Never Was There a Time When We Did Not Exist

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Bhagavad-gītā 2.12 — August 18, 1973, London 730818BG-LONDON [37:33 Minutes] Bg-02.12_730818BG-LONDON Pradyumna: [leads chanting of verse] [devotees repeat] na tv evāhaṁ jātu nāsaṁ na tvaṁ neme janādhipāḥ na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ sarve vayam ataḥ param [Bg. 2.12] [break]

Prabhupāda: So you can dictate to correct. Pradyumna: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Go on. Word meaning. Pradyumna: [leads chanting of synonyms] na—never; tu—but; eva—certainly; aham—I; jātu—any time; Prabhupāda: [interrupting synonyms] Now the word, it is not correct. Jātu, "become," this is incorrect, so you correct it.

Jātu means "at any time." Pradyumna: [continues leading chanting of synonyms] na—never; āsam—existed; na—it is not so; tvam—yourself; na—not; ime—all these; janādhipāḥ—kings; na—never; ca—also; eva—certainly; na—not like that; bhaviṣyāmaḥ—shall exist; sarve—all of us; vayam—we; ataḥ param—hereafter. [01:57] Translation: "Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be." Prabhupāda: This is very important verse. The modern scientist, philosophers, they say that after finishing this body, we no more exist. Finished, everything finished.

This is not new. In olden times also there were atheists like Cārvāka Muni, he also said like that: bhasmī-bhūtasya dehasya kutaḥ punar āgamano bhavet: "Now why you are worrying about next life? As soon as this body is burned into ashes, everything is finished." According to Vedic funeral ritualistic ceremony, the body is burned. There are three end of the body—either to become stool or to become ashes or to become earth.

Those who are burying the body, just like the Christian, Muhammadans do, the body becomes earth. Everything, from the earth it has come up: "Dust thou were, dust thou beist." This beautiful body, nice body, will become earth. And those who are burning, so their body will become ashes. And those who throw the body to be eaten by jackals and crows, they become stool.

This is the end of the body. We are taking so much care of this body, but the ultimate end of this body is either stool, earth or ashes. So foolish persons who are in the bodily concept of life, they are thinking, "After all, this body will be finished. So, so long the body is there, senses are there, let us enjoy. Why so much restrictions—no illicit sex, no gambling, no...?

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