Lord Christ also, “Thou shall not kill.” Yes, this is the beginning of religious life. If you are accustomed to kill somebody, either man, animal, trees, fish, anything, there is no entrance in religious life. There is no entrance because everyone, every living entity, is son of God. Sarva-yonisu. You have read Bhagavad-gita. Sarva-yonisu: in all sorts of body. Sarva-yonisu sambhavanti murtayo yah. There are different forms of life, 8,400,000. They are all living entities, but according to karma, they have got different bodies. This is the difference. Just like we have got different dresses according to my choice, similarly, we get different bodies according to my choice. This morning we were talking about the sufferers, what is called? The sea suffers?
Devotees: Surfers.
Prabhupada: Surfer, yes. (devotees laugh) Surfer. I call “sufferer.” “Sea-sufferer.” (laughter) Sea-surfer, it is practical because we are creating a situation by which we shall become a fish. Yes. Contamination. Just like if you purposely contaminate some disease you must suffer from that disease. Karanam guna-sango ’sya sad- asad janma-yonisu, in the Bhagavad-gita. Why there are different varieties of life? What is the reason? That reason means karanam. Krsna says in the Bhagavad…, karanam guna-sango ’sya sad-asad janma-yonisu. Prakrteh kriyamanani prakrti-stho ’pi purusah bhunjante tad-gunan. So the reason is as we are infecting. The nature’s law is so perfect that you infect something, some disease, some contamination, then you must suffer. This is nature’s law, automatically going on. Karanam guna-sango ’sya.
So there are three modes of material nature—goodness, passion, and ignorance. So long we are in this material world, purusah prakrti-stho ’pi bhunjante tad-gunan. If we remain in certain place, we must be affected by the modes of that place. So there are three modes, sattva-guna, rajo-guna. We have to associate either with the modes of goodness or with the modes of passion or with the modes of ignorance. Now, three into three, it becomes nine, and nine into nine, it becomes eighty-one. So mixture. Just like color. There are three colors: blue, red and yellow. Now, those who are expert in manufacturing color, artists, they mix these three colors in different way and they display. Similarly, according to the gunas or mixture, association—karanam guna-sango ’sya—we get different types of bodies. Therefore we see so many varieties of bodies. Karanam guna-sango ’sya. So the person who is taking very much pleasure, dancing in the sea like fish, so he is contaminating that modes of nature so that in next life he will become a fish. He’ll be very free to dance with the ocean. (laughter) Now it will take again millions of years to come to the stage of human being. Jalaja nava-laksani sthavara laksa-vimsati. He has to pass through the fish life. There are 900,000 different species of life. Then you again come to the land—you become trees, plants, and so on. Two millions different forms you have to go through. That is evolution. Darwin’s theory of evolution, that is not perfectly explained. It is explained in the Vedic literature. So just a tree is standing for ten thousands of years, we had to pass through this life. But there is no perfect knowledge. We are thinking we are now very nice American body or Indian body. No. It took so many years to come to this life. Therefore sastra says, labdhva sudurlabham idam bahu-sambhavante: “You have got this human form of life after many, many millions of years’ waiting.” So do not misuse it. That is Vedic civilization, not to misuse the human form of life. Nature’s law is very, very strict. This life, it is given, a chance. Nature gives a chance. Now you get this human form of life, advanced consciousness. Now you make further improvement. That is wanted. From here we can make further improvement.
What is that further improvement? We can go to the better planets. There are many better planets. You can go there, heavenly planets. There you can live for ten thousands of years. Ten thousands of years, and that is also not our year. The higher planetary system, their one day—our six months. In that way you can live there for ten thousands of years. And the standard of living condition is thousand times better. Therefore it is called heavenly. So if you like, you can go there. Urdhvam gacchanti sattva-sthah. Yanti deva-vratah devan. Everything is explained. Or if you can go, if you like you can go to the Pitrloka. If you want to remain here as human being, you can also remain here, but you have to work for it to keep your position, status. Just like if you become rich man, high standard of life, you have to maintain it. Not that it will continue automatically. No, that is not possible, sir. This material world is not like that: you get one position and it will continue. No. A little discrepancy, immediately deteriorate your position. So you have to maintain it.
So if you want to maintain yourself within this Bhurloka… There are above this Bhurloka, Bhuvarloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka, Maharloka. There are so many planetary system. And down also, Tala, Atala, Vitala, Patala, Talatala, like that. If you want to go down, you can go down. If you want to go up, you can go. Urdhvam gacchanti sattva… Everything is there; you can do that. Ordinary, anyone can understand that in the human society if you want to become high court judge, you can become. And if you want to become a criminal in the prisonhouse, you can become. Everything is open. Not that government says that you become a criminal and he prefers somebody, “You become a high court…” No. Everything is in your hand. If you like, you can become so. Similarly, if you like, you can go back to home, back to Godhead. That is perfection of life. And if you don’t like, then remain here.
Therefore Krsna says, aprapya mam nivartante mrtyu-samsara- vartmani. Krsna has come to you to give you nice instruction how you can go back to home, back to Godhead. Back to home, back to Godhead. That is Krsna’s mission. Paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam [Bg. 4.8] He comes Himself, Krsna, and He comes as Caitanya Mahaprabhu, as devotee of Krsna. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna, but because people misunderstood that Krsna is asking sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja… [Bg. 18.66].
Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.7
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Honolulu, May 8, 1976
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