SB 10.3.18 – We Do Not Reject the Body

Giriraj Swami: 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

We read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Three, “The Birth of Lord Kṛṣṇa,”

TEXT 18

ya ātmano dṛśya-guṇeṣu sann iti

vyavasyate sva-vyatirekato ‘budhaḥ

vinānuvādaṁ na ca tan manīṣitaṁ

samyag yatas tyaktam upādadat pumān

TRANSLATION

One who considers his visible body, which is a product of the three modes of nature, to be independent of the soul is unaware of the basis of existence, and therefore he is a rascal. Those who are learned have rejected this conclusion because one can understand through full discussion that with no basis in soul, the visible body and senses would be insubstantial. Nonetheless, although his conclusion has been rejected, a foolish person considers it a reality.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Without the basic principle of soul, the body cannot be produced. So-called scientists have tried in many ways to produce a living body in their chemical laboratories, but no one has been able to do it because unless the spirit soul is present, a body cannot be prepared from material elements. Since scientists are now enamored of theories about the chemical composition of the body, we have challenged many scientists to make even a small egg. The chemicals in eggs can be found very easily. There is a white substance and a yellow substance, covered by a shell, and modern scientists should very easily be able to duplicate all this. But even if they were to prepare such an egg and put it in an incubator, this man-made chemical egg would not produce a chicken. The soul must be added because there is no question of a chemical combination for life. Those who think that life can exist without the soul have therefore been described here as abudhaḥ, foolish rascals.

Again, there are those who reject the body, regarding it as insubstantial. They are of the same category of fools. One can neither reject the body nor accept it as substantial. The substance is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and both the body and the soul are energies of the Supreme Godhead, as described by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (7.4–5):

bhūmir āpo ‘nalo vāyuḥ
khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca
ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me
bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā
        

apareyam itas tv anyāṁ
prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām
jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho
yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat

“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego — all together these eight comprise My separated material energies. But besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which consists of all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe.”

The body, therefore, has a relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, just as the soul does. Since both of them are energies of the Lord, neither of them is false, because they come from the reality. One who does not know this secret of life is described as abudhaḥ. According to the Vedic injunctions, aitadātmyam idaṁ sarvam, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma: everything is the Supreme Brahman. Therefore, both the body and the soul are Brahman, since matter and spirit emanate from Brahman.

Not knowing the conclusions of the Vedas, some people accept the material nature as substance, and others accept the spirit soul as substance, but actually Brahman is the substance. Brahman is the cause of all causes. The ingredients and the immediate cause of this manifested material world are Brahman, and we cannot make the ingredients of this world independent of Brahman. Furthermore, since the ingredients and the immediate cause of this material manifestation are Brahman, both of them are truth, satya; there is no validity to the expression brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. The world is not false.

Jñānīs reject this world, and foolish persons accept this world as reality, and in this way they are both misguided. Although the body is not as important as the soul, we cannot say that it is false. Yet the body is temporary, and only foolish, materialistic persons, who do not have full knowledge of the soul, regard the temporary body as reality and engage in decorating this body. Both of these pitfalls — rejection of the body as false and acceptance of the body as all in all — can be avoided when one is fully situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If we regard this world as false, we fall into the category of asuras, who say that this world is unreal, with no foundation and no God in control (asatyam apratiṣṭhaṁ te jagad āhur anīśvaram). As described in the Sixteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, this is the conclusion of demons.

COMMENT

Hare Krishna. So, the position of a devotee is perfect, and the understanding of a devotee is perfect. Here, Vasudeva continues his prayers to Lord Krishna in the prison house of Kamsa, and although he is full of affection for Krishna, like a father for a son, he has clear knowledge of matter and spirit, and the controller of both. So, this is the position of a devotee. He has both perfect knowledge and pure emotion. And karmis, people who accept the body as all in all, they miss the most important factor, which is the soul. But impersonal philosophers who accept the reality of the soul and reject the body, are also, in Srila Prabhupada’s words, fools. Actually, both matter and spirit are real because they come from the Supreme Spirit. And a devotee with proper understanding, understands that the soul is more important than the body, but he does not neglect either because he knows that they are energies of the Lord and are meant to be engaged in the Lord’s service.

Srila Prabhupada gave the example of a person walking down the street and finding a lost purse. If someone thinks, Oh, let me look in this purse and see what there is, let me keep it for myself and enjoy it, that is wrong; that person is a thief. If the person finds the purse and thinks, Oh, this is not mine, I can’t take this and leaves it, that is all right, it is better than stealing the property but it is not complete. But if the person sees the purse and considers, Oh, someone has left this purse, let me find out who the owner is and return it, that is perfect and complete. So, we do not want to be thieves, stealing the property of the Lord and trying to enjoy it for ourselves, nor do we want to be false renouncers, thinking we can renounce something that doesn’t belong to us, or reject something as false, which actually is real. So therefore, devotees are the only ones who have perfect knowledge. Now, even as devotees, we may have tendencies to veer in one direction or another, depending on our nature or tendency or mood. We may be influenced by the desire to enjoy even though we know in principle everything belongs to Krishna and it is meant for His pleasure. But still, because of our conditioning, we may be inclined to enjoy what we know to be Krishna’s property, or we may become inclined to reject something although we know it is Krishna’s property but because we feel that it is giving us pain, we want to reject it. And the other side, we know it is Krishna’s property but we think that because it can give us pleasure, we want to enjoy it. So, both acceptance of material things for sense gratification and rejection of material things that could be used in Krishna’s service are false, they are faults. So, we have to be just on the point.

Srila Prabhupada gave the example that if you are situated directly under the sun or under a source of light, there will be no shadow. But if you veer a little to one side or the other, there will be some shadow. So, if we are directly in Krishna consciousness, fixed in the principle of yukta-vairāgya, then there is no shadow or darkness. But if we veer a little to the side of enjoying Krishna’s property, then we deviate. Or if we go a little to the other side and reject something that belongs to Krishna, that is meant to be used in Krishna’s service, we also deviate. So, there is no substitute for Krishna consciousness, only in Krishna consciousness can we see things in the proper perspective and use things or not use things in the appropriate way. So, because most people are materialists who think that the body is all in all, they are engaged in the mad pursuit of material acquisition and sense gratification, and thus, they are rascals. But those who reject the body, who reject the material world, are also rascals. It is like if say you have a beautiful painting of a landscape in your home, and someone enters your home and likes it and thinks, “Oh, this is nice, I am going to steal this and keep it in my home,” well, the person is a rascal. But if a person comes to your home and sees the painting of the landscape and says, “This isn’t even real, this doesn’t even exist, this is all illusion,” he is also a rascal, he is a different kind of rascal, but he is also a rascal.

So, devotees, they understand that everything is Krishna’s energy, that this body is Krishna’s energy, this body is Krishna’s property and therefore, I should take care of it, and the soul, which is my actual identity is also Krishna’s property, and therefore, it should also be used in Krishna’s service. After spending some time in India, I became quite ill, and Srila Prabhupada wrote me a letter, “Your body is very valuable. It is dedicated to Krishna’s service. So, you should take care of your body very carefully.” And then he said, “You should take rest and follow the doctor’s prescription and chant the holy name. The holy names are the panacea that can cure all material diseases.” So, we do not reject the body. Srila Sanatana Gosvami was once afflicted by sores on his skin that oozed liquids, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, in spite of Sanatana Gosvami’s heartfelt objections, would embrace him, and Srila Sanatana Gosvami felt terrible that these foul smelling liquids were coming on the transcendental body of his worshipable Lord and master. And he was so distraught by the situation that he decided to give up his body by falling under the wheels of the Jagannatha chariot during the Ratha-yatra.

And Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, being the omniscient Lord, knew the heart of Srila Sanatana Gosvami and asked him, “Is it proper to destroy someone else’s property?” And He explained that, “Your body does not belong to you, you have already surrendered it to Me, so it belongs to Me. So, how can you destroy another person’s property?” And Lord Chaitanya said, “I have so many things that I want to do, but I cannot do them personally. I want to excavate the lost holy places of Vrindavan, I want to write books on Vaishnava philosophy and practices, I want to show the way to live in Vrindavan. But I cannot do these things personally because I have other obligations. So, I want to do these things through your body. So, please do not consider giving up your body.” And then He explained, “One cannot attain Krishna by giving up one’s body. If I could attain Krishna by giving up My body, I would give up millions and billions of bodies without a moment’s hesitation. But one cannot achieve Krishna by such means. One can achieve Krishna only by pure devotional service, by developing pure love for Krishna. So, you should stay in the body and use the body in Krishna’s service and develop your love for Krishna.” So, the body is very important in Krishna consciousness.

In Srila Prabhupada’s last days, devotees were attending him day and night. Tamal Krishna Goswami, Bhavananda Gosvami, Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Swami, Bhakti Charu Swami, these were the main group of Srila Prabhupada’s personal servants in his last days, and they were with him all the time. And Srila Prabhupada was concerned that they were not sleeping, and he expressed his concern to Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Maharaja that, “If you do not take sufficient rest and take care of your body, you will fall sick. And then, in your old age, even if you are enthusiastic to preach, you will not be able to because your body would have been harmed.” So, we need the body while we are in the material world in order to serve our masters who actually are the proprietors of our bodies and souls, ourselves. While we are in the world, we are meant to preach the messages of Godhead. Otherwise, we have no reason to be here. Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, became very ill at the age of sixty-two. He was in Jagannatha Puri in December, where the weather was warmer in December. And of course, Jagannatha Puri is a very sacred place. But somehow, he wanted to return to Calcutta. So, his disciples brought him to Calcutta, and in Calcutta, they arranged for the most reputed, some of the most reputed doctors in the city to treat him. So, the doctor told him, “You have to rest more, you can’t keep preaching the way you have been preaching.” And Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati in turn began to preach to the doctor that the body is temporary, the soul is eternal, the purpose of human life is to realize one’s relationship with the supreme soul, Krishna. And he preached, and he commented, “If I cannot preach, then what is the use of living?”

Srila Prabhupada had a wonderful disciple named Jayananda dasa who had leukemia, cancer. So, he found a place in Mexico that had an alternative type of treatment for cancer, and he went there, and he was doing better. And at the same time, he was preaching to the other patients who were very eager to hear the message of Krishna. So, he was very optimistic about his future. But then, the authorities in the clinic told him that he had to stop having meetings and giving classes, and he decided that he was going to leave that place, which he did. And he wrote Srila Prabhupada, and Srila Prabhupada wrote back, “It is very good that you are thinking, ‘What is the use of this miserable body now?’” And eventually, Jayananda Prabhu came to Los Angeles. Well, it is a whole story, but he left his body in Krishna consciousness.

So, what is the difference between the case of Srila Sanatana Gosvami for example, or the case of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura? Of course, ultimately, there is no difference because they are both pure devotees, but Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, was old enough, sixty-two, not very old but old enough, and he was ready to leave. And sometimes, one comes to a condition where one is going to leave. And probably the same with Jayananda Prabhu. It was a terminal illness, and it seems the time came for him. And so, as Srila Prabhupada himself said in relation to himself, that he wanted the benediction to die on the battlefield, die fighting, fighting maya, upholding Krishna consciousness. Whereas, Srila Sanatana Gosvami was just beginning to fulfill his mission for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And in the end, he did go to Vrindavan, and he did so much service for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the Vaishnavas, and he lived for so many more years.

So, yes, it may come to the stage where death is imminent and we will leave the body, and at that stage, we may think, Well, what is the use of prolonging my existence in this body for a few more days at the cost of chanting and hearing about Krishna? Let me chant and hear and depart in the association of devotees, in the transcendental atmosphere of Krishna-naam and kṛṣṇa-kathā. But otherwise, we should take care, we should think, “Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, our previous acharyas, Srila Prabhupada, our paramparā, they have a mission for me, they have service for me, I have a mission to fulfill their will. And in the effort to fulfill their will, I need this body, I must utilize this body. And therefore, I must take care of it.” And again, not too much or not too little. It is not that we pamper the body and are so preoccupied with taking care of the body for Krishna that we forget Krishna, but we take care of it in a normal way. As Srila Prabhupada showed us, he was very conscientious when it came to his physical bodily upkeep, he was very regulated, he would get up. Of course, in his case, he would only sleep a few hours at night, but that was all he needed. And then he would translate and chant, and he would take his walk, he was very regular in taking his walk, he was very regular and punctual in taking his meals, take a little rest after lunch. So, he was very conscientious. But the body is such that it cannot stay forever with the soul, it will come to a point where the soul will leave the body. And before that time comes, we should develop our Krishna consciousness, so that we don’t have to take birth again in a miserable body that has so many disadvantages, even for Krishna’s service.

Of course, a devotee is ready to serve Krishna in any condition. If Krishna wants him to take birth again to preach, he is ready to take birth again to preach. But he shouldn’t be obliged to take birth again, because he is still harboring desires to enjoy the body and the things of the world. Therefore, he has to take birth again to continue his materialistic pursuits. And the method, most essential method is, of course, to chant the holy names,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

If we just keep chanting, chanting, chanting, and repeating what we’ve heard, speaking, speaking, speaking about Krishna, our hearts will become purified, we will give up those nasty desires for material enjoyment based on the body or the mind, and we will come to this stage where, really, all we want is Krishna and Krishna’s service, whether it is this body or another body or spiritual body, we will come to that stage, we just have to keep chanting, chanting, chanting. And by the mercy of the holy name, the Lord, the Vaishnavas, we can be successful. We depend fully on their mercy. We make our efforts, that is our duty, we make our efforts, but ultimately, we depend fully on their mercy. And they want to give us mercy. They are looking for candidates to receive their mercy. And we show our sincere desire to receive their mercy by making our best effort to follow their instructions and execute their will.

Hare Krishna.

So, are there any questions or comments? Yes, Sanatana Govinda.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. In taking care of body, we get some medical advice, allopathy or ayurvedic, and we usually take that, and sometimes we also get astrological advice, like wearing this gem or different stone, that is supposed to help. How should we take such advice, astrological advice?

Giriraj Swami: Well, astrology is one of the Vedic sciences, like Ayurveda, done properly, and it is hard to find a good astrologer. It is hard to find a good ayurvedic position. But done properly, Ayurveda and Vedic astrology go together. They both consider the living entity in his fullness. Like one vaidya, who is coming in a very long line of vaidyas from the time of Krishna, from before the time of Krishna. In fact, his line is mentioned in some Puranas, or Upapurāṇas. He said that in Ayurveda, they don’t treat the body, but they treat the person, which includes the body, the mind, and the soul. And the body and mind that we receive are awarded to us on the basis of our karma, and our karma is guided by higher beings, demigods. And that can be read in our astrology, it can be read in the palm. There are so many ways of reading one’s karma. And a really expert astrologer can predict. Yes, in broad terms, he can tell you what your physical and mental propensities will be, and in specific terms, he can predict, taking everything into account, “You will have this disease, or a tendency towards this disease,” and he can give things, like you mentioned, gemstones, to counteract those influences. And that can be taken in tandem with ayurvedic remedies. But the one factor that goes beyond karma is bhakti and Krishna’s mercy.

Once, a palmist came to our camp in Indore when we were traveling with Srila Prabhupada, and he wanted to read the devotees’ palms. And we were new in India, and we asked Srila Prabhupada. He said, “Yes, let him do what he wants.” So, he is looking at the devotees’ palms and, “Oh, this will be your last life,” all sorts of things, and then he left. And afterwards, the devotees asked Srila Prabhupada, “Well, what about all the things he said?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “If we just clap our hands three times in ecstasy, in kirtan, all our lines are wiped off.” So, of course, finding a proper astrologer is one question, but even if we do find a proper astrologer, he cannot overrule Krishna. He cannot overrule Krishna. So, if you want to wear some gemstone to ward off the malefic influence of Shani or [Unintelligible 00:49:49] or whatever, I don’t know, there is a risk. It can distract us from our real focus. Different gurus also have different attitudes towards it, and we have to consider that also. Srila Prabhupada entertained it very lightly, didn’t take it very seriously. But from what I understand, His Holiness Radhanath Swami doesn’t really encourage it. So, I haven’t maybe clarified that. I don’t want to speculate. Now he has such a huge following, he might be a little more liberal because he just has such a huge following. But up until fairly recently, he was quite strict about it. He didn’t encourage it, or to the contrary, discouraged it. And I have discussed with some of his most senior disciples in Chowpatty. The first thing is, where do you find a proper astrologer, and then just do bhakti and depend on Krishna. That is  the prevailing mood overall. Hare Krishna. But I don’t want to speak for him because like I said, that goes back a few years. But I think it is something that one could clarify with one’s spiritual master because some spiritual masters do have opinions on the subject and advice for their disciples. Yes, [Unintelligible 00:52:42]?

Devotee: Thank you very much, Maharaja, for nice class. I have two questions. One is, in the purport also it mentioned that Krishna. . .one demonic tendency is that Krishna is not in control, no God is in control of this world. And yesterday it happened in Japan, and so many people left their bodies. And my question is, how do we answer people in general those who are not devotees? And then the second connected point is that even being a devotee sometimes, our faith is tested in Krishna. We see that something, which is not going according to us, and we feel, “No, it is all wrong.” There may be some problems, and our faith is tested. So, how should we answer to a doubting person who is not a devotee seeing the situation in the world, and how do we answer a person who is a devotee seeing the situation in our mission, in our and Prabhupada’s movement, how should we respond to them?

Giriraj Swami: That is a good question, and it is a question that we all have to consider because people have doubts. And not just doubts, they have complaints about God. We have issues with God, even devotees have issues, “I tried my best and now look what happened,” or, “I joined the movement, I expected this, and I got something else,” or it could be things not related to the movement. As you mentioned, it could be a tsunami or any sort of calamity. And how to answer the question will depend a lot on the audience. But ultimately, there could be intermediate answers, but ultimately, we are in the material world because we have turned away from Krishna, and once we come into the material world, we are subject to all sorts of miseries. The very beginning, Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gītā, duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam, that the material world is a place of misery, and it is temporary. So, when we realize that the reason we are here is because we turned away from Krishna, then we will realize that we have no one to blame except ourselves.

In modern counseling, when there are difficulties in a relationship, the counselor will usually say, there is fault on both sides, both sides have to see their fault. But in our coming into the material world, there is no fault in Krishna. And when we come to that acceptance that Krishna is perfect but we turned away from Him, it is entirely our responsibility, then we understand, “Well, okay, this is what we got into, and this is what we have to face.” In the case of a devotee, he is in the material world, but at the same time, he receives special attention from Krishna. And Krishna may arrange something for the devotee that seems bad from the material point of view, but which is actually good from the spiritual point of view. And again, if we are in the category described in today’s verse, abudhaḥ, fool or rascal, then we will just react, “Things aren’t going the way I wanted. Why is Krishna doing this to me?” But if we realize ultimately, we are not the body, we are part and parcel of Krishna, and our real relationship is with Him not with the body, or with the material world, then when He does something to cut our false attachments to the body then the world will appreciate it. “He must have some reason why He is doing this; He wants to teach me something; He wants me to learn something.” So, instead of blaming Him, we will think, What am I meant to learn from this?

If we take it nothing happens without the will of the Lord, which would be true, more true of a devotee, then we will hold back, “Well, let us see what happens, let us see how this plays out, maybe there is something that will be more beneficial for me than what I didn’t want to lose.” And Srila Prabhupada said that whenever Krishna takes something away from a devotee, it is only to give him something better. Like Sanatana Gosvami and the touchstone. I won’t tell the story, but I am sure you know it. So, sometimes we are holding on to something inferior, and because we are holding so tightly to it, we can’t accept something superior. And so, Krishna, out of His causeless mercy, will take that thing that we are holding onto so tightly away from us, and we will be upset. “Oh, why did he do that? I can’t live without this; my life is ruined.” But He is doing it because He wants to give you something better, He wants to give you, ultimately, pure love of Godhead, and He can’t give it to you when you are holding so tightly to these paltry, mundane things.

So, we shouldn’t be very quick to judge the wisdom of the way Krishna is dealing with us, and to accuse Him of not being fair to us, or kind to us, or considerate of us. He is the most considerate, He is also the most wise, and He knows what is best for us better than we do. Sometimes, a parent has to do something to a child that the child doesn’t understand at the time, but the parent knows it is for the ultimate benefit of the child. But it is a big topic, after 9/11 it was a very big question. “So many innocent people perished, how could God let them die?” So, devotees asked me to speak on this topic, How do we explain to people? It caused a tremendous crisis of faith in many people. Of course, their faith wasn’t that mature to begin with, but they had some sort of faith, and it was severely tested by the attack on the twin towers. I gave a long answer to that question, which is transcribed. And there was a devotee involved, not in the twin towers but she was in the Merrill Lynch building, which was just across from the twin towers. She describes the whole thing very vividly and what she went through, and it was very traumatic. But the conclusion was that she realized that the only thing she has is Krishna and the holy name and guru. In the midst of everything that was happening, she came to that realization.

Sometimes we need calamities to awaken us to the reality of the cruelty of the world, and the reality of the eternal grace of Krishna. So, we should welcome whatever Krishna arranges for us, and try to learn from the situation, or in the situation, learn what we are meant to learn, so that we can give up our false attachments and transfer our attachment to Krishna and the holy name and the pure devotees.

Hare Krishna. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.