Prabhupada 0081 - In the Sun Planet the Bodies are Fiery



Lecture on BG 2.13 -- New York, March 11, 1966

So here, here it is said that dhīra, dhīra.

dehino 'smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati
(BG 2.13)

Dehinaḥ. Dehinaḥ means "one who has accepted this material body." Asmin. Asmin means "in this world" or "in this life." Yathā, "as." Dehe. Dehe means "within this body." Because dehinaḥ means "one who has accepted this body," and dehe, "within this body." So I am sitting within this body. Now, I am not this body. Just like you are within this shirt and coat, similarly, I am also within this body, this gross body and the subtle body. This gross body is made of this earth, water, and fire, air, and ether, this gross body, this our whole material body. Now, in this Earth, in this planet, earth is prominent. Anywhere, the body, material body, is made of these five elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether. These are the five ingredients. Just like this building. This whole building is made of earth, water and fire. You have taken some earth, and then you have made bricks and burnt into the fire, and after mixing the earth with water, you make a shape of brick, and then you put into the fire, and then when it is strong enough, then you set it just like a big building. So it is nothing but a display of earth, water and fire, simply. That's all. Similarly, our body is also made in that way: earth, water, fire, air and ether. Air... Air is passing, the breathing. You know. The air is always there. This, this outer skin is earth, and there is heat in the stomach. Without heat, you cannot digest anything. You see? As soon as the heat is diminished, your digesting power becomes bad. So many things. This is arrangement. Now, in this planet we have got this body which is where earth is very prominent. Similarly, in other planets, other planets, somewhere water is very prominent, somewhere fire is very prominent. In the sun planet, the bodies there... There are also living entities, but their body is so made that it is fiery. They can exist in the fire. They can exist in the fire. Similarly, Varuṇaloka, in the Venus, all these planets, they have got different types of body. Just like here you can experience that in the water the aquatics, they have got a different type of body. For years and years together there are aquatic animals, they are within the water. They are very comfortable. But the moment you'll drag it to the land, it dies. Similarly, you are very comfortable on the land, but the moment you are put into the water, you die. Because your body, bodily construction is different, his body, the bodily construction different, the bird's bodily... The bird, heavy bird, it can fly, but it is God's made flying instrument. But your man-made instrument, it crashes, crashes. You see? Because artificial.

So this is the arrangement. Every living being has got a particular type of body. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). And what is the nature of that body? Now, here the matter is being explained that how we change our body, how... But, but, but, because that is a difficult problem for us because we are engrossed with the idea of identifying this body with the soul. Now, the first A-B-C-D of spiritual knowledge is to understand that "I am not this body." Unless one is firmly convinced that "I am not this body," he cannot progress in the spiritual line. So the first lesson in the Bhagavad-gītā is taken in that way. So here it is, that dehino 'smin. Now, dehī, the soul, soul. Dehī means soul. One who has accepted this body, material body, he's called dehī. So asmin, he is there. He is there, but his body is changing.