The threefold miseries are called adhyātmika, adhibhautika, and adhidaivika. The word adhyātmika refers to those miseries caused by the mind and body. Sometimes the living entity suffers bodily, and sometimes he is distressed mentally. Both are adhyātmika miseries. We experience these miseries even in the womb of our mother. As we well know, there are many types of miseries that take advantage of the delicate human body and give us pain. Miseries inflicted by other living entities are called adhibhautika. These living entities need not even be large, for there are many—such as bugs—that can make us miserable even while we are sleeping in bed. There are many insignificant living entities, like cockroaches, that sometimes give us pain, and there are also other living entities who are born on different kinds of planets and who give us miseries. As far as the adhidaivika miseries are concerned, these are natural disasters that originate with the demigods of the higher planets. For instance, we sometimes suffer from severe cold or hot weather, from a thunderbolt, or from earthquakes, tornadoes, droughts and many natural disasters. In any case, we are always suffering from either one or a combination of these three kinds of miseries.
Natural disasters
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
Conversations and Morning Walks
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Young man: If the laws of nature are the laws of God, then how is it that sometimes they're even crueler than the actions..., they are more violent than the actions which ordinary men do, than that of a tyrant or a murderer?
Prabhupāda: No, no. Rules, God rules, are perfect, and it is being perfectly done. Sometimes we misunderstand.
Young man: Then how do we take the meaning of earthquakes and natural disasters which could destroy the lives of pure people as well as impure people?
Prabhupāda: No, every life is pure. The body is pure and impure. So anyway, after destruction, the life is not destroyed. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). The destruction of body does not mean that the soul is destroyed. No. He gets another body. The body is... one body is destroyed, and he transmigrates to another body. And so far your question about the earthquake, so suppose if there is plane crash, there are many good men, bad men, so everyone is crashed. But the good man gets a good body again; the bad man gets a bad body again.
Young man: The good man gets a better body or a good body?
Prabhupāda: Good, better or worst, bad, according to his karma. Just like your shirt. You throw away on account of being old. Now you have to purchase another. But there are many varieties of shirt-coat. As you pay for it, you get. If you can pay nice price, you get silk shirt-coat. But if you cannot, you get ordinary cotton or jute. So your body will be according to your karma, or work.
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Rādhāvallabha: In one BTG article, you described increase in women population as a natural disaster.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Rādhāvallabha: So when one woman read this article, she became very angry. She came back and was very angry.
Prabhupāda: She may be angry. She is woman and man. Actually this is physiological. If a man is too much addicted to sex life, he'll become impotent, and if he begets child, it will be a girl. With no potency to give birth to a male child.... That requires potency.
Haṁsadūta: When we were going around in London making life members, I noticed that in so many families, all the children are girls.
Prabhupāda: Yes. The whole world is full of girls, girl children. Why? There is no potency. Potency finished. Or impotent. And if you keep one boy brahmacārī, no sex life, and get him married, the first child must be a boy, must be, without any doubt.
Lokanātha: That means, then, woman is more potent than...
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Yes. The Āyur-vedic formula is that when there is discharge, woman's discharge, more, means girl, and man's discharge, more, means boy. This is physiological.
Correspondence
1969 Correspondence
Regarding your worries about natural disasters in Los Angeles, thank you for your cares for me. But Krishna is always giving protection and there is no cause of concern. There was a slight storm at night for two or three days, but that was not very much of a disturbance for me. I am glad to note that you are making improvements in the temple's paraphernalia. That should be your primary engagement. Please also take good care of this boy Charles. He is new, and you must help him so that he will not be poisoned by the influence of maya.
| Page Title: | Natural disasters |
| Compiler: | Labangalatika |
| Created: | 22 of May, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=1, Lec=0, Con=2, Let=1 |
| No. of Quotes: | 4 |