SB 4.29.63

SB 4.29.63

Devanagari

यथानुमीयते चित्तमुभयैरिन्द्रियेहितै: । एवं प्राग्देहजं कर्म लक्ष्यते चित्तवृत्तिभि: ॥ ६३ ॥

Verse text

yathānumīyate cittam ubhayair indriyehitaiḥ evaṁ prāg-dehajaṁ karma lakṣyate citta-vṛttibhiḥ

Synonyms

yathā as ; anumīyate can be imagined ; cittam one’s consciousness or mental condition ; ubhayaiḥ both ; indriya of the senses ; īhitaiḥ by the activities ; evam similarly ; prāk previous ; dehajam performed by the body ; karma activities ; lakṣyate can be perceived ; citta of consciousness ; vṛttibhiḥ by the occupations .

Translation

One can understand the mental or conscious position of a living entity by the activities of two kinds of senses — the knowledge-acquiring senses and the executive senses. Similarly, by the mental condition or consciousness of a person, one can understand his position in the previous life.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Just as one can infer the citta by the knowledge senses and action senses, one can infer the actions in the previous gross body by the present functioning of citta. This answers the question “Since action disappear the moment it is performed, how can one enjoy its results in the next life?” One can infer the citta by the knowledge senses or action senses, which are not operating at the same time. Knowledge does not arise from simultaneous action of the different senses. Akṣapāda says yugapaj jṣānānutpattir manaso liṅgam: the quality of the mind is that knowledge does not arise simultaneously from different senses. Thus, when the mind unites with a particular sense, there is knowledge for the sense object of that particular sense. Similarly, by the present functions of citta, which do not arise simultaneously, the actions generated from previous bodies can be inferred. When the operation of citta unites with a certain action, the citta then appears to be auspicious or inauspicious, depending on the particular action. Though an action disappears the moment it is performed, its impression remains in the citta. Thus the conclusion has been shown.

Purport

There is an English proverb that says, “The face is the index of the mind.” If one is angry, his anger is immediately expressed in his face. Similarly, other mental states are reflected by the actions of the gross body. In other words, the activities of the gross body are reactions of the mental condition. The mind’s activities are thinking, feeling and willing. The willing portion of the mind is manifest by the activities of the body. The conclusion is that by the activities of the body and senses, we can understand the condition of the mind. The condition of the mind is affected by past activities in the past body. When the mind is joined with a particular sense, it immediately becomes manifest in a certain way. For instance, when there is anger in the mind, the tongue vibrates so many maledictions. Similarly, when the mind’s anger is expressed through the hand, there is fighting. When it is expressed through the leg, there is kicking. There are so many ways in which the subtle activities of the mind are expressed through the various senses. The mind of a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness also acts in a similar way. The tongue chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, the mahā-mantra, the hands are raised in ecstasy, and the legs dance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. These symptoms are technically called aṣṭa-sāttvika-vikāra. Sāttvika-vikāra is transformation of the mental condition in goodness or sometimes transcendental ecstasy.