Varieties of life (Lectures)

Expressions researched:
"Life without variety is not possible" |"Varieties, the bodies, there are 8,400,000 varieties" |"human form life. There also variety, 400,000's of varieties" |"in other planet or in next life there are varieties" |"life in the varieties of representation" |"life, there are varieties" |"life, varieties of" |"varieties of forms of life" |"varieties of forms of life" |"varieties of life" |"varieties of species of life" |"varieties of standard of life" |"varieties, 8,400,000 species of life"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 3.27 -- Melbourne, June 27, 1974:

Actually, every one of us is spirit soul, living entities. It does not matter whether I am a human being or other than human being, lower animals, birds, beasts, trees or higher celestial beings. There are many varieties of life. 8,400,000. Nine... Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi. In the water there are living entities of 900,000 varieties. We simply know that there are some fishes and crocodiles or sharks in the water, but śāstra, Vedic śāstras, they give definite information, how many forms and varieties of life are there within the water: 900,000. How many we have seen? Our scientists, our botanists, how many they have seen? So actually you cannot have perfect knowledge by the experimental method.

Lecture on BG 3.27 -- Melbourne, June 27, 1974:

In prakṛti, material nature, there are three different qualities: goodness, passion and ignorance. So all the varieties of life, they are under the control of the material nature and therefore you see varieties of life, varieties. There are three qualities. You multiply three into three. It becomes nine. And if you multiply nine into nine, you become, you see eighty-one. So therefore all these varieties of life, they are being controlled because... Not controlled. He accepts to be controlled. Prakṛti does not want. Nature does not want to control you.

Lecture on BG 3.31-43 -- Los Angeles, January 1, 1969:

Madhudviṣa: The Bhagavad-gītā has stated that whatever one's consciousness is during his lifetime will be at the time of his death, and that will determine his next body. Now, one who is living very lustily during his lifetime, his mind will be on that body.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So there are many varieties of life. Just like somebody is very lusty, and he wants sex enjoyment so many times a day. So there are many animals, many birds. They are given the opportunity like that. Just like the pigeons, the sparrows. Or there are many birds, the swans, the ducks. They have got every day twenty times, sex intercourse. So this facility is given to them. You see? Similarly, somebody wants to eat meats and blood. He is given the chance to become a tiger. So Kṛṣṇa is giving chance everyone. And one who is very dull, cannot understand simply, oh, the sense gratification, they are made the dullest possible, like trees, stand up for thousands of years.

Lecture on BG 3.31-43 -- Los Angeles, January 1, 1969:

So all these different varieties of life, eight million four-hundred-thousands, we have got different varieties. You can calculate. There are three qualities. Three into three equal to nine. Three multiplied by three becomes nine, and nine multiplied by nine becomes eighty-one. Automatically it becomes more than so many, eight million.

Lecture on BG 3.31-43 -- Los Angeles, January 1, 1969:

So God's kingdom, His calculation, His fine judgement, is very difficult to understand. But practically we see there are so many varieties of life. Why? They have been given chance: "All right, you want this sort of life? Here it is. Take it. Accept it." So they are transmigrating from one life to another, one life to another, one life to another. Out of many such millions of living entities, one who comes under Kṛṣṇa consciousness by the grace of Kṛṣṇa and His devotee, spiritual master, his life is successful. He gets the clue to get out of this entanglement. Otherwise he is to travel within these 8,400,000 species of life.