Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (105 page)

Bg 15.7

TEXT 7

TEXT

mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke

jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ

manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi

prakṛti-sthāni karṣati

SYNONYMS

mama-
My;
eva-
certainly;
aṁśaḥ-
fragmental particles;
jīva-loke-
world of conditional life;
jīva-bhūtaḥ-
the conditioned living entities;
sanātanaḥ
-eternal;
manaḥ-
mind;
ṣaṣṭhāni-
six;
indriyāṇi-
senses;
prakṛti-
material nature;
sthāni-
situated;
karṣati-
struggling hard.

TRANSLATION

The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.

PURPORT

In this verse the identity of the living being is clearly given. The living entity is the fragmental part and parcel of the Supreme Lord-eternally. It is not that he assumes individuality in his conditional life and in his liberated state becomes one with the Supreme Lord. He is eternally fragmented. It is clearly said,
sanātanaḥ.
According to the Vedic version, the Supreme Lord manifests and expands Himself in innumerable expansions, of which the primary expansions are called
Viṣṇu-tattva,
and the secondary expansions are called the living entities. In other words, the
Viṣṇu-tattva
is the personal expansion, and the living entities are separated expansions. By His personal expansion, He is manifested in various forms like Lord Rāma, Nṛsiṁhadeva, Viṣṇumūrti and all the predominating Deities in the Vaikuṇṭha planets. The separated expansions, the living entities, are eternally servitors. The personal expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the individual identities of the Godhead, are always present. Similarly, the separated expansions of living entities have their identities. As fragmental parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, the living entities have also fragmental qualities, of which independence is one. Every living entity has an individual soul, his personal individuality and a minute form of independence. By misuse of that independence, one becomes a conditioned soul, and by proper use of independence he is always liberated. In either case, he is qualititatively eternal, as the Supreme Lord is. In his liberated state he is freed from this material condition, and he is under the engagement of transcendental service unto the Lord; in his conditioned life he is dominated by the material modes of nature, and he forgets the transcendental loving service of the Lord. As a result, he has to struggle very hard to maintain his existence in the material world.

The living entities, not only the human beings and the cats and dogs, but even the greater controllers of the material world-Brahmā, Lord Śiva, and even Viṣṇu-are all parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. They are all eternal, not temporary manifestations. The word
karṣati
(struggling or grappling hard) is very significant. The conditioned soul is bound up, as though shackled by iron chains. He is bound up by the false ego, and the mind is the chief agent which is driving him in this material existence. When the mind is in the mode of goodness, his activities are good; when the mind is in the mode of passion, his activities are troublesome; and when the mind is in the mode of ignorance, he travels in the lower species of life. It is clear, however, in this verse, that the conditioned soul is covered by the material body, with the mind and the senses, and when he is liberated this material covering perishes, but his spiritual body manifests in its individual capacity. The following information is there in the
Mādhyandi-nāyana-śruti: sa vā eṣa brahma-niṣṭha idaṁ sarīraṁ marttyam atisṛjya brahmābhisampadya brahmaṇā paśyati brahmaṇā śṛnoti brahmaṇaivedaṁ sarvam anubhavati.
It is stated here that when a living entity gives up this material embodiment and enters into the spiritual world, he revives his spiritual body, and in his spiritual body he can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. He can hear and speak to Him face to face, and he can understand the Supreme Personality as He is. In
smṛti
also it is understood that in the spiritual planets everyone lives in bodies featured like the Supreme Personality of Godhead's. As far as bodily construction is concerned, there is no difference between the part and parcel living entities and the expansions of
Viṣṇumūrti.
In other words, at liberation the living entity gets a spiritual body by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The word
mamaivāṁśaḥ
(fragmental parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord) is also very significant. The fragmental portion of the Supreme Lord is not like some material broken part. We have already understood in the Second Chapter that the spirit cannot be cut into pieces. This fragment is not materially conceived. It is not like matter which can be cut into pieces and joined together again. That conception is not applicable here because the Sanskrit word
sanātana
(eternal) is used. The fragmental portion is eternal. It is also stated in the beginning of the Second Chapter that
(dehino 'smin yathā
) in each and every individual body, the fragmental portion of the Supreme Lord is present. That fragmental portion, when liberated from the bodily entanglement, revives its original spiritual body in the spiritual sky in a spiritual planet and enjoys association with the Supreme Lord. It is, however, understood here that the living entity, being the fragmental part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, is qualitatively one, just as the parts and parcels of gold are also gold.

Bg 15.8

TEXT 8

TEXT

śarīraṁ yad avāpnoti

yac cāpy utkrāmatīśvaraḥ

gṛhītvaitāni saṁyāti

vāyur gandhān ivāśayāt

SYNONYMS

śarīram
-body;
yat
-as much as;
avāpnoti-
gets;
yat-
that which;
ca-
also;
api-
virtually;
utkrāmati-
gives up;
īśvaraḥ
-the lord of the body;
gṛhītvā
-taking;
etāni
-all these;
saṁyāti
-goes away;
vāyuḥ
-air;
gandhān
-smell;
iva
-like;
āśayāt
-from the flower.

TRANSLATION

The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas.

PURPORT

Here the living entity is described as
īśvara,
the controller of his own body. If he likes, he can change his body to a higher grade, and if he likes he can move to a lower class. Minute independence is there. The change his body undergoes depends upon him. At the time of death, the consciousness he has created will carry him on to the next type of body. If he has made his consciousness like that of a cat or dog, he is sure to change to a cat's or dog's body. And, if he has fixed his consciousness on godly qualities, he will change into the form of a demigod. And, if he is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he will be transferred to Kṛṣṇaloka in the spiritual world and will associate with Kṛṣṇa. It is a false claim that after the annihilation of this body everything is finished. The individual soul is transmigrating from one body to another, and his present body and present activities are the background of his next body. One gets a different body according to
karma,
and he has to quit this body in due course. It is stated here that the subtle body, which carries the conception of the next body, develops another body in the next life. This process of transmigrating from one body to another and struggling while in the body is called
karṣati
or struggle for existence.

Bg 15.9

TEXT 9

TEXT

śrotraṁ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṁ ca

rasanaṁ ghrāṇam eva ca

adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṁ

viṣayān upasevate

SYNONYMS

śrotram
-ears;
cakṣuḥ-
eyes;
sparśanam-
touch;
ca-
also;
rasanam-
tongue;
ghrāṇam-
smelling power;
eva-
also;
ca-
and;
adhiṣṭhāya-
being situated;
manaḥ-
mind;
ca-
also;
ayam-
this;
viṣayān-
sense objects;
upasevate-
enjoys.

TRANSLATION

The living entity, thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, tongue, and nose and sense of touch, which are grouped about the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects.

PURPORT

In other words, if the living entity adulterates his consciousness with the qualities of cats and dogs, in his next life he gets a cat or dog body and enjoys. Consciousness is originally pure, like water. But if we mix water with a certain color, it changes. Similarly, consciousness is pure, for the spirit soul is pure. But consciousness is changed according to the association of the material qualities. Real consciousness is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When, therefore, one is situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is in his pure life. But if his consciousness is adulterated by some type of material mentality, in the next life he gets a corresponding body. He does not necessarily get a human body again; he can get the body of a cat, dog, hog, demigod or one of many other forms, for there are 8,400,000 species.

Bg 15.10

TEXT 10

TEXT

utkrāmantaṁ sthitaṁ vāpi

bhuñjānaṁ vā guṇānvitam

vimūḍhā nānupaśyanti

paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ

SYNONYMS

utkrāmantam
-quitting the body;
sthitam-
situated in the body;
vāpi-
either;
bhuñjānam-
enjoying;
vā
-or;
guṇa-anvitam-
under the spell of the modes of material nature;
vimūḍhāḥ-
foolish persons;
na-
never;
anupaśyanti-
can see;
paśyanti-
one can see;
jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ-
one who has the eyes of knowledge.

TRANSLATION

The foolish cannot understand how a living entity can quit his body, nor can they understand what sort of body he enjoys under the spell of the modes of nature. But one whose eyes are trained in knowledge can see all this.

PURPORT

The word
jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ
is very significant. Without knowledge, one cannot understand how a living entity leaves his present body, nor what form of body he is going to take in the next life, nor even why he is living in a particular type of body. This requires a great amount of knowledge understood from
Bhagavad-gītā
and similar literatures heard from a bona fide spiritual master. One who is trained to perceive all these things is fortunate. Every living entity is quitting his body under certain circumstances; he is living under certain circumstances and enjoying under certain circumstances under the spell of material nature. As a result, he is suffering different kinds of happiness and distress, under the illusion of sense enjoyment. Persons who are everlastingly fooled by lust and desire lose all power of understanding their change of body and their stay in a particular body. They cannot comprehend it. Those who have developed spiritual knowledge, however, can see that the spirit is different from the body and is changing its body and enjoying in different ways. A person in such knowledge can understand how the conditioned living entity is suffering in this material existence. Therefore those who are highly developed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness try their best to give this knowledge to the people in general, for their conditional life is very much troublesome. They should come out of it and be Kṛṣṇa conscious and liberate themselves to transfer to the spiritual world.

Bg 15.11

TEXT 11

TEXT

yatanto yoginaś cainaṁ

paśyanty ātmany avasthitam

yatanto 'py akṛtātmāno

nainaṁ paśyanty acetasaḥ

SYNONYMS

yatantaḥ-
endeavoring;
yoginaḥ
-transcendentalists;
ca-
also;
enam
-this;
paśyanti-
can see;
ātmani-
in the self;
avasthitam-
situated;
yatantaḥ-
although endeavoring;
api-
although;
akṛta-ātmānaḥ-
without self-realization;
na
-does not;
enam
-this;
paśyanti
-can see;
acetasaḥ
-undeveloped mind.

TRANSLATION

The endeavoring transcendentalist, who is situated in self-realization, can see all this clearly. But those who are not situated in self-realization cannot see what is taking place, though they may try to.

PURPORT

There are many transcendentalists in the path of spiritual self-realization, but one who is not situated in self-realization cannot see how things are changing in the body of the living entity. The word
yoginaḥ
is significant in this connection. In the present day there are many so-called
yogīs,
and there are many so-called associations of
yogīs,
but they are actually blind in the matter of self-realization. They are simply addicted to some sort of gymnastic exercise and are satisfied if the body is well-built and healthy. They have no other information. They are called
yatanto 'py akṛtātmānaḥ.
Even though they are endeavoring in a so-called
yoga
system, they are not self-realized. Such people cannot understand the process of the transmigration of the soul. Only those who are actually in the
yoga
system and have realized the self, the world, and the Supreme Lord, in other words, the
bhakti-yogīs,
those engaged in pure devotional service in Krsṇa consciousness, can understand how things are taking place.