Forgetfulness of the Supreme Enjoyer - That Is Material Life
People in the modern world constantly try to adjust their surroundings to achieve happiness, yet they remain overwhelmed by anxiety and suffering. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that this endless frustration is the very definition of material life. When the living entity forgets their eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord and attempts to enjoy nature independently, they become trapped in a temporary, miserable struggle for existence that can only be solved by a complete change in consciousness.
Misusing Independence
The soul is originally a pure, eternal servant of God, but it possesses minute free will. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that material life begins the exact moment a soul misuses this independence, rejecting the authority of the Lord to try and act as the supreme enjoyer themselves.
- When the soul misuses the independence, then he falls down. That is material life. Material life means misusing the independence of soul.
- When we forget that we are eternal servant of Krsna, that is material life. Otherwise, if we remain servant of Krsna, even in this material body, still, we are liberated.
- Independently we want to enjoy without Krsna, without God. That is called material life. So such persons are called demons.
- Krsna is the supreme proprietor, Krsna is the supreme enjoyer and Krsna is the supreme friend of everyone. When you forget this, then we come into this material world and struggle for existence, fight with one another. This is material life.
A World of Anxiety and Suffering
Despite grand plans for peace and prosperity, the material world is inherently designed to inflict suffering. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that from the tiny ant up to Lord Brahmā, every conditioned soul is burdened with anxiety, forced to fight for survival, and ultimately kicked out of their temporary position by death.
- Anyone - either human being or animal or bird - anyone who has got this material body is full of anxiety. Even a sparrow, you will see, he is eating something, he is in anxiety. That is material life.
- Spiritual life means ananda, and material life means anxiety. You can distinguish. If you are always put into anxiety, that is material life. And if you are always jolly, that is spiritual life.
- This body is meant for suffering miseries, and the land is meant for suffering miseries. That we do not understand. But we are placed in a miserable condition all round. That is material life.
- We are always full of anxieties, and at last there is death. This is material life. We work very hard, struggle for existence, and that also, at the end, we die.
The Trap of Sense Gratification
The driving engine of material life is the desperate attempt to satisfy the bodily senses, specifically through eating and sexual intercourse. Śrīla Prabhupāda observes that this natural inclination (pravṛtti) binds the living entity to a cycle of fleeting pleasures that never provide lasting satisfaction.
- We have come to this material world for sense gratification. This is pravrtti. Pravrtti means that is our natural propensity, inclination. We are simply making plans how to satisfy our senses. That is material life.
- Unless you conquer over, senses will always ask you, "Please eat, please sleep, please have sexual intercourse. Please have this, please have this." This is material life. This is material life, subjected to the dictation of the senses.
- Generally, people are concerned with the satisfaction of the tongue and the satisfaction of the genitals. That is material life.
- The highest pleasure in the material world is sex. But you cannot enjoy it twenty-four hours. That is not possible. You can enjoy it for few minutes. That's all. Even if you are forced to enjoy, you'll reject it: "No, no more." That is material.
Creating Artificial Necessities
Instead of living simply and cultivating spiritual knowledge, conditioned souls complicate their existence by inventing luxurious demands. Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that creating unnecessary necessities entangles the soul further, turning people into thieves who exploit God's property without acknowledging the ultimate owner.
- Material life means to be involved with so many unwanted things. That is material life. At the present moment, especially in this Kali-yuga, we are very, very much fallen.
- We are creating unnecessary necessities of life and becoming entangled. This is material life. But if one becomes Krsna conscious, interested in Krsna, then he becomes detestful: "What is the use?"
- Our life is simple. We don't want luxury. We don't want luxury, but as we are accustomed in so many ways, as far as possible. But life should be very simple. To increase unnecessary things unnecessarily, that is material life.
- Of course, it will not be very palatable to hear, but actually we are all thieves. We have stolen God's property. That is material life. Anyone who has got anything without sense of God, it is to be understood that he has stolen the property.
The Need for a Change in Consciousness
The solution to the miseries of material life does not require escaping to a secluded forest; it simply requires a profound shift in awareness. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that the only difference between material and spiritual life is consciousness. By redirecting one's actions to serve Kṛṣṇa instead of oneself, the material world is instantly transformed into Vṛndāvana.
- There is not much difference between the activities of material life and spiritual life. Only the consciousness has to be changed. When my consciousness is to lord it over the material nature, that is material life.
- The difference between material life and spiritual life. When one works for his own sense gratification, that is material life. And when works for Krsna's satisfaction, that is spiritual life.
- You can turn this material world into Vrndavana provided you agree to fulfill the desires of Krsna. That is Vrndavana. And if you want to fulfill your own desires, that is material. This is the difference between material and spiritual.
- We cannot see Krsna. That is material, forgetfulness of Krsna. But when you remember Krsna even in this material world, then it becomes spiritual.
Conclusion
Material life is not defined merely by living in a physical body or owning possessions; it is a diseased state of consciousness. Śrīla Prabhupāda masterfully diagnoses that material existence is born from the soul's rebellious desire to enjoy independently of God. This forgetfulness plunges the living entity into an unnatural world of anxiety, where they are forced to struggle for temporary survival while being tormented by the relentless demands of the senses. Because people refuse to surrender to the supreme proprietor, they constantly create artificial necessities that only deepen their entanglement. However, the cure is remarkably simple. By changing one's consciousness—shifting the focus of all activities from personal sense gratification to the loving service of the Lord—a person instantly breaks free from the bondage of material life and begins their journey back to Godhead.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category That Is Material Life. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.