The soul transmigrates among pre-existing bodies by karma; true evolution is consciousness rising toward Krishna through devotion.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Rūpānuga: Svarūpa Dāmodara Prabhu, You want to ask some questions? Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.
Prabhupāda: What is that? Astronomical chart? Svarūpa Dāmodara: Oh, it was just, Pradyumna was just telling me all this... Yes, astronomical chart, about the moons, and...
Prabhupāda: Astrological? Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, astrological.
Prabhupāda: He has become astrologer. [laughter] Svarūpa Dāmodara: Śrīla Prabhupāda, we thought, now, the biologists have a difficult time in defining species. It's not very clear, the way they do it. Now we want to bring up the concept that the, by the combination of the three modes of material nature produce all these different varieties of species.
Prabhupāda: 8,400,000. Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, now along that line, we want to make a nice chart on... Prabhupāda: Chart is already there, jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi, nine hundred thousand species. Not species, forms. Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. Now we want to make a very clear distinction of, say, the mode of goodness and mode of passion and ignorance.
And we want to give some very specific examples... Prabhupāda: The demigods, they are in goodness. And the human being in passion, and the animals in ignorance. That is general division. Svarūpa Dāmodara: The animals are ignorance. But now even we come to the, let's say... Prabhupāda: Nṛ-tiryak-deva.
Deva means demigods, they are in goodness. And human being in passion, and animals in ignorance. This is general division. Svarūpa Dāmodara: What about the plants and other smaller...? Prabhupāda: That is also animals, less, still more in dense darkness. Svarūpa Dāmodara: The other point along this line, we also wanted to, even in the same animal or bird kingdom... Prabhupāda: No, no. You can very minutely distinguish, this is the general division. Svarūpa Dāmodara: Okay, this is general… Prabhupāda: Then there is minute division.