Hare Krishna -
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Krishna and to all of his pure devotees and aspiring devotees.
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Vrajanatha: How many types of baddha-jivas are there?
Babaji: There are five kinds, namely, those whose consciousness is completely covered (acchadita-cetana); those whose consciousness is shrunken or contracted (sankucita-cetana); those whose consciousness is budding slightly (mukulita-cetana); those with developed consciousness (vikasita-cetana); and those with fully developed consciousness (purna-vikasita cetana).
Vrajanatha: Which jivas have completely covered consciousness?
Babaji: These are jivas with the bodies of trees, creepers, grass, stone and so on, who have forgotten service to Krsna, and are so engrossed in the material qualities of maya that they have no trace of their sentient nature. There is only a slight indication of their sentience through the six transformations. This is the lowest stage of the jiva’s fall, and this fact is corroborated by the epic stories of Ahalya, Yamalarjuna, and Sapta-tala. One only reaches this stage because of some grave offense, and one can only be delivered from it by Krsna’s mercy.
Vrajanatha: Which jivas have contracted consciousness?
Babaji: Beasts, birds, snakes, fish, aquatics, mosquitoes, and various similar creatures have shrunken or contracted consciousness. The consciousness of these jivas is apparent to some degree, unlike that of jivasin the previous group, whose consciousness is completely covered. For example, these jivas perform activities such as eating, sleeping, free movement, and quarrelling with others for things that they consider their property. They also show fear, and they become angry when they see injustice. However, they have no knowledge of the spiritual world. Even monkeys have some scientific understanding in their mischievous minds, for they have some idea of what will or will not happen in the future, and they also have the quality of being grateful. Some animals have good knowledge about various objects, too, but despite all these attributes, they do not have a propensity for inquiring about Bhagavan, so their consciousness is contracted. It is said in sastra that Maharaja Bharata still had knowledge of the names of Bhagavan, even while he was in the body of a deer, but this is unusual; it only happens in special cases. Bharata and King Nrga had to take birth as animals because of their offenses, and they were delivered when their offense was nullified by Bhagavan’s mercy.
Vrajanatha: Which jivas have slightly budding consciousness (mukulita-cetana)?
Babaji: Conditioned jivas with human bodies fall into three categories: those with slightly budding consciousness (mukulitacetana), those with developed consciousness (vikasita-cetana), and those with fully developed consciousness (purna-vikasita-cetana). Generally, the human race can be divided into five groups: 1) immoral atheists, 2) moral atheists, 3) moral theists, who have both morals and faith in Isvara, 4) those who are engaged in sadhanabhakti, and 5) those who are engaged in bhava-bhakti. Those who are knowingly or unknowingly atheists are either immoral or moral atheists. When a moral person develops a little faith in Isvara, he is called a moral theist. Those who develop interest in sadhana-bhakti according to the tenets of sastra are called sadhana-bhaktas, and those who have developed some unalloyed love for Isvara are called bhava-bhaktas. Both immoral and moral atheists have slightly budding consciousness; moral theists and sadhana-bhaktas have developed consciousness; and the bhavabhaktas have fully developed consciousness.
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Please forgive me for any offence or inconvenience.
Jai Sri Radha Madhav Ki Jai!!
Source: Jaiva Dharma (Srila Bhaktivinoda Thäkura)
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