(Prabhupada's lecture - Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.15.44 - Los-Angeles, December 22, 1973)
So hṛdi brahma paraṁ dhyāyan. This is the principle. If you want to stop repetition of birth and death... This is our real problem, but people are so poor in knowledge, they do not know what is the problem. They are tackling some temporary problem: "There is no petrol, there is no this, there is no that." Well, even petrol is there, but what of yourself? Are you going to live here forever? That is not problem. I am making arrangement for my sense gratification very nicely-skyscraper building, and very nice car, very nice bank balance, everything. That's all right. But you are going to live permanently? What is the answer, my dear scientist? No answer. Just see. You construct a house with a hope that you shall live here, but if you are informed, "Oh, you are going to die tomorrow," will you take that responsibility, constructing, spending millions of dollars? "Oh, I am going to die?" That is natural. That is natural.
So before making nice arrangement for our living condition, first of all make this condition sure that you are going to live actually, you will live comfortably. Is that guaranteed? No, that is not guaranteed. At any moment you will be kicked out. Any moment. So that is real problem. First of all make yourself assured that you will not be kicked out. Just like even we enter an apartment, we make so many agreement with the landlord, this condition, that condition. What is the idea? That I may not be kicked out, I may not be kicked out tomorrow. The landlord may say, "Get out." This is the agreement you make. So what is the agreement for your living condition?