Prabhupada, Melbourne, May 21, 1975: So take advantage of this knowledge, understand the philosophy of life, that “I am eternal.” Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20] “I do not die after the annihilation of this body. I accept another body.”
We have got two bodies: this gross body and one subtle body. Just like you have got your coat, and within the coat there is shirt, similarly, within this gross body, there is another subtle body. This gross body is made of the material elements, earth, water, air, fire, ether, these five elements.
Panca. Panca means five. Your body and my body, it is simply combination of these five material elements. This is the covering, coat. And within this, there is another body. What is that? Mind, intelligence, and ego. So everyone knows that you have got mind, I have got mind.
Everyone knows that you have got intelligence, I have got intelligence. And everyone is puffed up with some identification, “I am this, I am that.” These three conception, this is called subtle. Subtle body. So we simply see the gross body, but we do not see the subtle body.
When death take place—that means this gross body is finished—then the subtle body is there. And the subtle body carries the soul to another gross body. That we cannot see. Therefore we do not understand how this spirit soul is migrating, transmigrating from one body to another.
We do not see. Therefore our seeing should be through knowledge, pasyati jnana-caksusa, not this gross seeing. Gross seeing is imperfect. It has no value. We know. We should inquire that “This gross body is finished. Now what about the subtle body?”
So we have to understand from authoritative literature. The subtle body is working, just like when you sleep your gross body is not working, but the subtle body, the mind, intelligence and ego is working; therefore you dream.
Your subtle body is lying is some apartment, and you have gone to the seaside by the mental body. So, so long this gross body is able, you again come and enter into this gross body, but when it is not workable, then you have to find out another gross body in the womb of a certain type of mother.
This is the law of transmigration of the soul. That subtle body will be carried by the laws of nature. According to the work you have done to your whims, then a certain type of body will be offered to you. You will be forced to enter into the womb of a certain type of mother, and the mother will give you the body.
That we have got, everyone, experience. In the mother’s body, after pregnancy, the body grows. Everyone knows it. So body grows why? Because the soul has entered, and according to his karma, either good mother or bad mother… So you are growing the same body or better body or lower body, and when it is mature, then you come out. You begin again your life.
That is called pravrtti-marga. In this way we have to accept birth, death, old age. As soon as you get this material body, there is birth, and as soon as there is birth, there is death. And as soon as the body is there, it is growing old. It is suffering disease.
So if you want to avoid these four things… That is specially pointed out by Krsna, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi. You are solving your problems, but what, how you have solved your birth, death, old age, and disease? That is the question by Krsna. Have you solved?
Then what is the use of solving problems? The real problem is there. But if you want to solve this real problem, then you should take up this nivrtti-marga. Nivrtti-marga means stop this way of sense gratification and take to Krsna consciousness. That is the way. If you continue your misbehavior, at the same time you want to cure your disease, that is not possible. Just like this alcoholic treatment.
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