发表于2025年6月24日作者管理员

Germs: Why Do They Do It?

2023-11-04 heyumapati Bhagavad Gita, environment, Hare Krishna

淘气的奎师那拿着一块糖

Have you ever wondered what motivates a germ to do the things it does? To make us sick? To digest our food for us? To turn milk into yogurt?
你有没有想过是什么让细菌去做它所做的事情？让我们⽣病？来消化我们的⻝物？把⽜奶变成酸奶？

No? Well neither had I till last week when I found all kinds of interesting things about germs on the internet.
没有吗？要不是我上周在⽹络上看到关于细菌的知识，我还不知道这些有趣的事。

Did you know that you have nine trillion of them in your body? No joke. The germs outnumber your body’s own cells.
你知道你体内有 9 万亿的细菌吗？不是开玩笑。细菌的数量超过了你⾝体的细胞。

But don’t tremble and get weak in the knees when you read that your desktop holds more germs than your toilet seat. Some writer just wanted to make you jump. Most of the germs in your body help you survive. Only a small few make you sick.
但是，当你读到你的桌⾯上的细菌⽐马桶座圈上的还多时，不要颤抖，也不要膝盖发软。有的作家就是想博⼈眼球。你体内的⼤多数细菌都能帮助你⽣存。只有⼀⼩部分会让你⽣病。

Make you sick? Just the opposite. Your germs digest your food for you and extract the vitamins and other nutrients. And not only for us humans but for all kinds of species—this monkey or that elephant, this bee or that wasp. And also for the hummingbirds and ostriches and for the grass and the redwood trees and the ground and the ocean.
让你⽣病了吗？恰恰相反。你的细菌消化你的⾷物，并提取维⽣素和其他营养素。这不仅适⽤于我们⼈类，也适⽤于所有物种——猴⼦或⼤象，蜜蜂或黄蜂。还有蜂鸟、鸵鸟、青草、红⽊、⼤地和海洋。

Everywhere you look. Everything you see. Vast hordes of germs, unseen by human eyes, help life on earth survive.
随处可见。你看到的⼀切。⼤量⾁眼看不到的细菌帮助地球上的⽣命⽣存。

But I wondered, Where does Lord Krishna come into the picture? In the consciousness of each germ maybe?
但是我很好奇，跟奎师那有什么关系？可能跟所有细菌的知觉有关系？

So I kept on reading. And wondering about consciousness: Does a little germ know it does acts of kindness for others?
于是我继续往下读。还有关于知觉的疑惑：⼀个⼩⼩的细菌知道它在为别⼈做好事吗？

Probably not. The mosquito doesn’t know she hurts you when she bites you. So the germ probably doesn’t know it helps you. The Srimad Bhagavatam explains:
可能不会。蚊⼦咬你的时候并不知道她伤害了你。所以细菌可能不知道它对你有帮助。《圣典博伽⽡谭》解释道：

“By the arrangement of the Supreme Lord, low-grade living beings like bugs and mosquitoes suck the blood of human beings and other animals. Such insignificant creatures are unaware that their bites are painful to the human being. (5.16.17)
“在⾄尊主的安排下，⾍⼦和蚊⼦等低等⽣物吸⼈类和其它动物的⾎液。这
些微⼩的⽣物体并不知道⾃⼰的啃咬给⼈类造成痛苦。( 5.26.17)”

Then why does the the germ perform its welfare work?
那为什么细菌要做它的福利⼯作呢？

For the same reason that the mosquito bites you. It wants to survive.
和蚊⼦咬你的原因⼀样。它想要⽣存。

A welfare worker? Nope. The same germ who caresses you in your liver may attack you with deadly weapons if it gets into your bloodstream.
福利⼯作者？不是的。爱抚你肝脏的细菌⼀旦进⼊你的⾎液，它就会⽤致命的武器攻击你。

Yep. Just another bum looking for a free lunch and a spare bed. But then, if it can look, it must have consciousness. I have seen in several places on the internet that the germ swims toward food but turns away away from danger.
没错，只是另⼀个寻找免费午餐和空闲床位的流浪汉。但是，如果细菌会看，那它就⼀定有知觉。我在⽹上的⼏个地⽅都看到，细菌会游向⾷物但会避开危险。

Lord Krishna sums it up:
主奎师那总结道：

“O scion of Bharata, O conqueror of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, bewildered by dualities arisen from desire and hate. (Bhagavad-Gita 7.27)
巴茹阿塔的后裔啊，敌⼈的征服者啊，⼀切⽣物都⽣⽽受蒙蔽，都被由欲望和憎恨所产⽣的⼆元性所迷惑。（《博伽梵歌》7.27 ）

That means the germ has perception. And perception means consciousness. And consciousness means the soul.
这说明细菌有感知能⼒，感知意味着知觉，知觉意味着灵魂。

Srila Prabhupada explains:
施瑞拉·帕布帕德解释道：

“Similarly, every one of us, in the 8,400,000 species of life—we have got different bodies. But the soul is there. The soul, the individual soul, is within the elephant, and the individual soul is within the [bacterium].
[Bacterium] you cannot find with your open eyes. You have to see with a microscope. It has got the same soul. As elephant has got the same soul, similarly, the [bacterium] has also got the same soul. (lecture March 10, 1967 San Francisco)
“同样的，我们每个⼈，在 8,400,000 种⽣命中，都有不同的⾝体。但灵魂就在那⾥。那个灵魂，个体灵魂，在⼤象的⾝体⾥，也在[细菌]的体内。我们⽤⾁眼是看不见的，你得⽤显微镜才能看到。它有着相同的灵魂。就像⼤象有着同样的灵魂⼀样，[细菌]也有着相同的灵魂。（1967 年 3 ⽉ 10 ⽇，旧⾦⼭讲座）

So every germ is an individual, then, with its own desires.
所以每个细菌都是独⽴的个体，都有⾃⼰的欲望。

But then how can nine trillion individuals, each one satisfying its own desires, serve one human body?
但这 9 万亿个独⽴个体，都要满⾜⾃⼰的愿望，那怎么能为⼀个⼈类的躯体服务呢？

And nine trillion germs in every one of the eight billion human bodies on this earth.
在地球上有 80 亿⼈，每个⼈的⾝体⾥都有 9 万亿的细菌。

And countless millions in every mammal, in every bird, fish, insect, tree, flower, and blade of grass and in the ground and in the air. And each one in its right place, doing its job.
在每⼀种哺乳动物中，在每⼀种鸟、鱼、昆⾍、树、花和草叶中，在地⾯和空⽓中，都有⽆数的细菌，每个细菌都各司其职。

How does it happen?
这是怎么发⽣的呢？

Goddess Maya, the material energy, manages the whole thing. She tricks all those greedy little germs into doing their welfare work.
玛雅⼥神，物质能量，掌管着⼀切。她蒙蔽那些贪婪的⼩细菌做他们的福利⼯作。

Me, I can’t even manage a little group. I have to let someone smarter do it.
⽽我，甚⾄连⼀个⼩团体都管理不好，我不得不让更聪明的⼈去做它。

What, then, is the scope of Maya’s intelligence? How can I measure it? Can a frog in a well measure the sky?
那么，玛雅到底多有智慧？我怎么测量它呢？井底之蛙能测量天空吗？

Here’s the secret: Mother Maya, the holder of cosmic intelligence, powerful enough to create and dissolve a universe, just acts as the shadow of someone more intelligent than she is. Believe it or not.
秘密在这⾥：玛雅母亲，是宇宙智慧的掌控者，她的能量⾜以创造和消解⼀个宇宙，但是还有⼀个更聪明的⼈，⽽不管你是否相信，玛雅只是作为这个⼈的影⼦⽽已。

Krishna explains:
奎师那解释说：

“This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. (Bhagavad-Gita 9.10)
“琨缇之⼦啊，这物质⾃然是我的能量之⼀，在我的指挥下运作，产⽣了所有动和不动的⼀切，在物质⾃然的控制之下，这展⽰再三创造，再三毁灭。（《博伽梵歌》9.10）”

And yet this same Krishna who directs the entire material energy also directs the wandering of each tiny germ:
然⽽这位指挥⼀切物质能量的奎师那，也在指挥每个微⼩的细菌。

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead also remains within the heart of the living entity, regardless of whether the living entity is a man, animal, tree, germ, or microbe. The Lord resides in everyone’s heart, and because all living entities who come to this material world do so in order to fulfill their desire for sense enjoyment, the Lord directs the living entities to enjoy their senses. (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.24.64)
“⾄尊⼈格⾸神处在⽣物体的⼼中，⽆论那⽣物体是⼈、动物、树⽊、细菌还是微⽣物。主居住在每个⽣物体的⼼中，由于众⽣来到这个物质世界就是为了满⾜他们感官享乐的欲望，主便指导他们享受他们的感官。（《圣典博伽⽡谭》4.24.64）

So where does Krishna come into the picture? He paints the whole thing.
这个情况像⼀个宏伟的画卷，奎师那跟这张画有什么关系呢？奎师那是画家。

(I love this knowledge. You too?)
（我爱这个知识，你呢？）

⁓Umapati Swami, November 4, 2023
⁓乌玛帕提·斯⽡⽶, 2023.11.4

Eternally touching my head to the floor at the lotus feet of my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, for showing me all this.
永恒地顶拜我的灵性导师施瑞拉·帕布帕德的莲花足，他向我展示了这一切。

See also my post “Who Carved the Grand Canyon?”

The opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any organization or any other person.
（注：本文表达的观点仅为我个人的观点，并不一定反映任何组织或者任何人的意见。）

Photo top: Naughty Krishna holding a piece of candy (Jishnu Das)

Write to me: hoswami@yahoo.com

Srila Prabhupada

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is the teacher who brought Krishna Consciousness from India to the West and then to the rest of the world. He is the founder of the worldwide Hare Krishna Movement as well as the author and compiler of many works of Vedic knowledge. He left this world in 1977.

Umapati Swami

One of the first American devotees of the Hare Krishna Movement, he became Srila Prabhupada’s disciple in 1966. Since then, he has preached Krishna Consciousness in many countries and is the author of “My Days with Prabhupada,” available from Amazon. Now 86 years old, he has started this blog to share what he has learned.