Srila Prabhupada - Vedic Teachings

  - Heaven - „When the pure soul wants to give up the Lord's service to enjoy the material world, Kṛṣṇa certainly gives him a chance to enter the material world. As stated in the Prema-vivarta: kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā kare. This is the reason the pure spirit soul falls down to the material world. Due to his activities under the influence of the three modes of material nature, the living entity takes different positions in different species. Sometimes he is a demigod in the heavenly planets and sometimes a most insignificant creature in the lower planetary systems.” (SB 5.14 Summary) „So heaven is described in the Vedic literature as tri-daśa-pūr. Tri-daśa-pūr. Tri-daśa-pūr means there are 33,000,000's of demigods, and they have got their separate planets. This is called tri-daśa-pūr. Tri means three, and daśa means ten. So thirty-three or thirty.” (Lecture on BG 2.3 -- London, August 4, 1973)   “Since the human form of life is the sublime position for spirit...

                                              Prabhupāda: He may not believe, but hell is there. If... You read this book. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ [Bg. 14.18]. Read this verse. Just see how misbelief, that there is no hell. Just see. In this way, misled, whole world. The so-called rascal leaders mislead, "There is no hell. Don't believe in hell." Vivekananda said, "Yes. There is no hell." (Room Conversation with German Women Philosophers -- June 17, 1974, Germany)   The great sage Śukadeva Gosvāmī answered: All the hellish planets are situated in the intermediate space between the three worlds and the Garbhodaka Ocean. They lie on the southern side of the universe, beneath Bhū-maṇḍala, and slightly above the water of the Garbhodaka Ocean. Pitṛloka is also located in this region between the Garbhodaka Ocean and the lower planetary systems. All the resident...

                                          „… Ladies and gentlemen, regarding Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement... (about microphone:) It is working? We are talking about the spiritual existence of the living being. By evolutionary process we come to the human form of life, and here we have got developed consciousness. We can decide now which way to go forward. There are different planetary system. That we can experience. We can see innumerable planets, upwards and downwards. So the upper planetary system is called Svargaloka, or the heavenly planets, and the middle planetary system is called Martyaloka or Bhurloka, in which we are staying at the present moment, and the down planetary system is called Pātālaloka or downwards. Downwards means fall down, upwards means getting promotion, and middle means we remain where we are now. That is... Indication is given in the Bhagavad-gītā, ūrdhvaṁ ...

                               „If you want actual peace, ātmā, suprasīdati, then you have to accept paro dharma. Para means supreme or superior. There are two kinds of dharmas: parā and aparā. Aparā means this material world. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca (BG 7.4). There are two natures: one spiritual nature and one material nature. People do not understand what is spiritual nature. But Kṛṣṇa explains very nicely, and one can understand very easily what is spiritual nature and what is material nature. In the Bhagavad-gītā, the matter, five elements—earth, water, air, fire, sky, mind, intelligence, ego—these are material nature. Prakṛti me bhinnā aṣṭadhā. Apareyam. Then Kṛṣṇa says this is aparā. Aparā means inferior. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ. The modern scientist or philosophers, they are engaged in studying this inferior nature. They have no information of the superior nature. But Kṛṣṇa says...

  An intelligent person „Illusioned by the material nature, the living entity identifies with false ego. More clearly, when the living entity is entrapped by the material body, he at once identifies with the bodily relationships, forgetting his own identity as spirit soul. This false ego associates with different modes of material nature, and thus the senses become attached to the modes of material nature. Mind is the instrument for feeling different material experiences, but intelligence is deliberative and can change everything for the better. The intelligent person, therefore, can attain salvation from the illusion of material existence by proper use of intelligence. An intelligent person can detect the awkward position of material existence and thus begin to inquire as to what he is, why he is subjected to different kinds of miseries, and how to get rid of all miseries, and thus, by good association, an advanced intelligent person can turn towards the better life of self-realiz...

  Material intelligence, spiritual intelligence „Ordinarily the living being does not know what to ask from the Lord, nor which post to seek. When the living being comes to know his constitutional position, however, he asks to be accepted into the transcendental association of the Lord in order to render transcendental loving service unto Him. Unfortunately, living beings under the influence of material nature ask for many other things, and they are described in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.41) as having divided, or splayed, intelligence. Spiritual intelligence is one, but mundane intelligence is diverse. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.30-31) it is stated that those who are captivated by the temporary beauties of the external energy forget the real aim of life, which is to go back to Godhead. Forgetting this, one tries to adjust things by various plans and programs, but this is like chewing what has already been chewed. Nonetheless, the Lord is so kind that He allows the forgetful living entity...

  But he has his normal way of thinking, feeling and willing „The living being is by constitution transcendental to material encagement, but he is now imprisoned by the external energy, and therefore he thinks himself one of the material products. And due to this unholy contact, the pure spiritual entity suffers material miseries under the modes of material nature. The living entity misunderstands himself to be a material product. This means that the present perverted way of thinking, feeling and willing, under material conditions, is not natural for him. But he has his normal way of thinking, feeling and willing. The living being in his original state is not without thinking, willing and feeling power. It is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā that the actual knowledge of the conditioned soul is now covered by nescience.” (SB 1.7.5, Purport)

  „ We living entities, we are spiritual atoms, and by material atomic combination we have developed this body, although this material body is foreign to me. Similarly, we can develop our spiritual body also in the spiritual world. Is it clear? Just like in the material world, in combination with matter we have developed this material body. Do you believe in this, that "I am spiritual atom, and I have developed this material body on the basis of spiritual atom?" It is a fact. It is a fact. Just like in the mother's womb when the spiritual atom takes place, then it grows, it forms the material body. Without that spiritual atom, there cannot be any growth of body. Simply sex intercourse does not give guarantee of pregnancy. Unless that spiritual atom is there, the body does not grow.” (Lecture on BG 4.11-12 -- New York, July 28, 1966)   „A man can go to the higher planetary system when he is preparing himself to go there. So there are millions and trillions of planets...