Tenuous Shelter: From Conception to Birth

"Passport, please"

Do You Really Know Who You Are? Hansadutta das

Although we are conceived by the combination of mother and father, or male and female, the living entity, in fact, is not the son or daughter of anyone. The living entity is by nature spiritual. The mother and father are just incidental. They create a favorable condition in which the soul takes shelter and then expands to develop a particular kind of body according to his past pious or impious actions. In this particular life we have a mother and father. But before this life we also had a mother and father, and when this life is finished, we shall have another mother and father. more

Reading from Srimad-Bhagavatam, 3rd Canto, Chapter 31, Lord Kapila’s instructions on the movements of the living entities, how the living entity is conceived within the womb of the mother, how its body develops, and what its situation is. This is the first verse:

Text 1
The Personality of Godhead said: Under the supervision of the Supreme Lord and according to the result of his work, the living entity, the soul, is made to enter into the womb of a woman through the particle of male semen to assume a particular type of body.

PURPORT
As stated in the last chapter, after suffering different kinds of hellish conditions, a man comes again to the human form of body. The same topic is continued in this chapter. In order to give a particular type of human form to a person who has already suffered hellish life, the soul is transferred to the semen of a man who is just suitable to become his father. During sexual intercourse, the soul is transferred through the semen of the father into the mother's womb in order to produce a particular type of body. This process is applicable to all embodied living entities, but it is especially mentioned for the man who was transferred to the Andha-tamisra hell. After suffering there, when he who has had many types of hellish bodies, like those of dogs and hogs, is to come again to the human form, he is given the chance to take his birth in the same type of body from which he degraded himself to hell.

Everything is done by the supervision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Material nature supplies the body, but it does so under the direction of the Supersoul. It is said in Bhagavad-gita that a living entity is wandering in this material world on a chariot made by material nature. The Supreme Lord, as Supersoul, is always present with the individual soul. He directs material nature to supply a particular type of body to the individual soul according to the result of his work, and the material nature supplies it. Here one word, retah-kanashrayah, is very significant because it indicates that it is not the semen of the man that creates life within the womb of a woman; rather, the living entity, the soul, takes shelter in a particle of semen and is then pushed into the womb of a woman. Then the body develops. There is no possibility of creating a living entity without the presence of the soul simply by sexual intercourse. The materialistic theory that there is no soul and that a child is born simply by material combination of the sperm and ovum is not very feasible. It is unacceptable.

The next verse:

Text 2
On the first night, the sperm and ovum mix, and on the fifth night the mixture ferments into a bubble. On the tenth night it develops into a form like a plum, and after that, it gradually turns into a lump of flesh or an egg, as the case may be.

PURPORT
The body of the soul develops in four different ways according to its different sources. One kind of body, that of the trees and plants, sprouts from the earth; the second kind of body grows from perspiration, as with flies, germs and bugs; the third kind of body develops from eggs; and the fourth develops from an embryo. This verse indicates that after emulsification of the ovum and sperm, the body gradually develops either into a lump of flesh or into an egg, as the case may be. In the case of birds it develops into an egg, and in the case of animals and human beings it develops into a lump of flesh.

Next verse:

Text 3
In the course of a month, a head is formed, and at the end of two months the hands, feet and other limbs take shape. By the end of three months, the nails, fingers, toes, body hair, bones and skin appear, as do the organ of generation and the other apertures in the body, namely the eyes, nostrils, ears, mouth and anus.

Text 4
Within four months from the date of conception, the seven essential ingredients of the body, namely bile, blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow and semen, come into existence. At the end of five months, hunger and thirst make themselves felt, and at the end of six months, the fetus, enclosed by the amnion, begins to move on the right side of the abdomen.

PURPORT
When the body of the child is completely formed at the end of six months, the child, if he is male, begins to move on the right side, and if female, she tries to move on the left side.

Text 5
Deriving its nutrition from the food and drink taken by the mother, the fetus grows and remains in that abominable residence of stools and urine, which is the breeding place of all kinds of worms.

PURPORT
In the Markandeya Purana it is said that in the intestine of the mother the umbilical cord, which is known as apyayani, joins the mother to the abdomen of the child, and through this passage the child within the womb accepts the mother's assimilated foodstuff. In this way the child is fed by the mother's intestine within the womb and grows from day to day. The statement of the Markandeya Purana about the child's situation within the womb is exactly corroborated by modern medical science, and thus the authority of the Puranas cannot be disproved, as is sometimes attempted by the Mayavadi philosophers.

Since the child depends completely on the assimilated foodstuff of the mother, during pregnancy there are restrictions on the food taken by the mother. Too much salt, chili, onion and similar food is forbidden for the pregnant mother because the child's body is too delicate and new for him to tolerate such pungent food. Restrictions and precautions to be taken by the pregnant mother, as enunciated in the smriti scriptures of Vedic literature, are very useful. We can understand from the Vedic literature how much care is taken to beget a nice child in society. The garbhadhana ceremony before sexual intercourse was compulsory for persons in the higher grades of society, and it is very scientific. Other processes recommended in the Vedic literature during pregnancy are also very important. To take care of the child is the primary duty of the parents because if such care is taken, society will be filled with good population to maintain the peace and prosperity of the society, country and human race.

Text 6
Bitten again and again all over the body by the hungry worms in the abdomen itself, the child suffers terrible agony because of his tenderness. He thus becomes unconscious moment after moment because of the terrible condition.

PURPORT
The miserable condition of material existence is not only felt when we come out of the womb of the mother, but is also present within the womb. Miserable life begins from the moment the living entity begins to contact his material body. Unfortunately, we forget this experience and do not take the miseries of birth very seriously. In Bhagavad-gita, therefore, it is specifically mentioned that one should be very alert to understand the specific difficulties of birth and death. Just as during the formation of this body we have to pass through so many difficulties within the womb of the mother, at the time of death there are also many difficulties. As described in the previous chapter, one has to transmigrate from one body to another, and the transmigration into the bodies of dogs and hogs is especially miserable. But despite such miserable conditions, due to the spell of maya we forget everything and become enamored by the present so-called happiness, which is described as actually no more than a counteraction to distress.

Text 7
Owing to the mother's eating bitter, pungent foodstuffs, or food which is too salty or too sour, the body of the child incessantly suffers pains which are almost intolerable.

PURPORT
All descriptions of the child's bodily situation in the womb of the mother are beyond our conception. It is very difficult to remain in such a position, but still the child has to remain. Because his consciousness is not very developed, the child can tolerate it, otherwise he would die. That is the benediction of maya, who endows the suffering body with the qualifications for tolerating such terrible tortures.

Text 8
Placed within the amnion and covered outside by the intestines, the child remains lying on one side of the abdomen, his head turned towards his belly and his back and neck arched like a bow.

PURPORT
If a grown man were put into such a condition as the child within the abdomen, completely entangled in all respects, it would be impossible for him to live even for a few seconds. Unfortunately, we forget all these sufferings and try to be happy in this life, not caring for the liberation of the soul from the entanglement of birth and death. It is an unfortunate civilization in which these matters are not plainly discussed to make people understand the precarious condition of material existence.

Text 9
The child thus remains just like a bird in a cage, without freedom of movement. At that time, if the child is fortunate, he can remember all the troubles of his past one hundred births, and he grieves wretchedly. What is the possibility of peace of mind in that condition?

PURPORT
After birth the child may forget about the difficulties of his past lives, but when we are grown-up we can at least understand the grievous tortures undergone at birth and death by reading the authorized scriptures like Srimad-Bhagavatam. If we do not believe in the scriptures, that is a different question, but if we have faith in the authority of such descriptions, then we must prepare for our freedom in the next life; that is possible in this human form of life. One who does not take heed of these indications of suffering in human existence is said to be undoubtedly committing suicide. It is said that this human form of life is the only means for crossing over the nescience of maya, or material existence. We have a very efficient boat in this human form of body, and there is a very expert captain, the spiritual master; the scriptural injunctions are like favorable winds. If we do not cross over the ocean of the nescience of material existence in spite of all these facilities, then certainly we are all intentionally committing suicide.

Text 10
Thus endowed with the development of consciousness from the seventh month after his conception, the child is tossed downward by the airs that press the embryo during the weeks preceding delivery. Like the worms born of the same filthy abdominal cavity, he cannot remain in one place.

PURPORT
At the end of the seventh month the child is moved by the bodily air and does not remain in the same place, for the entire uterine system becomes slackened before delivery. The worms have been described here as sodara. Sodara means "born of the same mother." Since the child is born from the womb of the mother and the worms are also born of fermentation within the womb of the same mother, under the circumstances the child and the worms are actually brothers. We are very anxious to establish universal brotherhood among human beings, but we should take into consideration that even the worms are our brothers, what to speak of other living entities. Therefore, we should be concerned about all living entities.

Text 11
The living entity in this frightful condition of life, bound by seven layers of material ingredients, prays with folded hands, appealing to the Lord, who has put him in that condition.

PURPORT
It is said that when a woman is having labor pains she promises that she will never again become pregnant and suffer from such a severely painful condition. Similarly, when one is undergoing some surgical operation he promises that he will never again act in such a way as to become diseased and have to undergo medical surgery, or when one falls into danger, he promises that he will never again make the same mistake. Similarly, the living entity, when put into a hellish condition of life, prays to the Lord that he will never again commit sinful activities and have to be put into the womb for repeated birth and death. In the hellish condition within the womb, the living entity is very much afraid of being born again, but when he is out of the womb, when he is in full life and good health, he forgets everything and commits again and again the same sins for which he was put into that horrible condition of existence.

Text 12
The human soul says: I take shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who appears in His various eternal forms and walks on the surface of the world. I take shelter of Him only, because He can give me relief from all fear and from Him I have received this condition of life, which is just befitting my impious activities.

PURPORT
The word chalach-charanaravindam refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who actually walks or travels upon the surface of the world. For example, Lord Ramachandra actually walked on the surface of the world, and Lord Krishna also walked just like an ordinary man. The prayer is therefore offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who descends to the surface of this earth, or any part of this universe, for the protection of the pious and the destruction of the impious. It is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita that when there is an increase of irreligion and discrepancies arise in the real religious activities, the Supreme Lord comes to protect the pious and kill the impious. This verse indicates Lord Krishna.

Another significant point in this verse is that the Lord comes, icchaya, by His own will. As Krishna confirms in Bhagavad-gita, sambhavamy atma-mayaya: [Bg. 4.6] "I appear at My will, by My internal potential power." He is not forced to come by the laws of material nature. It is stated here, icchaya: He does not assume any form, as the impersonalists think, because He comes at His own will, and the form in which He descends is His eternal form. As the Supreme Lord puts the living entity into the condition of horrible existence, He can also deliver him, and therefore one should seek shelter at the lotus feet of Krishna. Krishna demands, "Give up everything and surrender unto Me." And it is also said in Bhagavad-gita that anyone who approaches Him does not come back again to accept a form in material existence, but goes back to Godhead, back home, never to return. (SB 3.31.1-12 texts & purport)

The rest of the verses are prayers by the living soul within the womb, praying to the Supreme Lord, promising that in this life he will be a devotee, that he will give his life in devotional service. In fact, one of the prayers is:

"Therefore, my Lord, although I am living in a terrible condition, I do not wish to depart from my mother's abdomen to fall again into the blind well of materialistic life. Your external energy, called deva-maya, at once captures the newly born child, and immediately false identification, which is the beginning of the cycle of continual birth and death, begins." (SB 3.31.20)

In other words, as soon as the child comes out of the womb, the mother and father and other relatives are there to care for the child and comfort the child, feed and clothe the child, so the child’s terrible condition in the womb is forgotten, and the child becomes conditioned by the environment of his family—his brothers, sisters, father, mother, eventually friends, school fellows, and teachers, and he grows from baby to child, from child to boyhood, from boyhood to youth, and from youth to manhood. In this way the conditioned soul is completely fascinated by the environment of maya and forgets everything.

It is inconceivable to us how we were packed up in the womb of the mother in what was a painful and perilous condition and eventually after 9 months came out of the womb, and as small babies were raised, nurtured, cared for, and grew to our present situation. Although we can’t remember it, with our logic, reason and argument, or by virtue of our intelligence, we can understand that it was very painful, very difficult.

In fact it is said that as soon as the umbilical cord is cut, that memory of past births or previous lives is also cut. As soon as the umbilical cord is cut, it is all forgotten. Just as if we cut the telephone line. But that doesn’t mean that we did not experience it, although we might have forgotten it. It doesn’t mean that we were not in the suffering condition.

Actually, suffering means forgetfulness. That’s what suffering is. Some people say, “I can’t remember going through that.” That’s what suffering is. Suffering means to forget one’s real life and be engaged in something false. Now we are engaged in this developed body, and we identify with this body. But I’m not actually this body. I’m the soul within this body, and the soul has its spiritual life, which has nothing to do with this eating and sleeping... but I’m forgetting this and living in forgetfulness. Just like if a man... there are stories, like the Prince and the Pauper. The prince became the pauper, and the pauper became the prince. Or sometimes the prince forgets who he is and only after sometime he is awakened. We cannot understand our suffering until we are actually are awakened to our real spiritual life, just as we cannot understand we are sleeping until we are awakened. Only then we can distinguish that “I was sleeping, and now I’m awake.” Although I remember the dream, it does not cause me any difficulty or fear. When I am sleeping and completely forgetful of my wakeful condition, the dream causes me all kinds of fear and anxiety. On awakening, that fear and anxiety evaporate. Although the memory of the dream may remain, there is no effect. It cannot affect me. This is the situation we are in from the moment we are conceived within the womb of the mother.

The point is: by hearing these descriptions, a person may become become determined or serious in this life to become Krishna conscious, purify his existence, and go back to Godhead.

This should be learned in school. This should be a school subject, but no one discusses. The subject is not discussed. But by ignorance, by ignoring the subject and focusing instead on trivial sense enjoyable engagement, we forget, ignore, and avoid the actual truth.