Secrets of the Soul 10

dehino ’smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” [Bhagavad-gita 2.13]

The soul is changing apartments according to his qualification. That is explained here: dehino ’smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara. Even in this life, the soul lives in different apartments: the fetus body, the infant body, child body, adolescent body, adult body, old man body. And one’s intelligence and consciousness develop according to the apartment, according to the body. When the living being, or the soul, gets a particular type of body, he develops qualities of consciousness influenced by his association with that body.

For example, a poor man living in a small cottage or unclean apartment in a bad neighborhood has a certain attitude and consciousness. Another man, a respectable gentleman living in a very nice house or apartment in a good neighborhood, has a different mentality. So, although the poor man and the rich man are both human beings, their intelligence and consciousness develop differently according to their circumstances and experience. Similarly, although all living entities are spirit souls, according to the apartment or body a soul occupies, he develops a particular consciousness and mentality.

The materialists say, “I don’t believe in transmigration of the soul.” Well, one may believe or disbelieve, but nature’s work will go on according to these spiritual principles. If you have developed the karmic qualifications required to occupy a first-class apartment, then nature will give you a nice body. But if you use those good qualifications only to pursue animalistic material activities, you waste the tremendous spiritual opportunity of this human life.

So if you are fortunate, if you have good intelligence, good resources, a beautiful body, don’t spoil it by simply behaving like cats and dogs; utilize it for understanding further good, and progressing in spiritual life. That is the message of our Esoteric Teaching. Bhagavad-gita says that you are misled, and simply stuck in bodily consciousness. Therefore fight against this misunderstanding, as Kṛṣṇa is urging Arjuna to fight his relatives who are sunk in material illusion.

Take this understanding and use it to think through everything. If you have the understanding that “I am not this body; I am spirit soul,” then you should also think, “Why I am falsely identifying myself with this land?” Under the aegis of nationalism, people think: “I am a citizen of this country because I am born in this land.” That is also illusion, a false concept. No land is originally America or Germany or France or England. People have falsely named it: “This is America.”

Five hundred years ago, there was no America. The land was there, but the false material designation was not there. Then some Europeans colonized it and then named it. They accept the illusion: “This land is America. That land is Mexico. You cannot cross without a passport.” So nationalism, which is the cause of so much unnecessary fighting and suffering, is based on false material designation. These are just some of the terrible consequences of misunderstanding the science of the soul.

Actually, the land does not belong to you or the government, but it belongs to God. The land was created by God, so it is God’s property. Where is the difficulty to understand? You did not create anything. You did not create even your own body. The proprietor of the body is also Kṛṣṇa. Because as soon as Kṛṣṇa orders you, “Please vacate,” you must leave the body immediately. Just like when the landlord asks you to vacate a rented property, you have to vacate. Or if you have rented a house and the proprietor does not repair it, you voluntarily leave because it has become unlivable.

This is the law of nature, the law of God. And how nicely it is explained in this sloka: dehino smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara tatha dehantara-praptih [Bhagavad-gita 2.13]. As we have changed the body so many times even in this life, the same change is happening at the time of death. But we cannot see how this change of body is taking place. Therefore we think we remain in the same body throughout life. But actually it is not the same body. The body of the youth is different from the baby body; it is changing because the person, the soul, is living within the body. As long the soul is there, the body will change. But as soon as the soul is not there, a dead body will not grow or change.

So we understand that even in this lifetime, we existed in the past in a different body. I existed, say, 40 years ago in a different body. Then I was jumping and playing as a boy, but now I cannot jump like that. Now I have to move much more carefully. This is a different body. If I were still in the same body, then I could still jump like a boy. But now it is not possible; so it is different body. Although it has changed imperceptibly over many years’ time, the body is different.

So by thinking through the logic of this sloka, try to understand: dhiras tatra na muhyati. Those who are intelligent and sober-minded, who understand the secrets of the soul and spiritual life according to the Esoteric Teaching, are called dhira. Ordinary materialistic fools and rascals cannot understand the mysteries of the soul, therefore the word dhira applies to those who can understand. Therefore one has to become intelligent and sober, or dhira.

Intelligence means that to facilitate spiritual understanding we have to create favorable circumstances. Just as to create healthy body, you have to eat and exercise properly so you will not fall sick; similarly, dhira means that one engages his intelligence to create favorable circumstances for spiritual growth. The circumstances most favorable for spiritual life are to be associated with a bona fide mystery school under the direction of a living self-realized Master Teacher, such as this Esoteric Teaching. Then there is every prospect for complete success in the perfection of yoga.

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