- bahu-rūpa ivābhāti
- māyayā bahu-rūpayā
- ramamāṇo guṇeṣv asyā
- mamāham iti manyate
- (SB 2.9.2)
Bahu-rūpa means varieties of forms, 8,400,000's of forms. Ivābhāti: "It appears like that." Therefore, when one is advanced in spiritual consciousness, he does not see the varieties of form, because these varieties of form are not real. Anyone can understand that. Any form . . . today we have got a form. Take a photograph of it, and few hours after, the form has changed. So that is not permanent form. It is changing. Just like you see in the cloud. From airplane you can experience.
The cloud . . . you are running. You are seeing one form. After few minutes, that form is changing to different form. Therefore it is called ivābhāti. You immediately see a cloud just like big elephant, but after a few minutes you see the cloud, the same cloud, is changed into just like a big hill, another, a big tree. So this is going on. Today I am Indian, you are American, but next birth or after few years, although American, the body is changing. Body is changing. Therefore it is written there, ivābhāti: "as if it has got a body." "As if." Ivābhāti: "It appears." But māyā is so strong. Bahu-rūpa ivābhāti . . . what is the next word? Māyayā?
Bali-mardana: Māyayā bahu-rūpayā (SB 2.9.2).
Prabhupāda: Bahu-rūpayā. These bahu-rūpa, these varieties of rūpa, form, is given by māyā. So this is intelligence. Just like mother, or like a small child, dressing morning in some way, in the evening another way, changing dresses. Māyā is our mother, and she is giving us a different type of dresses, māyayā bahu-rūpayā, and therefore we are changing into bahu-rūpa.
But because we are attached to the dress, so according to the form, we are forming our consciousness. Now I have got a different body, different form, so I have got a different consciousness. You have got a different body; you have got a different consciousness. So everyone, all living entities . . . the dog is thinking . . . because he has got a dog's body, he thinks, "I am dog." "I am American," the same way. This is all māyā. Bahu-rūpa ivābhāti māyayā bahu-rūpayā. Then, next?
Bali-mardana: Ramamāṇo.
Prabhupāda: Ramamāṇa.
Bali-mardana: Ramamāṇo guṇeṣva . . .
Prabhupāda: Guṇeṣu. And according to the body, he is enjoying different variety of enjoyment. So when I have got a tiger's body, so my taste for food will be most abominable, fresh blood, like that. And if I have got a hog's body, then I shall feel pleasure by eating stool. And when I am a Vaiṣṇava—Vaiṣṇava's also transcendental—or a brahmin's body, then I will be pleased with nice foodstuff, sattvika, sattvika foodstuff. Sattvika foodstuff means rice, wheat and vegetables, fruits, milk products and sugar. These are foodstuffs in goodness. Similarly, foodstuff in passion, foodstuff in ignorance. These are described in the Bhagavad-gītā, Eighteenth Chapter.
In Hong Kong I saw from the garbage one Chinese woman was finding out rejected serpent-like preparations or something. First of all, it is rejected; it is thrown in the garbage. And from the garbage, according to her taste, she is finding out some nice foodstuff. You see? Just see. Kadarya bhakṣaṇa kare, nānā yoni . . . (Prema-bhakti-candrikā). So according to the body, dehinam. Deha yogena dehiṣu.
According to the body, we get different taste of enjoyment. Somebody is enjoying most abominable things, somebody is enjoying very nice—but according to the body. Therefore, if you become transcendental to your body, then your taste will be transcendental. If your taste is . . . as the body is changing, ramamāṇa, you cannot enjoy. If you are in the transcendental position, you cannot enjoy like the woman in Hong Kong, finding out in the garbage. You see?
So people are trying to give service to the humanity. What service they can take, give? I have got a taste for a certain thing. How you can change my taste? Ramamāṇa. I want to enjoy because I am under the grips of material nature. So I have got a certain type of taste. You cannot change it. If I say: "Don't drink," unless you are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it is impossible to give up this drinking. That has already been tested. The American government, they are trying.
They are spending so much money to stop these intoxication habits of the young men. They cannot, because they are ramamāṇa māyayā. They are pulled by the ear of the person, "You must drink this." Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni (BG 3.27). Prakṛti, nature, material nature is pulling you, "You must drink." So unless one is free from the management of the prakṛti, prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni, it is impossible. So they are trying to give lesson that "Don't drink," "Vegetarians." There are so many societies. In Hong Kong I saw so many societies.
(aside) Hong Kong, or where I saw?
Devotee: Australia.
Prabhupāda: Australia. Yes. There are so many societies, vegetarian societies, nondrinking societies. That is nice, but they cannot stay. By forming ordinary society or imposing some law by the state, you cannot stop. You have many laws to stop stealing, still there are thieves. That is not possible. You have so many laws not to do something. But because everyone is under the grip of prakṛti, material nature, how he can change? It is not possible.
So that is the mistake of the modern civilization. They do not know that by passing laws or giving some moral instruction, we cannot change the habits. Prakṛti is very strong, material nature. The only solution is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Unless one comes to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness platform, he cannot give up his habits. It is not possible. So if you want to . . . therefore it is purificatory process.
The more you advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you become purified from all this influence of māyā, because it is acting by māyayā bahu-rūpayā. And as soon as you come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even if you have got a different form, a different bodily form, because you are aloof from that, your . . . you are not affected by the influence of māyā.
Just like anyone who is coming to Kṛṣṇa consciousness in any country, they are forgetting their bodily consciousness. Just like in our Society we have got members from different parts of the world. Especially in Africa we have seen, there is very much distinction between white and black. But in our Society there is no such distinction. The Indians there, they hated with the . . .
Because the Africans are working as servant to Indians. So now this time they agreed to take prasādam, all in the same line. The Europeans, Americans, Indians, Africans, even brahmins, high caste, all. I also. We sat down to take prasādam. In our Māyāpur they are distributing prasādam. Perhaps it is for the first time that Hindus and Muslims are taking prasādam in one line.
Devotee: All glories to you, Śrīla Prabhupāda!
Prabhupāda: Yes. It is for the first, at least the first time. And Congress arranged during Congress session, Hindus and Muslims . . . but that was not with heart. And after the Congress meeting was finished, they . . . but here they daily, they are daily coming, taking prasādam. Why not? Prasādam is Kṛṣṇa's prasādam.
So actually, the United Nation or united people can be possible only in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Otherwise it is not. The māyā. Everyone is under the influence of māyā, bahu-rūpayā. So long he is under the influence of māyā, he must think in terms of his own form. That is temporary, but he is attached to that temporary form. He must think that, "I am this," "I am that," "I am . . ." So it is a very important verse. Read it again. Bahu . . .
Bali-mardana: Bahu-rūpa ivābhāti.
Prabhupāda: Bahu-rūpa ivābhāti.
Bali-mardana: Bahu-rūpa ivābhāti māyayā . . . (break)
Prabhupāda: Maya has three guṇas, modes. So somebody is in passion, somebody is in ignorance, somebody is in goodness. Even one is in goodness, goodness is also another. It may be higher quality, but that is māyā quality. One has to go above goodness. Here there are many persons, they are very clean.
That is a brahminical quality, sattva ṣama śauca, very clean, truthful, controlled, so many qualifications, but still, that is māyā. Still that is māyā. To become on the platform of brahminical, satya śama dama titikṣa ārjava, jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyam brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42), so even . . . this is the platform of goodness, brahminical qualification.