Srimad Bhagavatam 10.87.20 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Japan | 10 May 2026
jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī
gopījana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī
yaśodā-nandana vraja-jana-rañjana
yamunā-tīra-vana-cārī
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Jaya Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda
Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10 Chapter 87 Verse 20.
ŚB 10.87.20
स्वकृतपुरेष्वमीष्वबहिरन्तरसंवरणं
तव पुरुषं वदन्त्यखिलशक्तिधृतोंऽशकृतम् ।
इति नृगतिं विविच्य कवयो निगमावपनं
भवत उपासतेऽङ्घ्रिमभवं भुवि विश्वसिता: ॥ २० ॥
sva-kṛta-pureṣv amīṣv abahir-antara-saṁvaraṇaṁ
tava puruṣaṁ vadanty akhila-śakti-dhṛto ’ṁśa-kṛtam
iti nṛ-gatiṁ vivicya kavayo nigamāvapanaṁ
bhavata upāsate ’ṅghrim abhavam bhuvi viśvasitāḥ
Synonyms
sva — by himself; kṛta — created; pureṣu — in the bodies; amīṣu — these; abahiḥ — not externally; antara — or internally; saṁvaraṇam — whose factual envelopment; tava — Your; puruṣam — living entity; vadanti — (the Vedas) say; akhila — of all; śakti — energies; dhṛtaḥ — of the possessor; aṁśa — as the expansion; kṛtam — manifested; iti — in this manner; nṛ — of the living entity; gatim — the status; vivicya — ascertaining; kavayaḥ — learned sages; nigama — of the Vedas; āvapanam — the field in which all offerings are sown; bhavataḥ — Your; upāsate — they worship; aṅghrim — the feet; abhavam — which cause the cessation of material existence; bhuvi — on the earth; viśvasitāḥ — having developed faith.
Translation
The individual living entity, while inhabiting the material bodies he has created for himself by his karma, actually remains uncovered by either gross or subtle matter. This is so because, as the Vedas describe, he is part and parcel of You, the possessor of all potencies. Having determined this to be the status of the living entity, learned sages become imbued with faith and worship Your lotus feet, to which all Vedic sacrifices in this world are offered, and which are the source of liberation.
Purport
Not only does the Supreme Lord remain totally uncontaminated when He resides within the material bodies of the conditioned souls, but even the infinitesimal jīva souls are never directly touched by the coverings of ignorance and lust they acquire while passing through repeated cycles of birth and death. Thus the Taittirīya Upaniṣad (3.10.5) proclaims, sa yaś cāyaṁ puruṣe yaś cāsāv āditye sa ekaḥ: “The soul of the embodied living being is one with Him who stands within the sun.” Similarly, the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (6.8.7) teaches, tat tvam asi: “You are nondifferent from that Supreme Truth.”
In this prayer, the personified Vedas refer to the finite enjoyer of material bodies (the jīva soul) as an expansion of the transcendental reservoir of all potencies, the Supreme Lord. The term aṁśa-kṛtam, “made as His portion,” must be properly understood, however, in this context. The jīva is not created at any time, nor is he the same kind of expansion of the Lord as the omnipotent viṣṇu-tattva expansions. The Supreme Soul is the proper object of all worship, and the subordinate jīva soul is meant to be His worshiper. The Supreme Lord enacts His pastimes by showing Himself in innumerable aspects of His personality, whereas the jīva is forced to change bodies whenever his accumulated karmic reactions so dictate. According to Śrī Nārada Pañcarātra:
yat taṭa-sthaṁ tu cid-rūpaṁ
sva-saṁvedyād vinirgatam
rañjitaṁ guṇa-rāgeṇa
sa jīva iti kathyate
“The marginal potency, who is spiritual by nature, who emanates from the self-cognizant saṁvit energy, and who becomes tainted by his attachment to the modes of material nature, is called the jīva.”
Although the jīva soul is also an expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he is distinguished from Kṛṣṇa’s independent Viṣṇu expansions by his constitutional position on the margin between spirit and matter. As the Mahāvarāha Purāṇa explains,
svāṁśaś cātha vibhinnāṁśa
iti dvidhā śa iṣyate
aṁśino yat tu sāmarthyaṁ
yat-svarūpaṁ yathā sthitiḥ
tad eva nāṇu-mātro ’pi
bhedaṁ svāṁśāṁśinoḥ kvacit
vibhinnāṁśo ’lpa-śaktiḥ syāt
kiñcit sāmarthya-mātra-yuk
“The Supreme Lord is known in two ways: in terms of His plenary expansions and His separated expansions. Between the plenary expansions and Their source of expansion there is never any essential difference in terms of either Their capabilities, forms or situations. The separated expansions, on the other hand, possess only minute potency, being endowed only to a small extent with the Lord’s powers.”
The conditioned soul in this world appears as if covered by matter, internally as well as externally. Externally, gross matter surrounds him in the forms of his body and environment, while internally desire and aversion impinge upon his consciousness. But from the transcendental perspective of realized sages, both kinds of material covering are insubstantial. By logically eliminating all material identities, which are misconceptions based on the soul’s gross and subtle coverings, a thoughtful person can determine that the soul is nothing material. Rather, he is a pure spark of divine spirit, a servant of the Supreme Godhead. Understanding this, one should worship the Supreme Lord’s lotus feet; such worship is the fully bloomed flower of the tree of Vedic rituals. One’s realization of the splendor of the Lord’s lotus feet, gradually nourished by the offering of Vedic sacrifices, automatically bears the fruits of liberation from material existence and irrevocable faith in the Lord’s mercy. One can accomplish all this while still living in the material world. As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad (Uttara 47):
mathurā-maṇḍale yas tu
jambūdvīpe sthito ’tha vā
yo ’rcayet pratimāṁ prati
sa me priyataro bhuvi
“One who worships Me in My Deity form while living in the district of Mathurā or, indeed, anywhere in Jambūdvīpa, becomes most dear to Me in this world.”
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī prays:
tvad-aṁśasya mameśāna
tvan-māyā-kṛta-bandhanam
tvad-aṅghri-sevām ādiśya
parānanda nivartaya
“My Lord, please free me, Your partial expansion, from the bondage created by Your Māyā. Please do this, O abode of supreme bliss, by directing me to the service of Your feet.”
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So in this verse, it is stating that the jivas are amsa or portions of the Lord. Amsa of the Lord, portion of the Lord. Prabhupada often translates this as part and parcel [Laughs]. But when we use the word part, or Amsa literally, that’s not quite the meaning. So we have a cake, and then we take part of the cake [Laughs] and cut off a piece [Laughs]. It’s not like that [Laughs]. So we have Krishna, and we cut off a finger [Laughs]. That’s a part. The Jiva is like a finger of the Lord and he’s cut off [Laughs]. Of course, one reason is the Lord is complete and eternally in His form and you cannot take a part of that away.
So in the scriptures and philosophy, the word Amsa means dependent. And the opposite word is Amsi. Just as we have the word Avatar and Avatari. So Krishna is Avatari, He is the source of all the Avatars. But not source in the sense He creates them because they are all eternal. However, when we say the Lord is Amsi and Jiva is the Amsa, the Jiva is dependent but not like Avatars.
So the Avatar is non-different from the Lord. But the Jiva is different from the Lord. And how is he different? So in the purport there, there’s a quote from the I think Varaha Purana. And there it says that the Jiva has alpa shakti, he has little power. So he has something of the Lord’s power but not the same. The Avatars may show less powers and qualities than Krishna but they still have the powers. But the Jivas don’t have that [Laughs] power same as the Lord ever so [Laughs]. So they are dependent on the Lord in several ways.
So Lord has all power, Jivas have little power. So automatically the one with less power is dependent on the one with more power. It’s just like the king has all the power and the citizens have little power so they are dependent on the king. So we often describe the Lord as Isha or Ishwara which means the controller [Laughs]. So all Jivas by their very nature are dependent on the Lord. So they are called Amsa. But we have Amsa and Amsi, the same word is there. So therefore they do have similarity.
So what is the similarity? That similarity is they are both conscious. They both have a sense of I, identifying themselves. So therefore the Jiva can say I know something, I’m aware of something. And the Jiva can say I do something. And the Jiva can say I experience suffering or happiness. So in that sense there is similarity with the Lord. The Lord is a knower, He is an experiencer, He is a doer. But he is a little knower [Laughs], a little doer, a little experiencer [Laughs].
Another difference is the Lord, even though He has many forms and avatars, He’s one person. And the Jivas are all infinite in number with individual consciousnesses. So one supreme Lord, infinite number of Jivas. So the nature of the Jiva is to be dependent on the Lord. So that’s their eternal natural position. So therefore in Caitanya Caritamrta it says, Nitya Krishna Das [Laughs]. Das means dependent on the Lord. It doesn’t mean eternally they have Dasya rasa [Laughs]. And the reason we don’t say that is because many of the Jivas, not all, but many, don’t realize any rasa at all. They are in the material world, so they are ignorant. So whether they realize they are servant of the Lord or not, they are all dependent on the Lord [Laughs].
So the Vedas here are saying that the Jivas are dependent on the Lord. So a person who reads the Vedas whi knows, okay, we are dependent on the Lord, they can come to that conclusion. So the natural conclusion is, if we are actually dependent on the Lord, then we should worship the Lord [Laughs]. So this is the basis of these facts in the Vedic literature. And these are the basis for performing bhakti and attaining prema.
So what is the point of all of this philosophical discussion? So the reason this is emphasized is because other people do not accept the Jiva as an amsa of the Lord. So they may say, the Jiva does not exist, it’s illusory, this is Mayavadi philosophy.p So if you do bhakti, it’s actually illusory [Laughs]. And of course the other conclusion is that Jiva does not exist, the Jiva actually is Brahman. We are not the servant of the Lord, we are the Lord [Laughs]. So this is the conclusion of Mayavadi philosophy. And it is quite common in India [Laughs]. And it has got a strong philosophical base among some scholars [Laughs] and other people.
And if you accept that, then this question of Parikshit that how can the Vedas express something which has no qualities makes sense. That question is valid. So therefore in this verse, the Vedas themselves are saying the Jiva is an amsa of the Lord, eternally [Laughs]. And based on that, then the process of bhakti is also a valid process. So that understanding is necessary in order to perform bhakti. And therefore even though we are performing bhakti, which is kind of non-intellectual and emotional, still we have to study scripture [Laughs]. And of course this is one reason why the impersonalists will criticize the Vaishnavas.
So we see in Varanasi, the Mayavadis were criticizing Lord Caitanya. He was a sannyasi. He was supposed to be a Mayavadi. But you are not studying Vedanta. You are dancing and singing all the time [Laughs]. But then when He spoke to them, then He gave the conclusion of the Vedas [Laughs]. And the Mayavadi philosophy actually is a misinterpretation. So once the devotee has that clear understanding, then he can do his bhakti. He doesn’t depend on Vedanta and whatever. So one of the essential methods in Jnana Yoga is to study Upanishads and the Vedanta Sutra. And the conclusion is you meditate, I am not the body. I am Brahman. That’s your meditation [Laughs].
But the Vaishnavas, once they understand I am eternal servant of Krishna, worship Krishna, then they just worship Krishna [Laughs]. And by worshipping Krishna and chanting His name, they become very joyful [Laughs]. So therefore they sing and dance [Laughs]. So there is study there, but of course we do give prominence to the sadhana of bhakti and experience of bhakti. So because we do need that knowledge, we have all of this literature. So Lord Caitanya did not write things. He just did kirtan [Laughs]. But then He ordered the Goswamis to write things. So therefore He indicated, yes, kirtan very nice, but we also need some philosophical basis.
So the Goswamis were very diligent. They were very serious about following this order. So that’s why we have so many works written by the Goswamis. But since the basic tenets, you know, we are the servant of God, eternal, etc. were already established by previous Acharyas, they don’t have to argue so much and try to defeat mayavadis. So more than getting into complicated arguments to defeat mayavadi, they simply confirm it [Laughs]. So therefore our study of philosophy is a little simpler than other Sampradayas [Laughs]. And thus our Sampradaya really didn’t even have a commentary on the Brahma Sutras until many hundreds of years later.
We find that other Sampradayas like Madhva and Ramanuja, that was the basis of their whole [Laughs] movement, write a commentary on the Brahma Sutras and defeat Shankaracharya [Laughs]. So the subject of Brahma Sutras is athāto brahma jijñāsā, inquire about Brahman. So then our Acharyas say, okay, Brahman means Krishna. And the Srimad Bhagavatam is enlarging that conclusion. Krishna is the param Brahma [Laughs]. Krishna is the final conclusion of Brahma Sutras. And that’s the conclusion, that’s the whole subject of Bhagavatam. So in other words, Bhagavatam is an expansion of the conclusion of Vedanta. So therefore they concentrated on explaining Bhagavatam rather than Vedanta Sutra [Laughs].
In this verse we find there is a statement here that the Jiva is uncovered, or not covered by, internally and externally by anything. But then in the same sense, he is in his body’s [Laughs] sva-kṛta-pureṣa, he is in bodies created by his karma [Laughs]. And we usually say the Jiva is covered by ignorance. And we also say the Jiva is covered by his gross and subtle bodies. So in spite of having his gross and subtle bodies of ignorance, here it says, he is not covered [Laughs]. What does that mean?
How can the Jiva be covered and uncovered at the same time [Laughs]? But we’ll see the same type of contradiction is expressed in the 11th canto. So there it says, to speak of the covered Jiva, uncovered Jiva, to speak of conditioning and liberation is actually illusion [Laughs]. But then we speak of the Nitya-baddha Jiva and the Mukta Jiva [Laughs]. How is it possible [Laughs]? So what this statement means is not that we are in the material world, it’s not that it’s an illusion that we are stuck in the material world, but rather that the essential nature of the Jiva never changes. So you can put the Jiva in a plant body or an animal body or a human body, devata body, but actually the Jiva is a Jiva and he doesn’t change. And he still has his qualities of self-identity and knowing and experiencing. At the same time, we also speak of the Jiva as covered because according to the body and whatever, subtle and gross bodies, then being a doer, being conscious, etc., is manifested less or more [Laughs], and therefore we say covered [Laughs].
So he is covered in one sense because to various degrees he got restriction on his being a doer, experiencer, etc., he is a plant or a bacteria, limited [Laughs]. So of course we can say the bodies are the external covering. And they have nothing to do with the Jiva at all. So then we have the internal covering, that is, ignorance.
So we say the Jiva, because he has ignorance and he stays in the material world, so in one sense he is covered [Laughs] by ignorance. But that’s not the eternal nature of the Jiva. The knowledge can take away the ignorance. So it’s not an eternal covering of the Jiva, restriction. So in that sense they’re not real coverings [Laughs]. So in any case, we do have to realize the nature of Jiva in order to worship the Lord properly, as stated in this verse. With that knowledge, then we can also worship with more determination and faith.
Ok, Hare Krishna.
Q & A :
1.) Anyway without realization, ok, atleast we can logically understand this point. But if we realize, oh, that it’s true. If I realize that eternally I’m never covered. I realize, I can realize. But until I realize, I cannot [Laughs]. Just believing.
So we have realization is different from mere knowledge. But knowledge itself is also necessary in order to realize. So if we don’t have the knowledge, I’m not the body and I’m the soul, then how can you realize you’re the soul [Laughs]? So of course then we can say, well, that knowledge is based on intelligence. Intelligence is just part of your material function.
So how can material knowledge give spiritual realization? And that comes back to the essential question of Parikshit. How can knowledge in scripture, which is material, give you spiritual realization of [Laughs] something non-material? So then the answer is, the knowledge in scripture is not material, it’s spiritual [Laughs].
So when Bhagavad Gita says, you’re not the body, you’re the atma, and the atma goes from body to body, we think maybe it’s material, but actually these words are Krishna’s, so it’s spiritual [Laughs]. So that knowledge even if it is using our intelligence to accept it, is beneficial for us spiritually.
2.) Maharaj what is the fault of Jiva if he don’t get knowledge?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Ok, we don’t get spiritual knowledge, then we stay in the material world [Laughs].
Devotee: But there is, because he’s eternal, he’s going to live in the material world, that is already designed like that, so on Jiva’s part, it’s not his faut right?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: It’s self created karma. That’s the first word here, svakṛta-pureṣu. He’s stuck in bodies, which are created by himself [Laughs]. We create our own bodies because our bodies come from karma. We create our own bodies because our bodies come from karma. And what is karmas? We decide to do actions. Those actions give us results as bodies. So we create the bodies by doing actions. So we decide to do the actions. Krishna doesn’t make us do the actions [Laughs]. We decide [Laughs]. So we do the actions, we create our karma, we get our bodies by ourselves, not by Krishna making us get bodies.
Devotee: But Jīva desires, Jīva chooses, then Krishna gives.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, well, He creates the law by which you get the results [Laughs].
Devotee: Just the system?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
Devotee: Jīva not only desires, Jīva will, Jīva has a will, own will.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, he decides.
Devotee: Then already system is there.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: According to your actions you get results, that’s the karma involved. And that’s inbuilt into prakrti itself, into the material world. It’s part of material world.
Devotee: So Krishna is not involved?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So it’s like He’s indirectly involved [Laughs] because prakrti is also eternal. The principle of karma is eternal, except for the material world. The law of karma gives a reasonable and just progression of bodies [Laughs]. If we don’t have that law, then one body, one time you’re a plant, then you’re an animal, then you’re a devata, then you go to hell [Laughs], it would be haphazard. It’s like a judge, and the criminal comes before him as a thief, he gives him one punishment, puts him in jail. Another one with the same crime, but he rewards him, he gives him some money. Another one comes, he makes him the king. So then we say, well, why is the judge [Laughs]? Same crime, he’s giving different people different results. And they would criticize.
3.) Maharaj this progression of Jīva is mentioned in Vedic scripture?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: What’s that?
Devotee: Progression of Jīva is mentioned?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Which bodies they get according to karma?
Devotee: Yeah, yeah.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Of course, in Bhagavad Gita it says you do sattvic activities, you go upward, you do rajasic activities, you stay as human, you do tamasic activities, you go downwards to hellish existence or animals. And you do sinful activities, you suffer, you do punyas, you get enjoyment. And in other words, like Garuda Purana, then it gives you, you do this sinful activity, you get this suffering, you do that sinful activity, you get that suffering.
Devotee: Maharaj you are mentioning about other than human beings, how they progress?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: What’s that?
Devotee: Other than human beings, how that progression happens?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, more and more sinful activity in tamoguna, animal, plant [Laughs].
Devotee: Somebody is already in the animal.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh yeah, how do they get out?
Devotee: How do they progress?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: They don’t create karma, but they get the effects of previous karma as a human being, so therefore gradually they could elevate through different species due to their previous karmas as a human being. And then finally they come to human being, when they’re human being, then they start making more karmas.
Devotee: That’s already fixed, like, you know, which animal, he will progress?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, so you’re a human being, you do all sinful activities, so you get five lives as a dog, and three lives as a cow, then you become a human being, something [Laughs] like that [Laughs].
Devotee: Is it already fixed, which animal, which type of species is fixed?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
Devotee: Like from the fish, become…
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, higher, higher, higher, gradually you get [Laughs]. But if you balance out your sinful activities with punyas, then you may get some lesser sinful results, get promoted quicker [Laughs]. By punyas.
Devotee: By punya that means counter-react?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
Devotee: Not by punya come good results, by sinful activities, then suffering.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
Devotee: Both coming, right?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
Devotee: Not counter-react, right?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, sometimes you get a choice [Laughs]. Let me suffer my bad ones first, then get my punyas [Laughs] later [Laughs].
Devotee: Like Nrga.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, Nrga [Laughs]. So Yamaraja may give you a choice also [Laughs]. And we see that people do sinful activities, then they do punyas in the form of atonements, so then they get less sinful reaction.
4.) What about relationship like ancestors karma? We get influenced by ancestors’ karma? Ancestors?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Ancestors. We influence by them?
Devotee 1: Will we get the karma done by our ancestors, my father and my grandfather?
Devotee 2: Like Buddhists also, Buddhists also say that.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Their sinful activities affect you?
Devotee 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: If they do a sinful activity, you have to suffer. Is that right?
Devotee 2: Yeah. That’s the truth or not?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: [Laughs] Well, generally, we bear the result of our activities. So influence of ancestors or people you’re attached to, we can say, is not really karma, but they can influence. So therefore we may get certain qualities and impressions in our mind, which are due to our attachment to [Laughs] certain people, etc. And that can impel us to do similar type activities [Laughs]. And then we get similar karma [Laughs].
5.) Maharaj for a devotee, like sadhana bhakti, we are chanting and following rules. So in which case, I can become a dog again. If my past karma is there, even if I chant in this life, in next life I can become a dog?
So generally not, because bhakti destroys all karma. So the dog-eater, the one who kills the dog, he chants Hare Krishna, he’s better than a brahmana [Laughs]. So the only exception can be if a person becomes a very gross aparadhi [Laughs]. And then he doesn’t get effects of bhakti [Laughs].
6.) You explained about karma has rules. According to certain rules, we get a body, we raise up, gradual process that is. But on one hand, bhakti is said that sometimes by chance we get mercy and we get a chance to do bhakti. But for example, I have a pet and she is a dog. And she sometimes smells the prasada flower or she sometimes eats prasada. In that case, how? Does she do previously bhakti that’s why she is continuing or does it happen by chance? What is her mechanism of starting bhakti?
So, that accidental bhakti means accidental, there was no particular cause. And of course, in the case of devotees, then the dog gets the mercy of a devotee to smell the flower or eat the prasadam [Laughs]. But then we could say, well, what would determine that they get that, even accidental mercy? So, in some cases, they may have also done some accidental bhakti [Laughs] in previous lives [Laughs]. However, they would have to start from zero at a certain point [Laughs]. So, therefore, at a certain point there was nothing and then suddenly a devotee decided to be merciful and give prasadam [Laughs].
7.) So Maharaj instead of doing Harinama in the city better to do Harinama in the forests and other places [Not clear]. To deliver these souls in the lower species of life. Human is actually human. Why we do Harinama in the city?
[Laughs] Why in the city? We should do it in the country to benefit all the animals. Well, of course, if you do it in the forest, then you get less human beings getting mercy and more animals and plants. If you do it in the city, you get more human beings getting mercy. But there are animals in the city also. There’s birds, there’s cats, and there’s dogs. And, of course, we have plants and we have insects [Laughs] and whatever. So, wherever you go, city or, you’ve got all sorts of entities other than human beings who get mercy. However, usually we concentrate on human beings because it’s easier for them to develop faith and start the process of bhakti seriously.
8.) How to cut off the attachment of the ancestors or whatever?
Oh, well, of course, mainly we’re not attached to ancestors. We’re attracted to people [Laughs] in the present world [Laughs]. So, the main method of becoming detached is to become attached to Krishna. So, the more you do bhakti and become attached to Krishna, naturally you become detached from everything in the material world.
Devotee: Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.
9.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. How one gets human form of life? Have we traveled all the 84 lakh species?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, you may attempt to be a human being if you do a minimum of sinful activities [Laughs]. So, if you’re situated in rajoguna, rajoguna and sattva, then you’re likely to get a human birth. If you do tamasic activities, you’re likely to be an animal or a plant. If you do bhakti, of course, then you can be guaranteed to get a human body
Devotee: Means more favourable body we can get by bhakti?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, more favourable for bhakti [Laughs]. Through bhakti you get a more favourable bhakti body.
Devotee: More favourable for me, the body everything?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, yeah.
Ok, Hare Krishna.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!!!