Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 7 Chapter 7 Verse 18

Canto 7: The Science of God | Chapter 7: What Prahlāda Learned in the Womb

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.7.18

janmādyāḥ ṣaḍ ime bhāvā

dṛṣṭā dehasya nātmanaḥ

phalānām iva vṛkṣasya

kāleneśvara-mūrtinā

SYNONYMS

janma-ādyāḥ — beginning with birth; ṣaṭ — the six (birth, existence, growth, transformation, dwindling and at last death); ime — all these; bhāvāḥ — different conditions of the body; dṛṣṭāḥ — seen; dehasya — of the body; na — not; ātmanaḥ — of the soul; phalānām — of the fruits; iva — like; vṛkṣasya — of a tree; kālena — in due course of time; īśvara-mūrtinā — whose form is the ability to transform or control the bodily activities.

TRANSLATION

Just as the fruits and flowers of a tree in due course of time undergo six changes — birth, existence, growth, transformation, dwindling and then death — the material body, which is obtained by the spirit soul under different circumstances, undergoes similar changes. However, there are no such changes for the spirit soul.

PURPORT

This is a very important verse in understanding the difference between the spiritual soul and the material body. The soul is eternal, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.20):

na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin

nāyaḿ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ

ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaḿ purāṇo

na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre

"For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain." The spirit soul is eternal, being freed from waste and change, which take place because of the material body. The example of a tree and its fruits and flowers is very simple and clear. A tree stands for many, many years, but with the seasonal changes its fruits and flowers undergo six transformations. The foolish theory of modern chemists that life can be produced by chemical interactions cannot be accepted as truth. The birth of a human being's material body takes place due to a mixture of the ovum and semen, but the history of birth is that although the ovum and semen mix together after sex, there is not always pregnancy. Unless the soul enters the mixture, there is no possibility of pregnancy, but when the soul takes shelter of the mixture the body takes birth, exists, grows, transforms and dwindles, and ultimately it is vanquished. The fruits and flowers of a tree seasonally come and go, but the tree continues to stand. Similarly, the transmigrating soul accepts various bodies, which undergo six transformations, but the soul remains permanently the same (ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaḿ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg. 2.20]). The soul is eternal and ever existing, but the bodies accepted by the soul are changing.

There are two kinds of soul — the Supreme Soul (the Personality of Godhead) and the individual soul (the living entity). As various bodily changes take place in the individual soul, different millenniums of creation take place in the Supreme Soul. In this regard, Madhvācārya says:

ṣaḍ vikārāḥ śarīrasya

na viṣṇos tad-gatasya

ca tad-adhīnaḿ śarīraḿ ca

jñātvā tan mamatāḿ tyajet

Since the body is the external feature of the soul, the soul is not dependent on the body; rather, the body is dependent on the soul. One who understands this truth should not be very much anxious about the maintenance of his body. There is no possibility of maintaining the body permanently or eternally. Antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ. This is the statement of Bhagavad-gītā (2.18). The material body is antavat (perishable), but the soul within the body is eternal (nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ). Lord Viṣṇu and the individual souls, who are part and parcel of Him, are both eternal. Nityo nityānāḿ cetanaś cetanānām. Lord Viṣṇu is the chief living being, whereas the individual living entities are parts of Lord Viṣṇu. All the various grades of bodies — from the gigantic universal body to the small body of an ant — are perishable, but the Supersoul and the soul, being equal in quality, both exist eternally. This is further explained in the next verses.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness