“They say the Spirit is formless”

Prabhupada, Melbourne, May 20, 1975: […] We have got our spiritual body. And they say the spirit is formless. No. Now if this body is my dress, then how the body has got these hands and legs? Just like because you have got actually hands and legs, therefore your coat and pant has got hands and legs.

If you have no form, then how the coat and pant is made? The coat, the pant has got legs because actually I have got leg. The coat has hands or body because actually I have got body. So the argument that the spirit is formless, that is bogus. Unless I have got form, how the dress body is made with hands and legs and heads and everything?

So these are the subject matters to be considered. That is called brahma-jijnasa, to understand about his spiritual life, spiritual knowledge. Then there will be question, “How the spirit soul—I am— I have contacted this material body?” And it is said in the Bhagavad- gita that because I have accepted this material body, all miserable conditions are there.

We are trying to get over miseries. That is called struggle for existence. Everyone is trying. He thinks, “One status of life is miserable. Let me avoid it and get better life.” That is our struggle.

In this way, from lower bodies we have come to this spiritual…, I mean to say, human form of body. Now it has to be decided what is our next body. Next body. That is answered in the Bhagavad-gita. You’ll find:

yanti deva vrata-devan pitrn yanti pitr-vratah bhutani yanti bhutejya mad-yajino ’pi yanti mam [Bg. 9.25]

If you want to go to the higher planetary system where the demigods live, you can go there. Therefore the karmis, by performing Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, they want elevation to the higher planetary system where the life, prolongation of life is very, very big.

As we have got day and night, in the higher planetary system the waxing and waning moon, then when the moon is present there and the sky is in light, that is the day of the higher planetary system.

And when the moon is dark, that is the night. That means our fifteen days, in the higher planetary system—twelve hours. Just imagine their year. And such ten thousands of years you can live if you can go to the moon planet. The day and night, fifteen days, your fifteen days, is equal to their one day. No, twelve hours. That means your one month is their one day.

Now calculate one day, then thirty days, one month. Then twelve months equal to one year. Such ten thousands of years. Just imagine. You can go there and live like that, yanti deva-vrata devan [Bg. 9.25], if you like. But that is not eternal life. After that long period, you have to die.

So Krishna says janma-mrtyu- jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosanudarsanam. You are trying to avoid all kinds of miserable condition, but your real miserable condition is your birth, death, old age, and disease. Try to avoid it. That is perfection. That is spiritual life.

FULL LECTURE