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Forgetfulness is our nature

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

So next life the body may change. "May" not. It will change. But I may not remember. That is another thing. Just like in my last life, what was my body, I do not remember. So forgetfulness is our nature. Because I forget something, that does not mean that things did not take place.
Lecture on BG 2.13 -- London, August 19, 1973: In the previous verse Kṛṣṇa said that "All of us—you, me, and all these soldiers and kings who are present here—we existed in the past, we are existing now, and we shall continue to exist in the future." This was the statement. But rascals would say that "How I was existing? I was born only in such and such year. Before that, I was not existing. At the present time I am existing. That's all right. But as soon as I will die, I will not exist. So how Kṛṣṇa says that I was... Both... All of us, we were existing, we are still existing, and we shall continue to exist?" Is that contradictory? No, that is not contradictory. It is fact. We were existing, maybe in different body. And we shall continue to exist in different body. Dehāntara-prāptiḥ. This is to be understood. Not that my existence... The example is given, dehāntara. Just like I was boy. Then I became young man. So the body changed. And now I have become old man. The body changed. But I am existing, dehi, the proprietor of the body. So where is the difficulty to understand? Dehinaḥ. Dehinaḥ means "of the proprietor." The body is changing. I can understand that my body has changed. So next life the body may change. "May" not. It will change. But I may not remember. That is another thing. Just like in my last life, what was my body, I do not remember. So forgetfulness is our nature. Because I forget something, that does not mean that things did not take place. No. In my childhood I did so many things. I do not remember. But my father (and) mother, who have seen my childhood, they remember. So forgetting does not mean that things did not take place. Similarly, death means I have forgotten what was I was in the past life. That is called death. Otherwise I, as spirit soul, I have no death. Suppose I change my dress. In my boyhood I was in a different dress. In my youthhood I was in a different dress. In my old age, or as a sannyāsī. I am in a different dress. So dress may change. That does not mean the owner of the dress is dead or gone. No.
That is the difference between God and man. We cannot remember. Even we cannot remember what I did at this time yesterday. That is our forgetfulness, is our nature.
Lecture on BG 4.1-2 -- Columbus, May 9, 1969: Sun-god, Vivasvān, the sun planet, father of Manu... Manu's age we cannot calculate. About forty millions of years ago Manu was born, and his father, we do not know what is his age. So how it is possible, if Kṛṣṇa is ordinary man, He spoke to him? That is being cleared. So what He answered? "The Blessed Lord said, 'Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot." That is the difference between God and man. That is the difference between God and man. We cannot remember. Even we cannot remember what I did at this time yesterday. That is our forgetfulness, is our nature.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Forgetfulness is our nature. We are very minute; therefore our..., we are subjected to the quality of forgetfulness. But if we keep constant touch, we may not forget. Therefore this association of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, devotees, and constant repetition of the chanting, scripture, that will keep us intact without forgetting.
Room Conversation -- April 27, 1969, Boston:

Devotee (1): Yes. But I don't understand how is it that we forgot it... How can we remember...

Prabhupāda: Forgot, you forgot. That is your nature. You forget so many things. You cannot remember what you were doing exactly at this time yesterday. Can you remember immediately? Forgetfulness is our nature. We are very minute; therefore our..., we are subjected to the quality of forgetfulness. Just like Arjuna. Arjuna was asking Kṛṣṇa that "How I can believe that you told this philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā to Vivasvān?" He said that "In... I, first of all, I told to Vivasvān." So in reply to that question, Kṛṣṇa said that "Both you and I had many, many births before, but you have forgotten; I remember." That is the difference between the Supreme Lord and ourself. He does not forget. He remembers everything, past, present, future, all, but we forget. That is the difference between God and living entity. We are subjected to forgetfulness. So we forget; again, if it is reminded, we remind. That is our nature. So at the present moment we are forgetful of our eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. And then, by good association, by constant chanting, hearing, remembering, we again revoke our old consciousness. That is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So forgetfulness is not wonderful. It is natural. We forget. But if we keep constant touch, we may not forget. Therefore this association of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, devotees, and constant repetition of the chanting, scripture, that will keep us intact without forgetting.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

So forgetfulness is also not that I did not exist. I may not remember my last birth. That does not mean I did not exist. So forgetfulness is my nature. I cannot remember even what I was doing exactly this time yesterday.
Room Conversation with Two Buddhist Monks -- July 12, 1973, London: Prabhupāpada: So dehāntara-prāptiḥ they do not understand. And it is very easy, that "I am, dehāntaram, I am changing my body. I was a baby, I was a child, I was a boy, I was a young man. So I have changed so many bodies. But I remember, I was a child. I remember. I was a boy. I remember. Therefore I am existing. My body has changed." Simple truth. Similarly, when this body will be changed, I will exist. Where is the difficulty to understand? But this plain thing they cannot understand. And they are passing as educated, philosopher, scientist. This plain truth, they cannot understand. The brain is so dull. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ [Bg. 2.13]. "As I have changed so many bodies..." I exist. I remember, I had this body. So I may forget. Suppose in my babyhood, what was the feature of my body, I do not know. But there was. My mother knows. He can, she can explain, "My dear child, you were like this, you were like this." So forgetfulness is also not that I did not exist. I may not remember my last birth. That does not mean I did not exist. So forgetfulness is my nature. I cannot remember even what I was doing exactly this time yesterday. If somebody asks me. I can generally speak, that "I was sitting." But actually, what I was doing, I'll have to remember. So the forgetfulness is our nature. Because I have forgotten... Death means forgetting. Just like in dream. At night, when we get another body and dream and hover, we go somewhere and talk with somebody, we forget about this body. And again, when I come to this body, I awaken, I forget the dreaming body. So I..., every day I am forgetting. At night I am forgetting this body, and daytime I am forgetting my night body. So forgetfulness is not the basic principle of knowledge. The things as they are we have to study. That body we change, but we are, as living entities, we are existing.
You forgot, but in the past you had life. Forgetfulness is our nature. Death means forgetting what was your first, past life.
Room Conversation with Graham Hill Former World Champion Race Car Driver -- London, August 26, 1973:

Graham Hill: (indistinct) what sort of body we have been in in the past?

Prabhupāda: Yes, in the past. You forgot, but in the past you had life. Just like in the past I was young man. That's a fact. Similarly, but that young body is no more existing. Similarly, I had a past life but I have forgotten. That is the... Forgetfulness is our nature. Death means forgetting what was your first, past life. That is by nature you become forgetful because if you remember our past life and compare with this life... Suppose one was very rich man and if he becomes a poor, a cat and dog, then if he remembers, then it is very unbearable for him. Therefore nature helps him to forget. Forget. Otherwise he cannot do it. But the real problem is that we are eternal soul, we are changing our body one after another, birth and death. Apart from worldly happiness and distress, this birth and death, that is not very good process. At death time we have to suffer so much that we give up this body. And then again we enter into the womb of a mother. That is not very good situation. Then when come out there are so many tribulations, disease, then again old age. So people do not understand that he is passing... Especially when we are in other than human life. There are 8,400,000 species of life. Aquatics, then birds, trees, plants, insects, then beasts. In this way we come to human form of life. This is evolution. So in this human form of life there is chance of understanding the problems of life. In other forms of life it is not possible.
Page Title:Forgetfulness is our nature
Compiler:Labangalatika
Created:17 of Feb, 2009
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=2, Con=3, Let=0
No. of Quotes:5