44 Easy Journey to Other Planets

informs us that within the material world there are living beings whose duration of life covers 4,300,000 X 1,000 X 2 X 30 X 12 X 100 solar years. We accept the Bhagavad-gitd as authority because this book of knowledge was so accepted by India's great sages like Sarikaracarya, Sri Ramanujacarya, Sri Madhvacarya and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The Bhagavad-gitd indicates that in the material world all component forms are subject to decay and death, regardless of their duration of life.

Therefore all material shapes are subject to the law of change, although potentially the material energy is conserved. Potentially, everything is eternal, but in the material world matter takes shape, remains for some time, develops into maturity, grows old, begins to dwindle and at last disappears again. This is the case with all material objects. The materialist's suggestion that beyond the material sky there is "some other form" which is beyond the boundary of visibility and which is strange and inconceivable is but a faint indication of the spiritual sky. However, the basic principle of spirit is much closer-for it functions within all living beings. When that spiritual principle is out of the material body, then the material body has no life. Within the body of a child, for instance, the spiritual principleis present, and therefore changes take place in the body and it develops. But if the spirit leaves the body, the development stops. This law is applicable to every material object. Matter transforms from one shape to another whenit is in contact with spirit. Without spiritthere is notransformation. The entire universe develops in that way. It emanates from the energy of the Transcendence because of the spiritual force which is His, and it develops into gigantic forms like the sun, moon, earth, etc. There are fourteen divisions of planetary systems, and although they are all different in dimension and quality, the same principle of development holds true for all. The spiritual force is the creator, and by this spiritual principle only, transformation, transition and development take place.

Life is definitely not generated simply by a material reaction like a chemical combination, as many foolish men claim. Material interaction is set in motion by a superior being who creates a favorable circumstance to accommodate the spiritual living force. The superior energy handles matter in an appropriate way-as determined by the free will of the spiritual being. For example, building materials do not automatically "react" and suddenly assume the shape of a residential house. The living spiritual being handles matter appropriately by his free will and thus constructs his house. Similarly, matter is the ingredient only, but the spirit is the creator. Only a man with a poor fund of knowledge avoids this conclusion. The creator may remain unseen in the background, but that does not mean that there is no creator. One should not be illusioned simply by the gigantic form of the material universe. Rather, one should learn to discern the existence of supreme intelligence behind all these material manifestations. The Supreme Being, who is the supreme intelligence, is the ultimate creator, the