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We cannot know the truth of the soul, consciousness and the spiritual world simply by materialistic empirical science or philosophical speculation. We have to receive the spiritual truth from one who already knows and has realized it, because spiritual truth is acintya: inconceivable or beyond ordinary sense perception. So we should accept spiritual knowledge from bona fide authorities. Kṛṣṇa, or God, is the supreme authority. He says:

na tv evaham jatu nasam
na tvam neme janadhipah
na caiva na bhavisyamah
sarve vayam atah param

“Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.” [Bhagavad-gita 2.12]

He says that “All of us—you, me, and all the others who have come to join this battle—there was never a time that we did not exist in the past. We always existed. We all existed in the past, we are existing now, and after so-called death, or after leaving this body, we shall always exist. There is no birth or death for the soul.”

Now, the question becomes: “How I shall exist: as American, Indian, man, woman, or something else?” That is a very intelligent question. First of all, if we understand that I, you, every one of us existed in the past, so how did I exist in the past, and how shall I exist in future? So past is past; that is gone. Now I am existing as a human being. It is my duty to inquire as to how I shall exist in future. That is intelligence.

Just like soon I am going to Mexico, so every day I am bothering poor Ulises with so many emails: “What about this? What about that?” making sure that everything will be properly arranged for my activities there. It is natural to be concerned about our future, about our quality of life in our future situation. So what about our next life? How can we arrange for the best quality of existence in our next embodiment?

If we do not prepare for the next life, then we are just like animals. In human society there is education. The father gives education to the child, concerned about his future welfare. The cats and dogs do not have any education, nor do they even know the meaning of education. That is the difference between human being and animal. So if we are not educated in the matter of understanding what is our future, if we are not trained to arrange the best outcome for our future life, then we are no better than the animals.

We can have that spiritual education in this human form of life. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita:

yanti deva-vrata devan
pitrn yanti pitr-vratah
bhutani yanti bhutejya
yanti mad-yajino ’pi mam

“Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; and those who worship Me will live with Me.” [Bhagavad-gita 9.25]

The process for attaining the highest spiritual destination in the next life is given in the Esoteric Teaching. You prepare your next life in this life, by your activities and your consciousness. To go to a particular planet, you must worship the proprietor, the deity of that planet. That is the Vedic or yogic system of interplanetary travel. So you prepare yourself for the next life by your spiritual worship activities in this life.

The reason is that wherever you go, you must be fit for that place. Even on this planet, when somebody goes from one place to another, he prepares himself to go there. He must know the climate and temperature there, and dress accordingly. Then he’ll have to get permission from the state, a visa or travel permit. Just like there are so many things I have to arrange for my trip to Mexico. Not that all of a sudden I can go to Mexico, without making any arrangement. Similarly, if you want to go to the higher planetary system, then you have to make your arrangement in this life. You cannot go to another planet by force; you have to get permission from the deity of that planet.

Therefore Bhagavad-gita says, yanti deva-vrata devan [Bhagavad-gita 9.25]. You can go to the higher planetary system in the next life if you prepare yourself to go there in this life. There are millions and trillions of planets in this universe. Wherever you want, you can go. The descriptions of all the planets are there in the Esoteric Teaching.

But there is another universe, the spiritual universe or Kingdom of God. That Kingdom of God is beyond the material sky, in the spiritual dimension. So we have to take information from the Esoteric Teaching how to approach that spiritual world. You can get this information from the Vedic literature. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said,

paras tasmat tu bhavo ’nyo
’vyakto ’vyaktat sanatanah
yah sa sarvesu bhutesu
nasyatsu na vinasyati

“Yet there is another, unmanifest eternal nature, which is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is.” [Bhagavad-gita 8.20]

There is another nature, the spiritual nature, which is beyond this material nature. The material nature... Vyaktavyakta means some portion is manifested and some portion is not manifested. And we get information from Bhagavad-gita that the spiritual nature is beyond this manifested and nonmanifested cosmic situation. So Kṛṣṇa says, the supreme authority says, mad-yajino ’pi yanti mam. If somebody cultivates Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he can go there. It is not difficult; simply you have to change your mode of life. To become Kṛṣṇa conscious means to be pure in the original spiritual existence. We are pure as Brahman, as spirit soul, but because we have contaminated these material modes of nature, our consciousness is now different. So on account of different consciousness, there are three classes of men. One class of men is very intelligent; one class of men, very passionate; and one class of men, fools and rascals. So in order to understand your promotion to the spiritual world, you have to become first-class man. First-class man means brahmana. A brahmana means he is truthful, he is self-controlled, he is simple, he is tolerant... In this way there are nine qualification to become first-class man. And to become first-class man, the preliminary qualification is that you should not become sinful.

So instead of becoming sinful, to become pious, you simply follow these four regulative principles. The first principle is illicit sex. That is forbidden. Sex is not forbidden, but illicit sex is forbidden. That is not very difficult. Everyone wants. That is the necessity of the body, that sex. As we want to eat, as we want to sleep, similarly, there is sex desire. But if you want to become first-class man, then don’t have illicit sex. Except marriage, do not have sex. The human society... Therefore, human society, there is marriage. There is no marriage in the dog society. So therefore, sex life within marriage and regulative principle, that is not prohibited. That means anyone who follows these rules and regulation, he becomes purified and pious. Without becoming purified and pious, you cannot understand God. It is said in the Bhagavad-gita,

yesam tv anta-gatam papam
jananam punya-karmanam
te dvandva-moha-nirmukta
bhajante mam drdha-vratah

“Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination.” [Bhagavad-gita 7.28]

A person who is completely free from sinful activities, can become a pure devotee, a lover of God. This Esoteric Teaching movement is to teach human society how to become purified. Everyone can be purified if he desires to be, because everyone is a spiritual living entity. We may not be able to purify ourselves immediately, but with practice, anyone can attain pure devotional service.

In the beginning, we simply ask everyone to chant the Holy Name of God: om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. This is called the dvadasaksara-mantra, the twelve-syllable mantra. It is a very powerful and famous mantra. Then later on, after practicing for some time, one can become initiated and chant a more powerful mantra, the Hare Kṛṣṇa maha-mantra: Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare | Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

The requirements for initiation are more strict. As prescribed in the Vedic literature, one must avoid illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication—it may not be possible because it is difficult for those who are accustomed to these things to give them up. Therefore in the beginning the process is very simple: “Just chant.” Later on one can accept more austerity. But purification, or ontological realignment, is absolutely necessary. Without purification, you cannot understand God or realize your eternal spiritual identity.

The method of purification prescribed by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is very easy. We are simply proposing that “Everyone please chant the Holy Name: om namo bhagavate vasudevaya.” Anyone can do it. Then the advanced stages come automatically later on.

Next: There is no Death