Bacteria

Expressions researched:
"bacteria" |"bacteria's" |"bacterial" |"bacteriology" |"bacterium"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Melbourne, June 29, 1974 :

So, we are..., if we are fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa takes our all sinful, because continually we are suffering. What is that? Because, just like the same example, a infection. I have infected, say, two, three kinds of disease, so I am suffering from one infection, again another infection. They come. They take time. Just like if you sow a seed, it not that immediately becomes a big tree and fruits. No. It takes some time. Similarly, our pāpa-bījam, the seed of sinful activity, we take it, but in the, immediately we may not see that it is fructified, but it will, in due course of time, it will. Same (indistinct), that one man has infected cholera bacteria, so not that immediately he is attacked with cholera; say after a few days. Therefore the injection is given, and that time is allowed in the medical treatment, so that if the infection has actually working, the disease will come. So immediately we may not see that we are infected with some certain type of sinful activities, but it will come into notice That is going on. Therefore we shall be careful not to infect. And how to become careful? If you always engage yourself in Kṛṣṇa's service. Therefore the Deity worship in the temple is there to keep us always engaged. Not only Deity worship. The class, reading, hearing, kīrtana. In so many ways. There are nine different kinds of ways,

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ

smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam

arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ

sakhyam ātma...

Any way, if you keep yourself always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in Kṛṣṇa's business, then you are immune. You will not be infected. This is the process. Keep yourself always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness business, you will always remain immune.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.14-16 -- San Francisco, March 24, 1967:

Now there are living entities of different grades. There is one living entity, it is very small, microscopic bacteria. It's name is indra. Don't think that bacteria was unknown in the past. The bacteria's also were known. In the Vedic literatures they were known. So there is one... They have got different names. Not that simply they say "bacteria." So one bacteria is called indra-gopa. It is very small. It is to be seen by microscope. So Brahma-saṁhitā says that beginning from this indra, the indra-gopa bacteria, up to the Indra... Another Indra is, he is called the heavenly king. His name is also Indra. This bacteria is called indra-gopa, and the other Indra, who is king of the heaven, he is called Indra. So Brahma-saṁhitā says beginning from this Indra up to that Indra... Beginning from that bacteria up to the king of heaven, yas tv indra-gopam athavendram aho sva-karma, everyone is enjoying or suffering according to his own activities. Gopam aho sva-karma-bandhānurūpa-phala-bhājanam ātanoti (Bs. 5.54). Bandha, the same thing, nibandhanam. According to the knot of fruitive result, everyone is enjoying or suffering. Karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām. But one who is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service, his karma-nibandhana is cut off. Karmāṇi chindanti.

Lecture on SB 7.7.22-26 -- San Francisco, March 10, 1967:

So this analytical study is called sāṅkhya philosophy. Sāṅkhya philosophy, you have heard the name. They very nicely analyze these material elements, and this sāṅkhya philosophy of India is very much appreciated by European philosophers because they are more or less materialists. But the sāṅkhya philosophy, sāṅkhya kara (?), has become very popular in European circle. So vikārāḥ ṣoḍaśācāryaiḥ pumān ekaḥ samanvayāt. Now, within this, these sixteen interactional presentation and eight differentiated energies, it makes twenty-four. Within these twenty-four interactions of this material energy, I am sitting. I am soul, spirit soul. Dehas tu sarva-saṅghāto jagat tasthur iti dvidhā (SB 7.6.23). Now, these twenty-four, I mean to say, manifestation, is called this body. And that body are also two kinds. What are? That some bodies are moving, and some bodies are stationary. Just like trees, plants, they are also living entities. They are also living entities, and we, human beings, or animals... There are divisions. Several times we have discussed. There are 8,400,000 of species of life. Out of these, trees and plants they are two millions. And the aquatics, there are 900,000's. Similarly, the bacteria, worms and reptiles, they are sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati kṛmayo rudra-saṇkhayakāḥ, eleven..., 1,100,000's. There are analytical study in the Vedic knowledge. They are experimented, and if you like, can experiment yourself also. Just like the information is that there are 900,000's of aquatics. Now, if you have got power to study how many aquatics are there, you can corroborate. Or two millions of plants and trees and creepers—that also, you can corroborate. But we get from Vedic literature these informations. So these are the different manufactures, different presentation of this interaction of these twenty-four elements. Dehas tu sarva-saṅghāto jagat tasthur iti dvidhā. And this deha, this body, is divided into two classes of body: one class, moving, and one class, not moving, standing stationary.

Lecture on SB 7.7.22-26 -- San Francisco, March 10, 1967:

Atraiva mṛgyaḥ puruṣaḥ neti netīty atat tyajan. Now, if you are intelligent enough, then you can find out the puruṣa. Purusa means the enjoyer. We... I have got this body because I wanted a certain type of enjoyment. So nature has given me a certain type of body. You wanted certain type of enjoyment: the nature has given you a certain type of body. The tiger wanted a certain type of enjoyment, so he, it has got a certain type of body. Similarly, every one of us, in the 8,400,000's of species of life, we have got different bodies. But the soul is there. The soul, the individual soul, is within the elephant, and the individual soul is within the bacteria. Bacteria you cannot find with your open eyes. You have to see with a microscope. It has got the same soul. As the elephant has got the same soul, similarly, the bacteria has also got the same soul. Atraiva mṛgyaḥ puruṣo neti neti. Now you have to analyze. You have to analyze what is soul and what is not soul. That requires intelligence. Just like the other day I explained to you that if you think yourself, meditate on your self, that "Am I this hand? Am I this leg? Am I these eyes? Am I this ear?" oh, you'll say, "No, no, I am not this hand. I am not this leg." You'll understand. If you meditate, you'll understand. But when you come to the point of consciousness, you'll say, "Yes, I am this." This is meditation. This is meditation, analytical study of yourself.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Hayagrīva: He does..., he says he doesn't know at what point the soul enters, but the soul is in anything that moves. Is that correct?

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Hayagrīva: Even a...

Prabhupāda: The soul moves.

Hayagrīva: ...bacteria for instance, or an ant.

Prabhupāda: So ant moves because there is soul; the bacteria moves there because there is soul. Similarly, the man moves because there is soul. An animal moves because there is soul.

Hayagrīva: And every soul is immortal.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Dr. Weir of the Mensa Society -- September 5, 1971, London:

Prabhupāda: Just like grass, straw. The cows are eating straw and giving the most vitaminous food, milk, full of vitamins A and D. But if you scientifically say that there is, I mean to say, vitamins in the grass and straw, then you eat straw. Vitamins is there. Why it is (indistinct). Your analysis of enzyme and vitamin. How you can say milk does not... (break) ...then you'll die. Why this law is there? The cow is producing most vitaminous food, milk, by simply eating dry grass and straw.

Dr. Weir: No, with respect, Swami, no, by simply imbibing at the same time bacteria which flourish in its intestines and are necessary for it to be able to metabolize this straw. We couldn't metabolize straw...

Prabhupāda: But you're lacking that bacteria. You're lacking that bacteria. The bacteria which the cows have, you haven't got.

Dr. Weir: We've got them but we've killed them.

Mensa Member: ...another analogy.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 9, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: There is an experiment that was done by Pasteur, a French scientist a long time ago. In that experiment he boiled some, I think it was water. Because normally the water, without boiling there are so many microorganisms, small, small living entities, that can be detected under microscope. He wanted to know whether life started from some ingredients inside or just life started from life. So he boiled this solution and he kept for some time under very careful covering so that there is no contamination from outside. And then there was no life. He couldn't find any organisms. So they said, "Life starts from matter." That is one of the experiments.

Prabhupāda: What is that experiment?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Boil water first of all. Without boiling water, they can detect so many organisms, small, small bacteria and these small, small living entities under microscope. But when they would boil it and it kept for some time, and then they tested, there was no organisms.

Prabhupāda: But that microscope is imperfect. That is our contention. Because the living entities, the dimension of the living entity is 1/10,000th part of the top of your hair. So what you can see?

Karandhara: Also, they make the condition unsuitable for the spirit soul to occupy. Just like if we take and kill all these bodies and put them somewhere, and come back in a week, it's not that life will come back to the bodies. They make the circumstances unsuitable for the spirit soul.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is another explanation. It takes time. Besides that, according to Bhagavad-gītā, life is not killed by fire. Aśoṣyo 'yam adāhyo 'yam. You have not read it? Adāhyaḥ: "It cannot be burnt into fire." So how life can be killed by boiling water? That is their nonsense.

Morning Walk -- December 6, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prof. Wolfe: Śrīla Prabhupāda, isn't it so that we do not kill voluntarily. Because involuntarily, of course, we kill with every moment? We kill all the bacteria and we kill all the microbes and...

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes.

Prof. Wolfe: And we cannot help doing that.

Prabhupāda: Therefore you have to become servant of Kṛṣṇa; you are not responsible. Just like government servant, police, and military kills, but he's not responsible. He's not responsible. Their business is killing, soldiers, but they are rewarded: "Oh, thank you very much. Take this title." Just Arjuna, just like Arjuna killed on the order of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa gave him cert..., bhakto 'si priyo 'si me: (BG 4.3) "You are My very dear friend. You are my devotee." So we have to act by the order of the Supreme. Then we are not responsible.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- June 9, 1974, Paris:

Nitāi: In New York, they're anticipating a crisis because for many years, they've been taking all their trash and rubbish and putting it out in the sea. And now that whole part of the sea is coming in towards land, very, very contaminated.

Bhagavān: Yes. The article said that they dump their garbage in a certain area, and nothing can grow there except the most poisonous bacteria. And now that whole business is moving back towards the population.

Prabhupāda: Reaction. Everything... Yajñārthe karmaṇo yatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ (BG 3.9). Whatever you do, you are bound up by the reaction. That is nature's law.

Morning Walk at Marina del Rey -- July 12, 1974, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: About four billion years ago, the small species like unicellular species like the bacteria and these started about four billions years ago. And the human life started...

Prabhupāda: Well, where started? Bacteria?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. In the earth.

Prabhupāda: Then the earth was there.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, before that earth was formed.

Prabhupāda: Then where is the creation.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: When, they say, the earth, first the earth was formed, and after that, it took some time to make some living entities.

Prabhupāda: That may be, but how the earth came into existence?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They have several theories about that.

Prabhupāda: Not only one earth, but there are so many.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 27, 1975, Honolulu:

Bali-mardana: The scientists say that in the beginning of the planet there were only little bacteria and algae.

Prabhupāda: His father, his great-grandfather. The scientists' great-grandfather, bacteria. Because from that bacteria his father developed and he was born, so therefore the bacteria his great-grandfather.

Bali-mardana: Yes, they say that.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that's all right. Then how you got so much knowledge?

Bali-mardana: From fossils.

Prabhupāda: From bacteria? How rascals they are.

Morning Walk -- July 16, 1975, San Francisco:

Dharmādhyakṣa: Bacteriology, study of germs. So Śrīla Prabhupāda, the reason one person gets a disease from a germ and another person doesn't get a disease, it is karma?

Prabhupāda: No, that is infection. If you are weak, you are infected. That is the science. One who is not weak, he does not become infected. Just like in your country there are so many liquor shop, but you are not interested. So it is like that.

Dharmādhyakṣa: We have a little strength through your divine grace.

Prabhupāda: Yes. There are so many slaughterhouses, but we are not infected. So it is the strength that saves one man from infection.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- April 22, 1976, Melbourne:

Brian Singer: In the Kṛṣṇa teachings, the person is not the body but the soul, which is like many religions. Also, some animals, animals also, are not the body but the soul. This is true? Like the cow and the dog and the cat?

Prabhupāda: Yes, everywhere soul is there. Just like the soul is there in the child, in the boy, in the young man, in the middle-aged man, in the old man.

Brian Singer: Yeah, I understand this.

Prabhupāda: So similarly, soul is everywhere.

Brian Singer: And in the animal also? In the dog?

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.

Brian Singer: Yeah? And how far down in the animal world? Like you have the worm and also bacteria and the virus. Is also true?

Prabhupāda: That is the difference. I have already told you that the soul is in the child, and the soul is in the body of the father, but the child's soul is.... Or.... Soul is everywhere, but the proportionate consciousness is not developed. Just like wood. In every wood there is fire. Do you admit?

Brian Singer: In every...?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Wood.

Brian Singer: Oh, yeah, yeah.

Prabhupāda: Now, if a small piece of wood, a small piece of fire. And big piece of wood, big piece of fire. Similarly, according to the body, the consciousness of the soul is present.

Brian Singer: In proportion to the form of life.

Prabhupāda: In proportion to the body the.... The same fire, but the proportion of the fire is different, in proportion of the piece of wood. Similarly, according to the body, the consciousness is manifest. The consciousness of a child is different from the consciousness of the father because the body is different. So in the human form of life it is expected that the consciousness should be fully developed. If it does not develop by some reason or other, then it remains like animal. In the human form of life it is expected that the consciousness should be fully developed.

Brian Singer: In animals...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Brian Singer: ...it's there, but it isn't developed.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Devotee (2): Yes, that's correct. In animals the soul is there, but the consciousness is not developed.

Prabhupāda: Not developed. But you cannot say there is no soul. Sometimes they say foolishly that the animal, there is no soul. That is foolishness. Everywhere there is soul. It is not developed.

Room Conversation -- July 2, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Hari-śauri: Now they are putting out the same kind of propaganda about Mars that formerly they were putting out about the moon—that there may be life—so that they can use that as an excuse to go. I just read a little bit where they say that due to information sent back by the last spaceship that they sent to Mars, now they think that there's more water vapor in the atmosphere than they at first thought. So that means that there's a good possibility that there may be some bacterial life on Mars. So (laughs) they don't... And then they state that the temperature ranges from-130 to +40 degrees farenheit. So that means that there could be life there in a bacterial form.

Prabhupāda: And why there is no life in moon planet? Some scientists say the temperature is two hundred degrees less than the zero.

Hari-śauri: Yes, at night when they said, because there's no atmosphere.

Prabhupāda: But why these rascals say it is full of dust, and how from the dust so much light is coming, illuminating the whole universe? What is their logic? They have already brought the dust. That dust does not illuminate.

Morning Walk -- July 5, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Sadāpūta: Do we accept the way bacteria's reproduce, by fission, splitting in half? I know Kapiladeva instructs there are four different methods—the egg, the lump of flesh, etc. The scientists are saying that bacteria split in half and produce two daughter cells.

Prabhupāda: Bacteria is produced from fermentation. Sveda-ja. Just like nasty bedding, from your perspiration, if you don't clean, then bugs will come. Sveda-ja. In India, the Europeans they eat meat, and automatically bugs and germs come within their coat and shirt due to bad perspiration.

Hari-śauri: When you say that they're born from perspiration like cockroaches, does that mean that the eggs are laid by the female and then the atmosphere of perspiration enables the eggs to be hatched? Like that?

Prabhupāda: No, from the perspiration automatically it comes.

Morning Walk -- July 5, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Rūpānuga: The common people think that by cooking the meat they kill so many worms and germs in their meat.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Rūpānuga: But studies have shown that certain worms and germs are not killed, and they are ingested into the body and cause diseases.

Prabhupāda: You take the yogurt, even by microscope, you see so many germs.

Hari-śauri: Yogurt is made by...

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Even a drop of water there is...

Prabhupāda: Bacteria. Lactic acid. Bacteria.

Rūpānuga: I've seen that these cattle that are raised for eating, they are not like dairy cows. Dairy cows are much cleaner. Beef cattle are very dirty animals. They have no clean habits. They are almost like pigs.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Still, they should be protected, though. They should be used for plowing.

Prabhupāda: No, if they are not cows, there is no need of protection. When gives milk, that is cow.

Room Conversation With Scientists -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: There are in fact some reports in the last few years that there is some bacteria that can survive in the medium of ammonia-ammonia is alkaline solution. Normally life survives in...

Prabhupāda: Life survives in fire, water, fire. That is our information.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Also they proved that there are certain bacteria that can survive in about a 170 degrees. High temperature.

Prabhupāda: Why bacteria? Human beings. Otherwise, how Kṛṣṇa is speaking the sun-god? Imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1). Simply the sun-god is alone living?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No.

Prabhupāda: Then the sun planet there are living entities. Their body is made of fire, that's all.

Interview and Conversation -- July 8, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Hari-śauri: There was one report. They said there may be some bacteria there. They thought there was a possibility of bacteria.

Mādhava: They did not see anything grow. In the winter everything dies, everything becomes brown, and in the spring everything becomes green. In these other planets they don't see anything like that, changes.

Prabhupāda: Their seeing is not perfect. Now it is up to you scientists to answer all these.

Room Conversation -- July 10, 1976, New York:

Hari-śauri: They say even if there's life on another planet, at most it could be bacteria.

Prabhupāda: Nonsense. If bacteria is there, why not others?

Hari-śauri: Well the thing is that if they say that there's other life, then they'd have to show it. But they don't know what's there because they've never been. So they have to show either there's no life and here's some rocks, which they got from this planet, or at most there's only bacteria, which they can also produce here and say it's there. But they can't show any advanced life because they don't know.

Prabhupāda: They have never gone. Simply bluff. That is my point.

Ṛṣi-kumāra: Whenever they don't know something, they say it doesn't exist.

Prabhupāda: I have got evidence, our Vedic literature.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Conversations with Kirtana Groups -- May 29, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Recently they also found out that there are some, called bacteria. They live in a very unusual circumstances. They can survive to 150 degrees. And sometimes they live inside ammonia, ammonia solution, without water. They can survive.

Prabhupāda: Not without water. There is water, but not as much. Just like on the land there is water, but in the sea there are so much water. So there is life; there is life. We don't say that in the land there is no water. Everywhere is there different. So this evolution, jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi, it has developed the same way. The first life comes out... Then everywhere there is life. The transportation from higher planet to lower planet, water.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Water?

Prabhupāda: The rainfall. With the rainfall, those who are fallen souls, they are coming down. Then takes shelter within the atom. Then again grows.