View source for If we can see by our practical experience there are living entities in the water, so why not living entities in the fire? And in the Bhagavad-gita it is said that living entity, this spiritual spark, is not affected by material influence

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"if we can see by our practical experience there are living entities in the water, so why not living entities in the fire? And in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that living entity, this spiritual spark, is not affected by material influence"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|SharmisthaK}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|2022-12-10T08:58:38Z}}
{{last|2022-12-10T08:58:38Z}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:If We]]
[[Category:Can See]]
[[Category:Our]]
[[Category:Practical Experience]]
[[Category:There Are]]
[[Category:Living Entities]]
[[Category:Water]]
[[Category:Why Not]]
[[Category:Fire]]
[[Category:Bhagavad-gita]]
[[Category:It Is Said]]
[[Category:Spiritual Spark]]
[[Category:Is Not]]
[[Category:Not Affected By...]]
[[Category:Materially Affected]]
[[Category:Influence]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - SHARMISTHA]]
</div>
<div id="section">
<h2>Lectures</h2>
</div>
<div id="sub_section">
<h3>Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures</h3>
</div>
<div class="quote">
<div class="quote_heading">
As water is also one of the material elements, fire is also one of the eight material elements. So if we can see by our practical experience there are living entities in the water, so why not living entities in the fire? And in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that living entity, this spiritual spark, is not affected by material influence. In the Vedas also it is said, asaṅgo hy ayaṁ puruṣaḥ (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.15). It has nothing to do with this material condition.
</div>

<div class="quote_link">
[[Vanisource:740101 - Lecture SB 01.16.04 - Los Angeles|740101 - Lecture SB 01.16.04 - Los Angeles]]
</div>
<div class="text">
The Kali begins with this animal killing. That is Kali-yuga. Meat-eating. Therefore, to avoid the influence of Kali we have to give up this habit. The four things are Kali's disciple, friends. We have already discussed this. So one friend is this meat-eating problem, the butchers, Kali's friends. And the liquor distiller, he's also Kali's friend. And the gamblers or the gambling house maintainer, and prostitute house maintainer, these are friends of Kali. Now you will find all over the world these things are very prominent—clubs and butcher house and liquor house and gambling house. Therefore the whole atmosphere is Kali.

So because it is now Kali age, just like winter season, everywhere is cold, chilliest, so similarly. because this is the age of Kali, therefore even in India . . . this king, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, was in India. He wanted to chastise this rascal in the dress of a king and attempting kill cows. So this was in India. Maybe in other place also, because the king was touring. So not only in India, all over the world the Vedic civilization was there. Five thousand years ago, everywhere the . . . all people used to follow the Vedic principles. That is the proof. Because the king was following the Vedic principles. So this cow-killing by the Kali, it is said it was done on the border of India, somewhere near Sindhu Pradesh, so Afghanistan, like that. So anyway, it was on this planet, and he wanted to prohibit. But India is the center. This king, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, his headquarter was Hastināpura, near New Delhi at the present moment. Hastināpura. There is a place still, Hastināpura. There is one broken fort also. They say this fort belonged to the Pāṇḍavas. People go there to see. Anyway, now the king was so strict that even outside India some cow was being attempted to be killed, he immediately took his sword to punish him. Now in India they are killing ten thousand cows daily. This is Kali-yuga. Still, they have got some sentiment about cow-killing. There was about say five or six years ago, there was good agitation. But who cares for that? Because the government is śūdra: nṛpa-liṅga. They have taken the position of government, but they are all full of śūdras. Now in India not only killing cows . . . we had never seen . . . in Bombay this time I saw in our Juhu—big, big signboards: beef shop. Beef shop. So Hindus are there also now taking. I asked one lady, she was meat-eater. So I asked her, "Do you eat cow's meat, cow's flesh?" "Yes, sometimes." So this is Kali-yuga. Now government is encouraging drinking and meat-eating. And illicit sex, that is . . . that has become now a common affair, anywhere you go. Why you should . . . you should have to go to brothel? Even big, big other places. I don't wish to mention. You see.

So this is the age of Kali. So simply full of sinful activities, that's all. That is Kali-yuga. But sinful activities will not help us. That they have no brain to understand. You have to purify yourself. Sinful activities will involve you more and more in the cycle of birth and death. You will take sometimes birth as a king or as a demigod, and sometimes as the worm of the stool. Because according to your karma, you will get next body. karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa ([[Vanisource:SB 3.31.1|SB 3.31.1]]). Therefore the process is at least don't act sinfully. Then you will get higher-class birth. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 14.18 (1972)|BG 14.18]]). You will get chance of taking your birth in higher planetary system where the standard of living is many, many thousands better than this planet. Just like Svargaloka, Janaloka. From our śāstra we understand that the inhabitants of Candraloka, moon planet, they live for ten thousands of years. But these rascals are going there, they do not find any living entity. So that is the contradiction. But we believe that in the moon planet . . . and why we shall not believe? If the living entities are found everywhere, so why . . . what moon planet has done that there should be no living entity? From our experience we can see living entity is there on the land, in the air, in the water, even in the fire. So every planet is made of these five elements: earth, water, fire, air, sky. So we find by practical experience that in the water there is living entity, on the land there is living entity, within the land there is living entity. So why in the moon planet or other planet there should be no living entity? That's a wrong theory.

Long, long ago, sometimes in 1930, I had a talk in Allahabad with a great scientist, Dr. Shah. He said that there is no reason to disbelieve that in other planets there is no living entity. And recently one Russian scientist also said that there are many planets where very, very intelligent class of men are there. So that is our theory, that the . . . if you go to the higher planetary system, you will find more comfortable standard of life, the duration of life is very long, and the people are very, very intelligent. They are called demigods. So whatever it may be, we have to follow our own principle, and there is no reason to disbelieve that in other planets there are no living entities. We cannot accept it.

So anyway, in every planet there is kingdom or there is government. Because in the Bhagavad-gītā we understand, Kṛṣṇa says:

<div class="quote_verse">
:imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ
:proktavān aham avyayam
:vivasvān manave prāha
:manur ikṣvākave 'bravīt 
:([[Vanisource:BG 4.1 (1972)|BG 4.1]])
</div>

Kṛṣṇa said that, "This philosophy, this Bhagavad-gītā yoga system, I first of all explained to the sun-god, whose name is Vivasvān." He spoke the same principle to his son Manu, and Manu also spoke the same principle to his son, Ikṣvāku. So Ikṣvāku came from the sun planet. He happens to be the grandson of Vivasvān. So how you can say that in the sun planet there is no possibility of life? We get the history. And if you say that "In fire how one can live?" No. As we see that in water some other living entities can live, similarly, I may not be able to live in the fire, but there are other living entities who can live there. That should be the right conclusion. Because fire is as good another material element as the water is. As water is also one of the material elements, fire is also one of the eight material elements. So if we can see by our practical experience there are living entities in the water, so why not living entities in the fire? And in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that living entity, this spiritual spark, is not affected by material influence. In the Vedas also it is said, asaṅgo hy ayaṁ puruṣaḥ (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.15). It has nothing to do with this material condition. Adāhyo 'yam ([[Vanisource:BG 2.24 (1972)|BG 2.24]]). This special word is used that it cannot burned by the fire. Aśoṣyam, it cannot be dried up by air. Acchedyam, it cannot be cut into pieces. These things are there. So we are firmly convinced that in the sun planet there is also living entity, and the king or the president there is called Vivasvān, his name is Vivasvān. And our gāyatrī-mantra is worshiping the sun planet: oṁ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ tat savitur vareṇyaṁ bhargo devasya dhīmahi. So this is the Vedic conception. Every planet there is king, and the king's duty is to see that everyone is executing his professional occupational duty.

So Mahārāja Parīkṣit also, he used to go for examining. Therefore it is said, digvijaye kvacit. Not that at a particular time he went out to . . . for touring. But he was going, say, yearly or six-monthly. And one of his tour he found that a person dressed like a king was attempting to kill cows, and he punished him. So this is the statement.
</div>
</div>
</div>