Jahnu
2020-08-17 01:12:56 UTC
At the time of intercourse, at conception, the soul enters the female
womb via the male sperm-cell. The soul is already there from the point
of the fetus development from a single cell.
Lord Kapila says:
Under the supervision of the Supreme Lord and according to the result
of his work, the living entity, the soul, is made to enter into the
womb of a woman through the particle of male semen to assume a
particular type of body.
On the first night, the sperm and ovum mix, and on the fifth night the
mixture ferments into a bubble. On the tenth night it develops into a
form like a plum, and after that, it gradually turns into a lump of
flesh or an egg, as the case may be.
In the course of a month, a head is formed, and at the end of two
months the hands, feet and other limbs take shape. By the end of three
months, the nails, fingers, toes, body hair, bones and skin appear, as
do the organ of generation and the other apertures in the body, namely
the eyes, nostrils, ears, mouth and anus.
Within four months from the date of conception, the seven essential
ingredients of the body, namely chyle, blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow
and semen, come into existence. At the end of five months, hunger and
thirst make themselves felt, and at the end of six months, the fetus,
enclosed by the amnion, begins to move on the right side of the
abdomen.
Deriving its nutrition from the food and drink taken by the mother,
the fetus grows and remains in that abominable residence of stools and
urine, which is the breeding place of all kinds of worms.
Bitten again and again all over the body by the hungry worms in the
abdomen itself, the child suffers terrible agony because of his
tenderness. He thus becomes unconscious moment after moment because of
the terrible condition.
Owing to the mother's eating bitter, pungent foodstuffs, or food which
is too salty or too sour, the body of the child incessantly suffers
pains which are almost intolerable.
Placed within the amnion and covered outside by the intestines, the
child remains lying on one side of the abdomen, his head turned
towards his belly and his back and neck arched like a bow.
The child thus remains just like a bird in a cage, without freedom of
movement. At that time, if the child is fortunate, he can remember all
the troubles of his past one hundred births, and he grieves
wretchedly. What is the possibility of peace of mind in that
condition?
Thus endowed with the development of consciousness from the seventh
month after his conception, the child is tossed downward by the airs
that press the embryo during the weeks preceding delivery. Like the
worms born of the same filthy abdominal cavity, he cannot remain in
one place.
The living entity in this frightful condition of life, bound by seven
layers of material ingredients, prays with folded hands, appealing to
the Lord, who has put him in that condition.
The human soul says:
I take shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, who appears in His various eternal forms and walks on the
surface of the world. I take shelter of Him only, because He can give
me relief from all fear and from Him I have received this condition of
life, which is just befitting my impious activities.
I, the pure soul, appearing now bound by my activities, am lying in
the womb of my mother by the arrangement of maya. I offer my
respectful obeisances unto Him who is also here with me but who is
unaffected and changeless. He is unlimited, but He is perceived in the
repentant heart. To Him I offer my respectful obeisances.
I am separated from the Supreme Lord because of my being in this
material body, which is made of five elements, and therefore my
qualities and senses are being misused, although I am essentially
spiritual. Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is
transcendental to material nature and the living entities, because He
is devoid of such a material body, and because He is always glorious
in His spiritual qualities, I offer my obeisances unto Him.
The human soul further prays: The living entity is put under the
influence of material nature and continues a hard struggle for
existence on the path of repeated birth and death. This conditional
life is due to his forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Therefore, without the Lord's mercy, how can
he again engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord?
No one other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as the localized
Paramatma, the partial representation of the Lord, is directing all
inanimate and animate objects. He is present in the three phases of
time-past, present and future. Therefore, the conditioned soul is
engaged in different activities by His direction, and in order to get
free from the threefold miseries of this conditional life, we have to
surrender unto Him only.
Fallen into a pool of blood, stool and urine within the abdomen of his
mother, his own body scorched by the mother's gastric fire, the
embodied soul, anxious to get out, counts his months and prays, "O my
Lord, when shall I, a wretched soul, be released from this
confinement?"
My dear Lord, by Your causeless mercy I am awakened to consciousness,
although I am only ten months old. For this causeless mercy of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, the friend of all fallen souls, there
is no way to express my gratitude but to pray with folded hands.
The living entity in another type of body sees only by instinct; he
knows only the agreeable and disagreeable sense perceptions of that
particular body. But I have a body in which I can control my senses
and can understand my destination; therefore, I offer my respectful
obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by whom I have been
blessed with this body and by whose grace I can see Him within and
without.
Srimad Bhagavatam 3.31.1 -19
After that, the fetus is forced out of hole much too little, and born
in shock, and forgets everything. One can read about this in the next
section of verses, omitted here for brevity.
Srila Prabhupada explains:
The evolutionary process of different types of bodies is something
like that of a fructifying flower. Just as there are different stages
in the growth of a flower -- the bud stage, the blooming stage and the
full -- fledged, grown-up stage of aroma and beauty -- similarly,
there are 8,400,000 species of bodies in gradual evolution, and there
is systematic progress from the lower species of life to the higher.
The human form of life is supposed to be the highest, for it offers
consciousness for getting out of the clutches of birth and death. The
fortunate child in the womb of his mother realizes his superior
position and is thereby distinguished from other bodies.
Animals in bodies lower than that of the human being are conscious
only as far as their bodily distress and happiness are concerned; they
cannot think of more than their bodily necessities of life-eating,
sleeping, mating and defending.
But in the human form of life, by the grace of God, the consciousness
is so developed that a man can evaluate his exceptional position and
thus realize the self and the Supreme Lord.
The word dama-sariri means that we have a body in which we can control
the senses and the mind. The complication of materialistic life is due
to an uncontrolled mind and uncontrolled senses. One should feel
grateful to the Supreme Personality of Godhead for having obtained
such a nice human form of body, and one should properly utilize it.
The distinction between an animal and a man is that the animal cannot
control himself and has no sense of decency, whereas the human being
has the sense of decency and can control himself. If this controlling
power is not exhibited by the human being, then he is no better than
an animal.
By controlling the senses, or by the process of yoga regulation, one
can understand the position of his self, the Supersoul, the world and
their interrelation; everything is possible by controlling the senses.
Otherwise, we are no better than animals.
Real self-realization by means of controlling the senses is explained
herein. One should try to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead and
one's own self also. To think oneself the same as the Supreme is not
self-realization. Here it is clearly explained that the Supreme Lord
is anadi, or purana, and He has no other cause.
The living entity is born of the Supreme Godhead as part and parcel.
It is confirmed in the Brahma-samhita, anadir adir govindah: Govinda,
the Supreme person, has no cause. He is unborn. But the living entity
is born of Him.
As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, mamaivamsah: both the living entity and
the Supreme Lord are unborn, but it has to be understood that the
supreme cause of the part and parcel is the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Brahma-samhita therefore says that everything has come from
the Supreme Personality of Godhead (sarva-karana-karanam [Bs. 5.1]).
The Vedanta-sutra confirms this also. Janmady asya yatah: [SB 1.1.1]
the Absolute Truth is the original source of everyone's birth. Krishna
also says in Bhagavad-gita, aham sarvasya prabhavah: [Bg. 10.8]
"I am the source of birth of everything, including Brahma and Lord
Shiva and the living entities."
This is self-realization. One should know that he is under the control
of the Supreme Lord and not think that he is fully independent.
Otherwise, why should he be put into conditional life?
womb via the male sperm-cell. The soul is already there from the point
of the fetus development from a single cell.
Lord Kapila says:
Under the supervision of the Supreme Lord and according to the result
of his work, the living entity, the soul, is made to enter into the
womb of a woman through the particle of male semen to assume a
particular type of body.
On the first night, the sperm and ovum mix, and on the fifth night the
mixture ferments into a bubble. On the tenth night it develops into a
form like a plum, and after that, it gradually turns into a lump of
flesh or an egg, as the case may be.
In the course of a month, a head is formed, and at the end of two
months the hands, feet and other limbs take shape. By the end of three
months, the nails, fingers, toes, body hair, bones and skin appear, as
do the organ of generation and the other apertures in the body, namely
the eyes, nostrils, ears, mouth and anus.
Within four months from the date of conception, the seven essential
ingredients of the body, namely chyle, blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow
and semen, come into existence. At the end of five months, hunger and
thirst make themselves felt, and at the end of six months, the fetus,
enclosed by the amnion, begins to move on the right side of the
abdomen.
Deriving its nutrition from the food and drink taken by the mother,
the fetus grows and remains in that abominable residence of stools and
urine, which is the breeding place of all kinds of worms.
Bitten again and again all over the body by the hungry worms in the
abdomen itself, the child suffers terrible agony because of his
tenderness. He thus becomes unconscious moment after moment because of
the terrible condition.
Owing to the mother's eating bitter, pungent foodstuffs, or food which
is too salty or too sour, the body of the child incessantly suffers
pains which are almost intolerable.
Placed within the amnion and covered outside by the intestines, the
child remains lying on one side of the abdomen, his head turned
towards his belly and his back and neck arched like a bow.
The child thus remains just like a bird in a cage, without freedom of
movement. At that time, if the child is fortunate, he can remember all
the troubles of his past one hundred births, and he grieves
wretchedly. What is the possibility of peace of mind in that
condition?
Thus endowed with the development of consciousness from the seventh
month after his conception, the child is tossed downward by the airs
that press the embryo during the weeks preceding delivery. Like the
worms born of the same filthy abdominal cavity, he cannot remain in
one place.
The living entity in this frightful condition of life, bound by seven
layers of material ingredients, prays with folded hands, appealing to
the Lord, who has put him in that condition.
The human soul says:
I take shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, who appears in His various eternal forms and walks on the
surface of the world. I take shelter of Him only, because He can give
me relief from all fear and from Him I have received this condition of
life, which is just befitting my impious activities.
I, the pure soul, appearing now bound by my activities, am lying in
the womb of my mother by the arrangement of maya. I offer my
respectful obeisances unto Him who is also here with me but who is
unaffected and changeless. He is unlimited, but He is perceived in the
repentant heart. To Him I offer my respectful obeisances.
I am separated from the Supreme Lord because of my being in this
material body, which is made of five elements, and therefore my
qualities and senses are being misused, although I am essentially
spiritual. Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is
transcendental to material nature and the living entities, because He
is devoid of such a material body, and because He is always glorious
in His spiritual qualities, I offer my obeisances unto Him.
The human soul further prays: The living entity is put under the
influence of material nature and continues a hard struggle for
existence on the path of repeated birth and death. This conditional
life is due to his forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Therefore, without the Lord's mercy, how can
he again engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord?
No one other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as the localized
Paramatma, the partial representation of the Lord, is directing all
inanimate and animate objects. He is present in the three phases of
time-past, present and future. Therefore, the conditioned soul is
engaged in different activities by His direction, and in order to get
free from the threefold miseries of this conditional life, we have to
surrender unto Him only.
Fallen into a pool of blood, stool and urine within the abdomen of his
mother, his own body scorched by the mother's gastric fire, the
embodied soul, anxious to get out, counts his months and prays, "O my
Lord, when shall I, a wretched soul, be released from this
confinement?"
My dear Lord, by Your causeless mercy I am awakened to consciousness,
although I am only ten months old. For this causeless mercy of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, the friend of all fallen souls, there
is no way to express my gratitude but to pray with folded hands.
The living entity in another type of body sees only by instinct; he
knows only the agreeable and disagreeable sense perceptions of that
particular body. But I have a body in which I can control my senses
and can understand my destination; therefore, I offer my respectful
obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by whom I have been
blessed with this body and by whose grace I can see Him within and
without.
Srimad Bhagavatam 3.31.1 -19
After that, the fetus is forced out of hole much too little, and born
in shock, and forgets everything. One can read about this in the next
section of verses, omitted here for brevity.
Srila Prabhupada explains:
The evolutionary process of different types of bodies is something
like that of a fructifying flower. Just as there are different stages
in the growth of a flower -- the bud stage, the blooming stage and the
full -- fledged, grown-up stage of aroma and beauty -- similarly,
there are 8,400,000 species of bodies in gradual evolution, and there
is systematic progress from the lower species of life to the higher.
The human form of life is supposed to be the highest, for it offers
consciousness for getting out of the clutches of birth and death. The
fortunate child in the womb of his mother realizes his superior
position and is thereby distinguished from other bodies.
Animals in bodies lower than that of the human being are conscious
only as far as their bodily distress and happiness are concerned; they
cannot think of more than their bodily necessities of life-eating,
sleeping, mating and defending.
But in the human form of life, by the grace of God, the consciousness
is so developed that a man can evaluate his exceptional position and
thus realize the self and the Supreme Lord.
The word dama-sariri means that we have a body in which we can control
the senses and the mind. The complication of materialistic life is due
to an uncontrolled mind and uncontrolled senses. One should feel
grateful to the Supreme Personality of Godhead for having obtained
such a nice human form of body, and one should properly utilize it.
The distinction between an animal and a man is that the animal cannot
control himself and has no sense of decency, whereas the human being
has the sense of decency and can control himself. If this controlling
power is not exhibited by the human being, then he is no better than
an animal.
By controlling the senses, or by the process of yoga regulation, one
can understand the position of his self, the Supersoul, the world and
their interrelation; everything is possible by controlling the senses.
Otherwise, we are no better than animals.
Real self-realization by means of controlling the senses is explained
herein. One should try to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead and
one's own self also. To think oneself the same as the Supreme is not
self-realization. Here it is clearly explained that the Supreme Lord
is anadi, or purana, and He has no other cause.
The living entity is born of the Supreme Godhead as part and parcel.
It is confirmed in the Brahma-samhita, anadir adir govindah: Govinda,
the Supreme person, has no cause. He is unborn. But the living entity
is born of Him.
As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, mamaivamsah: both the living entity and
the Supreme Lord are unborn, but it has to be understood that the
supreme cause of the part and parcel is the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Brahma-samhita therefore says that everything has come from
the Supreme Personality of Godhead (sarva-karana-karanam [Bs. 5.1]).
The Vedanta-sutra confirms this also. Janmady asya yatah: [SB 1.1.1]
the Absolute Truth is the original source of everyone's birth. Krishna
also says in Bhagavad-gita, aham sarvasya prabhavah: [Bg. 10.8]
"I am the source of birth of everything, including Brahma and Lord
Shiva and the living entities."
This is self-realization. One should know that he is under the control
of the Supreme Lord and not think that he is fully independent.
Otherwise, why should he be put into conditional life?