Reincarnation and Beyond

Mike Robinson, an interviewer for London Broadcasting Company, inquires
about the science of the soul: Have we been here before? Will we be back
again, or... ? Srila Prabhupdda calls upon the age-old Vedic literatures for
some striking answers.

Mike Robinson: Can you tell me what you believe— what the philosophy
of the Hare Krsna movement is?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Krsna consciousness is not a question of belief;
it is a science. The first step is to know the difference between a living
body and a dead body. What is the difference? The difference is that
when someone dies, the spirit soul, or the living force, leaves the body.
And therefore the body is called ‘‘dead.’’ So, there are two things: one,
this body; and the other, the living force within the body. We speak of
the living force within the body. That is the difference between the
science of Krsna consciousness, which is spiritual, and ordinary material
science. As such, in the beginning it is very, very difficult for an ordinary
man to appreciate our movement. One must first understand that he is a
soul, or something other than his body.

Mike Robinson: And when will we understand that?

Srila Prabhupada: You can understand at any moment, but it requires a
little intelligence. For example, as a child grows, he becomes a boy, the
boy becomes a young man, the young man becomes an adult, and the
adult becomes an old man. Throughout all this time, although his body is
changing from a child to an old man, he still feels himself to be the same
person, with the same identity. Just see: the body is changing, but the oc-
cupier of the body, the soul, is remaining the same. So we should
logically conclude that when our present body dies, we get another body.
This is called transmigration of the soul.

Mike Robinson: So when people die it is just the physical body that dies?
Srila Prabhupada: Yes. That is explained very elaborately in the

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