reincarnation
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According to our activities in this life, we either rise or sink. This life is a preparation for the next life. The process of quitting this body and getting another body in the material world is also organized. A man dies after it has been decided what form of body he will have in the next life. Higher authorities, not the living entity himself, make this decision. According to our activities in this life, we either rise or sink. This life is a preparation for the next life. If we can prepare, therefore, in this life to get promotion to the kingdom of God, then surely, after quitting this material body, we will attain a spiritual body just like the Lord.
(More...) As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. Since every living entity is an individual soul, each is changing his body every moment, manifesting sometimes as a child, sometimes as a youth, and sometimes as an old man. Yet the same spirit soul is there and does not undergo any change. This individual soul finally changes the body at death and transmigrates to another body; and since it is sure to have another body in the next birth-either material or spiritual-there was no cause for lamentation by Arjuna on account of death, neither for Bhisma nor for Drona, for whom he was so much concerned. Rather, he should rejoice for their changing bodies from old to new ones, thereby rejuvenating their energy. Such changes of body account for varieties of enjoyment or suffering, according to one's work in life. So Bhisma and Drona, being noble souls, were surely going to have either spiritual bodies in the next life, or at least life in heavenly bodies for superior enjoyment of material existence. So, in either case, there was no cause of lamentation.
(More...) Devotee: Thirteen. "As the embodied soul continually passes in this body from boyhood to youth and then to old age, similarly the soul also passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change."
(More...) For one who has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is certain. One has to take birth according to one's activities of life. And, after finishing one term of activities, one has to die to take birth for the next. In this way the cycle of birth and death is revolving, one after the other without liberation. This cycle of birth and death does not, however, support unnecessary murder, slaughter and war. But at the same time, violence and war are inevitable factors in human society for keeping law and order.
(More...) "For one who has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament." One should not fear death. Rather, one should prepare oneself for the next birth. One should utilize one's time in this human form to end the process of birth and death. It is not that to save oneself from death one should entangle oneself in sinful activities. This is not good.
(More...) Imported quote 13377 Two significant words used in this verse are asmin and amusmin. Asmin means "in this life," and amusmin means "in the next life." Unfortunately in this age, even exalted professors and learned men believe that there is no next life and that everything is finished in this life. Since they are rascals and fools, what advice can they give? Still they are passing as learned scholars and professors. In this verse the word amusmin is very explicit. It is the duty of everyone to mold his life in such a way that he will have a profitable next life. Just as a boy is educated in order to become happy later, one should be educated in this life in order to attain an eternal and prosperous life after death. It is therefore essential that people follow what is given in the srutis and smrtis to make sure that the human mission is successful.
(More...) Imported quote 14154 The word brhac-chravaḥ is also significant. The word sravaḥ means fame. The living entity is famous from ancient times, for as stated in Bhagavad-gita, na jayate mriyate va (Bg. 2.20). "The living entity is never born and never dies." Because he is eternal, his activities are eternal, although they are performed in different types of bodies. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire (Bg. 2.20). "He does not die, even after the annihilation of the body." Thus the living entity transmigrates from one body to another and performs various activities. In each body the living entity performs so many acts. Sometimes he becomes a great hero-just like Hiranyakasipu and Kamsa, or in the modern age Napoleon or Hitler. The activities of such men are certainly very great, but as soon as their bodies are finished, everything else is finished. Then they remain in name only. Therefore a living entity may be called brhac-chravaḥ; he may have a great reputation for various types of activities. Nonetheless, he has a friend whom he does not know. Materialistic persons do not understand that God is present as the Supersoul and situated within the heart of every living entity. Although the Paramatma sits beside the jivatma as a friend, the jivatma, or living entity, does not know it. Consequently he is described as avijnata-sakha, meaning "one who has an unknown friend." The word avijnata-cestitaḥ is also significant because a living entity works hard under the direction of the Paramatma and is carried away by the laws of nature. Nonetheless, he thinks himself independent of God and independent of the stringent laws of material nature. It is stated in Bhagavad-gita:
(More...) Imported quote 14640 Atheists want evidence for the resultant actions of past activities. Therefore they ask, "Where is the proof that I am suffering and enjoying the resultant actions of past karma?" They have no idea how the subtle body carries the results of the present body's actions down to the next gross body. The present body may be finished grossly, but the subtle body is not finished; it carries the soul to the next body. Actually the gross body is dependent on the subtle body. Therefore the next gross body must suffer and enjoy according to the subtle body. The soul is carried by the subtle body continuously until liberated from gross material bondage.
(More...) Imported quote 14641 The great sage Narada continued: The living entity acts in a gross body in this life. This body is forced to act by the subtle body, composed of mind, intelligence and ego. After the gross body is lost, the subtle body is still there to enjoy or suffer. Thus there is no change.
(More...) Imported quote 14642 The living entity has two kinds of body-the subtle body and the gross body. Actually he enjoys through the subtle body, which is composed of mind, intelligence and ego. The gross body is the instrumental outer covering. When the gross body is lost, or when it dies, the root of the gross body-the mind, intelligence and ego-continues and brings about another gross body. Although the gross bodies apparently change, the real root of the gross body-the subtle body of mind, intelligence and ego-is always there. The subtle body's activities-be they pious or impious-create another situation for the living entity to enjoy or suffer in the next gross body. Thus the subtle body continues whereas the gross bodies change one after another.
(More...) Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Supersoul is always guiding the individual soul, the individual soul always knows how to act according to the reactions of his past karma. In other words, the Supersoul reminds him to act in such a way. Therefore although there is apparently a change in the gross body, there is a continuation between the lives of an individual soul.
(More...) Imported quote 14644 The living entity, while dreaming, gives up the actual living body. Through the activities of his mind and intelligence, he acts in another body, either as a god or a dog. After giving up this gross body, the living entity enters either an animal body or a demigod's body on this planet or on another planet. He thus enjoys the results of the actions of his past life.
(More...) Imported quote 14645 Although the root of distress and happiness is the mind, intelligence and ego, a gross body is still required as an instrument for enjoyment. The gross body may change, but the subtle body continues to act. Unless the living entity gets another gross body, he will have to continue in a subtle body, or a ghostly body. One becomes a ghost when the subtle body acts without the help of the instrumental gross body. As stated in this verse, sayanam imam utsrjya svasantam. The gross body may lie on a bed and rest, and even though the machinery of the gross body is working, the living entity may leave, go into a dream, and return to the gross body. When he returns to the body, he forgets his dream. Similarly, when the living entity takes on another gross body, he forgets the present gross body. The conclusion is that the subtle body-mind, intelligence and ego-creates an atmosphere with desires and ambitions that the living entity enjoys in the subtle body. Actually the living entity is in the subtle body, even though the gross body apparently changes and even though he inhabits the gross body on various planets. All the activities performed by the living entity in the subtle body are called illusory because they are not permanent. Liberation means getting out of the clutches of the subtle body. Liberation from the gross body simply involves the transmigration of the soul from one gross body to another. When the mind is educated in Krsna consciousness, or higher consciousness in the mode of goodness, one is transferred either to the upper, heavenly planets or to the spiritual world, the Vaikuntha planets. One therefore has to change his consciousness by cultivating knowledge received from Vedic instructions from the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the disciplic succession. If we train the subtle body in this life by always thinking about Krsna, we will transfer to Krsnaloka after leaving the gross body. This is confirmed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
(More...) Imported quote 14650 Sometimes we suddenly experience something that was never experienced in the present body by sight or hearing. Sometimes we see such things suddenly in dreams.
(More...) Imported quote 14652 We sometimes see things in dreams that we have never experienced in the present body. Sometimes in dreams we think that we are flying in the sky, although we have no experience of flying. This means that once in a previous life, either as a demigod or astronaut, we flew in the sky. The impression is there in the stockpile of the mind, and it suddenly expresses itself. It is like fermentation taking place in the depths of water, which sometimes manifests itself in bubbles on the water's surface. Sometimes we dream of coming to a place we have never known or experienced in this lifetime, but this is proof that in a past life we experienced this. The impression is kept within the mind and sometimes becomes manifest either in dream or in thought. The conclusion is that the mind is the storehouse of various thoughts and experiences undergone during our past lives. Thus there is a chain of continuation from one life to another, from previous lives to this life, and from this life to future lives. This is also sometimes proved by saying that a man is a born poet, a born scientist or a born devotee. If, like Maharaja Ambarisa, we think of Krsna constantly in this life (sa vai manaḥ krsna-padaravindayoḥ), we will certainly be transferred to the kingdom of God at the time of death. Even if our attempt to be Krsna conscious is not complete, our Krsna consciousness will continue in the next life. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita:
(More...) Imported quote 14671 The caterpillar transports itself from one leaf to another by capturing one leaf before giving up the other. Similarly, according to his previous work, the living entity must capture another body before giving up the one he has. This is because the mind is the reservoir of all kinds of desires.
(More...) Imported quote 14673 A living entity too much absorbed in material activity becomes very much attracted to the material body. Even at the point of death, he thinks of his present body and the relatives connected to it. Thus he remains fully absorbed in the bodily conception of life, so much so that even at the point of death he abhors leaving his present body. Sometimes it is found that a person on the verge of death remains in a coma for many days before giving up the body. This is common among so-called leaders and politicians who think that without their presence the entire country and all society will be in chaos. This is called maya. Political leaders do not like to leave their political posts, and they either have to be shot by an enemy or obliged to leave by the arrival of death. By superior arrangement a living entity is offered another body, but because of his attraction to the present body, he does not like to transfer himself to another body. Thus he is forced to accept another body by the laws of nature.
(More...) Material nature is very strong, and the material modes force one to accept another body. This force is visible when the living entity transmigrates from a superior body to an inferior one. One who acts like a dog or hog in the present body will certainly be forced to accept the body of a dog or hog in the next life. A person may be enjoying the body of a prime minister or a president, but when he understands that he will be forced to accept the body of a dog or hog, he chooses not to leave the present body. Therefore he lies in a coma many days before death. This has been experienced by many politicians at the time of death. The conclusion is that the next body is already determined by superior control. The living entity immediately gives up the present body and enters another. Sometimes in the present body the living entity feels that many of his desires and imaginations are not fulfilled. Those who are overly attracted to their life situation are forced to remain in a ghostly body and are not allowed to accept another gross body. Even in the body of a ghost, they create disturbances for neighbors and relatives. The mind is the prime cause of such a situation. According to one's mind, different types of bodies are generated, and one is forced to accept them. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita:
(More...) Imported quote 14678 While in the subtle body, we create many plans to enjoy sense gratification. These plans are recorded in the spool of one's mind as bija, the root of fruitive activities. In conditional life the living entity creates a series of bodies one after another, and this is called karma-bandhana. As explained in Bhagavad-gita:
(More...) Imported quote 14924 If one always thinks of something, he certainly gets a related body after death. Maharaja Agnidhra was always thinking of Pitrloka, the place where his wife had returned. Therefore after his death he achieved that same planet, probably to live with her again. Bhagavad-gita also says:
(More...) Imported quote 15378 The activities of those who are conditioned by material Nature are taken into account, and in their next life, according to these activities, they are offered different grades of material bodies. In the material world the spiritual soul in conditional life is subjected to different rewards and punishments. When he is rewarded, he is elevated to the higher planets, due to his righteous activities. And there he becomes one of the many demigods. And when he is punished for his abominable activities, he is thrown into different kinds of hellish planets, and there he suffers the miseries of material existence more acutely. The Lord gives a very nice example of this punishment: Formerly a king used to punish a criminal by dunking him in the river, and then raising him again for a breath, and then again dunking him once more in the water. Material Nature punishes and rewards the individual entity in just the same way. When he is punished he is dunked into the water of material miseries, and when he is rewarded he is taken out of it for some time. Elevation of the living entity to higher planets or to a higher status of life is never permanent. He has to come down again to be submerged in the water. All this goes on in this material existence. Sometimes one is elevated to the higher planetary system, and sometimes one is thrown into the hellish condition of material life.
(More...) Imported quote 16132 The Lord married and lived like a householder. This is certainly like a mundane affair, but when we learn that He married 16,108 wives and lived with them separately in each and every palace, certainly it is not mundane. Therefore, the Lord, living as a householder amongst His competent wives, is never mundane, and His behavior with them is never to be understood as mundane sex relation. The women who became the wives of the Lord are certainly not ordinary women, because to get the Lord as one's husband is the result of many, many millions of births' tapasya (austerity). When the Lord appears on different lokas, or planets, or on this planet of human beings, He displays His transcendental pastimes just to attract the conditioned souls to become His eternal servitors, friends, parents and lovers respectively in the transcendental world where the Lord eternally reciprocates such exchanges of service. Service is pervertedly represented in the material world and broken untimely, resulting in sad experience. The illusioned living being conditioned by material nature cannot understand out of ignorance that all our relations here in the mundane world are temporary and full of inebrieties. Such relations cannot help us be happy perpetually, but if the same relation is established with the Lord, then we are transferred to the transcendental world after leaving this material body and become eternally related with Him in the relation we desire. The women amongst whom He lived as their husband are not, therefore, women of this mundane world, but are eternally related with Him as transcendental wives, a position which they attained by perfection of devotional service. That is their competency. The Lord is param brahma, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Conditioned souls seek after perpetual happiness in all places-not only on this earth but also on other planets throughout the universe because constitutionally a spiritual spark, as he is, can travel to any part of God's creation. But being conditioned by the material modes, he tries to travel in space by spacecraft and so fails to reach his destination. The law of gravitation is binding upon him like the shackles of a prisoner. By other processes he can reach anywhere, but even if he reaches the highest planet, he cannot attain that perpetual happiness which he is searching after life after life. When he comes, however, to his senses, he seeks after Brahman happiness, knowing it for certain that unlimited happiness, which he is seeking, is never attainable in the material world. As such, the Supreme Being, Param Brahman, certainly does not seek His happiness anywhere in the material world. Nor can His paraphernalia of happiness be found in the material world. He is not impersonal. Because He is the leader and Supreme Being amongst innumerable living beings, He cannot be impersonal. He is exactly like us, and He has all the propensities of an individual living being in fullness. He marries exactly like us, but His marriage is neither mundane nor limited by our experience in the conditioned state. His wives, therefore, appear like mundane women, but factually they are all transcendental liberated souls, perfect manifestations of internal energy.
(More...) In this mantra the living entity prays to enter into the spiritual Kingdom of God after relinquishing the material body and the material air. The devotee prays to the Lord to remember his activities and the sacrifices he has performed, now before his material body is turned into ashes. This prayer is made at the time of death, with full consciousness of his past deeds and of the ultimate goal. One who is completely under the rules of material law remembers the heinous activities performed during the existence of his material body, and therefore he gets another material body after death. The Bhagavad-gita [8.6] confirms this truth. It states that at the time of death, the mind carries with it the propensities of the dying animal, and the next life is obtained in terms of that mental state.
(More...) Unlike the simple animals, who have no developed mind, the human being can remember the activities of his passing life like dreams at night, and therefore his mind remains surcharged with material desires, and he cannot enter into the spiritual kingdom with a spiritual body. The devotees, however, by practice of devotional service to the Lord, develop a sense of love for Godhead. And even if at the time of death a devotee does not remember his godly service, the Lord does not forget him. This prayer is to remind the Lord about the devotee's sacrifices, but even if there is no reminder, the Lord does not forget the devotional service of the pure devotee.
(More...) Our spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, writes: "By ignorance only the conditioned soul wrongly thinks that he is a product of the material nature and that the Personality of Godhead is also a product of matter. But in fact, the Personality of Godhead and the living being are transcendental and have nothing to do with the material nature When nescience is removed, then it is perfectly realized that there is nothing existing without the Personality of Godhead. As the gross and subtle bodies are emanations from the Personality of Godhead, the revival of transcendental knowledge permits one to engage both of them in the service of the Lord." The gross body can be engaged in rendering service, cleaning the temple, distributing Krsna conscious literature and bowing down in the temple, and the subtle mind can hear and think of the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. The realization by which one can change his activities into transcendental activities develops without apprehension in execution of the bhakti path. Narada grasped this at once by his superior attraction for the Supreme Personality of Godhead-through the most effective method of hearing from pure souls. As Narada tells it, "The flow of my devotional service began." Devotional service is natural to everyone, but it is choked up and suspended due to our being covered by modes of passion and ignorance. In Narada's case, the pure sound vibration of unadulterated devotees speaking the glories of the Supreme Lord at once removed the material coverings and his devotional service thus began. Or in other words, the eternal being who was residing in the body of the maidservant's son woke up, and the ultimate goal-love of God-became manifest in his heart. Narada's position before his teachers is a model for the disciple who wishes to attain success even within one lifetime: "I was very much attached to the bhakti-vedantas. I was gentle in behavior, and all my sins became eradicated in my heart. I had strong faith in them; I had subjugated the senses and was strictly following the bhakti-vedantas with body and mind."
(More...) The action of the mind is the prime force compelling the living entity to transmigrate from one body to another. The Gita explains, "Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state of being he will attain without fail." Our minds are constantly recording all of our thoughts and desires, and the totality of these memories floods our consciousness in the last moments of life. The nature of our thoughts at this critical juncture propels us into the appropriate physical body. Thus the body we now occupy is an accurate physical projection of our state of mind at the time of our last death.
(More...) Avatara-literally means "one who descends." A partially or fully empowered incarnation of the Lord who descends from the spiritual sky to the material universe with a particular mission described in scriptures; When Krsna descends from the world of spirit into the world of matter, His appearance here is called avatara. The Sanskrit term avatara (one who descends) is often rendered into English as incarnation. It is wrong, however, to think that Krsna incarnates in a body made of physical elements. The Seventh and Eighth Chapters of Bhagavad-gita distinguish at length between the material nature (apara-prakrti), visible as the temporary substances of earth, water, fire, air and ethereal space, and God's own spiritual nature (para-prakrti), which is invisible (avyakta), eternal (sanatana) and infallible (aksara). When the Lord descends, by His mercy the invisible becomes visible. As He Himself states in Bg. 4.6, I descend by My own nature, appearing in My form of spiritual energy (prakrtim svam adhisthaya sambhavamy atma-mayaya). In Bg. 4.9 He declares, janma karma ca me divyam, My appearance and activities are divine. God has many avataras. But of all of them, that form described in Bg. 11.50 as the most beautiful (saumya-vapu) is His own original form (svakam rūpam). This is the eternal form of Sri Krsna, the all-charming lotus-eyed youth whose body is the shape of spiritual ecstasy. SB 1.3.28 confirms that Krsna is the original form of Visnu: ete camsa-kalaḥ pumsaḥ krsnas tu bhagavan svayam indrari-vyakulam lokam mrḍayanti yuge yuge, which means, All of the incarnations of Visnu listed in the scriptures are expansions of the Lord. Lord Sri Krsna is the original Personality of Godhead. All avataras appear in the world whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists. The Srimad-Bhagavatam also provides us with the authorized list of scheduled incarnations of Godhead, of whom the Dasavatara (ten avataras) are particularly celebrated. The ten are 1) Matsya (the Lord's form of a gigantic golden fish), 2) Kūrma (the turtle), 3) Varaha (the boar), 4) Sri Nrsimha (the half-man, half-lion form), 5) Parasurama (the hermit who wields an ax), 6) Vamana (the small brahmana boy), 7) Sri Ramacandra (the Lord of Ayodhya), 8) Sri Baladeva (Lord Krsna's brother), 9) Buddha (the sage who cheated the atheists), and 10) Kalki (who will depopulate the world of all degraded, sinful men at the end of the present Age of Kali). There are two broad categories of avataras. Some, like Sri Krsna, Sri Rama and Sri Nrsimha, are Visnu-tattva, i.e. direct forms of God Himself, the source of all power. Others are individual souls (jiva-tattva) who are empowered by the Lord in one or more of the following seven ways: with knowledge, devotion, creative ability, personal service to God, rulership over the material world, power to support planets, or power to destroy rogues and miscreants. This second category of avatara is called saktyavesa. Included herein are Buddha, Christ and Muhammed. The Mayavadis think that form necessarily means limitation. God is omnipresent, unlimited and therefore formless, they argue. When He reveals His avatara form within this world, that form, being limited in presence to a particular place and time, cannot be the real God. It is only an indication of God. But the fact is that it is not God's form that is limited. It is only the Mayavadis' conception of form that is limited, because that conception is grossly physical. God's form is of the nature of supreme consciousness. Being spiritual, it is called sūksma, most subtle. There is no contradiction between the omnipresence of something subtle and its having form. The most subtle material phenomena we can perceive is sound. Sound may be formless (as noise) or it may have form (as music). Because sound is subtle, its having form does not affect its ability to pervade a huge building. Similarly, God's having form does not affect His ability to pervade the entire universe. Since God's form is finer than the finest material subtlety, it is completely inappropriate for Mayavadis to compare His form to gross hunks of matter. Because they believe God's form is grossly physical, Mayavadis often argue that any and all embodied creatures may be termed avataras. Any number of living gods are being proclaimed within India and other parts of the world today. Some of these gods are mystics, some are charismatics, some are politicians, and some are sexual athletes. But none of them are authorized by the Vedic scriptures. They represent only the mistaken Mayavadi idea that the one formless unlimited Truth appears in endless gross, physical human incarnations, and that you and me and I and he are therefore all together God. And since each god has a different idea of what dharma is, the final truth, according to Mayavada philosophy, is that the paths of all gods lead to the same goal. This idea is as unenlightened as it is impractical. When ordinary people proclaim themselves to be God, and that whatever they are doing is Vedic dharma, that is called dharmasya glaniḥ, a disturbance to eternal religious principles. Therefore Krsna came again, 500 years ago, as the Golden Avatara, Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He established the yuga-dharma, the correct form of sanatana-dharma for our time (sahkirtana). Lord Caitanya's appearance was predicted in SB 11.5.32: In this Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by congregational chanting of the holy names of God. See Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Krsna.
(More...) Imported quote 16408 So what is the difference between this material world and the spiritual world? The difference is that in the material world you have to change your body, although you are eternal. Nityaḥ sasvato na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg 2.20]. You are not destroyed after the annihilation of this body, material body, but you transmigrate to another body. And that body may be one of the 8,400,000's of forms. There are 8,400,000's of forms. Jalaja nava-laksani [Padma Purana].
(More...) The living entities are wandering throughout the universe changing bodies, transmigrating from one body to another, from one place to another, and from one planet to another. Brahmanḍa bhramite: they are rotating within this material universe. This science is unknown to the modern educators-how the spirit soul is transmigrating from one body to another, and how he is being transferred from one planet to another. But we have explained this in our book Easy Journey to Other Planets.
(More...) In fact, the guru can help you transmigrate from this planet directly to the spiritual sky, Vaikuntha-loka, where there are innumerable spiritual planets. The topmost planet in the spiritual sky is Krsna's planet, called Goloka Vrndavana. The Krsna consciousness movement is trying to give information of how one can be transferred directly to the Goloka Vrndavana planet, Krsnaloka. That is our mission.
(More...) Those who are trying to be elevated to the higher planets-deva-loka, or the planets of the demigods, where the standard of living and the life span are very great-may worship the demigods. Or if you want you may be transferred to the Pitrloka, to the planets of the ghosts, to the planet where Krsna lives (yanti mad-yajino 'pi mam). This all depends on your activities. But samsara-rotating, wandering within this material world from one body to another or from one planet to another-is not advised. Material existence is called samsara. Bhūtva bhūtva praliyate: you take your birth in some form of body, you live for some time, then you have to give up this body. Then you have to accept another body, again live for some time, then give up that body, and then again accept another body. This is called samsara.
(More...) Imported quote 16557 That we do not take care. We are taking care of the small span of life, but we are not taking care of our life eternal. That is mistake. Suppose in this life I am a very great businessman. Next life, by my karma, if I become something else... There are 8,400,000 species of life, forms of life. Jalaja nava-laksani sthavara laksa-vimsati [Padma Purana]. Nine lakhs of forms of life in the water. Then there are insects. Sthavara laksa... There are trees, plants, two millions forms of trees and plants. Krmayo rudra-sahkhyakaḥ.
(More...) Imported quote 17479 Therefore I am so much after books. If we forget our position-if we become pound-shilling man, property man-then Krsna will be finished, because Krsna is akincana-gocara. Therefore we should always remember that we possess this nice house not for our comfort, but people will come, because they are not accustomed... If we would have invited people, "Come and sit down on this Mayapur ground," no, there was no possibility. Therefore we must possess Krsna's temple very nice so that people will come, and we shall preach. That is philosophy, not that because we have got this nice house, therefore we should be very much attached. Attachment must be there-for Krsna's service. The temple must be very cleansed. The establishment must be very nice. What for? For attracting devotees. This is the purpose. Not for our personal benefit. That is the way. My Guru Maharaja introduced these big, big palaces, temple. That is the contribution of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Because the Gosvamis, they worshiped Krsna in a different method-going to Vrndavana, living underneath the tree, and one night underneath one tree, next night, next tree. This vairagya is not possible for the Western people. Therefore we require this building. That is the contribution. Unless they live comfortably, it is not possible. And we have to preach all over the world.
(More...) Imported quote 18078 And people are doing that. They do not offer to Krsna, and they eat whatever they like. The result is that you have misused this opportunity of human life, to understand Krsna and go back to home, back to Godhead, so that you'll be happy eternally; you'll be freed from this entanglement of bhūtva bhūtva praliyate [Bg 8.19]-you enjoy one duration of life; again you have to give it up; then you accept another duration of life, bhūtva bhūtva praliyate. This human life is meant for getting rid of this business, taking birth and dying, taking birth and dying. This is meant. This is... This opportunity's given. But if you do not use it properly-you use it as cats and dogs and hogs-then the..., by nature's law you will get the body next life cats and dogs and hogs. You eat even stool. Because you had no discrimination in eating, the "All right, you can now eat...," the pig's body, hog's body you get, and eat even up to stool. That opportunity is given. And you have sex life with your mother and sister. You see hog's life, they have no sex discrimination. They do not discriminate, "It is..., she is my mother," or "She is my sister." No. So this is hog's life. Therefore sastra says that "Don't be foolish to lead a life like hogs." Nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kaman arhate viḍ-bhujam ye [SB 5.5.1]. The material civilization should not be like that. What is that? Now, simply for sense gratification. Nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kaman. That sense gratification is also not very easy. People are working so hard. They are stealing even, risking life. So many things they are... This is not very easy-going life. Kastan kaman. Everything is studied by sastra. Arhate viḍ-bhujam ye. This kind of life is meant for the hogs.
(More...) Imported quote 18535 That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita: ūrdhvam gacchanti sattva-sthaḥ [Bg 14.18]. If you develop sattva-guna, then gradually you can be elevated to the higher planetary system where the demigods live. Madhye tisthanti rajasaḥ. If you are affected by the rajo-guna, then the middle planetary system, means bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ... Om bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya. So..., and lower planet, then Tala, Atala, Vitala, Patala, Rasatala, Talatala-there are so many down planetary system. There are fourteen planetary system, seven down, seven up.
(More...) So try to come to the platform of sattva-guna. Not sattva-guna-brahma-bhūta [SB 4.30.20], transcendental, spiritual platform. Come to this brahma-bhūta; then your life will be successful. And if you want to live this colorful life-sometimes Brahma, sometimes dog, sometimes cat, sometimes human being, sometimes king, sometimes worm of the stool-in this way, if you like this colorful life... The colorful life is going by the modes of material nature. As we are contaminating different colorful life, we are having this body. So in order to... The Buddha philosophy gives little hint only, nirvana: "You just finish this colorful life." But it does not give further enlightenment. Simply it gives the hint that "You finish, nirvana." Nirvana means "Finish this colorful life. Become zero." He said zero, sūnyavadi. But actually, we cannot be zero. Because we are eternal, how we can be zero? We have to enter another colorful life. That is spiritual life. That is spiritual life. Simply if you make zero, that is not... That is little better, that you understand that this colorful life of material existence is not good. But what is your positive engagement? Unless you are positively engaged in another, superior colorful life, you cannot give up this base colorful life.
(More...) Imported quote 19049 Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuḥ sreya uttamam [SB 11.3.21]. This is the injunction. So mahat-seva, the same thing. Mahat-sevam dvaram. Dvaram means the way, the gate, the gateway. Mahat-sevam dvaram ahur vimukteḥ [SB 5.5.2]. If you want to be free from this entanglement... It is very great shackle, repetition of birth and death, bhūtva bhūtva praliyate [Bg 8.19]. One should understand this implication, how we are implicated. We are thinking, "Now I am very happy." No, next moment you can become a low-graded body, because karmana daiva... If we are acting in a different way, the nature's way is to give you... Karanam guna-sahgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yonisu [Bg 13.22]. Guna-sahga. As we are associating, infecting the different types of material modes of nature, the body is ready immediately. Everything is explained. Yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram [Bg 8.6].
(More...) Imported quote 21191 Please accept my greetings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 1-6-75 and have noted the contents. Your endeavor to prove scientifically the existence of re-incarnation is not very practical. It is like bringing a cannon to kill a mosquito. It is not required to bring a cannon to kill a mosquito, similarly any sane man can understand the principle of re-incarnation. There is no need of giving some long so-called scientific explanation. Explanation is already given in the Bhagavad-gita, as it is. Krishna, the Supreme Authority has already explained, and you should accept and understand His explanation and then try to make others understand. You should visit our temple in Sydney. The address is: Corner Wrights Rd. and Drummoyne Ave., Drummoyne N.S.W. I hope this meets you in good health. Imported quote 21934 The public should be convinced of this point: that there is life after death, and then prepare for the next life. Otherwise what is the difference between men and animals? If a man has to go outside his home, he has to make so many preparations, but an animal will not-that is the difference between a man and an animal.
(More...) Imported quote 22967 Prabhupada: Alive, we have been given chance to understand God. But if you don't understand, then next life you become a dog.
(More...) Prabhupada: Why not? [laughter] Suppose if God says that "You become a dog," can you check it?
(More...) Reporter: Is there any way I can prepare...?
(More...) Reporter: And the only way to surrender is to accept this...
(More...) Prabhupada: Otherwise there is no certainty. You can become demigod also. You can become higher planetary... But you have to change your body. Either you become dog or you can become demigod, but change your body, that is fact.
(More...) Reporter: You mean it always comes back as some form of animal?
(More...) Hamsadūta: Whether you always return as an animal?
(More...) Prabhupada: You have to accept one of them. That is according to your quality.
(More...) Reporter: The quality of my life.
(More...) Prabhupada: Yes. Just like if you infect a certain type of disease, you must suffer from that disease. Similarly, there are three qualities of the material nature. So as you associate with that quality, you get a similar body. Karanam guna-sahgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yonisu [Bg 13.22]. How one is getting better life, one is getting worse life, the reason is associating, infecting, the different types of modes of nature. That education we have no... There is no such education, what kind of association we should make so that we can better life or we can go back to home, back to God. There is no such education. They are living like cats and dogs and going to be cats and dogs.
(More...) "So you can go to the higher planetary system, prepare yourself in that way. You can go to the pitrloka. You can remain within this world. And you can come to Me also." So if I have to prepare myself for the next life, why not go back to home, back to Godhead? Why unnecessarily go to the other planets or to the dogs and cats? Prepare in such a way that tyaktva deham punar janma naiti [Bg 4.9]: no more material body.
(More...) Imported quote 24400 Prabhupada: Dehi nityam avadhyo 'yam dehe sarvasya bharata. Dehe, dehe means body, within the body. This topic began, dehino 'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara [Bg 2.13]. Deha, dehi. Dehi means one who possesses the body. Just like guni. Asthate in-prata.[?] The grammatical. Guna, in, deha, in, in-prata.[?] Dehin sabda. So the nominative case of dehin sabda is dehi. Dehi nityam, eternal. In so many ways Krsna has explained: nityam, eternal. Indestructible, immutable. It does not take birth, it does not die, it is always, constantly, the same. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg 2.20]. In this way, again he says nityam, eternal. Avadhya: nobody can kill. In the body, he is there. But dehe sarvasya bharata.
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