Sunday, November 8, 2020

Bhagvat: ACCORDING TO THE KARMA OF THE LIVING ENTITY, A BODY IS PREPARED UNDER THE SUPREME LORD'S SUPERVISION, 19th June

according to the karma of the living entity, a body is prepared under the Supreme Lord's supervision

Extract from Srimad Bhagvatam


TRANSLATION
When the Supreme Personality of Godhead creates different types of bodies, offering a particular body to each living entity according to his character and fruitive actions, the Lord revives all the qualities of material nature—sattva-guna, rajo-guna and tamo-guna. Then, as the Supersoul, He enters each body and influences the qualities of creation, maintenance and annihilation, using sattva-guna for maintenance, rajo-guna for creation and tamo-guna for annihilation.


PURPORT
Although material nature is conducted by the three qualities—sattva-guna, rajo-guna and tamo-guna—nature is not independent. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gitä (9.10):

"This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings.

By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.”

The different changes in the material world take place as actions and reactions of the three gunas, but above the three gunas is their director, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.


In the various types of bodies given to the living entities by material nature (yanträrüdhäni mäyayä), either sattva-guna, rajo-guna or tamo-guna is prominent.

The body is produced by material nature according to the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.


Therefore it is said here, yadä sisrkshum pura ätmanam param, indicating that the body is certainly created by the Lord.

Karmanä daiva-netrena: according to the karma of the living entity, a body is prepared under the Supreme Lord's supervision.

Whether the body is of sattva-guna, rajo-guna or tamo-guna, everything is done by the direction of the Supreme Lord through the agency of the external energy (prthak sva-mäyayä).

In this way, in different types of bodies, the Lord (isvara) gives directions as Paramätmä, and again, to destroy the body, He employs the tamo-guna.

This is the way the living entities receive different types of bodies.