Reincarnation (Conversations)

Expressions researched:
"reincarnate" |"reincarnated" |"reincarnates" |"reincarnating" |"reincarnation" |"reincarnations"

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Reincarnation? Yes. So your son, he must have taken some body somewhere. So if you pray to Kṛṣṇa, wherever he may be, he will be happy. He will be happy.

Room Conversation with Dai Nippon -- April 22, 1972, Tokyo:

Karandhara: He's asking how can he be relieved from such sadness when his son has died? How do we evaluate death?

Prabhupāda: Oh. Yes. So our program is that, as I have already explained, the success of everything depends how Kṛṣṇa is satisfied. So if you try to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, then whatever you want, He will give you, benedict. I will give you one instance. It is stated in Kṛṣṇa Book. Kṛṣṇa was a student of Sāndīpani Muni. So when Kṛṣṇa finished His education, it is the system that the disciple gives some, I mean to say, reward, presentation to the spiritual master, because he has educated. So the disciple requests his spiritual master, "Now I have finished my education. I am going home." Formerly the student used to live with the spiritual master. "So how can I serve you?" So at that time the spiritual master, whatever he wants, the disciple will supply. So in the case of Kṛṣṇa, the teacher knew that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So when Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma asked his teacher, "How can I satisfy you?" so they requested, "My dear boys, I lost my child very young. If you kindly bring them, then I shall be very much pleased." So Kṛṣṇa went underneath the sea and brought his son back. This incident is there. So my point is that whatever you want, Kṛṣṇa will give you. You try to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. That's all. (Japanese)

Prabhupāda: (aside:) What is this? Japanese tea? I see. Water? Cold water. Ice water. So you try to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, and you will be blessed and your son will be blessed. You pray to Kṛṣṇa. Wherever he may be, he will be happy. You believe in incarnation, next birth? Next birth?

Karandhara: Reincarnation?

Prabhupāda: Reincarnation? Yes. So your son, he must have taken some body somewhere. So if you pray to Kṛṣṇa, wherever he may be, he will be happy. He will be happy. How many sons?

Dai Nippon representative: This is my only son now.

Prabhupāda: Be blessed. He is youngest. He was oldest?

Dai Nippon representative: No. My younger brother also died. My younger brother.

Prabhupāda: Oh, your younger brother. Oh, you are eldest.

Dai Nippon representative: He is my son.

Prabhupāda: Yes, I can understand. How many sons you have got?

Dai Nippon representative: Three.

Prabhupāda: Three. That is nice. And daughters?

Dai Nippon representative: Two boy and one daughter.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

A living entity is getting body by, as a result of his karma. And supervised by higher authority.

Room Conversation with French Journalist and UNESCO Worker -- August 10, 1973, Paris:

Dr. Inger: Some people would say that it is due to our past. Past connections or reincarnations.

Devotee: Karma.

Dr. Inger: karma.

Prabhupāda: So. Yes, karma...

Dr. Inger: Exactly. What we have gone through. We are the, we are the result of our past actions.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is a fact. That is a fact. Because we get all this information from Vedic literature. Karmaṇā daiva netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). You understand Sanskrit?

Dr. Inger: Little bit.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Karmaṇā daiva netreṇa jantor deha upapattaye. A living entity is getting body by, as a result of his karma. And supervised by higher authority.

Yes. Energy of the soul. As soon as the soul is passed from the body, there is no more consciousness. It is very easy to understand. They cannot explain why the consciousness stops.

Morning Walk -- December 4, 1973, Los Angeles:

Devotee (2): Actually by the law of conservation of energy reincarnation can be explained.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devotee (2): By their own law.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Hṛdayānanda: Why shouldn't consciousness also be conserved?

Devotee (2): Consciousness is also energy.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Energy of the soul. As soon as the soul is passed from the body, there is no more consciousness. It is very easy to understand. They cannot explain why the consciousness stops. They cannot explain. But that is the symptom. Yena sarvam idam, avināśi tu tad viddhi..., yena sarvam idam, in the Bhagavad-gītā. That thing which is spreading the energy all over the body, that is eternal. Now, what is that thing which is spreading the consciousness? It is the soul. So long the soul is there, you have got consciousness, otherwise there is no consciousness.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

They do not believe in the reincarnation, next birth?

Room Conversation with Mr. Deshimaru -- June 13, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: How the man becomes dead? (French)

Pṛthu Putra: He says the man is like a phenomenon. He appears and he disappears. And when he disappears, he merge in this cosmic force.

Yogeśvara: Like anything. Like a flower that grows and dies and merges again into the earth.

Prabhupāda: Merges?

Yogeśvara: Just like a flower grows from the earth...

Prabhupāda: They do not believe in the reincarnation, next birth? (French)

Pṛthu Putra: He says there is no personal reincarnation of the soul. When the body dies... (break) (French) He says, himself, he has no answer, but the Zen philosophy has one answer.

Prabhupāda: Zen philosophy answer? (French)

Yogeśvara: He was that cosmic force. Before birth, man was the universality of everything.

Prabhupāda: And what you are now?

Yogeśvara: And now he is himself. Now he is different.

Prabhupāda: So how you became from zero?

Pṛthu Putra: No, he don't say he is different. He says, "Now I am myself." (French) His point is that he doesn't think that man is more important than the flower or the table. It's all the same.

Prabhupāda: Then why he is anxious for man's suffering? (French)

Pṛthu Putra: He says the man is there. The suffering is there.

Prabhupāda: No. So why he is bothering about suffering? He was zero, beginning, and he will be zero and now he is also zero.

Then they have to accept good work and bad work.

Room Conversation with Mr. Deshimaru -- June 13, 1974, Paris:

Karandhara: Actually, Zen philosophy, they accept reincarnation, that the self keeps on taking bodies until he becomes selfless, and it's only in the human form that he can develop that selflessness.

Prabhupāda: Then they have to accept good work and bad work.

Karandhara: Yes, they do. They have a similar understanding of karma so far as the material self is concerned, and that the soul or the self takes on different forms until it becomes perfectly selfless. And then it merges back into the nondescript, the cosmic force. So I don't know if this young man's versed in Zen philosophy...

Prabhupāda: That is our definition, anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). Śūnyam means, you have to give up all material desires. Jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (CC Madhya 19.167). But the desire should be synchronized. Ānukulyena kṛṣṇānu..., you have to desire to satisfy Kṛṣṇa.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

No, no, "dies" means the body dies. The soul does not die.

Room Conversation with Sanskrit Professor, other Guests and Disciples -- February 12, 1975, Mexico:

Guest (5): Suppose he is reincarnated?

Prabhupāda: No, no, "dies" means the body dies. The soul does not die. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). When the body annihilates... Body becomes old. Just like this cloth. I am using it, but when it will be old, no more useful, then I throw it away. I get another dress. This body is like that. Soul is eternal. Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit. It does not die, it does not take birth, but because he is in material condition, therefore he has to change the material body because no material thing is permanent. Therefore the aim of life should be how to avoid this material body. That is real business. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. That is called athāto brahma jijñāsā.

The first defect is, in education, that the present leader, he does not know what is the aim of life. Neither the people know that there is reincarnation or transmigration of the soul after death.

Room Conversation -- February 15, 1975, Mexico:

Prabhupāda: A man may be very stout and strong, but if he has no good brain, it is useless. Similarly, at the present moment there is education, there is money and everything, but because there is no brain, the whole thing is in chaotic condition. The first defect is, in education, that the present leader, he does not know what is the aim of life. Neither the people know that there is reincarnation or transmigration of the soul after death. They do not know. So basically they are brainless. So they cannot give guidance, and therefore the whole society is in chaotic condition.

Reincarnation, you are already reincarnated. Where is your that childhood body? Where is that body?

Room Conversation with Justin Murphy (Geographer) -- May 14, 1975, Perth:

Justin Murphy: Are you talking about reincarnation, life after death?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Reincarnation, you are already reincarnated. Where is your that childhood body? Where is that body?

Justin Murphy: Here it is. It's grown.

Prabhupāda: No. No, it is changed.

Justin Murphy: It's grown, it's changed, it's evolved, I have evolved. Just like evolution, I have evolved to the situations...

Prabhupāda: Anyway... Just try to understand. Anyway, that, your boy's body or childhood body is no longer. Either you say changed or grown, whatever you say, it doesn't matter.

Justin Murphy: But they're the same bones, it's the same skin.

Prabhupāda: But you are the same man. That's a fact. You understand that you were a child or you were a boy, youthful boy, jumping. You remember that body, but that body is not existing. That's a fact.

Well, the difficulty is that we are talking of transmigration of the soul on scientific basis. But you are trying to give it a Hindu color. Why?

Room Conversation with the Rector, Professor Olivier and Professors of the University of Durban, Westville -- October 8, 1975, Durban:

Indian man (3): I want an answer, please. Are you suggesting that every person, whether he is Muslim or Christian or Buddhist or Jew or Parsi or anybody else for that matter, should accept the Hindu doctrine of transmigration or reincarnation of soul in order that he may be called really a religious person or a scientific person?

Prabhupāda: Well, the difficulty is that we are talking of transmigration of the soul on scientific basis. But you are trying to give it a Hindu color. Why? To become... I have already explained. To become old man is equally applicable to the Hindus, Muslim, Christian. So why you say it is Hindu belief? It is not Hindu belief. It is a science. Why you are bringing "Hindu, Muslim, Christian"? I do not know why.

Second chance means you have to change your body. Now, according to your desire you get another body. That body is not guaranteed that you shall get a human body.

Room Conversation with Bill Faill (reporter) -- October 8, 1975, Durban:

Faill: Do we get a second chance if we don't make the most of this life? In other words, is reincarnation part of your...

Prabhupāda: Yes. Second chance means you have to change your body. Now, according to your desire you get another body. That body is not guaranteed that you shall get a human body. It may be...

Faill: If you've been bad enough, you might finish...

Prabhupāda: No, that... This I have already told you. There are 8,400,000 different forms of life. So you can enter any one of them according to your mental condition. We are under the control of the material nature. The material nature is being conducted in three modes: goodness, passion and ignorance. So just like three colors: yellow, red, and blue. Now you mix-three into three equal to nine, nine into nine equal to eighty-one. So these modes of material nature is being mixed up. Therefore there are so many varieties of life. So if we transcend this coloring platform of material nature, we come to the pure consciousness. Then we stop this repetition of birth and death in different forms of life. And if we do not that, then there is chance of going down or going up.

Reality is this, that we are spirit soul. We are now conditioned by the laws of material nature, and we are carried away by the laws of material nature and transmigrating from one body to another, sometimes happy, sometimes distressed, or sometimes heavenly planet, sometimes lower planet.

Room Conversation with Professor Olivier -- October 10, 1975, Durban:

Prof. Olivier: How do you...? This...your concept of reincarnation, how do you reconcile reincarnation with this attempt to...

Prabhupāda: So long you'll have desire for material...

Prof. Olivier: This is what is normally in the Hindu religion, you know, which it is not so, of course, in the Christian religion.

Prabhupāda: It is not the question of religion. This is the, I mean to say, our position, real position. Religion develops. Religion is a kind of faith. That develops according to time, circumstances, people. But reality is this, that we are spirit soul. We are now conditioned by the laws of material nature, and we are carried away by the laws of material nature and transmigrating from one body to another, sometimes happy, sometimes distressed, or sometimes heavenly planet, sometimes lower planet. This is going on. And human life is meant for stopping this process of transmigration and revive our original consciousness, and go back to home, back to Godhead, and live eternally, blissful life of knowledge. This is the whole scheme of Vedic literature.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

The idea of reincarnation. That is horrible for them.

Morning Walk -- February 27, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Eh? The idea of reincarnation. That is horrible for them.

Hari-śauri: If they understood that they would have to pay later for what they're doing now, they wouldn't be able to do it.

The Māyāvādīs say that this is not incarnation, it is māyā. Just like the sky is covered in a pot, and as soon as the pot breaks, the sky mixes with the big sky. That's all. That is their theory.

Morning Walk -- April 8, 1976, Mayapur:

Madhudviṣa: If the Māyāvādīs don't believe in the difference between the soul and the Supersoul, then how can they... What is their explanation of reincarnation?

Prabhupāda: They say that this is not incarnation, it is māyā. Just like the sky is covered in a pot, and as soon as the pot breaks, the sky mixes with the big sky. That's all. That is their theory.

Madhudviṣa: So therefore they say God is covered.

Prabhupāda: Not God. You are covered.

Pañcadraviḍa: But you are God, they say.

Prabhupāda: So you are God, but you are covered by this body. So as soon as the body is finished, you mix with. Just like you take one pot and you take water. The water is there, but if you break this pot, the water comes and mixes with.

The body may vanquish, but you are going through. That is incarnation.

Room Conversation -- June 9, 1976, Los Angeles:

Jay Warner: I do have one question. How can one establish faith in the principle of reincarnation? How can one come to believe in it?

Prabhupāda: Incarnation of God?

Devotees: Reincarnation, transmigration.

Prabhupāda: That is very simple thing. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Now, you were a child. That's a fact. Were you not a child?

Hṛdayānanda: You were a child before.

Jay Warner: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Where is that body?

Jay Warner: Where is the body of the child?

Prabhupāda: Yes. You were a child. Where is that body?

Jay Warner: It has grown into a man.

Prabhupāda: Grown, or it is changed? The same thing. But that child, that body, is no more existing. Is it not?

Jay Warner: Yes, it is gone.

Prabhupāda: The body may vanquish, but you are going through. That is incarnation. The child body is vanquished; it is no more existing. Either you say grow or I may say it has changed, that body is finished. Is it not?

Jay Warner: Yes.

Prabhupāda: But you are still existing.

Jay Warner: I still feel that I am myself.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That means you were in the child body and you are in this young man's body. So you are existing, but the body has changed. What is the difficulty to understand?

Yes, Kṛṣṇa says that even women, he can go back to home, back to Godhead. Striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim. There is no such thing. Anyone who is devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he or she will go back to home, back to Godhead.

Evening Darsana -- July 8, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Mr. Boyd: Can I ask a question? Am I to understand that women cannot go back to Godhead without being reincarnated to the male?

Prabhupāda: No, not necessarily. Who says that?

Mr. Boyd: Well, for two and a half years I've been getting this from my daughter, that women cannot be reincarnated, and it didn't make sense to me. But I've asked questions and looked through the books as much as I could, and I haven't been able to find anything that said that.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: That verse, māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya (BG 9.32).

Prabhupāda: Yes, Kṛṣṇa says that even women, he can go back to home, back to Godhead. Striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim. There is no such thing. Anyone who is devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he or she will go back to home, back to Godhead. There is no such discrimination. Ordinarily it is supposed that woman is less intelligent than the man. That's a fact. But that is in bodily understanding. But in the spiritual platform, either woman or man or cat or dog or brāhmaṇa or... Everyone is spirit soul. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). One who is learned, he sees everyone on the same level of spiritual platform.

Therefore you should give up your philosophy and science. That "Because my scripture does not allow me to become educated, I shall remain a fool."

Evening Darsana -- July 8, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Vipina: They can understand it, but their scripture doesn't accept reincarnation.

Prabhupāda: Therefore you should give up your philosophy and science. That "Because my scripture does not allow me to become educated, I shall remain a fool." (laughter) What is this?

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

They create a cheap God. Real God they reject. That is going on.

Morning Walk -- January 4, 1977, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: This thing is the God has to reincarnate Himself again to reestablish bhāgavata-dharma.

Prabhupāda: That is everywhere. If you don't mind, your Swami Nārāyaṇa is also like that.

Dr. Patel: All of them. They are. That is why, I mean, liberation is created by God again by incarnation.

Prabhupāda: They create a cheap God. Real God they reject. That is going on.

Transmigration, how it can be shown? The mind, intelligence, and ego you cannot see. But you will have to accept there is mind.

Conversation with Yadubara (after seeing film) -- April 17, 1977, Bombay:

Yadubara: What about reincarnation, Śrīla Prabhupāda? What about transmigration of the soul? 'Cause we were thinking to do that for a next film, because it seems like a very natural thing.

Prabhupāda: Transmigration, how it can be shown? The mind, intelligence, and ego you cannot see. But you will have to accept there is mind.

Yadubara: We have not really worked out any details.

Prabhupāda: Details, you cannot show it. It is so fine. Just like here is the sky, but you cannot see it. The mind is finer than the sky. The air is sky. (claps) That is sky. Where is the proof? (claps) That you cannot see. Śabda, sound. Sound is the sign of presence of sky. But you cannot see it. But it is there. (claps) This is the proof.