Text 40] The Advent of Lord Krsna: Introduction 65

automatically gets another body according to his fruitive activities,
desires and ambitions. The laws of nature control this sequence, and
therefore as long as the living entity is under the control of the external,
material energy, the process of bodily change takes place automatically,
according to one’s fruitive activities. Vasudeva therefore wanted to im-
press upon Karnsa that if he committed this sinful act of killing a woman,
in his next life he would certainly get a material body still more condi-
tioned to the sufferings of material existence. Thus Vasudeva advised
Karnsa not to commit sinful activities.

One who commits sinful activities because of ignorance, tamo-guna,
obtains a lower body. Kaéranarh guna-sango ’sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu
(Bg. 13.22). There are hundreds and thousands of different species of
life. Why are there higher and lower bodies? One receives these bodies
according to the contaminations of material nature. If in this life one is
contaminated by the mode of ignorance and sinful activities (duskrti), in
the next life, by the laws of nature, one will certainly get a body full of
suffering. The laws of nature are not subservient to the whimsical
desires of the conditioned soul. Our endeavor, therefore, should be to
associate always with sattva-guna and not indulge in rajo-guna or tamo-
guna (rajas-tamo-bhavah). Lusty desires and greed keep the living en-
tity perpetually in ignorance and prevent him from being elevated to the
platform of sattva-guna or suddha-sattva-guna. One is advised to be
situated in Suddha-sattva-guna, devotional service, for thus one is im-
mune to the reactions of the three modes of material nature.

TEXT 40

wife wa Taba Toft |
TM Tasted BW HAM Tativoll

vrajams tisthan padaikena
yathaivaikena gacchati

yatha trna-jalaukaivarn
dehi karma-gatir gatah

vrajan—a person, while traveling on the road; tisthan—while stand-
ing; padd ekena—on one foot; yathai—as; eva—indeed; ekena—by
