Bodies for Eternal Desires

Dr.Singh: But do life and matter come simultaneously? Srila Prabhupada: No.

They do not "come" at all.

They already exist.

The "coming" idea is in our minds because we are living in this limited world, where we see that there is a beginning to everything.

Therefore we think in terms of things "coming." But actually matter and spirit already exist.

When I am born, I think my birth is the beginning of the world.

But the world already exists.

Another example is a fire.

When you light a fire, do the light and heat begin later on? No.

Whenever a fire is ignited, immediately there is light and heat.

But suppose I think, "Now there is a fire, but I have to wait for the light and heat to come later on." isn't that foolishness? Dr.Singh: But fire is the source of the heat and light.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes, but still the heat and light exist simultaneously with the fire.

Similarly, the eternal living entities have many different eternal desires.

And all the varieties of species also exist eternally to fit these various eternal desires.

Dr.Singh: And the living entities are made to live in different bodies according to these desires? Srila Prabhupada: Yes.

For example, the government constructs a prison house because it knows there will be criminals.

So when a criminal is tried and convicted, the prison already exists, even before the judgment period.

Similarly, God is described as sarva-jna, He who knows everything.

Thus He knows that some living entities will become criminal and rebel against His service.

Furthermore, He knows the various desires the living entities in the material world acquire according to the three modes of material nature.

Therefore He creates all the species of life from the very beginning to accommodate all the conditioned souls.

The three modes of material nature are sattva-guna [goodness], rajo-guna [passion] and tamoguna [ignorance].

With these three qualities, all the different objects of the material world are made, just as one might mix the three primary colors (blue, red and yellow) to make millions of hues.

The great expertise required to handle this arrangement exists in nature.

According to the Bhagavad-gita (3.27), prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah: "All activities are performed by the modes of material nature." And these modes are manifested in the different types of species, which include plants, trees, aquatics, human beings, demigods, cats, dogs and many others, totaling 8,400,000.

The Supreme Lord expands Himself as the Paramatma, or Supersoul, in everyone's heart.

Although dwelling in the material body, this Supersoul is not material, even though He is the original source of the material body.

Because heat and light are the energies of the sun, the sun never feels "too hot." Similarly, for the Paramatma there is no distinction between spiritual and material because both the material and the spiritual energies emanate from Him.

Sometimes we see that clouds cover the sun; but that is actually our imperfection.

We on this planet experience both sunshine and cloudiness, but on the sun, even though it can create clouds, only sunshine is experienced.

Similarly, the division of matter and spirit is our experience, not God's.

Whether He comes in a so-called material body or in a spiritual body, He is always spiritual.

For Him matter and spirit are the same because He is the energetic.

He can turn matter into spirit, and spirit into matter.

O Plus Mystic Power Dr.Singh: The chemists and the scientists think that certain elements enable the spirit soul to remain in the material world.

These elements, they say, are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen--the main elements that combine to form living units.

I think the Vedas teach that in order for a living creature to develop, spirit must first enter within these preexisting chemical elements.

Is that correct? Srila Prabhupada: Yes.

For example, the earth contains everything necessary for a plant to grow, but you must first put a seed in the earth.

Similarly, a mother has within her womb all the necessary ingredients for creating another body, but the father must first inject the semen, or seed, into the womb; then the child will develop.

A dog forms a dog's body, and a human forms a human body.

Why? Because all the required ingredients are there, respectively.

We find a certain quantity of chemicals in my body, a smaller quantity in an ant's body, and a greater quantity in an elephant's body.

So, if I can create so many more chemicals than an ant, and an elephant can create so many more chemicals than I can, then just think how many more chemicals God can create! This is the basis on which scientists should consider how hydrogen and oxygen combine to form water.

Otherwise, they cannot identify the source of the vast quantities of hydrogen and oxygen required to make the oceans.

But we can.

This hydrogen and oxygen exist in the virat-rupa, the universal body of the Lord.

Why do the scientists fail to understand this plain truth? Hydrogen and oxygen combine to form the water in the seas.

We both accept this fact.

But the scientists are surprised to hear that the origin of this huge quantity of hydrogen and oxygen is actually acintya-sakti, or the inconceivable mystic power of the Lord.