Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27): as I have associated with the three guṇas. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ. If I associated with (54:55) sattva-guṇa, then I will be promoted to the higher planetary systems. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ (BG 14.18).
If I have associated with rajo-guṇa, then I shall remain in this planet, middle planetary system. And jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ: and if we have associated with the tamo-guṇa, the quality of darkness, ignorance, then I will be gliding down to the animal life.
These things are stated. We have to understand through śāstra. We cannot see our past, present and future, but if we see through the śāstras . . . Śāstra-cakṣusā: "You should try to see from the śāstra." Actually, we understand everything through śāstra, not directly. Just like we understand in modern science from the newspaper that somebody is trying to go to the moon planet. I do not go personally to the moon planet, but I accept the newspaper.
Similarly, we have to accept śāstra, how things are going on beyond our experience. Without that, we cannot have knowledge. That is called Vedic process. Śruti-jñānam. Śruti means hearing from authorities. That is real knowledge. Śrotra-panthā. It is called śrotra-panthā.