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| 8.4 MILLION SPECIES OF LIFE |
The Vedic literature records that there are 8,400,000 species of life in this universe. Each species has its own habitat, style of dress and language. The Vedas describe the bodily features of all the species and their behavior. On examination it is found that their descriptions tally with those found in modern-day biology books. In the Vedas we also find descriptions of the nature and behavior of the 8.4 million species that inhabit the world, including their diet and habitat. For example, in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.9) it is stated that different types of life eat different types of food according to their bodily features.
The Soul and the Material Body – The soul is not part of an 8.4 million species of life, but is a spiritual energy with unlimited power, knowledge and bliss-giving qualities.
The souls thus migrate into bodies and out of bodies, and the living entity thus goes on wandering through hundreds of thousands of species for millions of lifetimes. The variety of species of life in plants and animals is described in the following verse:
vedānta-nyāya-vidhiḥ syāt tataḥ karmabandhūni jātibhūtāni
pariṇāmiṣatvanta-bhedabrahma-viśeṣabhāgabhūtāni
The Vedanta-nyaya-vidhi (GB 3.24; also in the Gītā [2.22]) says that there are 8,400,000 types of bodies to be adopted in various species. As a soul passes from one species to another, he sheds his old bodies and acquires new ones.
Understanding the jīva’s transmigration through different species of life and understanding the mechanism of rebirth require a fair understanding of the Vedic cosmological model. The Vedic cosmology is based on the Vedas which consist of three main divisions known as Ṛks, Sāmans and Yajus. The Ṛks are mantras, or hymns of praise; Sāmans are melodies or melodic formulas used in rituals and Yajus are made up of incantations.
According to the Vedas, there are 8.4 million species of life and the conditioned soul is continuously passing through the different species according to his karma, under divine supervision.
If one is attached to sense enjoyment, he may take birth as a worm, an insect, an animal or even as a human being who leads a life of indulgence. If one commits sinful activities, he gets the birth of a demon (danav) or preta (ghost). If one commits only subtle sins, he gets the birth of an asura (demon). If one indulges in sensual pleasures with attachment, but without any sinful activities, he gets the birth of a divinity.
There are eight million species of life and all are dominated by lust (kāma), hatred (dveṣa) and delusion (moha), and therefore they are called earthly desires. One who is free from these three qualities gets liberation from bondage.
The variety of species of life is stated to be 8.4 million. Of these, the number of demigods (devas) is said to be thirty-three crores. Their luster is full, and their bodies are perfect. They are always engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord.
The number of species on other heavenly planets is stated to be thirty-three crores. The life span there is about a thousand years, and the pleasures there are not as fully satisfying as that of Svarga-loka. A person who lives on these heavenly planets for a long time can become eligible to take birth on the planet known as Sudarśana, which is full of jewels and surrounded by millions of gardens.
The inhabitants of this planet have six legs, and their bodies are straight like conchshells. They are engaged in the service of the Lord day and night, and they are very expert in some transcendental subject.
3.1.3 Upgrading to Deva Status
Eating non-vegetarian food or meat is the root cause for demoniac life (bhūtaja janma). The demoniac form is extremely ugly and deformed. Devils have upturned noses, pointed fangs, blue-black bodies and etc. They are very strong and powerful like cats and dogs. Besides eating everything available on the earth, they indulge in the drinking of blood of various animals.
The Supreme Lord Krishna states that all bodies are perishable. He also states that the spirit soul has no beginning or end. With this vision of the material existence in mind, it can be concluded that no being can ultimately escape the clutches of death, whatever his/her material wealth and opulence might be. Death is waiting for everyone, no matter how great one is.
However all the bodies within the ambit of the 8.4 milion species, including that of the demigods, are subject to birth and death. All such bodies have a limited period of life, after which one has to give it up to assume a new body. This process of giving up one type of body and assuming a new one is called death. It is pertinent to note that it is the body that dies and not the spirit soul, who is occupying the body. In other words it is only an old worn out garment that dies, while the spirit soul remains eternally young and fresh.
The 8.4 million species of life
How to live in perpetual happiness?
No fear even at the time of death.
How to achieve this state?
The sages who were purified by knowledge of the Self declare that transcendental knowledge is the way to live in perpetual happiness. This transcendental knowledge is based on the Ultimate Reality–the Supreme Spirit, which is also called Brahman or Paramatma. This knowledge can be attained through the grace of a pure devotee of God and by performing one's prescribed duties. By such actions, one gradually becomes free from material desires and attains peace and happiness.
On the other hand, if one abandons pious deeds and devotes himself to sense gratification, he will only increase his illusion and bondage. Moreover, wealth earned without work is useless. As it says in Bhagavad-gita.
When we speak of death, we mean the death of the body. Death is a phenomenon through which we have to undergo once in our life times. It is the departure of the soul from the body. At death, the principle soul leaves the body and acquires a new one. The departed soul has no knowledge of what is happening about in the world, for he has become oblivious of his former existence. On leaving the old body, he puts on a new one. If he was a demigod, he will get an appropriate body; if he was human, he will get another human body. The departed soul has no knowledge of where he is being taken and to what kind of family he will be born as a member. Nor does he know what kind of environment he will be placed in. The demigods know that after leaving one body they will take another body, but they do not know which body they will deserve next.
The traveling cycle of 8.4 million species means the following: a living being is born from his mother’s womb, and then after some years his body gets destroyed, he enters his father’s semen again, gets born again, and after some years he once more dies and enters a mother’s womb again. Thus, he goes on wandering within the cycle of 8.4 million species, from which he never gets liberated.
The only way to break this cycle is to attain liberation (mukti).
Liberation (mukti) means putting a stop to the journey within the cycle of 8.4 million species. When one breaks this cycle, one is liberated from repeated birth and death, and is transferred to the spiritual sky, where he gets an eternal body. This body that he gets in the spiritual world is free from birth and death, because it is made of sat (eternity), cit (knowledge) and ananda (bliss). Once we reach the spiritual realm, there is no chance of our falling back into the miserable cycle of birth and death.
The journey within the cycle of species takes place when ignorance clouds our intellect, thus causing us to forget our true selves and begin identifying with the non-self — body, organs, happiness, sorrows, etc. This results in repeated births which eventually lead us to old age and death. Buddha has shown us various ways in which we can progress from ignorance to knowledge, thereby putting an end to this journey.
