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Your position is that small particle, but spirit can expand. This expansion in the material world is being done in contact with matter. And in the spiritual world, that expansion can be done in spirit

Expressions researched:
"Your position is that small particle, but spirit can expand. This expansion in the material world is being done in contact with matter. And in the spiritual world, that expansion can be done in spirit"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

That is his constitutional position. Either in the spiritual sky or material sky, he's the same. But as you develop in the material world a material body, similarly in the spiritual world you can develop a spiritual body. You follow? Your position is that small particle, but spirit can expand. This expansion in the material world is being done in contact with matter. And in the spiritual world, that expansion can be done in spirit.
Lecture on BG 6.1 -- Los Angeles, February 13, 1969:

Devotee: Prabhupāda? You said that spirit soul is one ten-thousandth the tip of a hair. In the spiritual sky, is the spirit soul still just that big?

Prabhupāda: That is his constitutional position. Either in the spiritual sky or material sky, he's the same. But as you develop in the material world a material body, similarly in the spiritual world you can develop a spiritual body. You follow? Your position is that small particle, but spirit can expand. This expansion in the material world is being done in contact with matter. And in the spiritual world, that expansion can be done in spirit. Here in the material world I am spirit soul. I am different from this body because this body is matter and I am living. I am living force, but this material body is not living force. And in the spiritual world there is everything living force. There is no dead matter. Therefore the body is also spiritual. Just like water with water, water, that's all. But water and oil—distinction. Similarly, I am spirit soul, I am the oil. So I am in the water, so there is distinction. But if I am put into the oil, then everything's all right. So the impersonalists, they do not develop body. They simply remain as spirit particle. That is their idea. But we Vaiṣṇava, we want to serve Kṛṣṇa, therefore we require hands, legs and mouth and tongue, everything. So we are giving such body. As you are getting this body from the womb of the mother, similarly we get body in the spiritual world. Not from the womb of the mother, but there is process to get, you can get.

Devotee: That can't be done artificially though. Nobody can do like a trick.

Prabhupāda: Artificially?

Devotee: Yes, no one can develop a spiritual body just by His own whim, "Oh I shall develop spiritual body."

Prabhupāda: This Kṛṣṇa consciousness practice is turning this material body into spiritual body. How it is done? The example I have several times given, that you put the iron in the fire. The more it is warm, it becomes fire. When the iron is red hot—that when the iron has acquired the qualities of fire—you touch the iron anywhere, it will act as fire. Similarly, this body, although it is material—there are so many examples. A metal, electrified, the metal is not electricity. But when it is electrified, you touch the metal, you get electric shock immediately. Just like the electric wire. Copper, it is copper. But as soon as it is electrified, you touch it, you get electric shock. There are so many examples. Similarly, if your body is spiritualized, then the material action is no more. Material action means sense gratification. So the more one becomes spiritualized, the material demands become nil. No more material activities.

So how you can do that? The same example: You have to keep the iron constantly with the fire. You have to keep yourself constantly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then even your this body, material body, is spiritualized. There is a Sanskrit grammatical law which is called māyātpoktaya (?). Marat(?) means, there is a word, just like svarṇamaya. Svarṇamaya means golden. Golden can be called, when it is made of pure gold, that is also golden. And if it is made of something else but the coating is gold, large quantity of gold, it is also golden. Similarly, when this material body is full with spiritual activities only, this is also spiritual. Therefore saintly persons, of course in your country everyone is put into the grave after passing away, but in India according to Vedic system, only very high personality, devotees, their body is not burned. It is considered spiritual. A sannyāsī's body is not burned because it is considered spiritual. So how it becomes spiritual? The same example: When the body has no more any material activities, simply spiritual activity in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that body is spiritual.

So if this world is become full in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, nobody is working for sense gratification, only for satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, this world becomes spiritual world immediately. This requires little time to understand. Anything used for Kṛṣṇa, simply for Kṛṣṇa's satisfaction, it is spiritual. Just like we are using this microphone for talking about Kṛṣṇa, then it is spiritual. Otherwise what is the difference between this prasādam and ordinary food? We are distributing prasādam, people will say, "Why is prasādam? The same fruit we eat, and you have simply cut into pieces it has become prasādam?" They can say that. How it is prasādam? But it is prasādam. You go on eating this prasādam, you become spiritualized. Actually it is prasādam. Just like the same example, if I take that iron, hot iron, if I say "It is fire." Somebody may say, "Oh, why it is fire? It is iron." I say, "Touch it." You see? These are crude examples, but that is the...

When your activities—actually in higher sense there is no matter. There is no matter, everything is spiritual because Kṛṣṇa is spiritual. Kṛṣṇa is whole spirit, and the matter is one of the energy of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is also spirit. But because it is being misused, not for the purpose of Kṛṣṇa, therefore it is matter. So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to spiritualize, respiritualize the whole thing. Whole social position, political position, anything. It is very nice movement. People should try to understand it. And if it will actually spiritualize the whole world—of course that is not possible, but the ideal is like that. But at least if individually one tries this respiritualization method, his life become perfect. Yes?

Page Title:Your position is that small particle, but spirit can expand. This expansion in the material world is being done in contact with matter. And in the spiritual world, that expansion can be done in spirit
Compiler:Mangalavati
Created:29 of Mar, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1