Eating—there is enough fruit in the tree. The birds very nicely jumping over from one tree to another, eatings. Sleeping—they have got a nest; at night, without any disturbance, they sleep. Mating—with the birth they are two eggs, one male and one female. Sex life is there. And defending—they know. The bird, if you attack, they immediately go up. He knows how to defend. The . . . you see in the . . . (indistinct) . . . park, the swans, as soon as we are passing, immediately jump over the water. They know how to defend. In this morning there is a small mouse, he has gone up to collect a sweetmeat.
So these intelligence are there even in the lowest animal, even in the ant. So advancement of civilization . . . how to make this body comfortable, that is not advancement of civilization. That kind of civilization is there even in the cats and dogs. They know. Nobody has to go to university to learn how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex life, how to defend. Nobody hasn't got to. It doesn't require education. It is already there, everyone. If you attack me, I shall immediately defend with my hand. You see? Natural. So ekāntataḥ śreyas means don't spoil this human form of life only for satisfying the animal propensities. You try to advance in spiritual consciousness. That is ekāntataḥ śreyas.