Srimad-Bhagavatam Excerpt
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Los Angeles, July 3, 1972, (new98)

Prabhupada: Asitim means eighty. Asitim caturas. Caturas means four. So eighty-four. Eighty plus four means eighty-four. Laksam. Laksam means hundreds of thousands. So eighty-four hundreds of thousands. Asitim caturams caiva laksams tan jiva-jatisu. Jiva-jati, this is different species of living entities, jiva-jati, the horse species, the ass species, the dog species. Just like they have got species, jiva-jatisu. So in different species of living entities they are counted eighty-four hundreds of thousands, or 8,400,000. Bhramadbhih. Bhramadbhih means transmigrating, wandering, one after another. Jalaja nava-laksani sthavara laksa-vimsati. There are 900,000 species within the water, then trees, plants… In this way passing through different species of life, the living entity, jiva-jatisu, jiva-jatisu, in different species of life, he is transmigrating one after another, one after another.

Bhramadbhih purusaih. Purusa means the living entity. The living entity is described here purusa because he wants to enjoy. Purusa is the enjoyer. Actually enjoyer is Krsna, but we are imitating Krsna. We want to become God. That is the Mayavada philosophy. And that is our trouble. I am trying to imitate something which I cannot. Suppose if I want to be God, is it possible to become God? But they are trying to be. Bhramadbhih purusaih. So in this way, for this misunderstanding, he is falsely trying to have happiness through so many species of life. “Let me enter this life. Let me enter that life, that life, that life, that.” In this way he falls down. He is fallen already. From Vaikuntha planet he is fallen in this material world, and he is again trying to make progress. Praptam manusam. In this way, after many, many births, he gets this human form of life, praptam manusam janma-paryayat, by the graduation, gradual evolution process. This is real evolution, not the body is changing. Body is already there. Jiva-jatisu, the jiva-jati, species, are already there. That is the defect of Darwin’s theory. He does not want… He does not know that the living entity is passing through different types of bodies, not that the body is changing. The bodies are already there. Bhramadbhih purusair praptam manusam janma-jatisu, janma-paryayat. Paryaya means chronological… What is called, one after another?

Karandhara: Sequential?

Prabhupada: Sequential, yes. That’s all right. Tad api. Tad api means that human form of life. Aphelatam: “becomes spoiled.” Tad api. Once missed, again come down, circle. Circle, just like merry-go- round. So you are sometimes very high and immediately low down.

So this circle of birth and death in different species of life is going on, and this human form, life, is a chance to get out of this cycle of birth and death. It is a chance. It is by nature’s arrangement, by Krsna’s arrangement, that these living entities who have come here in this material world for false happiness, material happiness, and they are entrapped in this birth and death problem, transmigrating from one type of life to another type of life… Here is a chance for the human being. And Krsna comes to the human being, and here is a chance, Bhagavad-gita. Krsna gives them. So if after reading Bhagavad-gita… Anasritya govinda-carana-dvayam. Who is neglecting? His neglect means that tesam atmabhimaninam varakhanam. Varakha means fools or childish. We are thinking that “I am this body.” Such fools cannot understand how to surrender to Krsna. Therefore tad apy aphelatam jata tesam atmabhimaninam varakhanam anasritya, without taking shelter, govinda-carana-dvayam, the lotus feet of Govinda.

So bahunam janmanam ante [Bg. 7.19]. We get this chance, and if we are not educated by our teachers, by our fathers, by our leaders, by our government men, by our gurus, by our relatives, how to accept the lotus feet of Krsna, who is canvassing, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: [Bg. 18.66] “Give up all this nonsense engagement, trying to become Krsna or God. Give up this. Surrender unto Me”… This is education. This is education. The father should give education at home. The leaders should give education in institution. The politician should give education in their assemblies, congress. The guru should give education how to surrender to Krsna. The father should educate. The mother should educate. Therefore Bhagavata says, na mocayed yah samupeta. Guru na sa syat janani na sa syat pita na sa syat. There are some negative definition, that there are so-called gurus, so-called swamis, but Bhagavata says that “You should not become a swami or guru. Kindly don’t become if you cannot save your disciple from the imminent danger of birth and death.” Guru na sa syat. This is the injunction. “No rascal should become a guru unless he can save his disciples from the cycle of birth and death.” In other words, anyone who wants to become guru, if he cannot teach his disciples how to surrender, govinda-carana-dvayam, anasritya, how to take shelter of the lotus feet of Govinda, he should not become guru. That is cheating. That is cheating. Similarly, one should not become father. The father and mother should have determination that “The child I produce, I give birth, if I cannot teach him Krsna conscious, surrender to Krsna, I shall not beget any child.” This is real contraceptive method, not to beget child like cats and dogs. Sva-vid-varahostra-khara. So Bhagavata says, “One should not become father, one should not become mother, one should not become relative, one should not become king, one should not become guru if they cannot save their dependents from this cycle of birth and death.” This is the meaning of this verse. Anasritya govinda-carana-dvayam varakhanam atma-vimaninah.

So after wandering through these, so many species of life and so dangerous… There are two millions’ species of plant life, trees’ life. Just see. You have to stand for so many years. A great opportunity, this human form of life. Don’t waste. Don’t become dogs and hogs and asses and camels. Becomes devotees. Just surrender to Krsna. Make your life successful.

Thank you. (end)