Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 6.15.7
Mukti· LiberationParents Generate Bodies, Not Eternal Souls
“As from one seed another seed is generated, O King, so from one body [the body of the father], through another body [the body of the mother], a third body is generated [the body of a son]. As the elements of the material body are eternal, the living entity who appears through these material elements is also eternal.”
What the purport teaches
- Material energy consists of five gross and three subtle elements. The living entity belongs to the superior, spiritual energy.
- Both matter and spirit exist eternally as potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The living being is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord.
- According to his own choice and karma, the living being receives different bodies through fathers and mothers. The Lord allows him to experience material enjoyment and suffering in those bodies.
Try this today
Write this distinction in your own words: parents generate a body, while the living entity is eternal.
Ask yourself
How does distinguishing the eternal soul from the body deepen my understanding of birth?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.