It is creditable if a human behaves as a human being. It is laudable if they behave as God, that they really are! But to behave as a demon or as a beast is despicable indeed! For, people were long born a mineral, died a mineral; then they promoted themselves to be born as a tree and died as a tree. Subsequently they got promoted as an animal, and finally rose to the status of a human being. This rise from one scale to another has been acknowledged by science and spiritual experience. Now alas, they are born as human and die as human. It is a greater shame if they slide into a beast or a beastly ogre. Praise is due, only if they rise to the divine status. That is real fulfilment of one’s destiny. Therefore resolve today to avoid contact with vices, develop attachment to virtues, and transmute your heart into an altar for your beloved Lord.

- Bhagavatha Vahini, Ch 1, 'The Bhagavatha'.