(Click to enlarge painting of the transmigration of the soul from one body to another)
"So the Mahārāja King Parīkṣit, he was cursed by a brāhmaṇa to die within a week. That was the problem. So because he was emperor and... He was assured that he was going to die within a week, so he prepared himself. That is the duty of every human being: to prepare oneself before death. That is the defect of modern civilization. They do not know what is life. They take it very easily, this life, just like animals: 'If I can eat nicely, if I can sleep nicely, if I can have sex life nicely and if I can defend my country or my home nicely, then my business is finished.' This is the modern way of civilization. They take account of the small portion of our life. Just like in the cinema film spool there are hundreds and thousands of pictures, and that make one complete picture. Similarly, we are passing through the different phases of life. So out of many thousands of pictures within the film spool, if I simply take care of one picture, that is not very intelligent. That is foolishness. If we take, 'Oh, this picture is very nice,' that's all... No.
So we are passing through many phases of life, different dresses. Vāsāṁsi. Bhagavad-gītā says, vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya (BG 2.22).
Just like I am putting on this dress. If it is dirty or if it is very old, then I change; I accept another dress. Similarly, this body is also like that. When it is dirty or when it is old enough, not to be used, then we change to another body, and this body we leave. This is the whole instruction of all Vedic literature. Therefore the activities of this body is not all. And as there are different types of body, as we have come to this body, this status of body, passing through many, many types of abominable body—aquatics, beasts, trees, plants, microbes, reptiles, so many... Repeatedly we have said, 8,400,000's of... So this is an opportunity. This life, this human form of life, is an opportunity to make further progress. It is not that after this human body is finished, then there is no life. This misconception, this misleading philosophy, that after death there is nothing, void, is killing the human civilization. Is killing practically. They do not know, 'What is my next life?' The next life is there."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, April 16, 1969)
"So what you do at the time of death? One has to change. Death means change of this body. The modern civilization, they do not know it. That is the first understanding of spiritual knowledge, that we change our body. I am spirit soul, every one of us, spirit soul, even the animals and the trees and plants and aquatics—any living being. There are 8,400,000 different forms of living being. Of all of them, the human form is considered the best. Best means it has got..., the human form has got developed consciousness. Developed consciousness means they can understand what is past, what is future, what is present. Especially to understand his position as spirit soul, to understand God, to understand what is His relation with God, and what he should do in that relationship—these things are understandable in the human form of life, not otherwise. We cannot invite dogs and cats to come here and hear about Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. No. That is not possible. But a human being, he can hear; he can understand.
So this is our special opportunity after evolutionary process passing through eight million..., at least eight million different forms of life. The list is there in Padma Purāṇa, jalajā nava-lakṣāni: 'Nine lakhs' forms of life within the water.' There is animal in the water which is called timiṅgala. It is so big that... We have got experience, the whale fish is very big. That whale fish is taken up by this timiṅgala fish just like a big fish swallows a small fish. Such big, big fishes are there within the... They do not come visible to the..., but there are. We get information, timiṅgala. Many very big, big animals are there within the water, deep. So there are nine lakhs, 900,000 forms of life within the water. And then jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. Then... Sthāvarā means 'stand up.' We have got experience—I do not know whether you have got—in our school days, if a boy is making trouble, the teacher will ask him, 'Stand up on the bench.' So the stand-up punishment... The trees, the plants, they are stand-up punishment. (laughter) 'Stand up here for five thousand years.' You see? There are many trees, they are standing up for five thousand years, seven thousand years. In California I have seen one tree, they say it is seven thousand years old. So just imagine. If the teacher punishes a boy to stand up for few minutes, how much troublesome it is, and if one is ordered to stand up for seven thousand years, so just imagine what is the punishment.
So that is punishment. These trees and plants, because they committed very sinful activities, they... Naked, to become naked, is also another criminal activity. Therefore, by nature's law, the trees, the..., they are standing up naked. They do not dress. Similarly, if a human being does not dress, does not cover, then what is the difference between the trees and the human being? It is the human being who requires to be properly dressed. That is the law of nature. If we violate, then the punishment is, 'All right, you become tree and stand up naked for ten thousand years.' This is the nature's law. You cannot violate the nature's law. And we are completely under the laws of nature. You cannot say that 'I don't care for it.' No. You may say, foolishly, but you are, you are. Just like nature's law is that you must die. Can you say, 'No, I shall not die'? Can you say boldly, 'No, no, I shall not die. I am now scientific. I have got my science. I shall not die'? The nature's law is: you must die.
So in this way you should understand how strongly you are controlled by the nature's law. But foolishly we say, 'No.' That is not. Just like this Mahārāja Parīkṣit, such a powerful king, he is now somehow or other cursed by a brāhmaṇa boy that 'You must die within seven days.' So he is preparing. He has got time, seven days. But what we have got? We haven't got even seven minutes' warning. At any moment we can die. And what we are doing? That is the foolishness. One must be ready, that 'I will have to die. And "die" means I will have to accept another body.' "
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Melbourne, May 20, 1975)
"So this is the simple process. Anta-kāle ca mām eva smaran muktvā kalevaram, yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ (BG 8.5), yāti, 'he goes'; na asti atra saṁśayaḥ, 'you do not doubt it.' If you have taken Kṛṣṇa as the supreme authority, and Kṛṣṇa says there is no doubt about it, then why shall I become doubtful? Why shall I disbelieve Kṛṣṇa? This is the process. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Always remember Kṛṣṇa. And death may take place at any time. There is no guarantee that after so much time you'll die. At any moment, you can die. Death, there is no guarantee. But it is a guarantee that you must die. That is guaranteed. But when you will die, that is not guaranteed. Therefore we must be prepared for death at any moment. Therefore a devotee is not afraid of death. He knows that death may come at any moment. We are... Nowadays, it has..., the death is very cheap. Because we are using this motorcar, these aeroplanes, so many things, ships and other things for transportation, and there is, every moment there is danger of accident, collapse, everything. So death is now very cheap. So we must be prepared for death at any moment. There is no guarantee, that 'I am not yet old enough. I am not yet eighty years, ninety years. Why shall I die?' No. You may be twenty years, twenty-five years or younger than that. Death is assured, and it can take place at any moment.
Therefore our only duty is to think of Kṛṣṇa, Puruṣottama, so that we may die at any moment, but we become spiritual salvation. This is our only duty. We have no other duty. How to remember Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours, that is the greatest process of yoga perfection. Yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā. Mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā (BG 6.47): 'Always thinking of Me, he is first-class yogī.' So this Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is so nice that as soon as you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, you immediately remember Kṛṣṇa. You go on chanting; that means remembering. So in chanting, chanting, if there is death, so I am remembering Kṛṣṇa. What is my fear? I am going to Kṛṣṇa, back to home, back to Godhead. It is so nice.
So always be engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Then you are sure and safe, not only in this life, but also you are going back to home, back to Godhead. It is so nice thing."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Geneva, June 7, 1974)
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