this verse and [also] a very good purport. It is self-explanatory. Given by my beloved spiritual master Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Prabhupāda-jī Mahārāja has enough given to understand the distinction between spirit and matter. Isn't it? What do you say? Do you understand it? The other day you were telling me that you cannot understand it.
You think you are the body, isn't it? Now you understand it? Can you understand it clearly and your misconception about this bodily and spiritual life has gone? Then? You are not this body, you are the spirit soul! That you understand now. Very nice.
So, how can one understand it? This question arises. And what is the process? (devotee speaks in the background, inaudible, 6.49). Yes, that is the only process - tad vijñānārtham sa gurum eva abhigacchet (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12) - as the Upaniṣad says. To know this vijñāna, this science, the science of the soul, one must approach a bona fide spiritual master and will be trained by him. You understand? So, he can understand it.
The example is given by Prahlāda Mahārāja - as an expert geologist can understand where there is gold in the earth. One who is not trained, not an expert geologist, he cannot understand, he cannot find out, he cannot know where there is gold in the earth.
Similarly here, one who is an intelligent person should take this training. Without this training from a bona fide spiritual master, to understand how the spirit soul is within this material body. How the soul is eternal. Soul has neither birth nor death. There are changes in this material body. As the Bhagavad-gītā says: dehino 'smin yathā dehe (Bhagavad-gītā 2.13). How... If you know this verse very well and its meaning. "As the embodied soul... such a change" (gives translation).
Therefore, those who cannot understand it, they are rascals. They are devoid of this knowledge. They are not trained in this knowledge, they have not accepted a spiritual master, a bona fide spiritual master.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam says those who think this body is the soul. Bhāgavatam says: (quotes Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.84.13) "yasyātma-buddhiḥ... sa eva gokhāra". Śrīmad Bhāgavatam says this thing.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, we repeatedly say, is the essence of all Vedic scriptures, sarva-vedānta-sāram, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam pramāṇam amalaṁ. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is a spotless proof, puru-ārtho mahān. bhāgavata ye na māne, se - yāvana-samā, tāra sāsṭā ache janme-janme prabhu yama (Caitanya Bhāgavata Ādi-khaṇḍa 1.39). If you cannot accept these conclusions given in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, then you are a mleccha and yāvana, and you will be punished by Yamarāja life after life. So, you have to accept the spotless proof given in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam.
Therefore, Bhāgavatam says - sa eva gokhāra. One who thinks this body the self and those who are related to this material body, they are mine. I and Mine - aham-mameti. And those who are not related to this material body, they are other persons - aparā (? 11.06). Śrīmad Bhāgavatam says they cannot be categorized as human beings - sa eva gokhāra. They may get categorized among the cattle and asses. Two-legged animals. They are two-legged animals.
Though they have this human form of body, but they are not, in fact, in actuality, human beings. They are like dogs. Doggish conception of life, as my beloved spiritual master says. A dog only thinks that he is a dog. A dog cannot understand that he is spirit soul. So, a human being who cannot understand this, is as good as a dog or as good as an animal. He cannot be called a human being, as Śrīmad Bhāgavatam says - sa eva gokhāra.
Now I am saying something very brief for you only. Special concession for you. There is a nice story (break in recording 12.39)... about animals, known very few, very rare will find human beings.
There was a spiritual master who gave his disciple a pair of specs. As he has, I’ve put on specs. You take the specs, put on, and go to the villages and get bhikṣā. A disciple or brahmacārī collects bhikṣā for the spiritual master. The spiritual master says, "But one thing you should remember - by putting on the specs, if you see someone who is looking like a human being, you should get bhikṣā from him. Otherwise, if he doesn't look like a human being, you should not get bhikṣā from him."
So, the disciple, his duty is to obey the instruction of his spiritual master, to obey as it is, not concoct. So, he went to the place, putting on the specs, spectacles given by the spiritual master and saw - in that village nobody looks like a human being. All looked like animals, two-legged animals. He could not find a human being. All looked (like) animals.
So, he went to another village. Similarly, he couldn't find a human being there also - all are animals. In this way, he went and passed through five to seven, ten villages - he couldn't find a human being. At last, when he was so much desperate - "Oh, the day is going to end, evening is approaching, and no bhikṣā collected. What Mahārāja will eat? How can we cook prāsāda?" So, at last, fortunately, he could see one human being. Got some bhikṣā and went back to āśrama, to the spiritual master.
So, the spiritual master asked: "Oh, why are you so late?" "Oh, my dear spiritual master, you gave me these specs, I put on the specs and found out all are animals. I couldn't find a single human being. So, I passed through some ten villages, so it got late. At last, fortunately, I found one human being, so I got some bhikṣā and came back. Please excuse me." This is a nice story.
This story teaches this truth that is given in this verse, in the purport of Śrīla Prabhupāda. How, we as human beings, those who have not attained this knowledge, those who don't know the science of the soul, how the spirit soul is within the body. And those who don't know that they are not the body, they are spirit souls - they are like animals. They only run after their bodily needs - āhāra, nidrā, bhaya, and maithuna. Eating, sleeping, defending, and mating. Only these four things the animal knows and if a human being only knows these four things, then he is no better than an animal. He is as good as an animal.
So, the disciple couldn't find a human being because all are after these four things - eating, sleeping, defending, and mating. None of them can understand that they are not the body, they are spirit souls. How the spirit soul is within the material body. This is the story. Do you know?
Then Śrīmad Bhāgavatam says: those human beings cannot be entitled, cannot be grouped as human beings. It is better to put them under this - sa eva gokhāra, cattle and ass group.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam says, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is a very impartial scripture - nirapekṣa kathā (..?..17.57). Śrīmad Bhāgavatam speaks very unpalatable truth, it is not very palatable. So, I beg excuse for saying this thing. I am saying this thing according to śādhu, guru, and śāstra, not my own opinion. Today is the second of April, yesterday was the first of April. Here early in the morning, the people were observing Utkala Vibhāṣa. Utkala Vibhāṣa. Vibhāṣa means day. Utkala day - observing. That means on this day, the first of April - what was the date?
Disciple: 36.
Gour Govinda Swami: 1936, on the first of April, this Orissa, Utkala, was separated from Bihar. So, they are observing and singing: "vande utkala jananī" (..?...19.04). We pray, we pay obeisances to Utkala Māta. They never sing: "vande Lord Jagannātha, vande Kṛṣṇa." No! vande utkala jananī.
Though they are great leaders, political leaders, and so-called big men in the society, they sing like that. So, according to the conclusions of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, they cannot be categorized among human beings, they are gokhāra, they are asses and cattle. So, I beg excuse, nobody should be angry with me. I'm not saying my opinion, it is the opinion of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. So, they should now understand, or they should now try to understand it, that they are not the body, they are spirit souls. And they should approach a bona fide spiritual master and inquire from him the science of the soul. That should be taught.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says: you Vaiṣṇavas, those who are Vaiṣṇavas, those who are devotees of the Lord, you should be very merciful on these people, because they [need] Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, they cannot understand it. Do you follow me? If you go to them and say this thing, that you are a gokhāra, you cannot be called a human being, you are like cattle and ass - they may beat you! They will be very, very angry with you. They may beat you. But don't be angry with them. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says: You Vaiṣṇavas, don't be angry with them. They are foolish, they are rascals, they have no knowledge about it. So, show your mercy onto them. Shower your mercy onto them and teach them. If they can get the mercy of the Vaiṣṇavas, then they can understand. Otherwise, it's not possible in their hearts to understand this thing. You don't be furious. You don't take revenge on them - why he beats me? Why he takes revenge? No. Like Jagāi and Mādhāi beat Nityānanda Prabhu, isn't it? And Nityānanda Prabhu was so merciful that He showered His mercy on them. Ultimately they became sādhus.