Devotee:

dehi nityam avadhyo 'yam
dehe sarvasya bharata
tasmat sarvani bhutani
na tvam socitum arhasi
[Bg. 2.28]

"O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body is eternal and can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any creature."

Prabhupada: Dehi nityam avadhyo 'yam dehe sarvasya bharata. Dehe, dehe means body, within the body. This topic began, dehino 'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara [Bg. 2.13]. Deha, dehi. Dehi means one who possesses the body. Just like guni. Asthate in prata.(?) The grammatical. Guna, in, deha, in, in prata.(?) Dehin sabda. So the nominative case of dehin sabda is dehi. Dehi nityam, eternal. In so many ways, Krsna has explained. Nityam, eternal. Indestructible, immutable. It does not take birth, it does not die, it is always, constantly the same. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. In this way, again he says nityam, eternal. Avadhya, nobody can kill. In the body, he is there. But dehe sarvasya bharata. This is very important. Not that simply in human body the soul is there and not in other bodies. That is rascaldom. Sarvasya. In every body. Even within the ant, even within the elephant, even within the gigantic banyan tree or within the microbe. Sarvasya. The soul is there. But some rascals, they say the animals have no soul. This is wrong. How you can say the animal has no soul? Everyone. Here the authoritative statement by Krsna: sarvasya. And in other place, Krsna says, sarva-yonisu kaunteya sambhavanti murtayah yah: [Bg. 14.4] In all species of life, as many forms are there, 8,400,000 different forms of life, tasam mahad yonir brahma. Mahad yonir. Their source of body is of this material nature. Aham bija-pradah pita: "I am the seed-giving father." As without father and mother there is no offspring, so the father is Krsna and the mother is material nature, or spiritual nature.

There are two natures. That is explained in the seventh verse. The material nature and the spiritual nature. Or the superior nature or inferior nature. Just like in our body there are inferior parts and superior parts. Body is the same. But still there are different parts of the body. Some of them are considered as inferior and some of them are considered superior. Even two hands. According to Vedic civilization, right hand is the superior hand, and left hand is the inferior hand. When you want to give somebody something, you must give it with the right hand. If you give it by the left hand, it is insult. Two hand are required. Why this hand is superior, this hand...? So we have to accept the Vedic injunction. So although both the nature, the spiritual nature and material nature, is coming from the same source, Absolute Truth... Janmady asya yatah [SB 1.1.1]. Everything is emanating from Him. Still, there is inferior nature and superior nature. What is the difference between inferior and superior? In the inferior nature or the material nature, God consciousness is almost nil. Those who are in the modes of goodness, they have little God consciousness. And those who are in the modes of passion, they have got less degree; and those who are in the modes of ignorance, there is no God consciousness. Completely absent. Degrees.

Therefore, this body, although this is material, coming from the same source, still it is inferior. So when the dehi, or the spirit soul, although by nature it is superior than the material nature, but still, because he's encaged within the material nature, he's forgetful of Krsna. This is the process. But, as it is stated here, that dehe sarvasya, sarvasya dehe, the same spirit is there. Therefore, those who are not rascals, those who are intelligent and in complete knowledge, they do not find any distinction between a human being or an animal. Panditah sama-darsinah. Because he's pandita, he's learned, he knows that the spirit soul is there. Vidya-vinaya-sampanne brahmane [Bg. 5.18]. Within the first-class learned brahmana, there is the soul, the same quality soul. Vidya-vinaya-sampanne brahmane gavi, in the cow, hastini, in the elephant, suni -- suni means the dog -- candala, the lowest kind of human being, everywhere the soul is there. It is not that simply in human being there is soul, or in higher demigods there is soul, and poor animals have no soul. No. Everyone has got... dehe sarvasya bharata. So whom we shall accept? The statement of Krsna or some rascal philosopher or some so-called religionist? Whom we shall accept? We shall have to accept Krsna, the supreme authority, the Supreme Being. He says sarvasya. Many places, Krsna says. Therefore, those who are learned, they do not make such distinction, that it has no soul. Everyone has got soul. Tasmat sarvani bhutani. Again, He says, sarvani bhutani. Na tvam socitum arhasi. It is your duty. Krsna is simply stressing on the point that the soul is eternal, it cannot be killed. In so many ways. The body is perishable. "So it is your duty now to fight. The body may be killed, body may be destroyed. But na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. But even after the destruction of this body, the soul exists. He gets another body, that's all." Deha, tatha dehantara-praptih [Bg. 2.13]. Dehantara-praptih. You must get another body. And this will be explained in the next verse also.

For a ksatriya who are engaged in fighting, in religious fight... Fight must be religious fight. The cause must be right. Then the fighting is all right. So ksatriya killing in the religious fight, he's not responsible, he's not sinful. That is stated. Just like brahmana. He sacri... He puts in sacrifice some animal. That does not mean he's killing. Similarly, ksatriya, when he's engaged in killing, he's not sinful. This will be explained in the next verse. "So it your duty. Don't be worried that you are killing your kinsmen or your grandfather. Take it from Me, assurance, that the dehi, avadhya, you cannot kill, he's eternal." Now, dehe sarvasya bharata, this important point you should note it that every living entity, the body has grown on the platform of the spirit soul. The body may be very gigantic or very small, it doesn't matter. But... Therefore matter is produced or grows on the platform of spirit. Not that a spirit comes into existence, or living force come into existence by the combination of matter. This is scientific point. Matter is dependent on spirit. Therefore, it is called inferior. Yayedam dharyate jagat. Dharyate, it bears. The spirit is there; therefore, the gigantic universe is resting on the spirit. Either the supreme spirit Krsna, or the small spirit. There are two kinds of spirit. Atma and paramatma. Isvara and paramesvara.

So the matter is explained by Krsna, apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakrtim param yayedam dharyate. Jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam dharyate jagat [Bg. 7.5]. So spirit is bearing. Everything is explained in Bhagavad-gita. The gigantic big, big planets, why it is floating weightless in the air? That is also explained. Gam avisya aham ojasa dharayami. That, just try to understand. A big 747 airplane taking five hundred, six hundred passengers is floating, flying in the sky without any difficulty. Why? Because the pilot is there. Not the machine. Don't think that it is gigantic machine; therefore it is flying. No. The pilot is there. Machine is there also, but the floating is depending not on the mechanical arrangement, but on the pilot. Is there any disagreement? If the pilot is not there, the whole machine immediately will fall down. Immediately. Similarly, the statement in the Bhagavad-gita, gam avisya aham ojasa. Krsna enters into the gigantic planet. He is within the... Andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham. It is stated in the Brahma-samhita.

eko 'py asau racayitum jagad-anda-kotim
yac chaktir asti jagad-anda-caya yad-antah
andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.35]

Without Krsna's entering into the matter, nothing can work. Andantara-stha. Within this universe, He is there as Garbhodakasayi Visnu. Therefore the universe exists. Andantara-stha. And within the universe there are so many material, I mean to say, identities, entities. Even this atom. The sastra says even within the atom, He, as Paramatma, He is within the body of everyone. Not only within the body of living entities, but He is within the paramanu, the atom. They are studying now atomic energy. Still they are finding difficulty. Dividing, dividing, dividing. Because they cannot find out that there is God, there is Krsna.
So without Krsna's, I mean to say, presence, nothing can exist. Therefore, one who is advanced Krsna conscious, he sees only Krsna. Not the outward covering. Because without Krsna nothing can exist. In the Caitanya-caritamrta, it is said: sthavara-jangama. There are two kinds of entities: moving and not moving. Moving means sthavara and... Moving means jangama. Sthavara-jangama. And sthavara means not moving. So there are two kinds of entities. So you can see these two kinds of entities, some of them are moving, some of them are not moving. But a maha-bhagavata sees both the entities, moving and not moving, but he does not see the moving or not moving. He sees Krsna. Because he knows that the moving means living force. So living force, that is also Krsna's energy. And the nonmoving is material. That is also Krsna's energy.


So in everything he sees only Krsna. Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti [Bs. 5.38]. Sadaiva. They sometimes inquire, "Have you seen God?" Those who are actually devotees, advanced devotee, he's simply seeing Krsna, nothing else. Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah sadaiva hrdayesu [Bs. 5.38]. Sadaiva means always. Hrdayesu vilokayanti. Yam syamasundaram acintya-guna-svarupam govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami **. So this is... More you advance in Krsna consciousness, you'll simply see Krsna. And if you become practiced to see Krsna always, sada tad-bhava-bhavitah... Yam yam vapi smaran loke tyajaty ante kalevaram [Bg. 8.6]. Yad yad bhavam. So if you always think of Krsna... That is Krsna's instruction also. Manmana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65]. "Always think of Me." That is the first-class yogi, who thinks of Krsna always. Yoginam api sarvesam mad-gatenantar-atmana bhajate yo mam sa me yuktatamo matah [Bg. 6.47]. He's first-class yogi. And devotee is. We already... Otherwise, why he should think of Krsna? Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji. One, only bhaktas can think of Krsna always. Man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah. "Because you are My bhakta your duty is to think of Me always." Is it very difficult task? You are seeing Krsna in the temple. The more you see Krsna, Krsna, Krsna, Krsna, twenty-four hours engagement in Krsna consciousness means you'll be practiced to see Krsna always. This is Krsna consciousness movement. You cannot forget Krsna even for a moment. And that is the instruction. Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65]. These four things. When there is Deity in the temple, you see and you get the impression. When out of the temple also you can see within you heart, if you have developed love for Krsna. Otherwise, officially, you come to the temple and as soon as... "Botheration, let me forget it." That is another thing. But the whole process is meant for developing love for Krsna. Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje [SB 1.2.6]. Bhaktir adhoksaje. That is first-class religious system. This is first-class religious system. This Krsna consciousness is the first-class, topmost religious system. Why? It is educating people to think of Krsna, the Supreme Lord, always. Loving. Not only thinking. We cannot think of anyone unless we love him. If you love somebody, then you can think of him always. Just like both lover and beloved. Say one boy, another girl. So they are in love. So both of them think of both of them always. "When we shall meet again, when we shall meet again?" So similarly, man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah. You can become a devotee of Krsna, you can think of Krsna always, provided you have developed love for Krsna. Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena [Bs. 5.38]. By bhakti, you can develop your love for Krsna. That is required.

So in the lower stage of animal life, Krsna is there. As He says, dehe sarvasya bharata. In another place, Krsna says this dehi or ksetra-jna, the owner of the body is there, and there is another ksetra-jna, another owner. That is Krsna. Ksetra-jnam capi mam viddhi sarva-ksetresu bharata [Bg. 13.3]. As the individual soul is there within the body, similarly, the Supersoul, Krsna, is also there. Both of them there. Both of them there. So He is the owner of all bodies. All bodies. Sometimes Krsna is accused by the rascals, that "Why He danced with other's wife?" But actually He is the proprietor. Dehe sarvasya bharata. I am not proprietor; He is the proprietor. So if the proprietor dances with his, I mean to say, maidservants, or devotees, what is the wrong there? What is the wrong? He is their proprietor. You are not proprietor. Dehe sarvasya bharata. He is... The individual soul is in every body and the Supersoul, Supersoul is the real proprietor. Krsna says that bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram [Bg. 5.29]. Mahesvaram, He's the supreme proprietor. Suhrdam sarva-bhutanam. He is actual friend. If I have got some lover, I am friend, I am not friend. Actual friend is Krsna. Suhrdam sarva-bhutanam. As it is said, tasmad sarvani bhutani. Krsna is the real friend. So if the gopis dance with the real friend, what is the wrong there? What is the wrong there? But those who are rascals, who do not know Krsna, they think it is immoral. It is not immoral. That is the right thing. Right thing. Krsna is the real husband. Therefore, He married 16,108 wives. Why 16,000? If He married sixteen trillion, billions wives, what is the wrong there? Because He is the real husband. Sarva-loka-mahesvaram [Bg. 5.29].

So one who does not know Krsna, rascals, they accuse Krsna as immoral of woman-hunter, like that. And they take pleasure in this. Therefore, they paint pictures of Krsna, His affairs with the gopis. But they do not paint picture how He is killing Kamsa, how He is killing the demons. They do not like this. This is sahajiya. They, for their debauchery, for their business of debauchery, they like to be supported by Krsna. "Krsna has done this." "Krsna has become immoral. So therefore we are also immoral. We are great devotee of Krsna, because we are immoral." This is going on. Therefore, to understand Krsna, it requires a little better intelligence. Better intelligence. Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan [Bg. 7.19]. Jnanavan means the first-class intelligent wise. Mam prapadyate. He understands what is Krsna. Vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah. Such kind of intelligent mahatma... You can find out rascal mahatma, simply by changing dress, without Krsna consciousness, declaring himself as God or Krsna. Kick on their face. Krsna is different from all these rascals. But if you understand Krsna, if you are so fortunate -- ei rupe brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva [Cc. Madhya 19.151]. Only the most fortunate persons can understand Krsna, what is Krsna. Ei rupe.

There are many, many millions and trillions of living entities within this universe. And they are rotating in different species of life, 8,400,000 -- in this way, unfortunate. Simply repetition, birth and death, birth and death in different... Out of them, if one is the greatest fortunate, he is given the chance, guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija. By the mercy of guru and Krsna, he gets the seed of devotional service. And if he's intelligent, unless he is intelligent, otherwise how he gets the seed? That is initiation. And if he waters... Just like if you get a nice seed, you have to sow it and pour little, little water... Then it will grow. Similarly, anyone who by great fortune has come into Krsna consciousness, the seed of devotional service, he should water it. And what is the water? Sravana-kirtana-jale karaye secana. This is watering. This hearing and chanting about Krsna. This is watering. Don't be absent from the class. This hearing and chanting is watering the seed of devotional service. If you make it official and be absent from hearing... This is most important thing. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh [SB 7.5.23]. This is most important thing. To hear. Sravanam kirtanam does not mean hearing and chanting of any other entity. No. Visnu. Sravanam kirtanam. The rascals, they have manufactured "kali-kirtana".Where is there in sastra there is kali-kirtana, siva-kirtana? No. Kirtana means glorifying the Supreme Lord, Krsna. That is kirtana. Not any other kirtana. But they have manu... competition, kali-kirtana. Where is in the sastra kali-kirtana? Durga-kirtana? These are all nonsense. Simply Krsna. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam [SB 7.5.23]. Krsna should be worshiped, Krsna should be heard, Krsna should be chanted, Krsna should be remembered. In this way, you'll advance Krsna consciousness.

Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. (end)

Bhagavad-gita 2.30 -- London, August 31, 1973