FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.29.66

मन एव मनुष्यस्य पूर्वरूपाणि शंसति । भविष्यतश्च भद्रं ते तथैव न भविष्यत: ॥ ६६ ॥
mana eva manuṣyasya
[mana eva manushyasya]
pūrva-rūpāṇi śaṁsati
[poorva-roopaani shamsati]
bhaviṣyataś ca bhadraṁ te
[bhavishyatash cha bhadram te]
tathaiva na bhaviṣyataḥ
[tathaiva na bhavishyatah]
manaḥ — the mind eva — certainly manuṣyasya — of a man pūrva — past rūpāṇi — forms śaṁsati — indicates bhaviṣyataḥ — of one who will take birth ca — also bhadram — good fortune te — unto you tathā — thus eva — certainly na — not bhaviṣyataḥ — of one who will take birth.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
mana eva manuṣyasya
manaḥ
the mind
eva
certainly
manuṣyasya
of a man
pūrva-rūpāṇi śaṁsati
pūrva
past
rūpāṇi
forms
śaṁsati
indicates
bhaviṣyataś ca bhadraṁ te
bhaviṣyataḥ
of one who will take birth
ca
also
bhadram
good fortune
te
unto you
tathaiva na bhaviṣyataḥ
tathā
thus
eva
certainly
na
not
bhaviṣyataḥ
of one who will take birth.
O King, all good fortune unto you! The mind is the cause of the living entity’s attaining a certain type of body in accordance with his association with material nature. According to one’s mental composition, one can understand what the living entity was in his past life as well as what kind of body he will have in the future. Thus the mind indicates the past and future bodies.

The mind is the index of information about one’s past and future lives. If a man is a devotee of the Lord, he cultivated devotional service in his previous life. Similarly, if one’s mind is criminal, he was criminal in his last life. In the same way, according to the mind, we can understand what will happen in a future life. In Bhagavad-gītā (14.18) it is said:

ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ

“Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds.”

If a person is in the mode of goodness, his mental activities will promote him to a higher planetary system. Similarly, if he has a low mentality, his future life will be most abominable. The lives of the living entity, in both the past and the future, are indicated by the mental condition. Nārada Muni is herein offering the King blessings of all good fortune so that the King will not desire anything or make plans for sense gratification. The King was engaged in fruitive ritualistic ceremonies because he hoped to get a better life in the future. Nārada Muni desired him to give up all mental concoctions. As explained before, all bodies in heavenly planets and hellish planets arise from mental concoctions, and the sufferings and enjoyments of material life are simply on the mental platform. They take place on the chariot of the mind ( mano-ratha ). It is therefore said:

yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā mano-rathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ

“One who has unflinching devotion for the Personality of Godhead has all the good qualities of the demigods. But one who is not a devotee of the Lord has only material qualifications, that are of little value. This is because he is hovering on the mental plane and is certain to be attracted by the glaring material energy.” ( Bhāg. 5.18.12 )

Unless one becomes a devotee of the Lord, or becomes fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, he will certainly hover on the mental platform and be promoted and degraded in different types of bodies. All qualities that are considered good according to the material estimation actually have no value because these so-called good qualities will not save a person from the cycle of birth and death. The conclusion is that one should be without mental desire. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam: one should be fully free from material desires, philosophical speculation and fruitive activity. The best course for a human being is to favorably accept the transcendental devotional service of the Lord. That is the highest perfection of human life.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Good fortune to you! The mind of man indicates his past forms and his future forms and indicates as well whether he will not take another birth at all. The present mental states inform us of the past and future inauspicious and auspicious bodies of the jīva. The mind alone indicates the previous bodies of man by his display of ferocity, peacefulness, miserliness and generosity. The present mind indicates “He was this type of person previously.” It also indicates what his future body will be. By seeing his knowledge and renunciation in the present body, one understands that he had control of his senses and mind in a previous body and that he will not be born in the future (na bhaviṣyataḥ). He will be liberated. The mind indicates all this. The same mind which always remains in the subtle body does this. The mind is not produced again and again with each body. Good fortune to you! This means “Understand this!” It is a blessing out of Nārada’s mercy.
Related verses
The mind, per its material association, gets you a certain body; from mental composition you can know past and future lives. The mind is the index of past and future; pay attention to what it persistently shows.
Reflection Questions
  • What does my mind persistently show me, and what does that index say?
  • Where could I make my mind's index more devotional to influence future indexing?
📝 My note

← Read full Chapter 29