Notes] The Advent of Lord Krsna: Introduction 101
body. For example, when one is awake one does business and talks with
customers, and similarly in dreams one meets various customers, talks
about business and gives quotations. Madhvacarya says, therefore, that
dreams take place according to what one sees, hears and remembers.
When one reawakens, of course, one forgets the body of the dream. This
forgetfulness is called apasmrti. Thus we are changing bodies because we
are sometimes dreaming, sometimes awake and sometimes forgetful.
Forgetfulness of our previously created body is called death, and our
work in the present body is called life. After death, one cannot remember
the activities of one’s previous body, whether imaginary or factual.

The agitated mind is compared to agitated water reflecting the sun and
the moon. Actually the sun and moon reflected on the water do not exist
there; nonetheless, they are reflected according to the movements of the
water. Similarly, when our minds are agitated, we wander in different
material atmospheres and receive different types of bodies. This is de-
scribed in Bhagavad-gité as guna-sanga. Karanam guna-sango ‘sya.
Madhvacarya says, gundnubaddhah san. And Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
says, brahmanda bhramite kona bhaégyavan jiva (Cc. Madhya 19.151).
The living entity rotates up and down throughout the universe, some-
times in the upper planetary system, sometimes in the middle and lower
planetary systems, sometimes as a man, sometimes a god, a dog, a tree
and so on. This is all due to the agitation of the mind. The mind
must therefore be steadily fixed. As it is said, sa vai manah krsna-
padaravindayoh. One should fix one’s mind at the lotus feet of Krsna,
and then one will become free from agitation. This is the instruction of
the Garuda Purana, and in the Naradiya Purana the same process is de-
scribed. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, yanti deva-vrata devan. The agi-
tated mind goes to different planetary systems because it is attached to
different kinds of demigods, but one does not go to the abode of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead by worshiping the demigods, for this is
not supported by any Vedic literature. Man is the architect of his own
fortune. In this human life one has the facility with which to understand
one’s real situation, and one can decide whether to wander around the
universe forever or return home, back to Godhead. This is also con-
firmed in Bhagavad-gita (aprépya mam nivartante mrtyu-samsdra-
vartmani).
