BG 8.3

[Shaurya]

Hare Krsna Prabhuji

Dandavat Pranam

Following is the a section of purport from BG 8.3

The Chāndogya Upaniṣad describes the Vedic sacrificial process. On the sacrificial altar, five kinds of offerings are made into five kinds of fire. The five kinds of fire are conceived of as the heavenly planets, clouds, the earth, man and woman, and the five kinds of sacrificial offerings are faith, the enjoyer on the moon, rain, grains and semen.

In the process of sacrifice, the living entity makes specific sacrifices to attain specific heavenly planets and consequently reaches them. When the merit of sacrifice is exhausted, the living entity descends to earth in the form of rain, then takes on the form of grains, and the grains are eaten by man and transformed into semen, which impregnates a woman, and thus the living entity once again attains the human form to perform sacrifice and so repeat the same cycle. In this way, the living entity perpetually comes and goes on the material path. The Kṛṣṇa conscious person, however, avoids such sacrifices. He takes directly to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thereby prepares himself to return to Godhead.

Prabhuji I wanted to understand how the living entity descends to earth in the form of rain. Like rain fall everywhere so are those all living entities? What happens to those who go wasted, like being unable to take the form of grain, eaten by women, the grain is spoiled and thus not consumed, eaten by animals, or directly if someone drinks?

Prabhuji your answers are always very clear and satisfying, would be grateful if you could please elaborate on this concept.

YS

[Ashish Dalela]

You can first read this answer: Relation Between Yajna And Food Production

Then, you can read this article: What is the Soul in Vedic Philosophy?

From the article, you can understand that the soul is responsible for the unity of the body. If the soul leaves the body, then the body disintegrates. Similarly, each grain of wheat or rice is held together by a soul. Without a soul, the grain will disintegrate. From the answer, even a cloud is formed by the presence of a soul. Everything that looks like a body to us is because of a soul. Without a soul there is no body.

When the rain falls, some souls come in through the clouds. When the rain falls, it is like death of the cloud and the disintegration of the body. That is because the soul leaves the cloud and goes down in the body of some drops of water. The cloud has some structural properties due to the presence of a soul. When the cloud breaks, the structural property is carried by the soul or it may even be destroyed. The soul in some water body falls on the fertile soil where there are other kinds of souls.

Some water-soul forms some grains. Some soil-soul forms other grains. Which grain goes to which mother and father is due to guna and karma. In Hindi, there is a proverb that says: “Every food grain has the name of the eater written on it.” It is literally like that. Everyone’s destiny is taking them to the correct place. Nature is moving due to time, chitta, guna, and karma. Each grain of food has a calculator of time, guna, chitta, and karma it that is driving it toward the intended recipient.

Some water-souls and soil-souls are consumed by humans. They are born as humans. Others are consumed by animals. They are born as animals. Sometimes the soil-souls are returned to soil (through wasted food). They become various kinds of germs and bacteria. Thus, everyone is going through cycle of life and death.

Water and soil are not dead. They are also living bodies. Even a cloud is a living body. Rivers and mountains are also living bodies. Even a house is a body. The consciousness may be underdeveloped. But there is a consciousness wherever there is a body. There is no body without a consciousness. Underlying every kind of body that we can see there is always a consciousness unifying it into a body.

Just as our body is maintained by demigods while we are sleeping, similarly, the body of various types of living entities is maintained by the demigods. The demigods are also cooperatively working under the supervision of Lord Vishnu. Therefore, the unity we call the “body” is because there is a soul, demigods, and Lord Vishnu.

[Shaurya]

Thank you very much prabhuji. Because of contaminated ideas in the mind, it is very difficult to understand concepts like, “Everything that looks like a body to us is because of a soul. Without a soul there is no body.”

But your explanation was very helpful. Thank you prabhuji.

[Author]

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