Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.31 Pradyumna: (leads chanting, etc.) ati-sukumara-kara-caranorah-sthala-vipula-bahv-amsa-gala-vadanady-avayava-vinyasah prakrti-sundara-svabhava-hasa-sumukho nava-nalina-dalayamana-sisira-tararunayata-nayana-rucirah sadrsa-subhaga-kapola-karna-kantha-naso vigudha-smita-vadana-mahotsavena pura-vanitanam manasi kusuma-sarasanam upadadhanah parag-avalambamana-kutila-jatila-kapisa-kesa-bhuri-bharo ’vadhuta-malina-nija-sarirena graha-grhita ivadrsyata “Translation: Lord Rsabhadeva’s hands, feet and chest were very long. His shoulders, face and limbs were all very delicate and symmetrically proportioned. His mouth was beautifully decorated with His natural smile, and He appeared all the more lovely with His eddish eyes spread wide like the petals of a newly grown lotus flower covered with dew in the early morning. The irises of His eyes were so pleasing that they removed all the troubles of everyone who saw Him. His forehead, ears, neck, nose and all His other features were very beautiful. His gentle smile always made His face beautiful, so much so that He even attracted the hearts of married women. It was as though they had been pierced by the arrows of Cupid. About His head was an abundance of curly, matted brown hair. His hair was disheveled because His body was dirty and not taken care of. He appeared as if He were haunted by a ghost.” Prabhupada: So God’s body is not material. Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said, prakrta kariya mane visnu-kalevara aparadha nahi ara inhara para. Anyone considering the body of Visnu or Visnu-tattva, Krsna, Rsabhadeva… They are not material body. A further description will be there—even the stool and urine also transcendental. So we cannot conceive in our present stage what is the difference between prakrta and aprakrta. The description in the sastras we have to accept. Just like practically Krsna, when He was in the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, He was great-grandfather. His grandchildren also had sons. It is said that the whole family of Krsna consisted of about one crore of living entities, Yadu-vamsa, very big family. So grandchildren, their children, their children, like that… But still, Krsna was looking just like a boy of sixteen to twenty years. That is aprakrta. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam adyam purana-purusam nava-yauvanam ca [Bs. 5.33]. This is the description. He is the oldest person because… Krsna says, aham adir hi devanam. Even Brahma, Lord Siva, they also are born of Him. Prapitamaha. Brahma is called Pita-maha, and Krsna is described, Prapitamaha [Bg. 11.39]. So He is the father of Brahma; still, advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam adyam purana-purusam [Bs. 5.33]—the oldest. Because Brahma is the first living being within this material world… First Brahma was created in the lotus flower from Garbhodakasayi Visnu, so Brahma is the first creature, living creature, but he also is born of Visnu. Therefore Krsna said, aham adir hi devanam. Then Brahma, Lord Siva was born, Rudra. In this way, Visnu or Visnu-tattva, that is original. Sarva-yonisu kaunteya sambhavanti murti…, aham bija-pradah pita [Bg. 14.4] Still, he is nava-yauvanam ca. Nava-yauvanam means it begins from the sixteenth year. He looked like that, a boy of sixteen to twenty years old, and… This is only description of His transcendental body, sac-cid-ananda vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. This is the difference between material body and spiritual body. It doesn’t matter. The Mayavadis, they cannot think of, that material body can be so beautiful, neither they can think of, that the Supreme to possess a body… But He possesses body. The description of the body is there. But it is not like our body. Therefore nirakara means His body, akara, or form, is not like ours. That is to be understood. He is sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah. Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. Vigraha means body. He has got body, but not a body like ours. That is misunderstanding. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam [Bs. 5.33]. And He expands His body into millions of other bodies. Just like when Krsna was present upon this earth, He married sixteen thousand wives, and He expanded Himself also into sixteen thousand forms. And each and every form is differently engaged. Narada was astonished when he heard that Krsna has married sixteen thousand wives, and with each and every wife He is different engaged. That he saw. These descriptions are there in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Somewhere He’s engaged some way; in another place, in the…, Arjuna, Narada saw that although He has expanded, but He is differently engaged. Another example is there. When Lord Brahma stole away, moved all the cows, calves, cowherd boys, He immediately expanded Himself into so many cowherd boys, cows, calves. He’s complete always. Purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate. That is God. That is Krsna, not that like ourself. He can expand Himself—ananta-rupam. Still, He is there; the body is not finished. We cannot conceive. Suppose my body is cut into pieces and thrown. Then where is my body? This is material conception. But spiritually, if my body is cut into thousands of pieces, still I’ll remain. So we cannot understand what is a spiritual body at the present moment. We have to hear from the right source, Vedic knowledge. That is Vedic knowledge. Everything described about God, Krsna, at the present moment is inconceivable. We cannot imagine. Long, long ago I was talking with one Arya-samaji friend. So he did not believe that a lotus stem can grow on the navel of Visnu and there is Brahma born. Everyone says like that, “mythology.” It is not mythology; it is fact. So I asked him that “Here we see one coconut tree, and about sixty feet above, there is coconut and there is water, there is pulp, and it is being carried from the ground. Where is the pipe? Where is the pump? How the water is there within the coconut? Can you explain?” So he could not explain. And I said that “Even in material things which is front of you, you cannot explain. How you will explain the spiritual position? How the lotus grown from the navel of…?” Therefore it should be accepted as inconceivable. Acintyah khalu ye bhava na tams tarkena yojayet. Don’t try to argue; it is foolishness. It is inconceivable. So, so many things, these rascals they do not believe, atheists. When things are described about God which is not conceivable by us, they say, “It is mythology, it is imagination.” But that is not the fact. The fact is that Krsna or Krsna’s incarnation, they have got spiritual expansion. Sambhavamy atma-mayaya [Bg. 4.6]. Atma-maya. Krsna said, “I appear in My spiritual potency.” We… Our body is not atma-mayaya. It is given by maya. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita: isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese ’rjuna tisthati bhramayan sarva-bhutani yantrarudhani mayaya [Bg. 18.61] This is the fact. We have got this yantra, machine. This body is a machine. That’s a fact. But this machine, we are accepting as self—“I am this machine.” This whole world is accepting—“I am this body.” “I am Hindu,” “I am Muslim,” “I am Christian,” “I am American,” “I am Indian,” “I am black,” “I am white.” No. Therefore Krsna said in the beginning that “You are not this body.” Dehino ’smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara [Bg. 2.13] This change of body is different. That is on the body. At different times we are accepting different body. So we are not this body. But that is not possible for Krsna. Krsna and Krsna’s body—the same. These foolish persons, they do not know. Therefore avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam [Bg. 9.11]. These mudhas, these rascals, they think that Krsna has got a different body. No. Krsna hasn’t got different body. We are given this body by maya. Mayaya. Bhramayan sarva-bhutani yantrarudhani mayaya [Bg. 18.61]. We are sometimes getting a human form of body, sometimes a tree’s body, sometimes a demigod’s body, sometimes an insect’s body. Karmana daiva-netrena jantor dehopapatti. By karma we are forced to accept a certain type of body. You cannot say, “No, I don’t want.” That is not possible. “You have behaved like a dog. You got this human form of life for chanting Hare Krsna mantra; instead of doing that, you have cheated. You have misused your opportunity like a dog and hog. You must accept.” This is nature’s law. Yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram [Bg. 8.6]. We, by practice, we may be, appearance like a human body, but my mentality is just like a dog. I don’t discriminate, yoni-vicara (?). I don’t discriminate about eating. I eat everything, even up to stool like… That is going on. So this is misuse of the human form of body, and as soon as we misuse, we are given by nature’s law an opportunity. Yantrarudhani mayaya. Suffering, suffering, suffering, 8,400,000 forms of body, and we get… Asitims caturams caiva jiva-jatisu. That is stated in the sastra. This is an opportunity to understand Krsna. This is human form of body. And if we don’t accept Krsna or don’t try to understand Krsna We must try. This is our business. Then we are misusing. Then maya is there. Maya is there means the laws are so automatic, maya’s law, that as soon as you do something, immediately the next stage is ready. The maya hasn’t got to do anything. Just like if you infect some disease, the next stage—then you must suffer from that disease. It is automatic, not that maya has to come, and he has to convince you, “Sir, you have infected smallpox. Now you suffer from this smallpox.” No, automatically it takes. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27]. Everything is going on systematically. You cannot change. That is called destiny. Destiny means that so long we are under the laws of nature, that is to happen. You cannot change it. That is not possible. Only… Such law can be changed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore Krsna says, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami. You cannot. That is not possible. Nobody can do it. If you have done something wrong, sinful, you must suffer. There is no escape. But He can do that. Just like if you are condemned by the law court to be hanged, nobody can change it. Even the judge who has given you the punishment, even if you appeal to him, “Sir, excuse me,” no, he cannot excuse you by law. But if you file petition to the president or the king—that is called king’s mercy—he can change. Similarly, whatever we are doing, we must enjoy or suffer. There is no question of enjoyment. When there is birth, death, old age and disease, where is enjoyment? There is no enjoyment. Duhkhalayam asasvatam [Bg. 8.15]. This is a world of suffering. Krsna says, duhkhalayam asasvatam. You cannot There is no question of enjoyment. But because we are in maya, suffering we are accepting as enjoyment. Suffering is accepted as enjoyment. This is called maya. So forgetfulness. That is forgetfulness. We are suffering. Therefore Rsabhadeva said—we have already studied that—na sadhu manye yata atmano ’yam asann api klesa-da asa dehah. The mode of life which we are leading, it is not good. It is foolishness that we simply wasting our life like the animals—ahara-nidra-bhaya-maithunam ca—and for maithuna and sense gratification we are doing everything like a madman. Nunam pramattah kurute vikarma yad indriya-pritaya aprnoti [Bhag. 5.5.4]. Only for sense gratification we are acting like madmen. So Rsabhadeva said… We have already… Na sadhu manye yata atmano ’yam: “This is not good behavior.” The same thing, repeated by Narottama dasa Thakura: hari hari! viphale janama gonainu manusya-janama paiya, radha-krsna na bhajiya, janiya suniya bisa khainu “My Lord, I have wasted my human form of life for nothing, for no purpose.” Why? “Now, I got it to understand Krsna, but I did not do that.” Manusya janama paiya, radha-krsna na bhajiya janiya suniya. This kind of activities have been described as drinking poison knowingly. So we should not do that. We must take to Krsna consciousness and become fully Krsna conscious. Then our life is successful. So by trying to understand the sastra, especially srimad-bhagavatam, amalam puranam, we get ideas of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhaktya mam abhijanati: [Bg. 18.55] we can understand Krsna through this process of devotional service. Otherwise it is not possible. So Vyasadeva has given us this book. anarthopasamam saksad bhakti-yogam adhoksaje lokasyajanato vidvams cakre satvata-samhitam So you read this satvata-samhita very carefully, then anartha, this unnecessary changing of body, will be stopped. Thank you very much. (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Vrndavana, November 18, 1976