Inevitability of Accepting Another Body
The most fundamental truth of spiritual science is that the living entity is eternal, while the body is temporary. Śrīla Prabhupāda tirelessly teaches that death is merely a change of dress. When the current biological machine becomes old and useless, the soul is forced by the laws of nature to accept a new one. This process, known as tathā dehāntara-prāptir, is as natural and inevitable as the changing of seasons or the growth of a child into an adult.
Mechanism of Change
The transition from one body to another is not a random event. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that it is governed by strict laws. Just as a person moves from a childhood body to a youthful body and finally to an old body within this life, the final change at death is simply the acceptance of another container. The materialist may think life is finished at death, but the sober person (dhīra) knows that the soul continues its journey.
- As the soul transmigrates, one who has taken birth must give up the present body, and then he must certainly accept another body. This should be no cause for lamentation.
- Just like we have got several types of body: babyhood to childhood, child to boyhood, youth-hood, old body. Then after this, he is... Vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya (BG 2.22). When we give up this body as dress, old and rotten, we get another.
- Transcendental knowledge is described in the Bhagavad-gita (BG 2.13): tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati. When someone dies, he accepts another body; therefore sober persons do not lament.
Role of Mind and Karma
The specific type of body one receives—whether it is the body of a demigod, a human, a dog, or a tree—is determined by one's activities (karma) and mental state at the time of death. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the mind is the reservoir of all desires. At the critical moment of death, the mind carries the soul to a new situation that corresponds to its accumulated attachments. Thus, we are creating our next body right now by our present actions.
- According to his previous work, the living entity must capture another body before giving up the one he has. This is because the mind is the reservoir of all kinds of desires.
- At the time of death everything will be examined. What are you going to be next? You have to accept another body. So that body will be created in this life, yam yam vapi, and that bodily structure will be formed at the time of your death.
- The subtle body, which carries the conception of the next body, develops another body in the next life. This process of transmigrating from one body to another and struggling while in the body is called karsati or struggle for existence.
Solving Problem of Repetition
The real problem of human life is not how to make the current body comfortable, but how to stop the cycle of accepting material bodies altogether. Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that as long as we are forced to accept a material body, we must suffer birth, death, old age, and disease. The perfection of life is to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that after leaving this body, one does not accept another material vessel but returns home, back to Godhead.
- I have to give up this body, again accept another body, again suffer? This is the problem, but mudha, duskrtina, they do not see to the real problem. That is their fault. Neither they have knowledge to see the real problem.
- This is the highest perfection - to give up one’s material body and not accept another but to return home, back to Godhead. It is not that perfection means one’s existence becomes void or zero.
- We should work in such a way that we will not get another material body, How can this be done? We simply have to try to understand Krsna.
Conclusion
The acceptance of another body is a fact of nature that cannot be evaded by atheistic theories or scientific denial. Śrīla Prabhupāda urges us to use our intelligence to understand this "plain truth." By purifying our consciousness and engaging in the service of the Lord, we can break the chain of karma and ensure that our next transition is not into another womb of suffering, but into the eternal spiritual sky.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Accepting Another Body. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.