View source for Do the number of demigods have something to do with the number of species, like there are thirty-three million demigods?... Do they belong to these species? They are also included in these eight million four hundred? These Gandharvas?

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Do the number of demigods have something to do with the number of species, like there are thirty-three million demigods"|"Do they belong to these species? They are also included in these eight million four hundred? These Gandharvas"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|MadhuGopaldas}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|04Aug11}}
{{last|04Aug11}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=1|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Questions asked to Srila Prabhupada]]
[[Category:Questions asked to SP... 1976]]
</div>
<div id="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="section" sec_index="5" parent="compilation" text="Conversations and Morning Walks"><h2>Conversations and Morning Walks</h2>
</div>
<div id="1976_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="9" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1976 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1976 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
</div>
<div id="LifeComesFromLifeSlideshowDiscussionsJuly31976WashingtonDC_0" class="quote" parent="1976_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="180" link="'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C." link_text="'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.">
<div class="heading">There are thirty-three million. Thirty crores. There are also divisions, Gandharvas, Apsarās... Yes.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.|'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Devotee: The scientists have a desire to explain things. They like to see that you can explain so many different things. Perhaps it doesn't have any real utility to explain,</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: So, as far as possible, you can give explanation from Bhāgavatam. Otherwise, how you can...</p>
<p>Devotee: So by giving these examples then they might think this has very good explanatory power, and they will therefore accept it, they will (indistinct).</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: So the general division in the higher planetary system is the devatās, beginning from sun, moon and other planetary systems, they are in modes of goodness prominent. Less, below that, bhūr bhuvaḥ, they are passionate, and below that, they are ignorant.</p>
<p>Devotee: Do the number of demigods have something to do with the number of species, like there are thirty-three million demigods?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: There are thirty-three million. Thirty crores. There are also divisions, Gandharvas, Apsarās.</p>
<p>Svarūpa Dāmodara: Do they belong to these species? They are also included in these eight million four hundred? These Gandharvas?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes.</p>
<p>Svarūpa Dāmodara: So they are counted, what, as human beings?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Some of them are devatās, some of them are human being.</p>
<p>Rūpānuga: When we say four hundred thousand species of human beings, that doesn't include all the demigods then.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: The demigods are like human beings.</p>
<p>Svarūpa Dāmodara: Prabhupāda told me that when you become a devotee, you are a demigod. (laughs)</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: The whole evolutionary process means to bring the living entity to the platform of goodness and then transcend that platform also, come to pure goodness. That is devotion.</p>
<p>Devotee: Prabhupāda? You explained that all those forms are already existing. What is the meaning of all those forms if there is no one inhabiting them? Why is it that they all exist without...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, no, how you can say nobody is inhabiting?</p>
<p>Devotee: You said that they are there, you just go to the different forms. So that means they are existing without anyone living there?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, form, a class of form. It can be immediately, that A class, B class, C class, D class. So if you are fit for D class, immediately form for you, a D class body is there, made.</p>
<p>Svarūpa Dāmodara: It is also existing in the sense that in the unmanifested form, before it is manifested, the form is there.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, no. That is species. Form is there already. They are existing. So you require to get another form, but the same class. First-class compartment is there. If it is, one bogey is already, first-class filled up, then railroad company brings another bogey and gives place to the passengers. That's all, there is no difficulty. What is the difficulty? Put him into this particular mother's womb and he gets a form, that's all. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). Don't compare Kṛṣṇa's power with your power. He can do anything, anyone, immediately.</p>
<p>Svarūpa Dāmodara: So called Acintya. (pause) What is the biological concept of species?</p>
<p>Sadāpūta: All they can do is base it on the similarity of what the animals look like. They have trouble counting species. Śrīla Prabhupāda? Are there different meanings, this day of Brahmā? Are there different creations and annihilations of species? Different Manus, they are sometimes flooding the whole earth.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: There are different, when Brahmā goes to sleep, that is one kind of devastation, and when he dies there is one kind. And during Brahmā's days there are other devastations, manvantara.</p>
<p>Sadāpūta: After a devastation, do the...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Different classes of devastation. There are many devastations during Brahmā's day, and there is another devastation during Brahmā's sleep, and another devastation when Brahmā dies.</p>
<p>Svarūpa Dāmodara: And during different Manus also.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: That is day. Such devastation takes place during Brahmā's day. Fourteen Manus.</p>
<p>Svarūpa Dāmodara: Do we know that in detail, Śrīla Prabhupāda? What type of species are extinct? Not all the species extinct. As it is during Brahmā's day, that partial annihilation, devastation, now some species are extinct?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No species extinct. What you are reading? This is garbage.(?)</p>
<p>Svarūpa Dāmodara: The physical forms.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, nothing is extinct. Everything is going on.</p>
<p>Svarūpa Dāmodara: At that point, they are going to come up with the point that "How about dinosaurs?" They are going to ask like that.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: That is imagination, where is dinosaur finding.</p>
<p>Svarūpa Dāmodara: They say they have all the bones.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, they are describing maybe another animal. That is existing. That is Timiṅgila, they can swallow up big, big whale fishes. That big, bones, they are living still. Nothing is extinct. They are already there.</p>
<p>Rūpānuga: Did these dinosaurs exist, or is it just their imagination?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: The big animal exists. I call it dinosaur or finosaur, that is your choice. Big animals existing. Timiṅgila, I said the name, Timiṅgila, still exist.</p>
<p>Rūpānuga: Still exist.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. They are always existing. Water elephants. There are elephants in water. Everything.</p>
<p>Rūpānuga: So there is no such thing as extinction.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No extinction, there is no question of extinction.</p>
<p>Rūpānuga: If these animals were on this planet some millions of years ago, they are still here, is that correct?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes. What do you know what are there within the water? You can take information from the śāstras. It is not possible for you to see and go into the water, how big, big animals are there.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>