Why there are varieties of life? Because we have infected different varieties of infection. There are three kinds of infection originally: sattva-guna, rajo-guna, tamo-guna, just like originally there are three colors: red, yellow and blue

Expressions researched:
"Why there are varieties of life? Because we have infected different varieties of infection. There are three kinds of infection originally: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa, just like originally there are three colors: red, yellow and blue"

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

If you associate with this temple atmosphere, your behavior, your mode of life, will be different. And if you associate with the atmosphere of a brothel, a slaughterhouse, then your atmosphere will be different. That means infection. Association means infection. If we infect tamo-guṇa, then your life is different. And if you infect the rajo-guṇa, then your life is different. Therefore there are varieties of life. Why there are varieties of life? Because we have infected different varieties of infection. There are three kinds of infection originally: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa, just like originally there are three colors: red, yellow and blue. Now, you mix up these three colors. Three into three, it becomes nine, and nine into nine, it becomes eighty-one.

750522 - Lecture SB 06.01.01-2 - Melbourne

If I do things according to my whims, that is called pravṛtti-mārga. Then the next life is waiting for my suffering. That is fact. Just like if you irresponsibly live and there is epidemic, and you contact some disease, infection, then you must suffer from it. There is no excuse. So we are acting in this life, in this material world, as it is stated here, traiguṇya-viṣayo mune. . . Pravṛtti-lakṣaṇaś caiva traiguṇya-viṣayo mune. Our desires, according to the modes of material nature we are associating. Just like in the temple, in this temple. Here everything is on the modes of goodness. So if you associate with this temple atmosphere, your behavior, your mode of life, will be different. And if you associate with the atmosphere of a brothel, a slaughterhouse, then your atmosphere will be different. That means infection. Association means infection. If we infect tamo-guṇa, then your life is different. And if you infect the rajo-guṇa, then your life is different. Therefore there are varieties of life. Why there are varieties of life? Because we have infected different varieties of infection. There are three kinds of infection originally: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa, just like originally there are three colors: red, yellow and blue. Now, you mix up these three colors. Three into three, it becomes nine, and nine into nine, it becomes eighty-one. So those who are expert color mixer, they make varieties of color originally from these three color. Similarly, originally there are three kinds of material modes of nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. Now mix it, it become nine, and again nine into nine, eighty-one. Therefore there are 8,400,000 forms of life on account of this mixture.