The primary importance for every human being is the soul – our consciousness. This is the starting point – the atma. ‘Life comes from life’ as Srila Prabhupada says. There is a design and a purpose of everything. The ultimate cause of the material creation is an unlimited thing, with unlimited qualities and capacities and such an unlimited creation, most logically and reasonably originates from an unlimited person.

Our innate tendency towards exploitation cannot help us. Scientists are simply encouraging that exploiting tendency. Science is only borrowing from nature. But there will be reaction and there is reaction. Newton’s law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So science is extorting power from nature - drawing all the oil out of the earth, breaking all the uranium and plutonium and smashing the atoms, to generate power. They are borrowing and they will have to pay back that loan.

The whole modern civilization is taking a heavy loan and when they have to pay back that loan, then the so-called materialistic civilization will become bankrupt. It is like wild goose chasing. All the scientists’ so-called investigation and discoveries are unnecessary.

What is the real necessity? We must address the real necessity of human life. What is ultimately most important to each one of us? What is the beginning point? The beginning point is that I will be extinct. I will die. So the question is – how to save myself and save others? We are all threatened at every moment with death. Every second we are under attack. Every second we are dying. So many atoms and cells of our body are dying at every moment and being replaced.

We are surrounded by death, we are immersed in death. So this is the first problem - the struggle for existence. This is the first problem we are facing – how to stop death? The question should not be, how can I increase the circumference of my exploitation, how can I make more trinkets and gadgets to facilitate my sense-gratification. How to lord it over the environment?

There are 3 points that are necessary for everybody to understand.

The first point is, how to save myself from mortality. I am surrounded by death. So, please, I request the intelligent guides and scientists; please guide me toward eternal existence.

And what is the second point that is necessary for everybody to understand? That I am in darkness, I am in ignorance. So please teach me, give me knowledge and guide me towards light, towards real knowledge.

And the third point is that I am threatened with misery. I am always experiencing difficulties, suffering, obstacles, and unhappiness. So please show me the way towards bliss.

So fulfilling these three needs of eternity, knowledge and bliss – this should be the guiding principle of all human beings. I am searching for eternality. I am eternal. I am sat. I am searching for understanding, or knowledge or awareness, abilities. But I am full of abilities and knowledge. I have cit. And I am seeking for happiness, thrills, delight, excitement, variety, travel, consumption, exploitation, happiness, joy… but I am bliss. I am anand. I am sat-cit-anand.

So these are the true needs. And this should be the guiding principle of all humans.

By extending the area of exploitation, as the scientists are doing, then reaction will come. We will become exploited ourselves. Nature won’t forgive you. It is all blank cheques; post-dated cheques with no capital to back it. Whatever scientists are giving us, we must pay back with interest. This is the basic philosophy of India.

If we analyze the mind and reasoning faculty, then we can decide clearly, what is really our need? What is really our ultimate necessity? Our energy - our precious, vital, human energy - should be invested and used rightly and correctly to achieve the best and most perfect result – self saving.

The first principle of a human being is to save oneself. And then save others. Tamso Ma Jyotirgamaya, come out of ignorance and come to the light of pure knowledge. This is science.

But now science is simply extending the area of exploitation by borrowing from nature, exploiting nature. We should understand clearly that very soon we will face reaction. Science is suicidal and scientists are threatening the whole world with atomic bombs. This is not the pursuit of eternality, knowledge and eternal bliss.