We should not forget. It is also explained that the Paramātmā, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is living in everyone's heart as īśvara, as the controller and He is giving direction. He is giving direction. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭhaḥ (BG 15.15), everyone's heart He is situated, and He gives direction to act as he desires. The living entity forgets what to do. First of all he makes his determination to act in a certain way, and then he is entangled in the actions and reactions of his own karma. But after giving up one type of body, when he enters another type of body... Just like we give up one kind of dress, one type of dress, for another type of dress, similarly, it is explained in this Bhagavad-gītā that vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya (BG 2.22). One, as one changes his different dresses, similarly the living entities, they are also changing different bodies, transmigration of the soul, and pulling on the actions and reactions of his past activities. So these activities can be changed when a living being is in the mode of goodness, in sanity, and he understands what sort of activities he should adopt, and if he does so, then the whole action and reactions of his past activities can be changed. Therefore karma is not eternal. Other things, out of the four, five items—īśvara, jīva, prakṛti, kāla, and karma—these four items are eternal, whereas the karma, the item known as karma, that is not eternal.
Type of body (Lectures, BG)
Expressions researched:
"type of a body"
|"type of body"
|"type of gross body"
|"type of material body"
|"type of mechanical body"
|"type of spiritual body"
|"types of abominable body"
|"types of bodies"
|"types of body"
|"types of hellish bodies"
|"types of material bodies"
|"types of temporary body"
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
So when we try to connect with the Supreme, then we can understand there is God and I am also there. We have got intimate relationship. That is explained in the Vedas. Two birds are sitting on the same tree. One bird is eating the fruit and the other bird is simply witnessing. The witnessing bird is God, Kṛṣṇa, and the eating bird is the living entity. So God is witnessing all our activities, and our mental situation. So He orders māyā, the external energy, prakṛti, that "He requires to be given a body like this," and the material nature gives the living entity a particular type of body, and they are numbering 8,400,000. So there is no certainty what kind of body I am going to get next life. But in the Bhagavad-gītā it is explained that if you are situated on the mode of goodness, then you will get your place in the higher planetary system.
- ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā
- madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ
- jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā
- adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ
- (BG 14.18)
There are three qualities, material nature. They are working. And we are under the influence of either of them. Either in the influence of goodness, or in the influence of passion, or in the influence of ignorance. So when we are under the influence of ignorance, jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti, then our behavior and activities becomes very abominable, very, very much abominable. Especially in this Kali-yuga, it is stated that people will have no fixed time for eating or sleeping or taking bath. In this way their bodily features will be like ghost.
For every little action, you are responsible. It is being noted by the material nature. And you will be forced to accept a kind of body for suffering. In so many types of bodies. Therefore Arjuna, being devatā, he is considering that "Although they are ātatāyinaḥ, at the same time, they are family men. Whether it is good to kill family?" He is asking Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is there. He is considering, he is consulting with Kṛṣṇa that "Do you think that killing this kind of aggressor, I will be benefitted or not?" Therefore in the last line he said, sva-janaṁ hi kathaṁ hatvā sukhinaḥ syāma mādhava: (BG 1.36) "My dear Kṛṣṇa, do you think by killing my family men, my relatives, shall I be happy? You are Mādhava. You are always happy because You are husband of goddess of fortune. But do you think I shall be happy in this way?" This is consultation.
So this is the proof of Arjuna's character, a devotee's character. A devotee is always devatā, demigod. So one who is devotee, one who is Kṛṣṇa conscious, sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). Sura means devatā. All the good qualities of devatā. A devotee of Kṛṣṇa will never accept that killing is very good. No. "For the satisfaction of my tongue, I shall kill so many animals." A devotee will never accept. Ahiṁśa. Ahiṁśa. That is the third quality. Amānitvam adambhitvaṁ ahiṁśā kṣāntir ārjavam (BG 13.8). These are... Everything is there in the Bhagavad-gītā. Amānitvam. Amānitvam means to accept this body as "I am." This is amānitvam, er, not to accept. That is amānitvam. Everyone is proud that "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Englishman." So it is boastful, very proud of this body. So knowledge means "I am not this body.
Yantra: it is a machine. This machine has been given by Kṛṣṇa to me because I desired that "If I get a machine like a human body, then I can enjoy like this." So Kṛṣṇa fulfills your desire: "All right." And if I think, "If I get a machine in which I can directly suck blood of other animal," "All right," Kṛṣṇa says, "you take the machine of a tiger's body and use it." So this is going on. Therefore His name is Hṛṣīkeśa. And when we understand properly that "I am not the proprietor of this body. Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor of the body. I wanted a certain type of body to use it for my sense gratification. He has given it and I am not happy. Therefore I shall learn how to use this machine for the proprietor," this is called bhakti. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170). Because Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor of the senses—He is the proprietor of this body—so when this body will be utilized for Kṛṣṇa's service, that is our perfection of life. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate.
Prabhupāda: You may not agree. What you are?
Devotee: This lady fluctuates in her mind too much and there are many other people here who would like to ask questions too. Are there any other questions?
Woman (2): How do you regard suicide, and would there be any exceptional circumstances that might justify it?
Prabhupāda: Suicide is not justified. Suicide is not justified. It is violation of nature's law. Nature gives you a certain type of body to live in it for certain days, and suicide means you go against the laws of nature, you untimely stop the duration of life. Therefore he becomes a criminal. Suicide is criminal even in ordinary state laws. One cannot make suicide.
Woman (3): I understand that Hare Kṛṣṇa is a scientific movement. Do you think that there is a scientific explanation for the way in which personal enlightenment by simply chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa?
Devotee: The question is that you have said that the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is a scientific movement...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Devotee: ...and she wants to know if you can offer a scientific explanation how the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra can give a person...
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is very easy to understand. Suppose you are sleeping, and if I vibrate some sound, you can hear and can wake up. No other method will act. Suppose you are sleeping. Then I have to call "Mr. or Mrs. Such-and-such, please get up, get up, get up." You get up. Similarly, at the present moment it is our sleeping stage. Therefore this transcendental vibration will awaken to spiritual consciousness. Just try to understand. When one is asleep, the sound vibration can help him. Similarly, at the present moment, in our material condition of life we are sleeping. This transcendental, spiritual vibration will help you. That is the process.
Madhudviṣa: He is asking when you take birth again do you take birth as the same sex or do you change your sex?
Prabhupāda: No, no. Just like you change your body, you change your shirts, it is not necessary that you will get the same type of shirt. No. That you... Just like if your present shirt, you want to change, and you go to the store and you purchase another shirt and coat, that will depend on your choice and the price you can pay. It is not necessarily that you will get the same type of shirt and coat. Therefore, when we change our body, there is no guarantee that we get the same type of body. A male can get a female body. There are many instances like that. And a female can get the male body. A man can get animal body, like that. So in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13), change of body. But what kind of body you are going to change, that will depend on your own work.
Man (7): Is this your last body? If so, how do you know? (laughter)
Prabhupāda: What is that?
Madhudviṣa: He is asking you if this is your last body.
Prabhupāda: I think so. (laughter) Not only I, all of my disciples. They are going to... Because we are not speaking nonsense. This is there in the Bhagavad-gītā. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. Any one who understands Kṛṣṇa factually, the result is tyaktvā deham, giving up this body, he never accepts again material body. He goes back to home, back to Godhead. Therefore, because we are trying to understand Kṛṣṇa, and if by Kṛṣṇa's grace we can understand Him, then we are not again going to accept any material body. That's a fact.
Kṛṣṇa claims that "I am the seed-giving father of all living entities." Actually, this is the fact. If we want to study the origin of creation, everything is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Just like the father gives the seed within the womb of the mother, and the seed grows a particular type of body, similarly, we living entities, we are all part and parcel of God, so God impregnates this material nature, and we come out with this material body under different forms. There are 8,400,000s of forms. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. There is a list. Everything is there.
So our present situation is that the whole civilization is going on under the wrong impression that everyone is the body. That is not a fact. Therefore, this Kṛṣṇa kīrtana, this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, it has got a special effect. It is... Don't think this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is ordinary sound vibration. It is spiritual vibration. It is called mahā-mantra. Mahā-mantra. Just like... I do not know in your country whether there's snake chanters. In India still, there are many snake chanters, enchanters, I am sorry. So they chant some mantra, and a man, snake-bitten, can be revived to his consciousness. Anyone Indian present here, they know. Still. Especially I have seen in Punjab, there are many snake enchanters who know the how to chant the mantras. So if it is physically possible that a dead man... Of course, when a man is bitten by a snake he's not dead. He becomes unconscious. He's not dead. But by this chanting of mantra, he comes to his consciousness. Therefore, it is the system in India, if a man is bitten by a snake, he's not burned, or he's not taken as dead body. He's floated in some lifeboat and given to the water. If he gets chance he may come out again to consciousness. So similarly, we are, at the present moment, due to our ignorance, we are sleeping. We are sleeping.
So so long we are materially contaminated, we require this material body for enjoying senses. And the spiritual world, we get our spiritual body developed. So there is no question of becoming ghost or... Individual, there is. The person is always existing. That is the purport of this verse. Na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ sarve vayam ataḥ param. Ataḥ param, "after this," means after this body is ended the individuality continues; simply we change our body. This is the version, and it is explained in the next verse, dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). We are individual always, but we are changing this body from one type of body to another body according to our karma. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur deha-upapatti (SB 3.31.1). By superior examination we get a body, karmaṇā. So at the time of death it is decided what kind of body you are going to have next. That is decided by superior authority. You cannot dictate that "Give me this body," or "I don't want this body. I want a body..." No. That is not in your hand. You can do, you are given freedom. In the human form of life you are given freedom to act although there is direction that "You act like this." But if you don't like, you can act. Yathecchasi tathā kuru. (BG 18.63) You can act, but you become implicated with your karma because you have to act according to the modes of nature.
Similarly, Varuṇaloka, in the Venus, all these planets, they have got different types of body. Just like here you can experience that in the water the aquatics, they have got a different type of body. For years and years together there are aquatic animals, they are within the water. They are very comfortable. But the moment you'll drag it to the land, it dies. Similarly, you are very comfortable on the land, but the moment you are put into the water, you die. Because your body, bodily construction is different, his body, the bodily construction different, the bird's bodily... The bird, heavy bird, it can fly, but it is God's made flying instrument. But your man-made instrument, it crashes, crashes. You see? Because artificial.
So this is the arrangement. Every living being has got a particular type of body. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). And what is the nature of that body? Now, here the matter is being explained that how we change our body, how... But, but, but, because that is a difficult problem for us because we are engrossed with the idea of identifying this body with the soul. Now, the first A-B-C-D of spiritual knowledge is to understand that "I am not this body." Unless one is firmly convinced that "I am not this body," he cannot progress in the spiritual line. So the first lesson in the Bhagavad-gītā is taken in that way. So here it is, that dehino 'smin. Now, dehī, the soul, soul. Dehī means soul. One who has accepted this body, material body, he's called dehī. So asmin, he is there. He is there, but his body is changing. You see? The body is changing.
Or other way, if you understand God, then you understand everything. One way is ascending process, one process is descending process. Just like on the roof there is some sound. Now we are here, we are not on the roof, we may conjecture or theorize what is that sound. Somebody will say some cat must be there, somebody will say that some man must be there. In this way, we can go on speculate. This is also one process. This is called ascending process. And descending process means if there is one person on the roof, he says, "This sound is due to this," then that is also perfect knowledge. So we get knowledge from the higher authorities, that is perfect knowledge and that is easier.
So if you study yourself, what I am, am I this body, I am this hand, I am this finger, I am this hair? Go on studying, one day it will, you will come to the point of understanding, but it will take many, many years. But if you take from the authority, just like Kṛṣṇa says that the living force within the body, that living force is changing from one type of body to another. Just in our life experience, everyone of us knows that I was a child, I was a boy. Just like I am an old man. I remember when I was playing on the lap of my eldest sister, I remember still, and my body at that time six months old. But I still remember my eldest sister, she was nine years older than me, and I was playing on her lap and she was knitting.
If you prepare yourself... Just like in childhood, boyhood, if you prepare yourself, nicely educated, then you get nice job, nice situation, you will be happy. Preparation for the next life. Similarly, if you prepare yourself in this life for going back to home, back to Godhead, then where is perplexity? There is no perplexity. "I am going to Kṛṣṇa I am going back to home, back to Godhead. Now I will have not to change material body. I will have my spiritual body. I shall now play with Kṛṣṇa, dance with Kṛṣṇa, eat with Kṛṣṇa." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Prepare yourself for the next life. Don't be... The man, dying man cries because maybe he is dreaming next life, horrible life. Because according to karma... Those who are very, very sinful, they cry, because they see horrible scenes at the time of death, and he is going to accept some type of body... But those who are pious, those who are devotees, they are dying without any anxiety. They are dying. The death may take place...
The example is given that... Foolish people may say that "You devotees, you are dying, and the sinful men, or non-devotees, they are also dying. So where is the difference?" No, there is difference. There is difference. This has been described by the example: just like a cat catches its cub and catches the mouse. So formerly we see that the cat has caught the mouse in the mouth and the cub also in the mouth, but there are difference of catching. The cub is feeling pleasure, "My mother is carrying me." And the mouse is feeling death knell, "Oh, now I am going to die." This is the difference. So although a devotee is dying and nondevotee is dying, there is difference of feeling at the time of death. Like the mouse and the cub. And don't consider that both of them are dying in the same process. The process may be same, but the situation is different.
Simply if you try to understand what is Kṛṣṇa, divyam. They are all divine, transcendental. Kṛṣṇa's activities, Kṛṣṇa's appearance, Kṛṣṇa's worship, Kṛṣṇa's temple, Kṛṣṇa's glories—everything transcendental. So if one understands these things or tries to understand, even he does not understand, tries to understand, then he becomes liberated from this process of birth and death. Kṛṣṇa says. So become very serious to understand Kṛṣṇa and remain in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then this problem, birth, death, old age and disease will be solved, automatically, very easily. There will be no problem.
That is the function of the human life, to understand that "I am eternal." Kṛṣṇa says that "In the past we existed, in the present we are existing, and in the future we shall continue to exist." Then why I have got this type of body by which I am actually, not actually, superficially I am not existing. So this is the problem. A dhīra means a sober man will think of this problem, that "I want to live. Why death takes place? I want to live very healthy life. Why disease comes? I don't want to become old man. Why old age comes?" Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9). These are the problems. So solve this problem simply by taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa. And for understand Kṛṣṇa, the Bhagavad-gītā is there, so nicely explained.
So according to the different bodies, they're living differently.
So all living entities, as Kṛṣṇa said, that "They existed," so existed in a different body. Now existing in a different body. This is called evolution or transmigration. This is... The evolution... Evolution theory is there. Not theory, fact. In the Padma Purāṇa... It is not Darwin's invention. There is... Asatiṁ caturaṁ caiva jīva-jātiṣu. As clearly stated, the evolution theory is, evolution fact is there are 8,400,000 different species of life, and the living entity passing, transmigrating, from one, another, one, another. Therefore, when one comes to this human form of body, Prahlāda Mahārāja says, durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma: "It is very rarely... This human form of body is very..." Why it is so rare? Now arthadam adhruvam. We shall die also. We shall give up this body like the cats and dogs. But I can get a sublime knowledge in this body. The cats and dogs cannot get. Therefore we should utilize this. So to understand this importance of this body is explained here, that "I am not this body. I am a spirit soul. I have been given a type of body by the material nature under the order of Kṛṣṇa and God." Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). This, these things are going on by the nature's law. The law is so perfect. Just like I have given several times that if you infect some disease, the nature's law is so perfect that you must suffer from that disease, unless you take precaution. Everyone knows that any infections disease... That is... You see in the SB.. (end)
"I am cat." So this bodily consciousness, bodily concept of life, will keep us conditioned within the material nature. Therefore our first business is how to get free from all these designations. Just like I am putting on this saffron cloth, but I am not saffron cloth. Or you are putting a red cloth or black coat, you are not that cloth. Within the coat, you are the person. Similarly, within the dress, I am the person. So at the present moment we are on the dress consciousness. "I am German dress," "I am Englishman dress," "I am Indian dress." "I am male dress," "I am female dress." So this is called conditioned life. So in this conditioned life we are accepting one type of body, and we are dying. Dying means giving up and being transmigrated, transferred to another body by the laws of material nature. It is not under my control. You cannot say that "After giving up this German body, I shall accept again another German body." That is not in your hands, sir. It is under the laws of nature. You cannot propose. You cannot force material nature. After this body I can get any other body. That is stated here. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). Another form of body. That form of body may be any one of the 8,400,000 forms of body. Therefore, if we are actually intelligent, we should try for being awakened, or placed in our original body, the spiritual body. That will stop this constant change of body.
So from last night discussion, it is to be concluded that we are not going to die. Kṛṣṇa said not only He, but also Arjuna and all other who were present in the battlefield, they will continue to exist. So how we shall exist? That is also discussed, that as we are existing now—we have accepted a type of material body and existing—similarly, after finishing this body, I'll accept another body and exist. Now, the question is that "In what kind of body I shall exist after finishing this body?" That is also explained, that if we like, we can exist in the higher planetary system where the duration of life is very, very long, the sense enjoyment is very, very perfect, more than this world. This we can have. Similarly, we can exist in lower grade of life like cats, dogs, insects, trees, aquatics, like that. And we can exist also in the same way as we are existing now. And we can exist also exactly like God—eternal life of bliss and knowledge.
Actually, spiritual body means eternal life of bliss and knowledge. This body which we are possessing now, material body, it is neither eternal, nor blissful, nor full of knowledge. Every one of us, we know that this material body will be finished. And it is full of ignorance. We cannot say anything, what is beyond this wall. We have got senses, but they are all limited, imperfect. Sometimes we are very much proud of seeing and challenge, "Can you show me God?" but we forget to remember that as soon as the light is gone, the power of my seeing is gone. Therefore the whole body is imperfect and full of ignorance. The spiritual body means full of knowledge, just opposite. So we can get that body next life, and we have to cultivate how to get that type of body. We can cultivate to get the next body in the higher planetary system or we can cultivate the next body like cats and dog, and we can cultivate such body as eternal, blissful knowledge. Therefore the best intelligent person will try to get next body full of blissfulness, knowledge, and eternity. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6). That place, that planet, or that sky, where you go and you'll never return back to this material world... In the material world, even if you promote to the highest planetary system, Brahmaloka, still, you'll have to come back again. And if you try your best to go to the spiritual world, back to home, back to Godhead, you'll not come again to accept this material body.
Or there are many persons in our ordinary relationships. So they want actually that "My, this friend be happy." That is real friend, suhṛt. And mitra, social friendship. Bandhu, official friendship. But suhṛt, suhṛt means one who actually desires good of his friend. "Sincere friend" which you describe in English. So Kṛṣṇa is suhṛt. He's always expecting my good. How I shall be good. Therefore He is canvassing me: "Please, you surrender unto Me." Just like father says, "My dear boy, why you are acting independently? Foolishly you are suffering. Just surrender unto me. I shall give you, I shall give you protection." Similarly Kṛṣṇa is friend like that. He's always asking. He is going with me in any type of body. Even if I get the body of a dog, Kṛṣṇa is always there with me. That is stated in Bhagavad-gītā, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). Īśvara, the Supreme Lord, is staying within the heart of every living entity. So every living entity means He is staying even with the cats, dogs, hogs, or any lower type of animal. He has no hesitation because He is not living with him. He's living in Vaikuṇṭha, but He's so friendly that wherever this friend is going, He's also going there. He is with... As Paramātmā, He is doing friendly activities. He's sending His bona fide servant as spiritual master. He's coming as incarnation. He's coming as devotee, Lord Caitanya. He's helping us in so many ways. But we are so foolish we are not accepting Him. You see. He's so... Nobody can be better friend than Kṛṣṇa. But we are so much unfortunate, so much captivated by the external energy that we don't accept Kṛṣṇa as friend. We accept so many other things as friend. Go on.
These rascals, they are pulled by the ear by prakṛti. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni. "You do this"—I have to do this. One who has associated with the tamo-guṇa of prakṛti, prakṛti has given a body just like hog, and the prakṛti is obliging, "You come here. Eat the stool." And he's eating. "Oh, so nice." This is māyā. Stool is very nice thing? But prakṛti has given this hog a certain type of body and he is relishing: "Oh, stool is so nice." This is going on. Similarly, human form of body also. They're eating so many nonsense things in the restaurant, in the hotel, and they're relishing: "Oh, it is so nice." This is māyā. This is going on. So our business is to serve, but because we have taken this attitude, that "I don't like to serve Kṛṣṇa" or, "I am Kṛṣṇa," then we are under the clutches of māyā. Immediately. And under the illusion of māyā... Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi... (BG 3.27). Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgaḥ asya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu. Because we are associating with the different modes of material nature, therefore we have to take birth, sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu. One is becoming hog, one is becoming dog, one is becoming human being, one is becoming demigod, one is becoming tree, one is becoming plant. So many... Eight million, four hundred thousands of species and form of life. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya (BG 14.4). Kṛṣṇa says, "All these forms, whatever they may be, I am the bīja-pradaḥ pitā. I am the father." So if Kṛṣṇa is the original father of every living entity, how one has become brāhmaṇa, one has become śūdra, one has become tree, one has become tiger, one has become hog, one has become Indra, one has become Brahmā? How is that?
We think we are enjoying, but we are suffering actually. And because we cannot understand what is suffering... Suffering there is. Sometimes we come to understand. But we are accepting this suffering as enjoying. A man is working very hard, very hard, whole day. He is... This is not enjoyment. You have got a car, but you are running at 70 miles speed, going to your business, and there you are earning hundred and thousands of dollars. So you are thinking that you are enjoying. But this labor is suffering—you forget. And in order to forget this suffering, then I take to wine, take to this, take to that, to forget the suffering.
So actually we are suffering, but we are accepting it as enjoying. This is called illusion. So whatever we are doing in certain type of body in this material world, that is suffering. That is not enjoying. Because why you are placed? Because I wanted to enjoy life like that. So puruṣa prakṛti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān (BG 13.22). And this profit is nothing but acceptance of the quality of material nature. And that is very practical. We can understand. Just like we are getting... I get, say, fifty-thousand dollars in a check. So I think that "I have got fifty thousand dollars." But what is this fifty thousand dollars? It is a piece of paper. You see? This is called illusion. In this way you study your life, you will see. If you are sober, if you are actually thoughtful, you will find that "This is not my life. This is not my life. But I am falsely thinking that I am enjoying life." Therefore frustration. Next stage is frustration. Everyone, we are frustrated because we are in this material world.
So Kṛṣṇa appears. Kṛṣṇa appears, and we also appear.
But our appearance and Kṛṣṇa's appearance is different. We have accepted this body, we have appeared in this world, forced by our karma according to our past deeds. Just like we are sitting. Every one of us have different features of body. Why? According to different karma. The body is made according to karma. That is the explanation of difference. So we cannot know. And we can understand that your mentality, my mentality, is different. You act in different way; I act in different way. That is the way, every one of us. Therefore we are forced to accept a certain type of body according to our karma. But Kṛṣṇa does not. We change our body. Just try to understand.
This forgetfulness means change of body. Just like we had some certain type of body in our previous life, but we do not know. Forgotten. Because I have changed the body, therefore I have forgotten. What to speak of my last birth? Even in your childhood, when you were, say, three or four years old, you did so many things. But do you remember them? No. Because you have changed the body. That body is gone. Therefore we have forgotten. Forgetfulness means change of body. We are changing body every second, every minute. Therefore we are forgetting. And Kṛṣṇa does not forget. That means he does not change body. This is pure understanding of Kṛṣṇa.
I can remember some accident when I was only three years old, that, because it is in this life. But I cannot remember what I was in my past life.
That means if you change your body, then you forget. But Kṛṣṇa remembers. That means Kṛṣṇa does not change His body. That is another argument. Kṛṣṇa remembers means He... And it is said... You will find in the Bhagavad-gītā. He says, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham: "I appear. I appear as I am," ātma-māyayā, "by My own internal energy." Just like I appear or any living entity appears in this material world. That is not under my control. As soon as I give up this body, I am fully under the control of nature. The nature will offer me a particular type of body according to my work. That is the way. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27).
Just like you have got this body, American body, I have got this Indian body, and the dog has got dog body. These are all manufactured by the law of nature. According to my mind, according to my activities, the body is developed. But Kṛṣṇa's body is not like that. He appears. There is no distinction between His body and Himself. The same thing. The nondevotees, they cannot understand. They cannot understand that there is no difference between Kṛṣṇa and His body. We are different. I am soul, but I am different from this body. These things will be explained in this chapter of transcendental knowledge. Go on.
And what is that thing? This consciousness. You pinch any part of your body; you feel pain because the consciousness is there. "So that thing, consciousness," Kṛṣṇa says, the teacher of Bhagavad-gītā, "that is eternal." Eternal. Now, how it is eternal? When you were a child the consciousness was there. Then you grew up to your boyhood—the consciousness was there. Then you are now young—the consciousness is there. And when you become old man like me, the consciousness will be there.
Therefore, in spite of my changing different kinds of body, the consciousness is there. And when I shall change this body for another new body, this consciousness will go with me. And according to that consciousness, I'll get a particular type of body. So at the present moment, because we are changing different kinds of bodies, that means my consciousness is not pure. And we have to make our consciousness pure, which is technically called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And as soon as the consciousness is pure, you get your eternal existential life. That is the sum and substance of becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious. And this movement is for that purpose, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You have any other inquiry about? (break)
How you can say that you are better than him? You are better than him when you understand how the laws of material nature is working so that one has become tree to stand up for ten thousands of years, and I have got all freedom to move and to make education, to go to the school, colleges, take education, advancement of knowledge. That is the difference between tree and me. So far necessities of the body, material body, is concerned, the demand is there; demand is here. You can accept from that type of body, by this body, simply by understanding, by advancing in knowledge. And the perfection of knowledge is to know who is God. Or where is God. That is perfection. So long one does not understand what is God or the Absolute Truth by whom everything is being emanated, the knowledge is imperfect. Knowledge is not finished. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante: (BG 7.19) "After many, many births of cultivating knowledge, one comes to the understanding of accepting God is the prime source, fountainhead of everything." That is perfection of knowledge.
At the present moment people are denying the existence of God, or they are thinking that God is dead. That means imperfection of knowledge. They have to still make progress to the perfectional point. And that test is to understand, "Here is God, and He is the fountainhead of everything." That perfection of knowledge you will have simply by reading... Any scripture you can read. The same conception is there. But in the Bhagavad-gītā it is more clearly explained so that you can understand with all reason, arguments, and scrutiny too. It is not dogmatic. That is the beauty of Bhagavad-gītā.
A man is called... He's graduate, M.A., or Dr., Ph.D. What is this Dr., Ph.D., M.A.? This is the designation of this body. As soon as the body is finished my all designation M.A., Ph.D. is finished. Then I have to accept another body. I do not know what kind of body is going to be accepted by me. Not accepted. What kind of body is going to be forced upon by nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). The nature is forcing you to accept a certain type of body. There is good government, prakṛti, nature's government. You cannot refuse it.
There are 8,400,000 different kinds of bodies, species of bodies. And by our activities, as we prepare our mentality at the last moment of our death, then we get the similar body. We carry the mind, mind is the subtle body. So the mentality carries me to a certain position in the womb of a mother where I get this gross material supplies and again I develop a certain kind of body and come out from the mother's womb and begin to work according to that body. This is the process.
So one has to learn this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement very carefully. It is very nice and very scientific. And if we simply try to understand my position, try to understand God and what is my relation with God, janma karma me divyam, simply by understanding this, I become qualified to enter into the spiritual kingdom. And as soon as I enter into the spiritual kingdom, then, as it is stated in this verse, that tyaktvā deham, after giving up this body, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma... (BG 4.9). Punar janma means again taking birth in this material world. Na eti, na, no more. This continued repetition of accepting different kinds of body is finished simply by understanding what is God, how He appears, how He disappears, what are His activities. Simply this understanding. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9), or so 'rjuna.
Actually, at the present moment, there is no education of the understanding of spiritual life. Everyone is interested with this material body only. Nobody is educated, neither interested in the spiritual life. But unless you take interest in spiritual life, our this material condition of miserable life will continue. The miserable conditions of material life have been pointed out by Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says that the problem of life is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9), meaning that birth, death, old age and disease, these are our problems. So long we are materially attached, we have to accept a type of body according to our resultant action of activities. There are 8,400,000 species of bodies. And after death, we have to accept one of the bodies. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). We have to accept another body. We do not know what kind of body we are going to accept again. But you can accept a..., one of the bodies as you select. That selection must be made in this life.
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that if you like, you can go to the heavenly planets, higher planetary system. Yānti deva-vratā devān (BG 9.25). In the higher planetary systems, you get more, I mean to say, elevated standard of life. You can live there for millions of years, and there is better facilities for sense enjoyment. But anywhere you go within this material world, you cannot avoid the four principles, namely birth, death, old age and disease. The birth, death, old age and disease are the inconveniences of the body. The spirit soul has no birth, no death, no old age and no disease, neither the spirit soul is annihilated after the destruction of this body. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). This is the statement of the Bhagavad-gītā, that after the annihilation of this body, the spirit soul does not annihilate. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to stop this disease: birth, death, old age and disease. And this can be achieved very easily if you simply try to understand what is Kṛṣṇa.
And aiśvarya. Janma-aiśvarya-śruta, education. Now they are advanced education. By scientific advancement, they are trying to go to the moon planet. Not only that. Many machine up to date they have discovered, using.... There is very big company IBM. Machine, business machine, IBM. International Business Machine. You know everything.
So janma-aiśvarya-śruta, education, and śrī. Most American boys and girls, they are all beautiful. So why this position? This position is due to puṇya, karma. Karma means pāpa-karma, puṇya-karma. This is the way karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur dehopapattaye (SB 3.31.1). This is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. By karma, the jantu, the living entity, jantu, he is getting particular type of body. In Bhagavad-gītā also it is stated that kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). We are associating with a particular type of modes of nature, goodness, passion and ignorance or mixed. So on account of this, we are working differently and we are preparing our next life, kāraṇam. This is the kāraṇam.
So those who are karma-kāṇḍīya, they are interested, next life in the heavenly planet or higher standard of life. So that is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). If you associate with the modes of goodness, then you are promoted to the higher planetary system, beyond heavenly planets. Janaloka, Tapoloka, Maharloka, Satyaloka, Siddhaloka, Brahmaloka. So that is possible. But our problem is not to promote ourself to go to the heavenly planet or higher than that, Janaloka, Satyaloka, Maharloka, or Brahmaloka. Kṛṣṇa advises ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna (BG 8.16). He does not encourage that "You go to the Brahmaloka." No. He never encourages. He says, ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna (BG 8.16). Even if you become promoted to the Brahmaloka, then again you have to come back. Kṣīṇe puṇye punar martya-lokaṁ viśanti. As soon as your puṇya, the duration of life, is finished, then you have to come back again. This is going on.
He does not encourage that "You go to the Brahmaloka." No. He never encourages. He says, ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna (BG 8.16). Even if you become promoted to the Brahmaloka, then again you have to come back. Kṣīṇe puṇye punar martya-lokaṁ viśanti. As soon as your puṇya, the duration of life, is finished, then you have to come back again. This is going on.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva (CC Madhya 19.151). We are rotating, wandering, in different species of life, different planets, different forms. In this way we are transmigrating from one position to another position. This is going on. So.... But that is not a very nice business. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). You accept some type of body or some type of place. Suppose one has become American. So how long he will remain American? Say, for fifty years or utmost hundred years. Then again, next chapter. One does not know what is the next life. That will be decided, kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). There is no guarantee that the next life again you become American or Indian or brāhmaṇa. You may become a cat and dog, because that is not in your hands. That is in the hand of material nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). That will be awarded to you by superior judgement, that "This man has done like this; he should get a body like this." That is not in your hand. That is not in your science.
So this child is born of a devotee father and devotee mother. Now he'll again begin from the point where he lost last life. Suppose Kṛṣṇa consciousness he executed fifty percent. So he'll begin from this life fifty-one percent. That fifty percent was in his stock. But ordinary karmīs—cent percent lost. He has to begin another chapter of life according to his karma. Either he'll become a man or dog, there is no guarantee. If he has maintained a dog mentality, then he'll get a dog's body. All this property he made in this life goes to hell. He becomes a dog if he has maintained a dog mentality. And if he has maintained a god's mentality, then he becomes a god also. But that will depend on his work. But generally the karmīs, they are not very good mentality. So there is risk. You do not know. Karmaṇā daiva netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). The judgement will be done by the superior authority, and he'll be given a particular type of body, as he has maintained the consciousness.
Therefore our business, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, is to train the followers to Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that next life he gets Kṛṣṇa consciousness atmosphere. He's not promoted immediately, directly to the abode of Kṛṣṇa. That is also possible. Mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām (BG 9.25). "Those who are My devotees, they come to My place." Kṛṣṇa says. So if you perfect your Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this life, then you're guaranteed to be promoted to go back to home, back to Kṛṣṇa. If you do not perfect, then next life is guaranteed, a very nice human body, either in a rich man's family or in a Kṛṣṇa conscious family. Just try to understand how nice this movement is.
At any moment there can be crash. You may fall down on the sea, you may fall down anywhere. So it is not very safe. So similarly, any method we manufacture, we discover, to conquer over the laws of material nature, it is backed by another set of dangerous things. That is the law of nature. That is not the way to get out of this material pangs of life.
The real way is to stop these four functions of my conditional life. The four functions of conditional life means birth, death, old age, and disease. Actually, I am a spirit soul. That is explained in the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā, that the spirit soul is never born or is never dead. He continues his life even after the destruction of this particular type of body. This body is only a flash, for some years only. But it will be finished. It is being finished by degrees. Just like I'm an old man of seventy-three years old. Suppose if I live eighty years or a hundred years, these seventy-three years I have already died. That is finished. Now a few years I may remain. So we are dying from the date of our birth. That is a fact. So Bhagavad-gītā gives you the solution of these four problems. And Kṛṣṇa here is suggesting, mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ. If you take shelter of Kṛṣṇa and if you think of Kṛṣṇa always, your consciousness becomes always overwhelmed with Kṛṣṇa thoughts, then Kṛṣṇa says the result will be asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu (BG 7.1). "Then you will understand Me perfectly, without any doubt."
Kṛṣṇa says that "I am not so easily understood." Of course, if anyone understands Kṛṣṇa, then his life becomes successful. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. Anyone who understands Kṛṣṇa, then he becomes immediately a liberated person. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. But one must understand in truth what is Kṛṣṇa. Tattvataḥ.
So anyone who understands Kṛṣṇa in truth... What becomes? Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). Then such person, after quitting this material body, he never comes back again in this material world. Punar janma. Here in this material world, the trouble is that we have to accept one type of body and again give it up and again another type of body, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). Yāvaj jananaṁ tāvan maraṇam. This business is very troublesome. We do not understand. We forget. Under the influence of māyā, we forget what is the trouble of taking birth, what is the trouble of death, what is the trouble of old age, and what is the trouble of disease. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that "Anyone who can understand Me, about Me." Not "about Me," but "about Me." We can understand Kṛṣṇa by His activities, something about Him. Otherwise, He has immense potencies. It is impossible for us to understand. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). There is unlimited energies of Kṛṣṇa; therefore He is called acintya-śakti. Acintya-guṇa. Acintya-śakti, "which is inconceivable." But anyone, if he somehow or other according to his capacity tries to understand in truth, then he becomes immediately liberated so that after quitting this body, he doesn't have to come again in this material world. Then where does he go? Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti (BG 4.9). "He comes to Me."
"This ātmā is never born and he never dies." Na jāyate mriyate vā. Nitya, eternal; śāśvata, ever-existing, śāśvata. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre. "Don't think that because the body is finished, therefore he is finished. No." In another place Kṛṣṇa says, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). As we are changing body from babyhood to childhood, childhood to boyhood, boyhood to youth-hood, youth-hood to grown-up and old age—this is our practical experience, I have several times explained—similarly, this old body, when I give it up, I shall accept another body. What is that body? That will be given to you by the laws of nature according to your mentality. As you create your mentality, yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran loke (BG 8.6), absorb your thought and mind at the time of death, then you are given a particular type of body, either in the womb of a human being or a cat or a dog or a demigod or a tree or so many.
There are 8,400,000's of species of life. If you want the body of a tiger, if you have exercised very nicely to become like a tigerlike strong, then God will give you next life to become a tiger, actual tiger. "Why tigerlike? Become a tiger. I give you all facility. Become a tiger." So what is the use of getting tiger's life? You know... Perhaps you all know, the tigers cannot get food every day. And naturally, if in the forest there is a tiger, the other animals, they are very careful. But when he's too much hungry God provides him one animal. Because God provides everyone's food, so tiger also must have food. Eko bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. That one Supreme is maintaining all these living entities. So tiger is also part and parcel of God, and he has got that body. So God is kind even upon the tiger, and what to speak of the devotees.
We are given a certain type of machine, certain type of body, according to our desire, and we are moving. Just like if we have got a car, we can move from here to there. Similarly, by this body we are moving not only within this planet, but sometimes in other planet also—but within the universe. With this material body we can move within the universe, material world. But if we want to go to the spiritual world—there is another universe, spiritual world—then we have to get rid from this material encagement and transfer ourself in the spiritual body, in the spiritual world. Then we get actually eternal life, blissful life, full of knowledge. This is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
So we request you to read our books. We have got many volumes of books, but we are giving information to the people of the world that "You can get out of this entanglement of birth, death, old age and disease and be transferred to the spiritual world, where you can live eternally with blissful life and full of knowledge."
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching this education, that perform... You cannot escape it. You cannot say that "You are interested. You can do. We are not interested." If you are not interested, then you are living a very risky life because you have to change your body. Dehāntaram. You can see. There are examples of so many types of body. Now, suppose if you live at the risk of your life and next life you become a tree, stand up for five thousand years in the snow, scorching heat, scorching, blasting and so many disturbances, and you cannot move an inch, and people may cut down you, your leaves, your trunk, or you, they are cutting so many... What is that life? And if you think, "No, I am living for five thousand years," what is the use of living such five thousand years? No. Don't risk life. Karma-bandhanaḥ. If you don't perform yajña, if you don't try to satisfy the Supreme Lord... Just like if you don't try to satisfy the government, then it is your risky life. You cannot say that "I am living very happily." Because you are cheating government or do not following the laws of the government, that is very risky life. Similarly, if you do not perform yajña, you cannot avoid it. Saha-yajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā. You are, you have got this human form of life for performing yajña.
So in this age, in Kali-yuga, it is very difficult to perform other yajña. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Kṛṣṇa, has appeared to accept your yajña, to deliver you, and the yajña process is very easy: yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtanaiḥ. That's all. Simply perform. Wherever you live, at home or outside home, just keep a picture of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra before Him. Then your life will be successful.
We may make very good arrangement in this life, nice bungalow, good bank balance, nice family relationships, everything. But the thing is that we shall not be allowed to stay. Aśāśvatam. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). Therefore all our attempts to become very happy within this material world is futile. The intelligent man should know this, that "I want permanent settlement in my life, but that is not being done." Only intelligent man can understand because intelligent means to understand that we are all eternal. Why should we accept this temporary body? We must have our eternal body. That is possible. You can have your eternal body like Kṛṣṇa. At the present moment, although we are eternal, we have to accept a certain type of body which is not eternal. Asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ (SB 5.5.4). Asann api. This body is temporary, but it is very miserable. It is always giving us trouble. That we should know. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9).
So in the human society there must be some program how to cultivate such knowledge which can give me relief from this repeated birth and death. That is perfect human society. Otherwise those who are being carried away by the waves of material nature like cats and dogs, that is not proper human society. Human society means which society is making advance in spiritual knowledge, the Aryans. The Aryans means those who are advanced in spiritual knowledge. They are called Aryans. Ārya. Kṛṣṇa says, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu (BG 7.3). There are 400,000 species of human beings, different types of human beings. Kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ (SB 2.4.18). There are so many varieties, they are considered lowest, low-grade. They cannot realize what is the aim of life. Kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ. Kirāta, the black race. Sometimes it is interpreted: the Africans or the south part of our country. Kirāta. Huns. These Huns are supposed to be inhabitants of the northern region of Russia.
So practically you ask so many big, big men... Last time when I was here, Lord Fenner Brockway came here to see me. I asked him this question, that "What is your next life?" He is also old man, eighty-four years. He said, "Swamiji, we shall die peacefully. That's all." Peacefully you may die, but you have to accept the next body. Whether that will be peaceful or not, that they do not know. Similarly, I spoke with Professor Kotovsky in Moscow. He also said that "Swamiji, after finishing this body, everything is finished." This is the position of human society at the present moment, that they do not know how to make life perfect. To make life perfect means how to make my next life very perfect or happy or better life. Otherwise, if I remain in darkness—Kṛṣṇa says, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13)—then I shall be, I may become any of these so many types of body. I may become a tree, I may become a dog, I may become a cat or maybe a demigod. There are so many, different. But I must be sure what kind of life I must have. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. We are not imagining. Our movement, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, based on Bhagavad-gītā.
So Kṛṣṇa says that... As He says, there is next life, that is a fact. Now, how we can prepare for the next life, that is also said in the Bhagavad-gītā. How?
So what we are doing, subordinate soul... The supreme soul or the Supersoul, who is also sitting with me within the heart, He is upadraṣṭā anumantā. He's simply seeing. And anumantā means without His sanction we cannot do anything. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ (BG 15.15). Everyone has got experience. When we want to do something wrong, there is conscience: "Don't do it." "No, no, let me do." There is struggle. So this is the struggle between the soul and the Supersoul. But when you're persistent, that "I must do it," then the Supersoul orders, "All right, you can do at your own risk." That is called karma-phala. We have become subjected to the resultant action of our karma. That is called karmaṇā. By the activities, daiva-netreṇa, by the superior authorities' superintendence, daiva-netreṇa, jantur deha-upapatti, the living entity gets a type of body. What is this body? The five elements, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca. Eight elements. Earth, water, fire, air, and sky, the mind, intelligence and ego. Ego, false ego. The false ego is that "I am this body." Ahaṅkāra. Ahaṅkāra: "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim." These are all false ahaṅkāra. Neither I am Hindu nor Muslim nor Christian nor American nor Indian. I am living entity.
Kṛṣṇa says that "All these living entities, they are My part and parcel, but they are struggling hard against these material laws." Manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). By mental concoction he's creating a situation and he's getting that type of body. Otherwise, why there are so many varieties of body? These are the creation of our mental concoction: "I shall do that, I shall do that, I shall do this, I shall do this." So this is daiva-netreṇa. He gets daiva-netreṇa, by superior... Just like a child insists upon doing something. The father says, "All right, do it. I don't mind." He says, "Don't do it," but he persists, "I must do." "All right, do it." There are many examples.
So there is soul and there is the gross material body and there is the subtle material body. The soul is the basic principle, but to get a body, as I have already explained, the secretion discharged by the father and the mother, they mix up, they are emulsified and forms in the body of a pea. And the soul comes through the semina of the father and he's situated there. Then the body develops. Now, just try to understand. Because the spirit soul is there, therefore matter is developing. If the soul is not there, if the child is dead, no more development. No more development. No dead child develops a body. Everyone knows. Therefore these material elements come from the spirit soul, not that spirit soul comes from the material elements. This is not. This is wrong theory. If it comes from the material combination, then why you cannot produce a living entity in the laboratory? In the laboratory, no, that is not... A material... Because... Material creation is there because I wanted a, such a circumstances, atmosphere, and anumantā, the Supreme Lord, He's the supreme sanction giver—He gives me opportunity to enter into a certain type of mother's body, and the material grows.
Dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). Dehī, within the body, the living spirit, or living soul, is sitting there. And because we are under the control of māyā, we wanted it, such a, such a body, so Kṛṣṇa has given. Anumantā. He has given order to māyā, that "This living entity wants to enjoy this material world under certain body. So you give him this body." Just like a pig. He wanted to eat everything and anything, without any discrimination. So, by the order of the Supreme, anumantā, upadraṣṭā..., He orders to the māyā that "You give him a body, a vehicle, a machine of pig body, so that he can very nicely eat stool."
So this is karma, karma-vāda, that I want to possess a certain type of machine, or body, and Kṛṣṇa, Īśvara, is within everyone's heart. He understands, "He's persistent to get this machine. All right. You get this machine." This is called janmada(?)... Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). In this way, we are desiring something in this life, and the next life is being prepared. And that next life or this life, it is just like machine. It is made by the material nature under the order...
Not become Kṛṣṇa. Just like you are spirit soul. When you take the body of a certain type of body, you act according to the body. Just like the dog is acting differently from human body because he has got a different body. Hog is acting differently because he has got a different body. So there are 8,400,000's of different bodies. So mad-bhāva, mad-bhāva means the nature, Kṛṣṇa's nature. You keep your individuality, but you get Kṛṣṇa's nature. And what is Kṛṣṇa's nature? Kṛṣṇa's nature is always blissful. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). Always joyful. So you get a body of joyful, full of knowledge, and eternal. Not that you become Kṛṣṇa. You get exactly the same bodily constitution as Kṛṣṇa has got. That is sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). As we are, even at the present moment, we are particle Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is vibhu, the whole. We are aṇu, we are small. Similarly, as now we have got this material body, if we pass our life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we get our spiritual body, which is not different from the soul. A clear example: just like a man put into the water is raised from the water and placed in the land. So in the land he is happy. Similarly, because we are spirit soul, we are in a very unfavorable condition of this material world. As soon as we perfect ourself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we get into the spiritual platform or body or atmosphere.
Of course, not in this body. Perhaps if you enter with this body, instant death is sure. But if you enter into higher planets by this yoga system, then you get the suitable body of that planet. Every planet has got a suitable body. You cannot enter... Just like you cannot live in the water with this body. You can make an experiment. You can live there, within water, say twenty-four hours or fifteen hours or sixteen hours. That's all. That's all. But the fish, the aquatic animals, they have got particular body. They are living whole life. Similarly, if you take out the fishes from water and put them on the land, oh, they will instantly die. As you see even in this planet that you have got to make your different kinds of body to live in a particular place, so similarly, if you want to enter into another planet, you have to prepare yourself to get that particular type of body.
So if anyone enters into the moon planet by this yogic process, he transfers his soul, transmigrates into the moon planet, he'll get long duration of life. In higher planets, our six months equal to their one day, and such one month, one year, for ten thousands of years they live. That is the description we get. So we get very long duration of life, undoubtedly. But there is death. There is death. After ten thousand years or twenty thousand years or millions of years... That doesn't matter. It is all counted, and death is there. But you are not subjected to the death. That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). You are spirit soul. You are eternal. (aside:) You keep the watch here. You are eternal. Why should you subject yourself to this death and birth? This is intelligence. This is intelligence.
Because they cannot think, those who are materialist, they cannot think that there is another, spiritual world. They, they cannot think. Therefore this zero theory, śūnyavāda, was propounded by Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha propounded śūnyavāda, because the people are so rascal, they could not understand. There was no necessity. There was no necessity. He simply said nirvāṇa: "Stop this nonsense material life." But after material life, what is there, that He did not reveal, because these fools and rascal will not understand. Therefore He did not say. Śūnyavāda: make it śūnya. Just like foolish person suffering from some disease, he wants to kill himself, sometimes commit suicide, because he does not know that after suicide, the policy, there is no stoppage; he will have to become a ghost because you have disobeyed. God has given you certain type of body. You have to stay in that body for certain period. That is obedience to God. If you untimely kill this body, then it is sinful. Just like you are put into prison house for a certain number of months or years. Before that period, if you flee away, then you are again punished. Is it not? Because you did not fulfill the terms of your prison life, then again you become criminal. Similarly, those who kills another body, or those who kill another body, or those who make suicide, they become again criminal. Again criminal. This is the law of nature, but they do not know. Therefore one who does not know the laws of nature, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). The prakṛtiḥ, the laws of nature, is going on under the direction of Kṛṣṇa. One who does not know, aśraddadhānaḥ, one who has no faith, puruṣā dharmasyāsya parantapa aprāpya mām: the result is he does not go back to home, back to Godhead. Then what is? Nivartante: he wanders, he travels within this material world, mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani. Because you cannot avoid mṛtyu. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9), this is the law of this material nature. Mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani. But if you want to avoid this mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani, then you must be Kṛṣṇa conscious, you must surrender to Kṛṣṇa.
This is explained in the Vedic literature, that nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). Two kinds of living entities, nityo nityānām. He, the Supreme Lord, is also eternal; we are also eternal. We are plural number, and He is singular number. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. Cetana means with consciousness. We are also conscious, and Kṛṣṇa is also conscious, so He is the supreme conscious.
And in another place it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata (BG 13.3). There are kṣetra-jña. Kṣetra means this body. Kṣetra means this field. So just like a cultivator works on the field and produces his food grains, result of tilling the field, similarly, we have got a particular type of body, field, and I am the tiller of the field. Therefore I am owner of the field. In India, of course, you have got small plot of land, and each cultivator owns it and he produces his own food. Similarly, according to our body, we are producing the resultant action and we are enjoying the result. So enjoying the result means in this body we are creating some circumstances, and if it is not possible to enjoy or suffer from the resultant action, then the next life we get another body; we suffer or enjoy. This is going on.
So the living entity is called kṣetra-jña. Kṣetra-jña means one who knows his body. Every one of us, we know. I think, "It is my body." Nobody says, "I body." Everyone says, "My body. My finger. My hand." So therefore he is known as kṣetra-jña, one who knows about his body. So Kṛṣṇa says that kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi (BG 13.3). I am proprietor of this body, you are proprietor of your body, but Kṛṣṇa is proprietor of everybody. That is Kṛṣṇa. Mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam (BG 9.4). He is in everyone's body. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). So Kṛṣṇa, that singular number. Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. So that one singular number, supreme conscious person, Kṛṣṇa, He is maintaining the plural number. Therefore here it is said, bhūta-bhṛn na ca bhūta-stho mamātmā bhūta-bhāvanaḥ.
Suppose if I want to drink fresh blood. Nowadays they are drinking fresh blood. So Kṛṣṇa says, "All right, you get a body, a tiger's body, a lion's body, and you drink fresh blood. Why artificially? Just take this body." If you have no discrimination to eat anything, so Kṛṣṇa gives us the body of a pig. You can eat anything. Up to stool, you can eat without any difficulty. So, or if you want to enjoy like a demigod, so He gives you the same body. This is going on. But this is... Either I get the body of a demigod or I get the body of a hog or pig or anything, it is suffering because I have to give up one body; that is suffering. I have to accept another body; that is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9). And as soon as I get body, the disease and old age is there. Therefore any type of body you get...
Just like in the Western countries, the Americans or Europeans, they think in India that they are very happy. But actually that is not the fact. Everyone is suffering. Anyone who has got this material body, he is suffering, either he is India or in Europe or heavenly planet or this planet. Ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ. Therefore Kṛṣṇa advises that "Even if you go to the planet known as Brahmaloka where duration of life is very, very long and the facilities or living condition are far, far superior than here," so Kṛṣṇa says, "even if you go to the Brahmaloka..." Ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna (BG 8.16), yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma (BG 15.6). He advises that you come to His place.
Don't try to promote yourself in any other planet. Just like they are trying to go to the moon planet, similarly, somebody is trying to go to the heavenly planet or Brahmaloka or Indraloka, Candraloka. That you can go. Yānti deva-vratā devān pitṟn yānti (BG 9.25). You can go, but all of them are infected with the sufferings, namely the birth, death, and old age, and disease. So bhūta-bhṛn na ca bhūta-stho mamātmā bhūta-bhāvanaḥ. So God gives you chances, whatever body you want. He does not prepare Himself, but yantrārūḍhāni māyayā (BG 18.61). His agent is this māyā, material energy. And the material energy is conducted under His order. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10).
You are working. How you are working? Where you are working? I am working, being situated in this body. This is already described in the beginning that the living entity is within the body. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13).
So kṣetra and kṣetra-jña. Kṣetra means the platform on which, or the stage on which we are dancing. That is called kṣetra. And kṣetra-jña means the person who is dancing. That is kṣetra-jña. When you, when you dance, you know that I am dancing on this ground, on this platform. So you are knower. Therefore kṣetra-jña. And the platform on which you are dancing, that is kṣetra. So we are all dancing... In the material world, we are all dancing. How we are dancing? Getting a particular type of body. That is kṣetra. There must be some platform.
For... Just like a kṛṣaka, a agriculturist, he is plowing the land. The land is called kṣetra, and the man who is plowing, he's called kṣetra-jña. He knows that; "I am plowing over this ground." So this is also another knowledge, kṣetra and kṣetra-jña. Then... (Sound is garbled, with words and phrases blipped out) ...etad veditum icchāmi. I wish to know this subject matter. Jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ ca keśava. As well as jñānam, knowledge, what is actually knowledge, and what is the object of knowledge.
So six things he's questioning. First of all, prakṛti, one, puruṣa, two, kṣetra, three, kṣetra-jña, four, knowledge, five, and the knowable object of knowledge, six. These are the subject matter, Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna is asking from Kṛṣṇa. Because he has accepted Kṛṣṇa guru. So for bona fide inquiries, transcendental inquiries, one must approach a guru. That is the Vedic injunction. That Arjuna has already done. When he was he was to fight or not to fight, But he could not make solution. So to make a solution we must approach Kṛṣṇa as guru, or Kṛṣṇa's representative. Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's representative... In, they are the same.
Vedic injunction is one must approach understand all this subject matter.
Jñāna, knowledge and the... Books, volumes of books on any subject matter. As there are different types of magazines for differents of books. Big, big philosophers. Just like written philosophy on the sex impulse. To understand. This is rascaldom. Nobody is how to laugh, how to cry, how to eat, and how to enjoy sex life. No school, college is required to understand these things. These are everyone knows. Volumes of books are required to understand this real knowledge here.
Try to understand: kṣetra-kṣetra-jña. This body and the living entity, soul, who is working with this body, or working on this body. We get, a certain type of body to fulfill our certain type of desire.
The... Yesterday evening we were talking with that cardinal. So when I said that: "If you eat meat like animals, like the tigers or the fox, then Kṛṣṇa will give you the facility to become, next life a tiger and fox and cat and dog, like that." These are stated. It is not my manufacturing word. These you'll find. You are human being. You must act like a human being. For human being, this Bhagavad-gītā is there. Kṛṣṇa is instructing to a human being, Arjuna. Not a cat, not a dog. So knowledge means it is meant for the human beings. Not for the cats and dogs. Laws means it is meant for the human being. Laws means: "You should do this, you should not do this." This is law, as state law, or any law. Nature's law. Everywhere. So human being, for human being, Kṛṣṇa is advising: patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). Because every human being must be a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. That is his first business. So for a devotee, Kṛṣṇa says: patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati. This is the order.
This is the purpose. But nobody knows. Ask anybody. They'll say, "God created this universe or this cosmic manifestation." That's a fact. But why He created? That why question is answered in the Bhagavad-gītā. Everyone wants to enjoy this material world according to his whims and purpose. Kṛṣṇa gives facility to everyone. So that facility is given according to his desire, a particular type of body. One who wants to eat anything nonsense, no discrimination, so he's allowed to get a body of a hog. Because a hog can eat even stool. He has no distinction. Here is halavā, here is stool. But he'll like to eat stool. That is hog life.
Similarly those who are very much fond of eating meat and blood, they're given the body of tiger, hogs, dogs, This is nature's law. But they do not know. They do not know. They think that: "Now I am enjoying, according to my..." That is not enjoyment. Is that very nice food? But he's thinking, a flesh-eater, a meat-eater is thinking, he cannot eat meat a one. He mixes with some vegetable. Then he can eat. Is it not? If you say all these meat-eaters: "Don't eat vegetables or grains. Simply eat meat." That they cannot do. They cannot do. Ninety percent, ninety percent, he'll eat other things, grains and vegetables. And maybe ten percent or twenty percent, meat. Although we are not meat-eater, I have seen. A little piece of meat... (break)
Similarly all these varieties of bodies are there according to my desire. Kṛṣṇa... That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, you know: yantrārūḍhāni māyayā. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati, The Lord is situated in everyone's heart. Arjuna tiṣṭhati. Bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā (BG 18.61). Bhrāmayan. He is causing to wander all over the universe all living entities, riding on a car or machine. This machine is this body. Now I am walking, I am going here, preaching. What is the machine? The machine, first machine is my body. So who has given me this body? Māyayā. Māyā, the illusory energy, has given me this body. My real body's spiritual body. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur deha upapattaye (SB 3.31.1). These are ver, Vedic versions. We are not speaking unauthorized. Karmaṇā. As you are working, or as you desire to work, then similar type of body will be given to you. By nature. You are, you have got this body by nature. Māyayā, yantrārūḍhāni māyayā.
Kṛṣṇa doesn't make your body. You desire. Kṛṣṇa orders māyā, the prakṛti, material nature: "You give him such kind of body." Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). Prakṛti's not working. Prakṛti has given me this body not out of her own accord. Kṛṣṇa has ordered: "Give this person, this living entity, such a body." Maybe it is Brahmā's body. Maybe it is ant's body. Maybe it is demigod's body. Maybe it is the body of the worm in the stool. Different kinds. Eight million, four hundred thousand species of body. These bodies, we are getting according to our desire. Because except Kṛṣṇa consciousness desire, all desires are subjected to the material conditions.
I am a human being. Because I have got this body, I am acting in a different way than the cats and dogs, because he has got a different type of body. His field of activities is different; my field of activity is different. So according to the body we are acting. Idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram. And there are eight million four hundred thousand types of bodies. Jalajā nava lakṣāṇi sthavarā lakṣa-viṁśati kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakaḥ. Not one type of body. Nine hundred thousand forms of body in the water, jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi.
The botanists or the expert scientists, they cannot say how many forms of lives are there in the water. Sthavarā lakṣa-viṁśati. The botanists there are, but they do not know how many forms of vegetable, trees, and plants are there. But in the śāstra it is said, sthavarā lakṣa-viṁśati: "Two million types of bodies, trees, plants, grass, two millions." Everything is specifically mentioned. In this way, there are insects also, kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakaḥ. There are birds, pakṣiṇāṁ daśa-lakṣaṇam, one million types of birds.
Then human being, manuṣyāḥ catur-lakṣāṇi, only four hundred thousand forms of human life, of which the civilized form of life, especially those who are born in India... To take birth in India, Bhārata-varsa, is a great fortune. Unfortunately, we are neglecting this facility given by nature. Because in India there were so many saintly persons, so many great sages... Even Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He descended on this country, India, Bhārata-varsa. There were kings like Mahārāja Bhārata. There were kings like Mahārāja Ikṣvāku. There was king like Mahārāja Yudhisthira, Parīkṣit, so many. Unfortunately, we are neglecting our own culture. We are now imitating how to become technologist. This is the position of India. Nobody is interested to take this culture of Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously.
He has to remain under the protection. He is already under the protection of the Supersoul, but he is thinking that he is independent. That is called māyā. He is not independent.
As soon as there is cause of death, he is no more independent. He cannot say that "I have got so many business to do, perform. Give me some time." "No, immediately get out." So he is under control, fully controlled. Still, he is thinking that he is independent and he can do whatever he like. In this way his life is being spoiled. And he is becoming entangled by the activities. And there is strong stringent laws of nature, exactly... Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgaḥ asya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu. These things are all explained in the Bhagavad-gītā.
Why one is put into one type of body, and why one is put in another type of body? One body is enjoying very nicely. Not enjoying, he is also suffering. He is enjoying for a limited time. He is also suffering. But he... Comparatively, one is situated in a very nice comfortable position, and the other is not. Therefore other is envious, that "Why this man is in a comfortable situation, and I am put into...? So let us become communist or revolt against this person or this group of person." In this way the struggle for existence is going on, and there is no solution.
How there can be solution because they are all uneducated, not educated? So if you want to be educated, make the solution of all the problems of the world, then you must take to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. This is the only solution. It will educate people the real identity, real position.
"Why you are changing from one body to another, one body to another? Why don't you come to Me and live peacefully in blissful life?" That is God's mission. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham (BG 4.7).
So God is so great friend of ours. He is always witnessing, witnessing. And as I am desiring, God is giving us facility. "All right, you want to enjoy like this? You take this body and enjoy." Actually you are not enjoying. When we have no discrimination of food, we can eat anything and everything, just like the hogs and pigs, so God says, "All right, you take the body of a pig and hog, and you can eat even up to stool. I give you the facility." That is as we are desiring.
- So God is supplying a type of body for our enjoyment.
- īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
- hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati
- bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
- yantrārūḍhāni māyayā
- (BG 18.61)
He orders the material nature that "This individual soul wants a certain type of body to enjoy like this, so give him." So material nature immediately makes ready a type of body. Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran loke tyajaty ante... (BG 8.6). So at the time of death, as our desires, my mind is obsessed with certain type of desire—immediately a similar body is ready. The... Daiva-netreṇa, by superior law, the living entity is entered into the womb of a particular mother and he develops the particular body. Then he comes out and enjoys or suffers. This is going on. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19).
So if we try to understand simply our body, actually that is meditation. Meditation means to understand, "what is this body and what I am." If you know these things...
Kṣetra means field. Just like a tiller, agriculturist. He is given a certain tract of land, and he tills and produces grains or some vegetables or something eatable. And according to his capacity, there is production, and he makes profit out of it. Similarly, this body is the field and I am, or you are, who is occupying this body, we are tillers. This body is given by nature and I am spirit soul. As I want... Just like one may possess a very valuable land, one may possess not so valuable, ordinary, and one may possess a third-class field, similarly, we living entities, we are given a certain type of body to work with it and enjoy or suffer the resultant action.
We are part and parcel of God. As we are living beings, similarly Kṛṣṇa or, God is a also living being. But He is Supreme; we are subordinate. God is great, and we are under Him. Just like in a family the father is the chief man, and the next important is my mother, and we all children, they are all subordinate to the father and mother. The father earns. The mother distributes. We eat. We live.
Just try to understand in this way. God is the supreme father, and this material nature is the mother. The father... As this father injects the seed of living being within the womb of the mother, similarly, God injects the living being within this material world, and they come out under different forms with a material body. That varieties of material bodies are eight million four hundred thousands of species. As we get according... Yathā yoni yathā bījam. As we are getting life here according to the father's semina and mother's secretion, the body and situation... Somebody is very highly intelligent. Somebody is not so intelligent. Somebody is very rich. Somebody is poor. Somebody is middle class. Somebody is animal. Somebody is tree. Somebody is insect. Somebody is aquatic. Varieties of life.
That is not knowledge. Anyone... Just like dog and cat. Dogs and cats, they have no idea that the dog is not this body. It is a soul also. It has taken a dog's body. Cat is also a soul, but by his karma, by his destiny, by his past work, he has to accept this body. A tree, that is also a soul, but by his past karma or action, he has taken this body of the tree. So we should understand from the authority, as Kṛṣṇa says, that idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram: "It is a field. It is a concession or..." Field is exactly the term. "Field of work," as we say generally, in the field of activities." So it is field. And I have given a chance to occupy this field and act accordingly. Try to understand. I have got a different type of field, and I have to work on it and reap the result out of it and suffer pains and pleasure. That is already settled up. As soon as I have got a particular type of body, my pains and pleasures are already settled up, already settled up. You cannot make any improvement or degradation.
Therefore śāstra says that, Vedic literature says that
That one Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, He is giving us satisfaction. Whatever we want to enjoy. He's given us full facility within this material world. But because we do not know what is actual enjoyment, therefore the so-called enjoyment is turning to be distressed condition.
Just like a child, if he's given full freedom, "All right, my dear child, whatever you like to do." So he cannot stay in one kind of engagement. Sometimes this, sometimes that, sometimes this, sometimes that. He's not happy. But if he follows the instruction of the parents, "My dear child, you do like this, you eat like," then he's happy. If he takes the freedom in his own hand, it is not possible to become happy.
Similarly Kṛṣṇa has given us a certain type of body. I am the occupier of this body. And I am enjoying. But because my calculation is mistaken...
- kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā kare
- nikaṭa-stha māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare
- (Prema-vivarta)
As soon as we forget Kṛṣṇa, as soon as we forget that this body is given by Kṛṣṇa, this body should be utilized for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa... That is real sense. That is real knowledge. If I am given this apartment by somebody to live, I cannot dissatisfy him. Then I'll be asked: "Please vacate." That will be a distressed condition for me.
Karma does not mean that anything you like, it becomes karma. Just like monkey. Monkey, whatever he does, it is simply mischievous. Therefore sometimes we accuse: "You are an ass. You are monkey." There is activity, but there is no meaning. There is no meaning, jumping. Monkey wherever he'll sit, (makes noise:) katak katak katak. So this kind of activities are not karma. Foolishly, rascaldomly. That is not karma.
Karma means prescribed duties. Prescribed duties. Janma-karma. Guṇa-karma. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). Guṇa-karma. Cātur-varṇyam, According to Vedic civilization, there are four divisions of karma. Because there are three qualities of the material nature. Sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. So when we come to certain type of activities or accept certain type of body, Kṛṣṇa is giving us opportunity. I wanted certain type of body. Kṛṣṇa is giving. Kṛṣṇa is giving through the agency of material nature. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22).
Why the living entities having different types of body? Sat asat. Some types of body are nice. Suppose you become demigod, Indra, Candra. That's very nice. But if you become dog or worm in the stool, that is not very nice. But we have to. Why? Kāraṇam... The reason is: guṇa-saṅgaḥ asya. As we associate with the guṇas... There are three guṇas, qualities of the material nature, sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. So if we associate with sattva-guṇa, ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā (BG 14.18), then those who are associating with sattva-guṇa...
So mostly the so-called educated circle, they are agnostics. They do not believe in God, they do not believe in the soul, and still they are passing on as educationists, learned scholars, professor. This is the pity. Therefore one should learn from Kṛṣṇa, this education system at the present moment, you cannot learn anything positively. They are all vague.
Here Kṛṣṇa says, try to understand, each and every body, tat kṣetram. Why one soul has got a godly body and one soul has got dog body, one soul has got very beautiful body, another soul has got very ugly body? So one has got nails and jaws, one has very nice beautiful hand, fingers. There are varieties. Kṛṣṇa says that sa ca yo yat prabhavaś ca. Prabhavaś ca. And each body has got a different type of influence. Each type of body. This is God's creation.
There are innumerable planets. Each planet has got a different atmosphere. Just like we have got experience within this planet, Europe has got another atmosphere, India has got another atmosphere. Similarly, all the planets, they are of different atmospheres and each and every planet there are varieties of living entities. Just imagine the living entities are eight million four hundred thousand species. So even if you divide so many thousands and hundreds, still, eight million. This is God's creation. God's creation means all these living entities, they want to enjoy this material world in a different capacity and God has given the facility, "Yes, you can enjoy. You can enjoy." He is giving facility. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo (BG 15.15). He's sitting, God is so kind, Kṛṣṇa is so kind.
"Īśvara, the Supreme Lord, God, is situated in everyone's heart, and He is directing the travel, or wandering, of the living entity."
How? Yantrārūḍhāni: "sitting on the machine of this body." And who has supplied this machine? Māyayā: "the material nature." The material nature, according to the order of God, has given me, you or me or anyone, the cats, dogs, a particular type of machine, this body. And the living entity is driving the machine or driving the car and God, the Supersoul, is reminding him, "You wanted to enjoy like this? Now you drive your car in this way. You drive your... You wanted to eat everything without any discrimination? Now I have given you the car of a hog. Now you go and eat the stool." And he is very glad. He is enjoying. He is enjoying he is thinking "I am eating very nice thing." This is going on.
Nānā joni sadā phire, kadarjya bhakṣaṇa kore, tāra janma adhah-pāte jāya. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura is singing that "Those who have taken this path of fruitive activities, they are forced to accept different forms of life and eat all abominable things, and thus he is lost in this material world." So if we become God conscious, if we become faithful to Kṛṣṇa, or God, then He will give right direction so that you may go again back to home, back to Godhead. And that is our business.
The same thing is described in the Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54). Kāṅkṣati. Kāṅkṣati means if I hanker, that means still I am hungry or thirsty. But there is a position, brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20) position, by brahma-jijñāsā, that we can get relief of these two activities, hankering and lamenting. The material world, there are two things only: lamenting and hankering. Those who haven't... Those who do not possess, he's hankering. And those who have lost, they are lamenting. But they are two things only. Actually we do not possess. Somehow or other, if we possess, that is also lost.
Just like we have got this body. Kṣetrajña, kṣetra-kṣetrajña. Kṣetra is this body. So by hankering, by desiring, you can get any type of body. There are eight million four hundred thousands of bodies. Just if you are eager to get a certain type of body or certain type of standard of living, Kṛṣṇa will give you. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11).
Because here it is the business... Kṛṣṇa's business is... These rascals, these conditioned souls, they want to lord it over this material world, and Kṛṣṇa has to supply them. That is Kṛṣṇa's business in this world, simply botheration. Just like so many children, and the father is put into difficulty. One children wants: "Father, give me this." Another child says, "My father, give me this." "Give me that." "Give me that." And father, being affectionate, he has to satisfy all the children. So Kṛṣṇa's position is like that.
So we should not mistake this that we accept the field of activities identified with myself. That is going on. Suppose you have got a piece of land as agriculturist, and you produce your food grain in large quantity or small quantity. It doesn't matter. Similarly, this body we are utilizing.
We can practically see. Everyone is working with this body in Bombay city. A very poor man is also in Bombay city, and a very rich man is also there. Both of them have the same facilities to work, but we find that one man is working very hard day and night. Hardly he is getting his morsel of food. Another man, simply by going, sitting in the office, earning thousands and thousands. Why? Because the difference of the field of activities. The body is different. Because one has got a certain type of body, his destination is already there. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur dehopapattaye (SB 3.31.1). We can study this thing, that somebody is living in a poor slum and another man is living in a very palatial building. So simply by endeavoring that "I shall live in a palatial building, and I shall not live in this poor slumhole," it is not possible because the destiny is there. Therefore the body is made according to our past karma, and that is called destiny. Your happiness and distress according to the body is already settled up. It is not possible by natural way to improve or disimprove it. It is already settled up.
The human life should be utilized for understanding the Absolute Truth. The next paragraph, that describes how one can understand the Absolute Truth. Amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁsā kṣāntir ārjavam. So our life should be utilized for understanding the Absolute Truth, not for economic development. Economic development, what is already destined, you cannot improve less or more. It is already settled up.
There are so many examples. Just like a pig has got a body. He likes to eat stool. If you give him halavā, that "Don't eat stool. Take this nice halavā," he's not interested because he has got a particular type of body. That is the aggregate. That is already explained. Mahā-bhūtāny ahaṅkāro buddhir avyaktam (eva) ca, icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkham. Icchā dveṣaḥ. The icchā and dveṣa according to the body. He has got the desire to eat the stool. That is his icchā. And he has got a dveṣa for the halavā, while a gentlemen, advanced gentlemen, he has got the icchā for halavā, not for the stool.
Therefore our duty should be that without trying... That was Indian civilization. Everyone was happy in his position, everyone—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. The culture was so nice that nobody was unhappy, even if he is a śūdra or even if he is a vaiśya or a brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya. It is not that because the kṣatriyas, the royal family, they were happy, and the brāhmaṇas were not happy or the śūdras were not happy. No. Everyone was happy because... Still in India you go to the village. They are happy with their destination. This is the Indian culture. Now we are injecting discontentment, injecting. Otherwise everyone was happy in his position: "God has given this position. So this is all right. Let me do my work." That is satisfaction. Everyone was satisfied.
Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). Paripraśnena sevayā. One has to learn by service, by praṇipāta, praṇipāta means surrender. There is no surrender. Nobody is prepared to surrender. "Oh, why shall I surrender? I know everything." Puffed-up unnecessarily. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says the material disease is that rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ. Tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś (ca ye) (SB 1.2.19). Rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ means, rajo-guṇa, kāma and lobha. Ignorance.
Everyone is thinking if I become greedy, I shall get more. That is not possible. You cannot get a farthing more than what you are destined. But it is ignorance. He's thinking by simply struggling hard I'll get more. The śāstra says, "No, don't do it. So far your material condition is concerned, it is already destined with your body. You have got a certain type of body and according to that body you'll get certain amount of pleasure and pains, that is already destined." This is called adṛṣṭa, daiva. Your main business is if you want to make success, your life, then save time for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is proper utilization of life. That does not depend on destiny. That you can do. That you can do. So far other things are.
Therefore śāstra says tasyaiva hetoḥ prayeteta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ (1.5.18). You have traveled, sometimes up, sometimes down. Up means upper planetary system, down means lower planetary system. Urdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). If you develop sattva-guṇa then you are promoted to the higher planetary system. Madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ. If you remain in the passion modes of nature then you may remain within this world or few others. And jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. If you habituate jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti.
How it is possible? Bhagavad-gītā is spoken in the battlefield. So in this way, if we try to understand Bhagavad-gītā, it will be not Bhagavad-gītā, it will be something else. We must understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is. That is our preaching method. We are presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is all over the world. So we accept.
The modern theory, scientific theory, is that "The sun planet is only blazing fire. There cannot be any living entity." No, we don't believe that. Because śāstra says that "The living entity is never burned." Acchedyo 'yam adāhyo 'yam. Adāhyaḥ. Just like we sterilize by putting into the fire, but that does not mean the living entity is dead. No. Adāhyo 'yam: "It cannot be burned into fire." Acchedyo 'yam: "It cannot be cut into pieces." This information we get from Bhagavad-gītā. So in the sun planet, although it is blazing fire, there are living entities. They have got a particular type of body. That particular type of body is fiery. Just like you have got living entities in the sea. There are hundreds and thousands. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi. There are nine lakhs, species of aquatic animals. But they are living in the water. They have got particular type of body. You cannot say, because you cannot live within the water, you cannot say, "No, no, there cannot be any living entity." This is nonsense. The living entities, another name is sarva-ga. He can live everywhere. It is not a fact that living entities live only in certain particular place. No. Sarva-ga, anywhere in God's creation there are living entities. This is shastric vision.
So in the sun planet also, there are living entities, cities, just like here. Otherwise how Kṛṣṇa can say, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1). Kṛṣṇa is telling lie, that "I spoke this science of Bhagavad-gītā to the sun-god?" Now, according to our calculation nobody can go to the sun planet, and where is the scope of speaking there, and to whom speaking? But Kṛṣṇa says, "Yes." Imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham (BG 4.1), "I said," avyayam, "imperishable knowledge."
If you learn that art, how you can become ananya-yoga-bhakti, avyabhicāriṇī-bhakti, then you'll understand what is Kṛṣṇa. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). By tattva, by truth, you will be able to understand Kṛṣṇa, and as soon as you understand Kṛṣṇa, your life becomes successful. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ.
So the same tattva, in truth, not superficially, if you understand Kṛṣṇa, then tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). After giving up this body, you'll not have to accept another material body. That is saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ. That is highest perfection of life. If you don't accept anymore the material form of body...
There are eight million four hundred thousand species of body. Any type of body we accept, it is troublesome. It is miserable. Mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ (BG 2.14). The bodily pains and pleasures are perceivable, mātrā-sparśa, because we have got this material skin, mātrā, and when it is touched, in touch with the influence of this material world, mātrā-sparśāḥ, you become subject of pains and pleasures.
But if you don't have this material body, then you are untouched by the material qualities, you are completely in spiritual body, so there is no question of pains and pleasure. It is simply blissful life.
So long we are under the clutches of māyā it is just like pulling by the ear, "Come here, sit down," like that. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni. But the illusory māyā, by the influence of illusory māyā, the living entity thinks that "I am doing this, I am doing that."
Everything is controlled. The ultimate controller is the Supreme Personality of Godhead because īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61), bhrāmayan, bhrāmayan, the passive. He is causing to move or wander sarva-bhūtāni, all living entities under different condition of the body. So how much foolish we are that we are getting a particular type of body and the sukha-duḥkha, happiness and distress, is already fixed up. That is called destiny. As soon as I get a particular type of body, my happiness and sufferings are all destined. This is our position.
So we are trying to make the situation improved because, after all, as soon as you get this material body, it is suffering. There is no question of happiness. But by the illusory energy, by illusion we are thinking we are enjoying. That is called illusion, māyā. Just like the same example, a hog is eating stool, but he is thinking he is enjoying. This is called prakṣepātmikā-śakti. Not only hog, even in human society, somebody eats the most abominable, most rotten fish; still, he's thinking he's enjoying. We have seen it. Unless he thinks like that, how... If he thinks that, "This is most rotten thing," then he cannot live. The māyā must make him forget that he is eating the most rotten thing. He'll think, "It is very nice." Māyayāpahṛta-jñāna. So this is the consequence of all forgetfulness.
There is possibility. Because if I am not destined to enjoy... Because this life I have committed so many sinful activities, I am not going to have very comfortable life. But I have got attraction for my building which I have constructed with so many efforts. Nature will allow you to live in that building again next life, maybe as a cat, dog or a rat.
Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). You do not know what kind of body you are going to... You completely under the stringent laws of nature. Here it is said, kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtir ucyate. As soon as you give up this body, you are completely under the grip of material nature and you will get a type of body according to your karma. And then puruṣaḥ sukha-duḥkhānāṁ bhoktṛtve hetur ucyate. That puruṣa, the living entity, will have to enjoy or suffer according to that body.
So this is the science of Bhagavad-gītā. One has to learn these things; otherwise he's spoiling his human life. One must know that what is the importance of this human form of life. One must take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness to save himself. Try to understand Kṛṣṇa only. Then you are saved. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). The problem is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānu... (BG 13.9). This problem we have set aside. We are busy for a few years life, fifty years, twenty years or... We have forgotten that we are eternal. We don't die after the destruction of this body. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). This is my problem, what kind of body again I am going to get.
So kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad... Sad-yoni (BG 13.22), high-class life, and asad-yoni, pāpa-yoni... So why one is born in lower grade family? Why one is born in high-grade family? Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya. The cause is as he has associated with different types of qualities. So unfortunately, this science, that there is birth after death, and there is, actually, we are experience, we are seeing, but they do not inquire. They think that one can improve. That is not possible. Unless he changes the quality, he cannot improve. That is not possible. They do not know it. They are falsely trying to improve the position. Nobody is trying to become poor. Everyone is trying to become rich. But it is not possible. Because he has got a particular type of body, and that body is already destined, and he has to achieve happiness or suffer distresses according to the body.
Therefore śāstra says, tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ: (SB 1.5.18) "You should try for that thing which you did not receive in your past lives." Past life, by our pious activities or impious activities, we have got a different type of body, here or in higher planetary system. That's all right. But that is not solution of my problem. The real problem is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9). So we should try, we should save time and utilize it, how to get out of this janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi. That is the whole Vedic civilization.
Therefore it is said, tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovidaḥ. If you are intelligent, then you should try, you should engage your life, how to get out of this cycle of birth and death. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattvam (SB 5.5.1). We have to purify our existence so that we can revive our original position of eternal life, blissful life, full of knowledge. That is our requirement.
So modern civilization, they have no such information. Everyone is trying to improve his condition according to the quality. But that is not improvement. Real improvement is how to get out of this cycle of birth and death. That is real improvement. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam. Thank you very much. So I will have to go with Mr. Ganatra. You can have your ārati. (end)
So what is the business of this material world? Now, falsely we are trying to enjoy. The false enjoyer. Everyone is trying to be enjoyer. Kṛṣṇa has given little freedom. "All right. You want to enjoy. Enjoy it." But you have to be in this material world. And in the material world, as soon as you come to the material world, immediately you become contaminated by the modes of material nature.
Material nature has three modes, or three qualities—good quality, passion quality and ignorance quality. Goodness, passion and ignorance. So material world means you associate with the material three qualities—goodness, passion or ignorance. And according to that, as you associate, you get a certain type of body.
Kṛṣṇa orders prakṛti, the material nature, that "He wants to enjoy in this way; you give him a suitable body like that." You... "He wants to enjoy by becoming a tiger: 'Immediately I shall jump over an animal.' " Because phalgūni mahatāṁ tatra, the weak is the food for the strong. So sometimes we think that we shall be strong like tiger or lion. Kṛṣṇa is sitting within you. He says, "All right, you become a tiger." He sees that "To become a tiger is my success life." A very strong body. They are exercising, very strong, to become very strong, stout. So Kṛṣṇa will give you. Whatever you want. But in this material world.
Why one is being born through the mother of a cat or through the mother of dog or a human being or a king or a demigod? The mother, through mother you have to come out. That is called yoni. But why these different mothers? Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya. As he has infected the eighty-one qualities, colorful qualities of this material nature, the nature will give you a suitable body through the particular mother.
So where is this science? They have the botanical garden, but do they know what is the science why there is tree and why there is ant, why there is bird, why there is man? They have no knowledge. This material school, college, university, simply producing ordinary animal life.
Actual knowledge is here in the Bhagavad-gītā. These are the... Why one is forced to accept a certain type of body. Because after death I will have to accept a certain type of body. That is natural. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). As I am getting dehāntara, one body after another, baby's body, then another body, child's body, then another body, boy's body. You may say, "It is growing." Growing or not growing, it is another body. Try to understand this. This child is playing. Now he will get another body when he will be called boy. He will get another body when he will be called youth. He will get another body when he will be called old man. So why not another body? This is called transmigration of the soul. Very simple thing.
So we are getting different types of bodies according to the association with the material nature. So if you don't associate with this material nature, then you don't get all these material bodies.
If the living entity puruṣa is working piously, then he is getting a different type of body. Janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrī (SB 1.8.26). A nice body, born in rich man's family or brāhmaṇa's family, scholar's family, janma, opulence, aiśvarya, beauty, beautiful body, and very good education—these distinctions are there because the paramātma-puruṣa is observing the activities of the jīvātma-puruṣa. And according to his karma according to his desire, He is giving a different type of body. Īśvaraḥ sarva...
Another place it is said, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). "That Supreme Personality of Godhead as Paramātmā, Antaryāmī, is situated in everyone's heart." Bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā: (BG 18.61) "And He is directing māyā to give him a particular type of body and he is moving with that body." Yantra. Just like if you get a car, according to the price, you can get car. You can get a Rolls Royce car, Chevrolet car, Cadillac car or a Ford car or Ambassador car or a Jeep. So as you can pay for it, you get a different type of car, and you can travel, similarly, according to your karma, good and bad, you are getting a type of body. There are eight million four hundred thousand species of body. You can get one of them and suffer and enjoy.
Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). You have to change your body. Next body you can get a cat's body or dog's body, a tree's body or a demigod's body or a Brahmā's body or a Indra's body, Indian body, American body, serpent body, insect body, bird's body, aquatic, any, any, There is no guarantee. That will be awarded to you according to your karma. Unfortunately, they do not know it. Just like animals. The animals do not know how to get a better body.
Similarly, when this body, this old body, when it will be not workable, the machine will not act, so I or you, every one of us will have to change. Suppose your car is going on. Somehow or other the car stops. Then you take another car and continue your journey. The car stops to work does not mean that the man who is in the car, he also stops. No. He continues. Therefore it is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Your work is not stopped. You are transferred to another body. And because we have to work with this body in this material world,... Just like car is already ready. You can...
But this car, next car, is not ready, but it will have to be manufactured. How? You have to enter into the particular type of mother, and the mother's material ingredients will help you to manufacture a particular type of car, or body. The body is also a car, a machine. It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā (BG 18.61). Yantra. It has been said as yantra, a machine. This is just like machine. And we can perceive that. As soon as some part of the machine is slackened or not in order, that is your diseased condition. You cannot work.
So this we must... Dangerous position means that we should not be very much satisfied or rest assured that "I am in very secure position because I am American or I am this, I am that." You are not in secure position. At any moment, this car, this body, functioning will stop, and you have to change. So therefore we do not know what kind of change is going there. It may be very nice change, or it may be very bad change. So therefore it is very dangerous position. It is very dangerous. You do not know. You have to know. You can know that if you follow the shastric injunctions in the Bhagavad-gītā. You do now know "what kind of body I am going to get next life," but you can know from Bhagavad-gītā. You cannot speculate, but you can know from Bhagavad-gītā.
"I have got this body as field." As one gets the land for cultivating his food grains, according to his labor, according to his choice, similarly, we have got this field of activity. Now we can make our future good or bad according to our choice. Idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram iti abhidhīyate (BG 13.2). This is called kṣetra, working land.
Just like father gives some capital to the son: "You do some business." Now, you lose the money or increase it hundred times; that depends on you. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa has given us. We wanted to enjoy this material world, and Kṛṣṇa has given us. The first beginning body is Brahmā, very exalted body. But on account of our abominable activities, from Brahmā, we come down to become the worm of stool. This is called karma, kṣetra.
There are eight million four hundred thousand species of life, and according to our work, we get some body, some type of body. And if we work in the modes of goodness, then we get still better body in higher planetary system, long duration of life, better standard of living condition, more and more, thousand times, thousand times. Whatever comforts and facilities we have got here on this planet, if we work in the modes of goodness, then we get more and more facilities.
Similarly, if we work just like animals, then we are degraded more and more downwards. Tala, Atala, Talātala, Pātāla, like that. There are planetary systems, and similarly, there are higher planetary system. You can see every day. Each and every star means they are different planetary system. So according to your work, you are promoted or degraded or you keep here.
They say that "Chemical evolution, by combination of chemicals, everything has come out, but there is no creator." They will deny this. This is the symptom of the asura. So from this instruction you can understand who is a rascal and asura. As soon as they say that "There is no God. The world is created by chance. By chance..." Aparaspara-bhūtam. Aparaspara: "One thing mixed with another thing..."
How the example? The example is kim anyat kāma-haitukam. Just like a man and woman, by chance they become lusty and have sex, and the woman becomes pregnant, and the child is coming, just like this is a creation, accidentally, accident. The man or woman becomes lusty accidentally, and there is sex and therefore the creation of the child. This is their theory, not that "This child is a living entity, and he is coming from his last birth, and he's taking particular type of body according to his last birth," no conclusion like that. "God is the judge what kind of body he should get." Daiva-netreṇa.
Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). There are so many things behind this child's birth. Why this child is coming to a poor father or rich father if it is accident? Why one child is suffering, one is not, is very comfortable position? So there is behind so many things, but they do not know. Because they are asura, they think, "It is accident" or "there is no life. Kill it. If you feel botheration then kill it. Finish this business." These are the asuric conclusion. Jagad āhur... asatyam apratiṣṭham. This is false. They say that jagan mithyā, "So we have nothing to do." Brahma satyam and... Brahman is satya, that's fact, but we say, we Vaiṣṇavas say, that "The jagat is created by Brahman. How it is false? How the satya can create asatya?" This logic they cannot understand. If the man who has created, who has cooked so many nice things, so if he is a fact, then the cooking is also a fact. How you can say the cooking is false? That is not knowledge.
Asunti(?). So sattva-saṁśuddhi. One should try to purify his existence. For that purpose there is necessity of tapasya. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattvam (SB 5.5.1). Tapasya means austerity. If you want to cure your disease, then you must follow some austerities, rules and regulation. One man is suffering from diarrhea. If he is allowed to eat whatever he likes, then he will never be cured. He must observe fasting for few days; then it will be cured. So this is sattva-saṁśuddhi.
So we are put into this cycle of birth and death. If we don't correct it... Correct means we shall be less attached to the material enjoyment. So long we are attached to material enjoyment, we have to transmigrate from one type of body to another. So daivī-sampada means those who are devatās, their first business is how to rectify this diseased condition of life, repetition of birth and death. Everything is there. Sattva-saṁśuddhir jñāna. This requires jñāna, knowledge. Unless I know what is my position, why I am dying, what is death... This requires jñāna. Jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). That means you have to become a brāhmaṇa. Then you will have complete knowledge. Abhayaṁ sattva-saṁśuddhir jñāna, yoga, jñāna-yoga. Vyavasthitiḥ, dānam. Those who are kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, they should give in charity. That is also one of the sattva-saṁśuddhiḥ. Damaś ca. To control over the mind and the senses. Yajñaś ca: perform the yajña, hari-saṅkīrtana in this age. Yajñaś ca svādhyāyaḥ. Must read Vedic literature. Tapa ārjavam. Tapasya, austerity, ārjavam, very frank and no duplicity, ārjavam. Dānam ahiṁsā, not unnecessarily, not to become envious. (end)
Everything... We are cooking food. If the ghee is pure, then taste is different. If the ghee is impure, the taste is different. And if it is not ghee at all. oil, the taste is different. It is like that.
So people are being controlled by the three kinds of material nature, and if they do not follow the shastric injunction, then he will concoct, he will create something according to his position, either in the tamo-guṇa or rajo-guṇa or sattva-guṇa. But those, means superficially doing something in the tamo-guṇa, he will not be successful. He will not be successful. Yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma... (BG 16.23). He is going on, conducting himself under the influence of the same modes of nature, material nature, which he has naturally adopted from his birth. There are... We have discussed all these, this verse, that sad-asad-janma, yoni-janmasu. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya (BG 13.22). Everyone is getting a particular type of body. So one may say, "This body is very nice, this body is not so nice and this body is very good." So why it is so? Because according to the association of the material nature. After all, the living entity falls down from the spiritual world. Just like Jaya-Vijaya. There is possibility, if you do not stick to the spiritual principle, even if you are in Vaikuṇṭha, you will fall down, what to speak of this material world? Because in the Vaikuṇṭha or in the spiritual world, no contaminated soul can stay there. He will fall down.
By nature, there is. Just like even in birds, there are a class of birds known as the crows and there is a class of birds which are called the swans. The swans will try to reside in a place where there is very clean water, flowers, good trees, nice arrangement parking. So they will flock there. Birds of the same feather flock together. And the crows, the will flock... In your country you don't find many crows, but in India there are many crows. They go to the place where all garbages are there. They'll enjoy there. So there is division actually, taste. But one thing is, that the human form of body, although there is natural such division, but one can be raised to the higher position by this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. So far material body is concerned, you cannot change the quality. This is already. One has got the particular type of body by nature's arrangement according to the quality. According to the quality. Now, if you want to change him to the better quality, then you have to accept this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Because Kṛṣṇa consciousness is on the spiritual platform. It has nothing to do with the material platform. From the material platform, you cannot change anyone's quality.
For example, I can tell you, practical example, in United States, America, the government is spending millions of dollars to stop this intoxication habit, LSD habit. Many responsible government officers, they have given us certificate. But they could not control. But in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, anyone who is coming, even though coming from the LSD-addicted society, still, as soon as he comes to our society he gives us not only LSD or any intoxication, he gives up even drinking tea, coffee and smoking cigarette. You can at once check. Because our principle is: anyone who wants to join seriously this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, just like these boys, they have joined, our first condition is that one must give up these four prohibited things: no illicit sex, no gambling, no meat-eating, no intoxication. So that is being possible. Although they are habituated to all these things from their very beginning of life, but as soon as they take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness activities, they give up these habits very easily.
| Page Title: | Type of body (Lectures, BG) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 17 of Nov, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=74, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 74 |