Then that pealike body grows, and in seven months it grows the hands and legs and head and everything, and consciousness comes back. When we die our consciousness becomes almost stopped, and we then lie down within the womb of the mother according to species of body, a status—take it for granted our human form of body—seven months. At that time body is grown up. In this way, in tenth month the body is fully grown. Then by nature's way the body comes out and another life begins.
Seven months
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
Death generally involves remaining in trance for seven months. A living being, according to his own action, is allowed to enter into the womb of a mother by the vehicle of a father's semina, and thus he develops his desired body. This is the law of birth in specific bodies according to one's past actions.
Since he departed, seven months have passed, yet he has not returned. I do not know factually how things are going there.
SB Canto 3
The precarious condition of the living entity within the womb of his mother is described here. On one side of where the child is floating is the heat of gastric fire, and on the other side are urine, stool, blood and discharges. After seven months the child, who has regained his consciousness, feels the horrible condition of his existence and prays to the Lord. Counting the months until his release, he becomes greatly anxious to get out of the confinement.
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
Even before the child is born, when the mother is pregnant, many recommended ritualistic ceremonies are performed. For example, when the child has been within the womb for three months and for seven months, there is a ceremony the mother observes by eating with neighboring children. This ceremony is called svāda-bhakṣaṇa.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
And the father's secretion and the mother's secretion, that is emulsified and takes the form of a pea, and that pea gradually develops. In three months, there are holes, nine holes: the eyes, ears, nose, and the..., just like we have got nine holes. And in seven months the whole body is complete. Then the child gets consciousness. And in ten months it is just ready to come out.
Death is nothing but the final change of this present body. That's all. And our death condition is for seven months only. As soon as I leave this body, at once I am injected into other's mother's body according to my karma. I may be injected to a queen's womb; I may be injected to a dog's mother. You see? That is due to my karma.
So death means that unconsciousness for a long period. That is death. Because the soul is eternal. It will be explained. There is no birth and death. So when this body is annihilated, so the soul remains unconscious for a period, seven months for a human being. Seven months unconscious stage within the womb of the mother. After seven months, the consciousness revives.
At night, you go to sleep. So that is a sort of death. And again you get up in the morning. So death is something like that. Death is sleeping for seven months. That's all. Without any consciousness. For three, three months without any consciousness. Or, say, seven months. Death means forgetfulness. Just like at sleep, we forget everything, what I am, where I am sleeping, who I am, what is my identity, identification, everything forgotten.
Because at the time of death, whatever you practice now in your healthy life, that will be... Just like asleep we dream of the things of our activities, similarly, this death is also a kind of dream. Death is a dream, er, sleep, sleeping. Death is nothing but sleeping for seven months. That's all. Sleeping for seven months, that is called death. Just like, in the operation table, one becomes unconscious for one hour, half an hour. Then he comes to his consciousness. Again he comes to the same point. So similarly, death is nothing but to remain practically unconscious for seven months. That's all. This body is left, and we enter into a particular womb of mother, and just to develop another body it takes about seven months. Then, after seven months, when the body is fit, then our consciousness comes back.
You cannot be inactive even for a second. Because as living entities, our position is that we shall be always active. Don't you see? As soon as I am out of this body, the body has no more activities. All activities stopped. Again, when I enter another body, my activities from the womb of my mother begins. At the age of seven months only, the child becomes active. So spirit soul is always active
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Death means unconscious for seven months. That's all. That is death. There is no death. Death means I give up this body, enter the womb of another mother's body. And the mother nourishes by the materials..., the intestine joined with the belly. So mother supplies it through the pipe and the child grows. When it is fully grown, then he gets back his consciousness.
Birth and death takes place of this body. The body takes birth and the body is vanquished. Death means sleeping for seven months. That's all. That is death.
When this body is unfit for living, the soul gives up this body. And by superior arrangement the soul is put again into the womb of a particular type of mother, and the soul develops that particular type of body. Up to seven months the soul remains unconscious. And when the body is developed, again consciousness comes and the child wants to come out of the womb and he moves. Every mother has experienced how the child moves at the age of seven months within the womb.
The man, the male and female, they have sex life, and the two secretions, they mix up, becomes emulsified, and the spirit soul takes shelter within that matter. And then the matter develops gradually. That is the development within the embryo. And when it is fully developed, with hands and legs, consciousness, at seven months, then child wants to come out. Then, by the natural process, on the tenth month the child comes out. But medical science or physiologist, biologists, they do not know this. They do not know this. They cannot explain how the body is developing, how the body is being formed. They do not know. But it is the fact.
So the baby, packed up, cannot move, cannot say anything but feels pain, therefore moves. And the pregnant woman therefore feels that the child is moving at the age of seven months in the womb. So therefore the struggle begins from the womb. And when the child comes out, again struggle. And he is lying on the bed; some bug is biting. He cannot express. He is crying, and the mother thinks that he's hungry. In this way, wrongly understands, cannot give relief him. And he is going on, crying, crying, crying. We have seen it.
Nityam. Not that for seven days. Seven days is meant for Parīkṣit Mahārāja because he had no more time. His seven days was sufficient nityam. So we should not imitate that, that "I'll hear seven days." That is also a formality. Actually to understand one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it requires at least seven months. Janmādy asya yataḥ anvayād itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ sva-rāṭ (SB 1.1.1). My Guru Mahārāja explained this verse in Dacca for three months. Janmādy asya.
So this is the actually understanding of Bhāgavata. We are speaking on the Second Canto. So Bhāgavata should not be finished... Now they have become, made a business, finish within seven days, Bhāgavata-saptāha. So what they will understand Bhāgavata. One śloka, you cannot understand in seven months, one śloka. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). What you will understand? This has become a business. The Bhāgavata never says that "You hear for seven days." Never says it.
So the period when I give up this body, enter into the womb of mother and manufacture another body and come out, it takes about seven months. So during that seven months, we do not know what is happening. That is death. Death means that. Otherwise, there is no death. The spirit soul is eternal.
You have to accept your birth within the womb of your mother in a packed-up condition, body developing. The germs, the worms within the urine, stool, biting very delicate skin. You cannot make any adjustment, simply moving. And if one is little pious, he can pray to God, "Please get me relief from this condition. Now I shall worship You." This is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, this consciousness. There is consciousness. After seven months, there is consciousness. Then, some way or other, you get out of the womb of your mother. Then there are so many troubles, crying. The child is crying, crying, almost dependent on mother's mercy.
Bhavauṣadhi means bhava. Bhava means this repeated birth and death. Bhava means you be and again you not be, not be for few months. Our death means a sleeping for seven months. That is the description we get from the śāstras. Just like you go on sleep every night, so death means to sleep for seven months, unconsciousness, very deep sleep, in the womb of the mother. Then, as soon as another body is grown up by the ingredients supplied by mother's body or nature, then we get back again consciousness.
Keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitaḥ: (CC Madhya 19.140) "One ten-thousandth part of the upper portion point of hair." You know the point of hair. Now divided into ten thousand part and take one part. That is the form of the soul. That little spark takes shelter into that emulsified pea, and because the soul is there within, it develops from the mother's womb. The child does not develop all of a sudden. Every mother knows that. It grows gradually, little by little, little by little. When it is seven months, then it is further..., it moves. So in this way the... Kṛṣṇa says that don't take this body as the living being. Dehinaḥ asmin dehe. Within this body, the soul is there. So everyone can understand.
Just imagine if you are put in a airtight box, tied up, hands and legs. How long you can live? So we remain in that condition, unconscious stage. Then, when the body is formed, we get our consciousness. Therefore at the age when the child is seven years, er, seven months old, it moves because he feels the pains.
Death means we enter into the womb of a mother for, say, ten months. That ten months is considered as death. Not ten months, because the child within the womb of the mother returns his consciousness when the child is seven months old. This is human body. At that time he feels inconvenience within the womb of mother. Before that, he is unconscious, sleeping. Now, when the body grows within the mother womb and it is seven months, then he returns consciousness.
Page Title: | Seven months |
Compiler: | Labangalatika, Parthasarathi, MadhuGopaldas |
Created: | 09 of Feb, 2010 |
Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=4, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=37, Con=19, Let=1 |
No. of Quotes: | 61 |