Bodily conception of life (Conversations and Letters)

Expressions researched:
"bodily conception of life"

Conversations and Morning Walks

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Harmonization means that this material life means bodily concept of life. First of all you have to understand what is spiritual value of life. Then you can harmonize.

Room Conversation with Indonesian Scholar -- February 27, 1973, Jakarta:

Scholar: But we think in the present day, Indonesia's, we think about harmonizing spiritual and material aspects of life, this our...

Prabhupāda: No. No. Harmonize means... First of all you must know what is harmonization. Harmonization means that this material life means bodily concept of life. This is material life. "I am this body." Generally people think like that: "I am Indonesian." "I am American." "I am Hindu." "I am Muslim." And they take care of the country where he's born. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tridhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijyadhīḥ, but this conception, bodily conception of life, has made the whole human society like cats and dogs. "It is my land. It is my..." Just like a dog. As soon as another dog comes. "Bark, bark, bark, bark. Why you have come here? Why you have come here." So this, this kind of harmonization is dog civilization.

Scholar: Well I think it's the...

Prabhupāda: No. No. No. You cannot... First of all you have to understand what is spiritual value of life. Then you can harmonize. If you do not know what is spiritual life, then what you can harmonize? That is the teaching of Bhagavad-gītā. In the beginning, when Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as guru, then He began to explain about the value of life. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanam [Bg. 2.13], find out this verse. It's in the Second Chapter.