Process of Accepting a Demigod Body
The Vedic literature explains that the living entity is transmigrating through various species of life based on their desire and activity. Among the 8,400,000 species, the form of a demigod represents a high standard of material existence, characterized by increased opulence, longevity, and capacity for enjoyment. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that accepting such a body is not an accident but a specific award for pious actors who desire to enjoy the material world in a superior capacity. However, despite its advantages, a demigod body remains a temporary dress for the conditioned soul.
Role of Desire and Activity
The construction of one's future body begins in the present life. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that we are the architects of our destiny; by cultivating a particular mentality and performing corresponding works (karma), we prepare our next vessel. If a person acts piously and desires the standard of life found on higher planets, they are awarded the body of a demigod to fulfill those desires.
- We are creating this body according to our work. We are creating sometimes this human body; sometimes we are creating dog’s body; sometimes we are creating hog’s body; sometimes we are creating demigod’s body.
- If one acts piously, he can attain a new body among the demigods in the higher planetary systems, or he may attain some other position in which he can enjoy a higher standard of material happiness.
- A living entity desiring to get the body of a demigod in a higher planet can also get it by the grace of the Lord.
Nature's Mechanism
While the living entity desires, it is material nature that supplies the body under the sanction of the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that Kṛṣṇa does not force anyone into a specific form; rather, He facilitates the living entity's propensity to enjoy. Whether one pays the price for a cat's body or a demigod's body, the mechanism is the same: nature (prakṛti) awards the form according to the "price" paid in terms of karma.
- Somebody is in the cat's body. Somebody's dog's body. Somebody's in human being's body. Somebody is in demigod's body. These bodies are offered by prakrti according to price you pay. This is called karma.
- Krsna gives order because we want it. Krsna does not force you to enter into the dog's body or hog's body or demigod's body or human being's body, but as we create situation by desire, Krsna gives us the facility to possess such body.
- By worshiping the Supreme Lord, those who desire material opulences are given the bodies of powerful demigods.
Example of King Nṛga
The history of King Nṛga provides a practical example of this process. Due to certain karmic reactions, he was degraded to the form of a lizard, but because of his past pious deeds and memory of the Lord, he was delivered by Kṛṣṇa and elevated to the status of a demigod. Śrīla Prabhupāda cites this to show that while the body changes, the individual soul remains the same, carrying its memories and devotion across different lifetimes.
- Along with his (King Nrga's) pious activities, he thought of Krsna, so he was quickly released from the body of a lizard and given the body of a demigod.
- Having attained the body of a demigod, King Nrga, continuing to remember everything, said, "My dear Lord, You are the Supreme Lord and are worshiped by all the demigods. You are not one of the ordinary living entities; You are the Supreme Person, Purusottama."
A Higher Trap
Despite the allure of heavenly existence, Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that a demigod body is still a material covering. The propensities for eating, sleeping, mating, and defending exist in the heavenly planets just as they do on earth, only the standard is higher. Whether one is a demigod or a dog, one is entrapped by the bodily concept of life. True intelligence is understanding that any material body is a source of limitation and seeking to end the cycle of transmigration entirely.
- We change our taste according to dog and hog. Similarly, we can change our taste according to the body of demigods. But the subject matter of tasting or enjoyment is the same. Eating, sleeping, sex and defense.
- Those who are engaged in karma-kanda and jnana-kanda are doomed in the sense that everyone is doomed who is entrapped by this material body, whether it is a body of a demigod, a king, a lower animal or whatever.
- Sometimes he (conditioned soul) gets the body of a demigod, and he thinks that body to be his identity. Similarly, when he gets the body of a dog he identifies his self with that body.
Conclusion
The process of accepting a demigod body illustrates the precision of nature's laws and the vast range of material possibilities available to the soul. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda reminds us that the ultimate goal is not to improve our cell in the prison house of the material world but to be released. While one can choose to go to the moon or higher planets by pious work, the wise choice is to cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness and return home, back to Godhead, where the body is spiritual and eternal.
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 a Demigod Body. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.