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Spiritual motivation and the understanding of the birth, growing, and death

A spiritual discourse on the soul's journey and the nature of mortality.

"Those who come to this planet one day have to go back, and those who go away have to come back."

"Death for the ātmā does not mean anything. This jīvātmā, this individual soul, is just changing its dress."

Swami Maheshwarananda addresses an audience in Debrecen, exploring the goal of self-realization. He describes Earth as a mortal world where souls cycle through birth and death, bound by karma and the pain of separation. He contrasts the mortal body with the immortal ātmā, explaining that human intellect is the key to transcending suffering and attaining supreme bliss.

Recording location: Hungary, Debrecen, Weekend seminar

A very good evening to everyone. I am very happy to see you again, especially here in this part of Hungary, the Puszta, in this very peaceful and beautiful town of Debrecen. As our dear brother Kṛiyānand told you, we are practicing Yoga in Daily Life, and the light of Śrī Mahāprabhujī has been here for nearly two decades. Our coming together has a great meaning; it is like regenerating spiritual energy. It is like giving water to a drying plant. It refreshes our memories and supports our motivation towards spirituality, which should lead us to our divine goal. You all know well that the goal of human life is self-realization, Ātmajñāna. The Creator has created 8.4 million different creatures, divided into three categories: jalacara, thalacara, and nabhacara—creatures that live in water, on earth, and in space. These are 8.4 million different forms. Of course, within one form there are billions of individuals. We all belong to this planet; we are traveling within this solar system. This planet is known as Mṛtyu Loka, the mortal world. It is like this: those who come to this planet one day have to go back, and those who go away have to come back. We have a very deep relation with this planet—it is our love, our attachment, our destiny. There is always a force calling us back, like a magnet and iron. We are all related. We all have the same basics and the same roots. We are all made of the five elements. All creatures have the same color of blood. We all have the same principles of life and death. And we all have the same ātmā. But we are, as a soul, individual. Make a correction in your notebooks: the soul and the ātmā are different. Each individual soul has its own destiny, and destiny is created through our karma. Destiny is the result, the fruit, the production of our karma. In this cycle of rebirth and death, we are traveling through endless space, fluttering on the waves of time, going through darkness and light, experiencing happiness and unhappiness, pain and pleasure, unity and separation. We come together and we separate again. This individual is like a boat on the ocean, drawn by the wind and waves in different directions. And these waves are our destiny. We are conscious of being an individual in this mortal world, as well as in the astral world. Many times we are very unhappy because we create many relations: the relation of mother, father, children, brothers and sisters, partners, and friends. It is pleasant to come together, but it is painful to separate. Separation causes immense pain, and with this kind of pain, we are more and more connected to each other and to this planet. Though it is not so easy, life on this planet also brings many disappointments, pain, and loneliness. Therefore, this individual does not want to separate from this body. But we do not understand our body. We do not accept what is happening to our body. The dharma of the body is to be born, grow, and die. We accept that it is born; we accept that it is growing, but we do not understand and we do not accept that it dies. But the body is mortal, and it belongs to this planet. The ātmā, however, is immortal. The soul has a temporary function, but through the soul you are experiencing and wandering through the whole universe. Every one of us has our own destiny. Our parents can give us only birth; they cannot give us destiny. Destiny is created individually. It must not be a bad destiny; it can be a good destiny too. But mostly it ends with pain and disappointment. Whatever you think will make you happy in this world will one day make you unhappy. This life is connected with suffering. Sometimes it is unbearable, and sometimes it is happy. But you know, death is very cruel. For death, it does not matter how you die; for death, there is only one thing: that you die. And you know that all of us, sooner or later, will be the victim of that death. We cannot escape. Death is running, walking, and sitting parallel to us. It is only waiting for the chance, and chance means death. We have died many, many times. Many, many times we do not know consciously about that, but our inner self knows, and that is why we are all afraid of it. We do not know who will be the first. Do not think that someone who is old will die first; sometimes the young die first. But death for the ātmā does not mean anything. This jīvātmā, this individual soul, is just changing its dress. When you wear your dress for one day or two days, then you would like to change it. When the dress gets very old, you would like to change it. When you put on a fresh dress, you feel very good. When you have a new dress, you go in front of the mirror and look: "Oh, how beautiful I am looking." So that is the dress of the jīvātmā; the soul is the body. And this dress will be gone one day after all this. What is the purpose of this? The purpose is to come to the origin where there are no more changes, no more suffering—only ānanda, supreme bliss. That is very important to realize. And that can only be realized through the human intellect. The difference between other creatures and humans is this: the human intellect can be trained and placed. The human intellect also needs education—not just the education of how to earn bread. Recording location: Hungary, Debrecen, Weekend seminar

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt, what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

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