Text 17] Fundamental Principles of Material Nature 1081
yatah—from which; bhayam—fear; ahankara-vimiidhasya—deluded by false
ego; kartuh—of the individual soul; prakrtim—material nature; tyusah—
having contacted.

TRANSLATION

The influence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is felt in the time
factor, which causes fear of death due to the false ego of the deluded soul
who has contacted material nature.

PURPORT

The living entity’s fear of death is due to his false ego of identifying with
the body. Everyone is afraid of death. Actually there is no death for the
spirit soul, but due to our absorption in the identification of body as self,
the fear of death develops. It is also stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam
(Bhag. 11.2.37), bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syat. Dvitiya means matter,
which is beyond spirit. Matter is the secondary manifestation of spirit, for
matter is produced from spirit. Just as the material elements described
are caused by the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Spirit, the body is also a
product of the spirit soul. Therefore, the material body is called dvitiya,
or “the second.”” One who is absorbed in this second element or second
exhibition of the spirit is afraid of death. When one is fully convinced that
he is not his body, there is no question of fearing death, since the spirit
soul does not die.

If the spirit soul engages in the spiritual activities of devotional service,
he is completely freed from the platform of birth and death. His next
position is complete spiritual freedom from a material body. The fear of
death is the action of the kala, or the time factor, which represents the
influence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, time is
destructive. Whatever is created is subject to destruction and dissolution,
which is the action of time. Time is a representation of the Lord, and it
reminds us also that we must surrender unto the Lord. The Lord speaks
to every conditioned soul as time. He says in Bhagavad-gita that if someone
surrenders unto Him, then there is no longer any problem of birth and
death. We should therefore accept the time factor as the Supreme Person-
ality of Godhead standing before us. This is further explained in the
following verse.

TEXT 17
wermraa fata wats |
SET AA T ATA HS KITA: 112001
