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Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare
Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
And now, Mantra Seventeen
vāyur anilam amṛtam
athedaṁ bhasmāntaṁ śarīraṁ oṁ krato smara kṛtam smara
krato smara kṛtam smara
TRANSLATION
Let this temporary body be burnt to ashes, and let the air of life be merged with the
totality of air. Now, O my Lord, please remember all my sacrifices, and because You are the
ultimate beneficiary, please remember all that I have done for You.
PURPORT The temporary material body is certainly a
foreign dress. The Bhagavad-gītā (2.20) clearly says that after the destruction of the material
body the living entity is not annihilated, nor does he lose his identity. The identity
of the living entity is never impersonal or formless; on the contrary, it is the material
dress that is formless and that takes a shape according to the form of the indestructible
person. No living entity is originally formless, as is wrongly thought by those with a poor
fund of knowledge. This mantra verifies the fact that the living entity exists after the
annihilation of the material body. In the material world, material nature displays
wonderful workmanship by creating varieties of bodies for the living beings according
to their propensities for sense gratification. The living entity who wants to taste stool
is given a material body that is quite suitable for eating stool--that of a hog. Similarly,
one who wants to eat the flesh and blood of other animals may be given a tiger's body
equipped with suitable teeth and claws. But the human being is not meant for eating flesh,
nor does he have any desire to taste stool, even in the most aboriginal state. Human teeth
are so made that they can chew and cut fruit and vegetables, although there are two canine
teeth so that primitive humans can eat flesh if they so desire.
But in any case, the material bodies of all animals and men are foreign to the living
entity. They change according to the living entity's desire for sense gratification. In
the cycle of evolution, the living entity changes bodies one after another. When the
world was full of water, the living entity took an aquatic form. Then he passed to vegetable
life, from vegetable life to worm life, from worm life to bird life, from bird life to
animal life, and from animal life to the human form. The highest developed form is this human
form when it is possessed of a full sense of spiritual knowledge. The highest development
of one's spiritual sense is described in this mantra: One should give up the material body,
which will be turned to ashes, and allow the air of life to merge into the eternal reservoir
of air. The living being's activities are performed within the body through the movements
of different kinds of air, known in summary as prāṇa-vāyu. The yogis generally study how
to control the airs of the body. The soul is supposed to rise from one circle of air
to another until it rises to the brahma-randhra, the highest circle. From that point the perfect
yogi can transfer himself to any planet he likes. The process is to give up one material
body and then enter into another. But the highest perfection of such changes occurs
only when the living entity is able to give up the material body altogether, as suggested
in this mantra, and enter into the spiritual atmosphere, where he can develop a completely
different type of body-a spiritual body, which never has to meet death or change.
Here in the material world, material nature forces the living entity to change his body
due to his different desires for sense gratification. These desires are represented in the various
species of life, from germs to the most perfected material bodies,
those of Brahmā and the demigods. All of these living entities have bodies composed of matter
in different shapes. The intelligent man sees oneness not in the variety of the bodies but
in the spiritual identity. The spiritual spark, which is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord,
is the same whether he is in a body of a hog or in the body of a demigod. The living entity
takes on different bodies according to his pious and vicious activities. The human body
is highly developed and has full consciousness. According to the Bhagavad-gītā (7.19), the
most perfect man surrenders unto the Lord after many, many lifetimes of culturing knowledge.
The culture of knowledge reaches perfection only when the knower comes to the point of
surrendering unto the Supreme Lord, Vāsudeva. Otherwise, even after attaining knowledge
of one's spiritual identity, if one does not come to the point of knowing that the living
entities are eternal parts and parcels of the whole and can never become the whole,
one has to fall down again into the material atmosphere. Indeed, one must fall down even
if he has become one with the brahmajyoti. As we have learned from previous mantras,
the brahmajyoti emanating from the transcendental body of the Lord is full of spiritual sparks
that are individual entities with the full sense of existence. Sometimes these living
entities want to enjoy their senses, and therefore they are placed in the material world to become
false lords under the dictation of the senses. The desire for lordship is the material disease
of the living being, for under the spell of sense enjoyment he transmigrates through the
various bodies manifested in the material world. Becoming one with the brahmajyoti does
not represent mature knowledge. Only by surrendering unto the Lord completely and developing one's
sense of spiritual service does one reach the highest perfectional stage.
In this mantra the living entity prays to enter the spiritual kingdom of God after relinquishing
his material body and material air. The devotee prays to the Lord to remember his activities
and the sacrifices he has performed before his material body is turned into ashes. He
makes this prayer at the time of death, with full consciousness of his past deeds and of
the ultimate goal. One who is completely under the rule of material nature remembers the
heinous activities he performed during the existence of his material body, and consequently
he gets another material body after death. The Bhagavad-gītā (8.6) confirms this truth:
yam yam vāpi smaran bhāvam tyajaty ante kalevaram
tam tam evaiti kaunteya sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ
"Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kuntī, that state
he will attain without fail." Thus the mind carries the living entity's propensities into
the next life. Unlike the simple animals, who have no developed
mind, the dying human being can remember the activities of his life like dreams at night;
therefore his mind remains surcharged with material desires, and consequently he cannot
enter into the spiritual kingdom with a spiritual body. The devotees, however, develop a sense
of love for Godhead by practicing devotional service to the Lord. Even if at the time of
death a devotee does not remember his service to the Lord, the Lord does not forget him.
This prayer is given to remind the Lord of the devotee's sacrifices, but even if there
is no such reminder, the Lord does not forget the service rendered by His pure devotee.
The Lord clearly describes His intimate relationship with His devotees in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.30-34):
"Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he
is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination. He
quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that
My devotee never perishes. O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they
be of lower birth-women, vaiśyas [merchants] as well as śūdras [workers]--can attain the
supreme destination. How much more this is so of the righteous brāhmaṇas, the devotees
and the saintly kings. Therefore, having come to this temporary, miserable world, engage
in loving service unto Me. Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee,
offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will
come to Me." Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains these
verses in this way: "One should regard a devotee of Kṛṣṇa to be on the right path of the saints,
even though such a devotee may seem to be su-durācāra, 'a person of loose character.'
One should try to understand the real purport of the word su-durācāra. A conditioned soul
has to act for double functions-namely for the maintenance of the body and again for
self-realization. Social status, mental development, cleanliness, austerity, nourishment and the
struggle for existence are all for the maintenance of the body. The self-realization part of
one's activities is executed in one's occupation as a devotee of the Lord, and one performs
actions in that connection also. One must perform these two different functions along
parallel lines, because a conditioned soul cannot give up the maintenance of his body.
The proportion of activities for maintenance of the body decreases, however, in proportion
to the increase in devotional service. As long as the proportion of devotional service
does not come to the right point, there is a chance for an occasional exhibition of worldliness.
But it should be noted that such worldliness cannot continue for long because, by the grace
of the Lord, such imperfections will come to an end very shortly. Therefore the path
of devotional service is the only right path. If one is on the right path, even an occasional
occurrence of worldliness does not hamper one in the advancement of self-realization."
The facilities of devotional service are denied the impersonalists because they are attached
to the brahmajyoti feature of the Lord. As suggested in the previous mantras, they cannot
penetrate the brahma-jyoti because they do not believe in the Personality of Godhead.
Their business is mostly word jugglery and mental speculation. Consequently the impersonalists
pursue a fruitless labor, as confirmed in the Twelfth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā (12.5).
All the facilities suggested in this mantra can be easily obtained by constant contact
with the personal feature of the Absolute Truth. Devotional service to the Lord consists
essentially of nine transcendental activities: (1) hearing about the Lord, (2) glorifying
the Lord, (3) remembering the Lord, (4) serving the lotus feet of the Lord, (5) worshiping
the Lord, (6) offering prayers to the Lord, (7) serving the Lord, (8) enjoying friendly
association with the Lord, and (9) surrendering everything unto the Lord. These nine principles
of devotional service-taken all together or one by one-help a devotee remain constantly
in touch with God. In this way, at the end of life it is easy for the devotee to remember
the Lord. By adopting only one of these nine principles, the following renowned devotees
of the Lord were able to achieve the highest perfection: (1) By hearing of the Lord, Mahārāja
Parīkṣit, the hero of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, attained the desired result. (2) Just by glorifying
the Lord, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the speaker of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, attained his perfection.
(3) By praying to the Lord, Akrūra attained the desired result. (4) By remembering the
Lord, Prahlāda Mahārāja attained the desired result. (5) By worshiping the Lord, Pṛthu
Mahārāja attained perfection. (6) By serving the lotus feet of the Lord, the goddess of
fortune, Lakṣmī, attained perfection. (7) By rendering personal service to the Lord,
Hanumān attained the desired result. (8) Through his friendship with the Lord, Arjuna attained
the desired result. (9) By surrendering everything he had to the Lord, Mahārāja Bali attained
the desired result. Actually, the explanation of this mantra and
of practically all the mantras of the Vedic hymns is summarized in the Vedānta-sūtra and
properly explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the mature fruit of the Vedic tree of wisdom.
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam this particular mantra is explained in the questions and answers
between Mahārāja Parīkṣit and Śukadeva Gosvāmī at the very beginning of their meeting. Hearing
and chanting of the science of God is the basic principle of devotional life. The complete
Bhāgavatam was heard by Mahārāja Parīkṣit and chanted by Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Mahārāja
Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva because Śukadeva was a greater spiritual master than any great
yogi or transcendentalist of his time. Mahārāja Parīkṣit's main question was: "What
is the duty of every man, specifically at the time of death?" Śukadeva Gosvāmī answered:
tasmād bhārata sarvātmā bhagavān īśvaro hariḥ
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca smartavyaś cecchatābhayam
"Everyone who desires to be free from all anxieties should always hear about, glorify
and remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the supreme director of everything, the
extinguisher of all difficulties, and the Supersoul of all living entities." (SB 2.1.5)
So-called human society is generally engaged at night in sleeping and having sex and during
the daytime in earning as much money as possible or else in shopping for family maintenance.
People have very little time to talk about the Personality of Godhead or to inquire about
Him. They have dismissed God's existence in so many ways, primarily by declaring Him to
be impersonal, that is, without sense perception. But in the Vedic literature-whether the Upaniṣads,
Vedānta-sūtra, Bhagavad-gītā or Srimad-Bhagavatam--it is declared that the Lord is a sentient being
and is supreme over all other living entities. His glorious activities are identical with
Himself. One should therefore not indulge in hearing and speaking of the rubbish activities
of worldly politicians and so-called big men in society but should mold his life in such
a way that he can engage in godly activities without wasting a second. Śrī Īśopaniṣad directs
us toward such godly activities. Unless one is accustomed to devotional practice,
what will he remember at the time of death, when the body is dislocated, and how can he
pray to the almighty Lord to remember his sacrifices? Sacrifice means denying the interest
of the senses. One has to learn this art by employing the senses in the service of the
Lord during one's lifetime. One can utilize the results of such practice at the time of
death.