BG 13.6- 24 Material Elements that make up our Body | Rus-Split | 7.7.92 | Gopal Krishna Goswami

Bhagavad-gītā, Chapter 13, Texts 6 and 7. We'll just do the Sanskrit of Text 6 to save time. Mahā-arūṭṇa-nihaṁ kālo. Mahā-arūṭṇa-nihaṁ kālo. Udhiyā vyaktam eva-cāu. Udhiyā vyaktam eva-cāu. Nidhīyā-nidāśayakaṁ cau. Nidhīyā-nidāśayakaṁ cau. One thing is that when the translation is taking place, the speaker has half the time. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare, Hare, Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma, Rāma, Hare, Hare. Mahā-bhūtan-yahankāro buddhīrā-bhyakta-mīvacha indiyāni-dāśaikām ca pancha-cendya-gocaraha. Actually we are discussing very, very important verses of the Bhagavad-gītā at this point. And it's a little hard to explain these verses fully in a class of half an hour. With translation, it works out to be a class of just 15-20 minutes. Anyway, we'll try our best. So in this verse, Kṛṣṇa is explaining detail. He's giving us details about the field of activity. In the previous verses of this chapter, Kṛṣṇa has described, in response to the question of Arjuna, So this body is the field of activity. Now in this body, we see that there are several interactions taking place. We have desire, hatred, happiness, distress. Now why are all these interactions taking place is explained in this verse. There are 24 elements that make up what is called a field of activity, and due to the presence of these 24 elements We manifest desire, hatred, happiness, and distress. So we will briefly explain these 24 elements. First, you have the 5 great elements known as Mahabhuta. These are known as earth, water, fire, air, ether. Bhumi, Raponala, Vayu, Kam, Manabuddhi, Evarsha. So the gross elements, Mahabhuta, are earth, water, fire, air, ether. Then there are 3 subtle elements. Mind, intelligence, and false ego. Then there is— then there is the unmanifested stage. The unmanifested includes the three modes of material nature, namely goodness, passion, and ignorance. The three modes of ignorance, the three material modes, they multiply and they create a variety of illusions for us. They multiply unlimitedly. Just like 3 multiplied by 3 equals to 9, 9 multiplied by 9 equals to 81, and you can just go on, 81 multiplied by 81, and then the result multiplied by the similar number. So the three modes create unlimited illusions in the living entity's mind. How do they create these illusions? How are these illusions to be fulfilled? Through the knowledge-acquiring senses and working senses and objects of the senses. So these senses that we have fall in 3 categories: knowledge acquiring senses, working senses, and objects of the senses. So we'll explain each of the 3 categories. The knowledge acquiring senses are eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. Why are they known as knowledge acquiring senses? Because it is through these senses that we obtain all information For example, if I was— if somebody was to close your eyes, then you will not be able to identify one color from the other or able to see anything. So through the medium of the eyes, you see and you determine whether something is beautiful or ugly. Then through the ears, you hear. If somebody just blocks your ears, then does not matter how loud they may play music, you won't be able to hear it. Through the nose you smell. If your nose gets blocked, then you can't smell. So through the nose you smell and you determine what fragrance is good, what fragrance is bad. Then you have the tongue. Through the tongue you obtain knowledge whether this food is tasty or whether it is not tasty. And then you have the skin. Then there are 5 working senses. Why are they known as 5 working senses? Because these senses work for you to fulfill your desire for sense enjoyment. And if you're very fortunate, they work for you to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So the working senses are voice, legs, hands, anus, and genitals. Because through the voice you speak. If you don't have a voice, you can't speak. And through the leg— and through the legs you walk, through the hands you work, and the anus and genitals also fulfill their functions. Then you have objects of the senses, just like what is the object for the eyes? For the eyes, it is form. You want to see something. And for the nose, it is smell. For the tongue, it is taste. For the ears, it is sound. And for the genitals, it is touch. So these are known as the objects of the senses. So the knowledge-acquiring senses and the working senses They interact, and they interact to fulfill the objects of the senses. Let's take, for example, you want to see something beautiful, and to see that something beautiful, you have to walk to the cinema hall or to any location. So in order to do that, you have to take the assistance of your knowledge-acquiring sense, the eyes, and the working senses, namely the legs. The legs will make you walk, and the eyes will make you see., and the result of this will be, uh, some vision. You'll have some form to see. So these are briefly the 24 elements that are always interacting. And because of the presence of these 24 elements, you have desires. Desires are there in everyone's heart, whether you're a devotee or a non-devotee. The only difference is A devotee desires to please the Lord and a non-devotee desires to please his senses. And to please the senses, the non-devotee takes the use of the knowledge-acquiring senses and the working senses. And because of the presence of the mind, there is hatred, love, happiness, distress, because through the mind the different senses are expressing their feelings and desires. So Prabhupada explains in the purport how the mind is also one of the senses. Now understanding these 24 elements makes you to understand how the field of activity, namely the body, is operated. In other words, happiness and distress, hatred, desire, this is all the result of these different elements being in the body. Further Krishna says, The life symptom. What is the life symptom? Consciousness. Many times our modern-day friends tell us, what proof do you have that there is soul in the body? The materialists would like to believe that there is no soul. They would like to believe that with the end of this body, everything perishes. The thought that the living entity is eternal by nature scares them. Why does it scare them? Because they do not want to think about the possibility of reward and punishment. Because they're engaged in sinful activities, there's no question of reward, there's only question of punishment. And because they're constantly defying the laws of the Lord, they, they're liable for punishment. So the best way they want to forget thinking about the possibility of punishment is by denying the existence of the soul. Therefore, if somebody wants proof about the presence of the soul, there is, as this verse is explaining, consciousness and conviction. Now Kṛṣṇa is giving us this complete detail about the different elements of which the body is made, so that we can understand how these different desires are created, so that we can understand how these different illusions are created, how likes and dislikes are created. So one who is intelligent, he understands that even the modes of nature, even if one is elevated to the mode of goodness, This is not the highest. Because even if you are in the mode of goodness, the temptation for sinful life or the desire to engage in sinful activities will always be there. But if you come to the stage of pure goodness, then this desire is not there. Then in the stage of pure goodness, the only desire is how one can please the Lord, serve the Lord. Further, Prasad Raaval explains, this body is subject to 6 stages of development or transformation. The first stage is birth, then there is growth, then it produces byproduct. Birth, then there's growth, then it maintains itself, then it produces byproducts. Like a man and when woman get together, they have children. Then it begins to get old, and finally it vanishes. Therefore, we can see that this field of activity within which the 24 elements that we have briefly described are operating This is non-permanent. It is not permanent. However, the knower of the field, namely the spirit soul or the śetra-gya, that is permanent. So please understand this point. The 24 material elements that make up the material body are temporary because the body eventually does get destroyed. But the proprietor of the field of body, the śetra-gya, its real owner, That does not get destroyed. Kṛṣṇa says in the second chapter, na jāyete mṛyate vākadaḥ ceh nāyaṁ bhūtabhāvata-vānabhūya ajo-nityaśāca vijñāṁ purāṇaḥ na manyate anya-māneṣo viveḥ. For the soul there is never birth nor death. Not having once lived, it will cease to be. So Kṛṣṇa is explaining the field of activity. In this chapter Kṛṣṇa has also explained Who is the real owner of the body so that we can identify with the spiritual nature of the soul and not with the material body that is presenting a variety of unlimited, a variety of desires to be fulfilled. So Kṛṣṇa is presenting in this information knowledge about the 24 material elements that make up the body and the owner of the body so that we can identify with the owner of the body and not the material elements. In other words, if we are identified with the spiritual needs of the soul and not the unlimited desires that are coming in the different senses, then one will be able to achieve real satisfaction. As Kṛṣṇa has explained in this chapter, this body is perishable. So Rūpa Gosvāmī has said, kāmadīnam kathinā palita dūrṇī deṣa, I have been trying to satisfy my senses since time immemorial, but there really is no satisfaction at all. Therefore, once you understand the components of the body, once you understand how the different desires are developing, once you understand who the near real owner of the body is, then you know whose instructions to follow or to act in a manner which is ultimately beneficial. In the material world, they very often say Today I like this person, tomorrow I don't like him. Today I'm happy, tomorrow I'm sad. So there's happiness and distress. Life is life. It's just really functioning of the mind. And the nature of the material mind is it is uncontrolled. It is like an unbridled horse. You can imagine sitting on a horse where you don't have control over the reins of the horse. —where the horse is uncontrolled. So at any time you can be thrown off the horse. So it is the contaminated material mind that creates likes and dislikes. This point is also confirmed by Kṛṣṇa's Kavirāja in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Kṛṣṇa's Kavirāja says that likes, dislikes, happiness, distress, these are all due to the functioning of the mind. Therefore, the advice of the great sages is not to listen to the contaminated, polluted mind. Just like you do not go to an alcoholic, a man who's intoxicated, to ask him for directions. You also don't go to a small child and ask him for directions. You go to a saint, adult, for directions. Similarly, the Vedas say the contaminated mind is unable to direct you, but if you listen to the purified mind of Vyāsadeva and his representative, namely the spiritual master, then your senses will be directed in the proper manner. So these knowledge-acquiring senses, object of the senses, working senses, the five gross elements, these are also there in the life of a devotee. But the difference is a devotee uses these to serve the Lord, while a non-devotee uses these to forget the Lord. Kṛṣṇa, who is within the heart, inspires the devotee to remember Him and the non-devotee to forget Him, because the non-devotee's desire is to forget the Lord and the devotee's desire is to remember the Lord. For example, Mahājambhrīśa was not only a great devotee but king of this whole planet. He gave us a perfect example how to use the knowledge acquiring senses, object of the senses, working senses in service to the Lord. Mahājambhrīśa used his legs to walk to the temple of the Lord, used his hands to clean the temple of the Lord, used his head to bow down before the Deity of the Lord. Use his tongue to taste prasad offered to the Lord. Use his eyes to see the beautiful form of the Lord. Use his nose to smell fragrances offered to the Lord. Use his hand to sweep the temple of the Lord. So use your knowledge-acquiring senses and working senses in service to the Lord. The materialist's object is sense enjoyment. So his object of the senses are to see something vulgar, to hear some mundane rock music, to taste food without discrimination, to use the genitals for sex life and the nose for smelling polluted fragrances. Where the devotee's object of the senses are: with my eyes I want to see the beautiful form of the Deities, with my ears I constantly want to hear the holy names of the Lord, with my tongue I constantly want to vibrate the glories of the Lord. So that is the difference between a devotee and a non-devotee. The devotee wants to use everything in service to the Lord. The non-devotee wants to use it to forget the Lord. Now that the body goes through 6 stages of development, which we have explained, and this is a reality which is a fact for everyone, whether you're black, white, brown, Russian, Indian, American, everybody's body has to go through 6— these 6 different stages of development. Therefore, Prabhupada said The knowledge of the Bhagavad-gītā is not really religious knowledge. It is educational knowledge because the knowledge that we receive in the Bhagavad-gītā, that is both the disease, all the— any 24 elements that we have discussed, this is for everyone. So this is real education. So Kṛṣṇa in this chapter is explaining the knower of the body, the super knower, and the field of activity. And therefore this chapter is very important. Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna. There are only 2 minutes left for the answers, so if there's a quick question, I can take it. So how did you all do today in the ticket? Nicely? So I'll give the class tomorrow morning also. Okay. Yeah. One of the topics of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gītā is harmonization, and the question is how the soul can do this. Well, Prabhupāda explains in the purport what unmanifested means: three modes of nature. So the unmanifested which Krishna talks about in the verse refers to goodness, passion, and ignorance. The soul is not one of the material elements. There is no contradiction. The soul is the owner of the body, but the soul is captivated by the body. It is like a prisoner in the body. It is covered by the body, but the soul is a non-doer. These senses, based on how they act They decide the type of covering the soul is going to obtain in future. So I just have to go quickly to a— okay, later you can ask me this question tomorrow morning. Krishna Krishna, hale hale. Halle la hale la. Lama lama, hale hale. Halle Krishna, halle Krishna.