Prabhupada 1074 - All Miseries We Experience in this Material World - It is All Due to This Body
660219-20 - Lecture BG Introduction - New York
In another place in the Bhagavad-gītā it is also said that
- avyakto 'kṣara ity uktas
- tam āhuḥ paramāṁ gatim
- yaṁ prāpya na nivartante
- tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
- (BG 8.21)
Avyakta means nonmanifested. Even the part of material world is not manifested before us. Our senses are so imperfect that we cannot see how many stars, how many planets there are in this material universe. Of course, through the Vedic literature we get information of all the planets. We may believe or not believe, but all the important planets in which we have connection, they are described in the Vedic literature, especially in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. But the spiritual world, which is beyond this material sky, paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo (BG 8.20), but that avyakta, that nonmanifested spiritual sky, is the paramāṁ gatim, that is, one should desire, one should hanker after reaching that supreme kingdom. And once approaching that supreme kingdom, yaṁ prāpya, one approaching or one achieving that supreme kingdom, na nivartante, one hasn't got to return back to this material world. And that place which is the eternal abode of Lord, that from where we haven't got to return, that is our, that should be our... (break) Now a question may be raised, what is the way how to approach the supreme abode of the Lord. That is also described in the Bhagavad-gītā. It is said on the 8th Chapter, verses 5, 6, 7, 8, the process of approaching the Supreme Lord or Supreme Lord's abode is also given there. It is said like this:
- anta-kāle ca mām eva
- smaran muktvā kalevaram
- yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ
- yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ
- (BG 8.5)
Anta-kāle, at the end of life, at the time of death. Anta-kāle ca mām eva, one who thinks of Kṛṣṇa, smaran, if he can remember. A dying person, at the time of death, if he remembers the form of Kṛṣṇa and while remembering in that way, if he quits the present body, then surely he approaches the spiritual kingdom, mad-bhāvam. Bhāvam means the spiritual nature. Yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ yāti. Mad-bhāvam means just like the nature or the transcendental nature of the Supreme Being. As we have described above, that the Supreme Lord is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (BS 5.1). He has His form, but His form is eternal, sat; and full of knowledge, cit; and full of bliss, ānanda. Now just we can compare our present body, whether this body is sac-cid-ānanda. No. This body is asat. Instead of being sat it is asat. Antavanta ime dehā (BG 2.18), Bhagavad-gītā says that this body is antavat, perishable. And... Sac-cid-ānanda. Instead of becoming sat, it is asat, just the opposite. And instead of becoming cit, full of knowledge, it is full of ignorance. We have no knowledge of the spiritual kingdom, neither we have got any perfect knowledge of this material world. So many things unknown to us, therefore this body is ignorant. Instead of becoming full of knowledge it is ignorant. The body is perishable, full of ignorance, and nirānanda. Instead of becoming full of bliss, it is full of miseries. All the miseries that we experience in this material world, it is all due to this body.