Subtle Body - an essential subject

Death means destruction of this outer, gross material body. Every day, every night we have got experience: the body lies down on the bed, but with our subtle body—mind, intelligence and ego, we dream and we are somewhere else from our bedroom. So this is going on daily in our experience, we leave this gross body, take our subtle body, and the we do something else, although our gross body is till in bed. The conclusion is therefore that, the soul is changing body from the gross to the subtle, from the subtle to the gross. Death means when the subtle body carries the soul to another gross body, not this gross body, that is called death. So this subtle body—means mind, intelligence and ego—that carries us to another body according to the nature of my mind. At the time of death, according to our thoughts, we are given another gross body. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that anta-kale, yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6). Bhāvam, the attitude, the modes of the mind at the time of death, will carry us to the next gross body. Therefore it is necessary to prepare ourself what kind of body we are going to get after death.

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes Subtle Body category. An introduction from his books is given below in the following 12 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's books


vanipedia.org 		The mind, intelligence and false ego are always engaged in an attempt to dominate material nature. According to that subtle astral body, one attains a gross body to enjoy the objects of one's desires. According to the activities of the present body, one prepares another subtle body. And according to the subtle body, one attains another gross body. This is the process of material existence. However, when one is spiritually situated and does not desire a gross or subtle body, he attains his original spiritual body. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.229)



vanipedia.org 		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. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.29.61)



vanipedia.org 		After the three worlds—the upper, lower and middle planetary systems—merged into the water of dissolution, the living entities of all the three worlds remained in their subtle bodies by dint of the energy called kāla. In this dissolution, the gross bodies became unmanifest, but the subtle bodies existed, just like the water of the material creation. Thus the material energy was not completely wound up, as is the case in the full dissolution of the material world. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.8.11)



vanipedia.org 		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 Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or higher consciousness in the mode of goodness, one is transferred either to the upper, heavenly planets or to the spiritual world, the Vaikuṇṭha planets. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.29.61)



vanipedia.org 		Almost all of them have a wrong conception of life, for they identify themselves with the gross and subtle material bodies, which they are not, in fact. They may be situated in different high and low positions in the estimation of human society, but one should know definitely that unless one inquires about his own self beyond the body and the mind, all his activities in human life are total failures. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.3.1)



vanipedia.org 		In a conscious or unconscious state, the actions of the subtle or gross bodies may not be manifest, but such states cannot be called the liberated state. A child may be innocent, but this does not mean that he is a liberated soul. Everything is held in reservation, and everything will become manifest in due course of time. Even in the absence of certain manifestations in the subtle body, the objects of sense enjoyment may act. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.29.73)



vanipedia.org 		The body is a symbolic representation of material bondage according to one's karma. Although sometimes we cannot see the gross body changing, chanting the holy name of the Supreme Lord immediately changes the subtle body, and because the subtle body changes, the living entity is immediately freed from material bondage. After all, changes of the gross body are conducted by the subtle body. After the destruction of the gross body, the subtle body takes the living entity from his present gross body to another. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.1.35)



vanipedia.org 		In the subtle body, the mind is predominant, and therefore if one's mind is always absorbed in remembering the activities or the lotus feet of the Lord, he is to be understood to have already changed his present body and become purified. Therefore it is irrefutable that a caṇḍāla, or any fallen or lowborn person, can become a brāhmaṇa simply by the method of bona fide initiation. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.1.35)



vanipedia.org 		If a human being is taught to change his subtle body by developing a consciousness of Kṛṣṇa, at the time of death the subtle body will create a gross body in which he will be a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, or if he is still more perfect, he will not take another material body but will immediately get a spiritual body and thus return home, back to Godhead. This is the process of the transmigration of the soul. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.54)



vanipedia.org 		Even in the absence of certain manifestations in the subtle body, the objects of sense enjoyment may act. The example has been given of a nocturnal emission, in which the physical senses act even when the physical objects are not manifest. The three modes of material nature may not be manifest in the subtle body, but the contamination of the three modes remains conserved, and in due course of time, it becomes manifest. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.29.73)



vanipedia.org 		If, by Kṛṣṇa's grace, we act in our spiritual body, we can transcend both the gross and subtle bodies. In other words, we can gradually train ourselves to act in terms of the spiritual body. As stated in the Nārada Pañcarātra, hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate: (CC Madhya 19.170) devotional service means engaging the spiritual body and spiritual senses in the service of the Lord. When we are engaged in such activities, the actions and reactions of the gross and subtle bodies cease. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.29.71)



vanipedia.org 		A learned man never laments over a subject which appears and disappears as a matter of course. The material body, which we get from the womb of our mother, becomes transformed after some time into ashes, earth, or stool, as the case may be. And the subtle mental body, which is also material and composed of false ego and intelligence, likewise vanishes when the soul is liberated. Therefore, those who are truly learned do not give much importance to this material body and mind, or to the happiness and distress that pertain only to the material body and mind. (Message of Godhead, Chapter 1)


Subtle Body - explore more within this category.

Vanipedia has now over 903 introductory articles compiled from Srila Prabhupada's books under the series titled Essential Subjects. All these articles can be seen in the Table of Content on the right side of this article and also here in this Umbrella Category. Browse through them to relish the breadth and depth of Srila Prabhupada's teachings - There is a subject for everyone.


   
 

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