Responsibilities Every Human Being Should Accept
The human form of life offers a unique facility for spiritual advancement, but it also comes with specific responsibilities. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that while animals are concerned only with the immediate needs of the body, a human being should look beyond the temporary and strive for the eternal. Every human being should utilize their intelligence to solve the real problems of existence—birth, death, old age, and disease—and prepare for a future life of blissful knowledge.
Inquiry and Education
The first responsibility of a human being is to inquire. The Vedānta-sūtra begins with the aphorism athāto brahma jijñāsā, indicating that now, in the human form, one should inquire into the Absolute Truth. Śrīla Prabhupāda states that real education means understanding how the spirit soul can be happy and where to find eternal life. This inquiry distinguishes a civilized human from one who is merely polishing animal propensities.
- The Vedanta-sutra begins by stating that a human being should be inquisitive to know who he is, where he comes from, and where he has to go.
- The real business is jivasya tattva-jijnasa. Every human being should be inquisitive to know the Absolute Truth. That is the real business of human life. So to come to that business, you won't find mass of people. It is not possible.
- Every human being should try to understand how the spirit soul can be happy and where he can attain an eternal, blissful life of knowledge. Human beings are meant to study these subject matters, not to be absorbed in caring for the temporary body.
Acceptance of Guidance
To navigate the complexities of life and spiritual realization, one requires a guide. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that it is in every human being's own interest to accept a bona fide spiritual master. Without proper guidance, one is liable to be bound by whimsical activities and waste the valuable opportunity of human life. This follows the ancient Vedic system where even kings and great leaders submitted themselves to the wisdom of self-realized souls.
- Every human being, for his own interest, should accept a Spiritual Master and abide by His order. This is the Vedic system, and whatever we are trying to do, it is in pursuance of the old order.
- I am so much obliged to you for the fine sentiment you have expressed in connection with my humble service; but this is not very extraordinary - every human being, for his own interest, should accept a Spiritual Master and abide by His order.
- Every human being should therefore take advantage of the Vedic instructions; otherwise one will be bound by his whimsical activities and will be without any guide.
Lifestyle and Culture
A human being should live differently than an animal. This difference is marked by tapasya (penance) and regulation. Śrīla Prabhupāda advises that one should eat only food offered to the Deity (prasāda) and engage in sex life strictly according to Vedic injunctions—that is, within marriage and for the purpose of begetting God-conscious children. Such a regulated lifestyle purifies the existence and prepares one for self-realization.
- A human being should eat prasada offered to the Deity and should enjoy sex life according to the Vedic injunctions. He should engage himself in the business of Krsna consciousness, he should save himself from the fearful condition of material existence.
- There is discretion, that human being, they should offer these fruits, vegetables, milk as it is prescribed in the sastra, to God, Krsna, and take. That is human civilization.
- According to Bhagavata philosophy, every human being is meant simply for this tapa and for no other business, because by penance only can one realize his self; and self-realization, not sense gratification, is the business of human life.
Family and Social Responsibility
Family life in the human species is meant for spiritual culture, not just biological reproduction. Śrīla Prabhupāda instructs that householders should aim to produce "nice children"—offspring who can be trained in devotional service. He also notes the traditional Vedic system regarding the protection of women, stating that they should be given all protection rather than being left to struggle independently.
- Every human being should beget nice children in the womb of his wife, as a sacrifice for the purpose of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead in devotional service.
- The purpose of the material creation by Brahma is described here (in SB 3.13.11). Every human being should beget nice children in the womb of his wife, as a sacrifice for the purpose of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead in devotional service.
- According to Vedic system, there is no independent life of woman. Na stri svatantryam arhati. Manu-samhita, that "Stri" - stri means woman - "should not be allowed independence." They should be given all protection. That's a very nice system.
Spiritual Preparation
The ultimate responsibility is to prepare for death. Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that the living entity is changing bodies continuously, and without spiritual preparation, there is no guarantee of the next destination. Every human being should take advantage of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement to stop the repetition of birth and death and return home, back to Godhead.
- It is necessary that every human being be responsible in preparing himself for the next life, even if he has a duration of life like that of Brahma, the greatest of all living creatures within the universe.
- Every human being not only shall take care of this body but should take care of his problems, because he is eternal - he is changing body after body, and that is very botheration, and there is no guarantee what sort of body you are going to get next.
- One must stop the repetition of birth and death. Every human being, therefore, should take advantage of this creation by understanding Krsna and his relationship with Krsna and in this way return home, back to Godhead.
Conclusion
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a sectarian faith but a universal necessity. Śrīla Prabhupāda asserts that every human being should take up the process of purification (saṁskāra) to achieve real happiness. Whether one is born in India or America, the duty remains the same: to hear about, glorify, and remember the Supreme Lord.
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 Every Human Being Should. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.