Learning the Science of the Soul
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dition of the mind at the time of death, the minute spirit soul enters into the womb of a particular mother through the semen of a father, and then the soul develops a particular type of body given by the mother. It may be a human being, it may be a cat, a dog, or anything.
Mike Robinson:  Are you saying that we were something else before this life?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Yes.
Mike Robinson:  And we keep coming back as something else the next time?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Yes, because you are eternal. According to your work, you are simply changing bodies. Therefore, you should want to know how to stop this business, how you can remain in your original, spiritual body. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Mike Robinson:  I see. So if I become Kṛṣṇa conscious, I wouldn't risk coming back as a dog?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  No. [ To a devotee: ] Find this verse:  janma karma ca me divyam . . .
Disciple:
janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvataḥ tyaktvā deham punar janma naiti mām eti so 'rjuna
“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” [Bg. 4.9]
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  God is saying, “Anyone who understands Me is free from birth and death.” But one cannot understand God by materialistic speculation. That is not possible. One must first come to the spiritual platform. Then he gets the intelligence required to understand God. And when he understands God, he does not get any more material bodies. He goes back home, back to Godhead. He lives eternally; no more change of body.
Mike Robinson:  I see. Now, you've read twice from your scriptures. Where do these scriptures come from? Can you briefly explain that?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Our scriptures are coming from Vedic literature, which has existed from the beginning of creation. Whenever there is some new material creation—like this microphone, for instance—there is also some literature explaining how to deal with it. Isn't that so?