View source for We are discussing about the characteristics of the demons. So they have lost their intelligence. Etam drstim avastabhya nastatmanah alpa-buddhayah (BG 16.9). Nastatmanah. Atmanah means spirit soul. So they have lost the sense of spirit soul

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{{terms|"we are discussing about the characteristics of the demons. So they have lost their intelligence. Etam drstim avastabhya nastatmanah alpa-buddhayah"|"Nastatmanah. Atmanah means spirit soul. So they have lost the sense of spirit soul"}}
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[[Category:We Are (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:Our Discussions (Disciples of SP)]]
[[Category:About]]
[[Category:Characteristic]]
[[Category:Demons]]
[[Category:They Have]]
[[Category:Lost]]
[[Category:Their]]
[[Category:Intelligence]]
[[Category:Meaning of Sanskrit Words]]
[[Category:Spirit Soul]]
[[Category:Sense Of]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - SHARMISTHA]]
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<h2>Lectures</h2>
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<h3>Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures</h3>
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The Godhead is called deva, and his devotees are called daiva. So we are discussing about the characteristics of the demons. So they have lost their intelligence. Etāṁ dṛṣṭim avaṣṭabhya naṣṭātmānaḥ alpa-buddhayaḥ (BG 16.9). Naṣṭātmānaḥ. Ātmānaḥ means spirit soul. So they have lost the sense of spirit soul. They do not know that "I am not this body. I am spirit soul. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi." So therefore they do not know this. Therefore they are called naṣṭātmānaḥ. They have lost their spiritual sense. Why? Alpa-buddhayaḥ, not very intelligent.
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[[Vanisource:750206 - Lecture BG 16.10 - Honolulu|750206 - Lecture BG 16.10 - Honolulu]]
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So the demons . . . we have explained who are demons and who are divine, or demigods. Demigods means those who are devotee of the Lord. Viṣṇu-bhakto bhaved daivaḥ. Viṣṇu-bhakta: the all-pervasive Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotee. The Godhead is called deva, and his devotees are called daiva. So we are discussing about the characteristics of the demons. So they have lost their intelligence. Etāṁ dṛṣṭim avaṣṭabhya naṣṭātmānaḥ alpa-buddhayaḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 16.9 (1972)|BG 16.9]]). Naṣṭātmānaḥ. Ātmānaḥ means spirit soul. So they have lost the sense of spirit soul. They do not know that "I am not this body. I am spirit soul. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi." So therefore they do not know this. Therefore they are called naṣṭātmānaḥ. They have lost their spiritual sense. Why? Alpa-buddhayaḥ, not very intelligent.

We have discussed very elaborately. Anyone who has got intelligence, he can understand that "I am not this body. Within this body there is a living force, and without that living force the body is useless, lump of matter. That's all. So long the spirit soul is there, I am Mr. Such-and-such, I am Mr. this, I am Mr. that." (child coughing) (aside) So this child should be . . . but as soon as the spirit soul is away, that Mr. lying on the floor, if somebody kicks on his face, he does not protest. Mr. finished. But the fools still take care of that bodily Mr., not the soul Mr. Without the soul, it is nothing but a lump of matter.

Just like in your country I have seen the machine. In the beginning, when I came to your country, I saw some typewriter machine is thrown in the garbage. Of course, in India they do not throw; they repair it. But here your repairing cost is very, very high; therefore you throw away. So the machine which is costly, but as it does not work, you throw away—it has no value—similarly, this is also machine. This body is also machine. That is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, yantrārūḍhāni māyayā ([[Vanisource:BG 18.61 (1972)|BG 18.61]]). It is a machine given by māyā, the material energy. Asat. Just like the aeroplane is also a machine. It has no life, but the life is the pilot. So long the pilot is there, the machine is useful. If there is no pilot, it may stand in the airport for millions of years, it will not fly. Very practical.
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