SB 11.22.41
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Please note: The synonyms, translation and purport of this verse were composed by disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda
TEXT 41
- svapnaṁ manorathaṁ cetthaṁ
- prāktanaṁ na smaraty asau
- tatra pūrvam ivātmānam
- apūrvam cānupaśyati
SYNONYMS
svapnam — a dream; manaḥ-ratham — a daydream; ca — and; ittham — thus; prāktanam — previous; na smarati — does not remember; asau — he; tatra — in that (present body); pūrvam — the previous; iva — as if; ātmānam — himself; apūrvam — having no past; ca — and; anupaśyati — he views.
Translation and purport composed by disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda
TRANSLATION
Just as a person experiencing a dream or daydream does not remember his previous dreams or daydreams, a person situated in his present body, although having existed prior to it, thinks that he has only recently come into being.
PURPORT
The objection may be raised that sometimes when experiencing a dream one actually remembers a previous dream. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura replies that by the mystic power of jāti-smara one can remember one's previous body, and as is well known, "The exception establishes the rule." Normally, conditioned souls do not perceive their past existence; they think, "I am six years old" or "I am thirty years old," and "previous to this birth I did not exist." In such material ignorance one cannot understand the actual situation of the soul.