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What is the nature of the jivatma?

Expressions researched:
"What is the nature of the jivatma"

Conversations and Morning Walks

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Jīva is explained. You do not know? You have not read Bhagavad-gītā?... Then say. You do say. You do not know?... Then tell me what is that.

Room Conversation -- May 8, 1977, Hrishikesh:

Indian man (1): What is the nature of the jīvātmā?

Prabhupāda: Jīva is explained. You do not know? You have not read Bhagavad-gītā?

Indian man (1): Hm hm. But what...?

Prabhupāda: Then say. You do say. You do not know?

Indian man (1): Hm.

Prabhupāda: Then tell me what is that.

Indian man (1): Mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke (BG 15.7).

Prabhupāda: That's all, part and parcel of God. (aside:) So why these people are outside? The jīva is a small sample of God. That example I was giving you yesterday, that you take a big brick, and you just strike it on the floor. There will be so many fragments. (aside:) Why you are busy now? Come here. Finish. Then you can leave. Why you are disturbing now? Keep it behind this post. You can leave it. Yes. So when the brick is broken, some parts of the..., bigger, some smaller. And at last, the dust. So all of them are the parts and parcels.

Indian man (1): The same thing.

Prabhupāda: Same thing. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. So jīva is also Brahman. It is same thing, but very small particle. That's all. You can understand the nature of God by studying the nature of jīva. It does not take much hard... He said, mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke. Manaḥ... Because now... He says, manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). "So why he's struggling? Because he's depending on the mind and the senses. He's not depending upon Me." They are creating mental creation, concoction, and acting sensually. Therefore the normal condition... Just like this finger is part and parcel of my body, so it is the duty of the finger to act according to my desire. I ask the finger, "Please come here. I have some itchy feeling." If it cannot, then it is diseased. Similarly, the duty of the jīva is to serve Kṛṣṇa. If he cannot, then he's diseased. And if you want to continue in diseased condition, that is your obstinacy. Yathecchasi tathā kuru: (BG 18.63) "Whatever you like, you do." Kṛṣṇa says that "Now that I have spoken to you everything, now whatever you like, you do." And because Arjuna understood Him totally, he said, naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā kariṣye vacanaṁ tava (BG 18.73). This is Gītā's verse. "I'll do what You say." That is all. And He says also, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam... (BG 18.66). So if you do that, then your life is perfect. If you don't do that, then rot. Aprāpya māṁ nivartante mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani. Aśraddadhānāḥ puruṣā dharmasyāsya parantapa: (BG 9.3) "One who does not hear Me and what I am speaking, this Bhagavad-gītā—he has no faith—then he does not get Me." Then what is the result if one does not...? No, nivartante mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani: "Then he returns back again in the cycle of birth and death, sometimes cat, sometimes demigod, sometimes this..." Go on. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). Become something, remain for some time. Then again you become something else and jump like dog: "I belong to his nation. I belong to this community. I belong..." Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ (SB 2.3.19). He remains animal, and another big animal becomes his leader. This is going on.

Page Title:What is the nature of the jivatma?
Compiler:MadhuGopaldas, Rishab
Created:30 of Aug, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=1, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1