Prabhupada 1075 - We are Preparing for Our Next Life by Our Activities of This Life



660219-20 - Lecture BG Introduction - New York

The Lord says that anta-kāle ca mām eva smaran muktvā kalevaram (BG 8.5). One who quits this material body, simply by remembering Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he at once gets the spiritual body of sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (BS 5.1). The process of quitting this body and getting another body in the material world is also organized. A man dies after it has been decided what form of body he will have in the next life. But that is decided by higher authorities. Just like according to our service we are promoted or degraded. Similarly, according to our acts we are... Acts of this life, the activities of this life are preparation ground for the next life. We are preparing for our next life by our activities of this life. So if we can prepare our this life for getting promotion to the kingdom of God, then surely, after leaving, after quitting this material body... The Lord says yaḥ prayāti, one who goes, sa mad-bhāvaṁ yāti (BG 8.5), mad-bhāvam, he gets the same spiritual body as the Lord has or the same spiritual nature. Now, there are different kinds of transcendentalists as we have already explained above. The brahmavādī, paramātmavādī and the devotees. In spiritual sky or in the brahma-jyotir there are spiritual planets, innumerable spiritual planets, we have already discussed. And the number of those planets are far, far greater than all the universes of this material world.

This material world is ekāṁśena sthito jagat (BG 10.42). This is one-fourth part manifestation of the whole creation. Three-fourths part of the creation is the spiritual world and in the one-fourth part of this creation there are millions of universes like this which we are experiencing at the present moment. And in one universe there are millions and billions of planets. So there are millions and billions of suns and stars and moons in all this material world, but all this material world constitute only one-fourth manifestation of the whole creation. The three-fourths manifestation is in the spiritual sky. Now, this mad-bhāvam, one who desires to merge into the existence of the Supreme Brahman, they merge in the brahma-jyotir of the Supreme Lord. Mad-bhāvam means that brahma-jyotir as well as the spiritual planets in the brahma-jyotir. And the devotees, who want to enjoy in the association of the Lord, they enter into the planets, Vaikuṇṭha planets. There are innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets, and the Lord, Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, by His plenary expansion as Nārāyaṇa with four hands with different names, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, and Mādhava, Govinda... There are many innumerable names of this four-handed Nārāyaṇa. So one of the planets, that is also mad-bhāvam, that is also within the spiritual nature. So any transcendentalist who at the end of life, either he thinks of the brahma-jyotir or meditates upon the Paramātmā or thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in either case, they enter into the spiritual sky. But only the devotees, those who have practiced personal touch with the Supreme Lord, they enter into the Vaikuṇṭha planets or in the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet. The Lord says, yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ (BG 8.5). There is no doubt. One should not disbelieve. That is the question.

So you are reading Bhagavad-gītā throughout the whole life, but when the Lord speaks something which does not tally with our imagination, we reject it. That is not the process of Bhagavad-gītā reading. Just like Arjuna said that sarvam etaṁ ṛtam manye, "I believe in everything, whatever You have said." (BG 10.14) Similarly, hear, hearing. The Lord says that at the time of death, whoever thinks of Him, either as Brahman or Paramātmā or the Personality of Godhead, certainly he enters into the spiritual sky and there is no doubt about it. One should not disbelieve it. And the process is, general rule is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, how one can, how it is possible to get into the spiritual kingdom simply by thinking of the Supreme at the time of death. Because the general process is also mentioned:

yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ
tyajaty ante kalevaram
taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya
sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ
(BG 8.6)