The Supreme Person's Form is Blissful
Sun, 08/31/2008 - 18:40 — admin
TEACHER: So it's not spirit that is vague and ephemeral, but merely your understanding of spirit. It's due to this sort of vague, ephemeral understanding (or misunderstanding, should we say) that so many people have rejected God's personal nature.
The next point is that the form of the Supreme Person is full of bliss (ananda). Again, we can note a remarkable difference between God's body and the living entities' bodies. The bodies of the conditioned living entities are sometimes blissful and sometimes full of misery. Generally, we cannot even sit or lie still for a few moments without experiencing some type of bodily discomfort. The back aches, the buttocks hurt, the bones become stiff, the feet or legs go to sleep, and so forth. Consequently, we are always shifting positions to try to get some relief from the miseries our bodies give us. Even at night while sleeping, we toss and turn because our bodies are experiencing minor aches and pains. And what to speak of trivial discomforts such as these, our bodies are also subjected to headaches, stomach aches, indigestion, and also to major diseases like cancer, leukemia, heart attack, etc.
I'm not trying to paint a pessimistic picture wherein we all appear to be in a state of constant torment, but rather am establishing the fact that by nature our bodies are not blissful.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead's transcendental body doesn't suffer the miseries that our bodies do; consequently, His pleasure potential is not limited as is the pleasure potential of the living entities. His transcendental body is never a source of displeasure or even mixed pleasure and displeasure as the bodies of the living beings are. This is because His form is not affected by diseases, old age, or even minor aches and pains.13
Do you have any questions about what I've just said? Or any criticism?
MICHAEL: No questions, and no criticism. Also, at this point, no comments, either. I'm just taking in what you are saying and weighing it in my mind.
THREE SIMPLE QUESTIONSThe Supreme Person's Form is Blissful
Let me ask you a few simple questions: Do you exist at this moment? Did you exist five years ago? Are you your body? Most people would answer “yes” to all three questions. But if you identify your body as yourself, and simultaneously accept that you exist now and also existed five years ago, then you have a problem: The body you had five years ago does not exist today. There is a dynamic turnover of atoms and molecules which make up your body. There isn’t a single particle of matter—not one atom—present in your body today that was present five years ago. The body you have today is not the same body you had five years ago. It’s not that the body you had still exists but has now changed somewhat. No. The body you had is gone. That collection of atoms appearing as flesh, bone, blood, hair, and so on no longer exists. Yet you still exist.
Science of Identity Foundation – Siddhaswarupananda
TEACHER: So it's not spirit that is vague and ephemeral, but merely your understanding of spirit. It's due to this sort of vague, ephemeral understanding (or misunderstanding, should we say) that so many people have rejected God's personal nature.
The next point is that the form of the Supreme Person is full of bliss (ananda). Again, we can note a remarkable difference between God's body and the living entities' bodies. The bodies of the conditioned living entities are sometimes blissful and sometimes full of misery. Generally, we cannot even sit or lie still for a few moments without experiencing some type of bodily discomfort. The back aches, the buttocks hurt, the bones become stiff, the feet or legs go to sleep, and so forth. Consequently, we are always shifting positions to try to get some relief from the miseries our bodies give us. Even at night while sleeping, we toss and turn because our bodies are experiencing minor aches and pains. And what to speak of trivial discomforts such as these, our bodies are also subjected to headaches, stomach aches, indigestion, and also to major diseases like cancer, leukemia, heart attack, etc.
I'm not trying to paint a pessimistic picture wherein we all appear to be in a state of constant torment, but rather am establishing the fact that by nature our bodies are not blissful.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead's transcendental body doesn't suffer the miseries that our bodies do; consequently, His pleasure potential is not limited as is the pleasure potential of the living entities. His transcendental body is never a source of displeasure or even mixed pleasure and displeasure as the bodies of the living beings are. This is because His form is not affected by diseases, old age, or even minor aches and pains.13
Do you have any questions about what I've just said? Or any criticism?
MICHAEL: No questions, and no criticism. Also, at this point, no comments, either. I'm just taking in what you are saying and weighing it in my mind.