Changing Bodies in This Body

Manidhara Das
13 Jan 2023

Srila Prabhupada stated that we change our bodies based on our consciousness, the state of our thinking, feeling, and, most importantly, our desire. One may take it
as an indication for the next body we may get in the next life. But what about this life?

Even if death has not yet arrived at our door, the above-mentioned principle of change of body can occur at any time. As the Lord's marginal energy, we can change our bodies as our subtle body is motivated by either a godly or demoniac mentality.
Even a child's body can be the body of a demon, as we learn from the story of Vena, who used to throw his playing friends into deep wells and enjoy it.
Still covered by bodily consciousness, we get carried away by the size of a particular body, its sex (yes, there were rakshas in Vedic times as well, and Krsna killed them in the same manner as their male counterparts), and its origin.
Thinking more consequently, there is no need to be "shocked" at how a devotional person manifests the mentality of a demon, or how a good man becomes a bad man either through bad association or because bhakti yoga initiates his demoniac proclivities and brings them to the surface for everyone to see.
There is an ongoing struggle going on between the demoniac and godly propensities we carry in our hearts.
Krsna ensures Arjuna that if he accepts authorized spiritual guidance, he will be sheltered by his powerful spiritual mentors. The same applies to us. A sincere devotee prays to Lord Nrsimhadeva to tear apart not only the demoniac opposition he has to face but his own demoniac propensities as well.
This is the real introspective mentality of a sincere devotee, not the orgies of politically correct apology we sometimes witness today.
Our first apology goes to the Supreme Lord for the ways we forgot or ignored His transcendental autocracy.
It is most painful to see even the closest and dearest ones change their bodies in front of our eyes from bad to worse, but this should be a warning for us not to follow in their footsteps and degrade too. Nothing is accidental; there is always a reason why we do what we do. Even amidst an ocean of insanity, one can stay sheltered when one holds firmly to the railing of the boat Srila Prabhupada constructed for us and doesn't fall overboard. Whatever he said is important and should be the theme of our discussion. Whatever he didn't say or considered unimportant doesn't have to agitate our minds.
Those who accept this policy as their guideline enjoy the simplicity of life, and those who go beyond Srila Prabhupada—the jnanis, speculators, and "fertile brains" as he used to call them—earn only agitation and confusion and get stuck in the swamp of offenses Maya so skillfully laid ready for us.
As much as it is needed to address the evil and protect the righteous (a duty sometimes neglected by the mayavada-poised, all-well-wishing brahmanas),
A conclusion must be reached based on Srila Prabhupadas' legacy.
It is not IF we should act this way that should be discussed; it is HOW it should be implemented that is the issue. For those who are sincere at heart, this is clear.