The modern civilization has trained up educated people in such a way that the more you think yourself, “I am this body – ‘I am American,’ ‘I am Indian,’ ‘I am brahmana,’ ‘I am this, I am that’ ” – and you feel and act like that and create trouble like that – then you are called civilized. Is it not? Hmm? This is the defect of modern civilization. The more you keep yourself in the darkness of accepting this body as yourself – national feeling, social feeling, family feeling, community feeling – then… But we are speaking from a different platform. Our movement is Krsna consciousness. So Krsna begins His teaching from a different platform. He begins from the platform of the soul, dhiras tatra na muhyati. His teaching to Arjuna begins, first of all convincing him that “You are not this body.

Srila Prabhupada – Lecture, 26 Feb 1977