Hugging the Soul

2023-11-23 heyumapati  Hare Krishna

淘气的奎师那拿着一块糖

The other day, an old friend came up to me, put his arms around me and started hugging me.
有⼀天，⼀个⽼朋友来找我，他张开双臂拥抱我。

Who can resist a big hug?
谁能抗拒⼀个⼤⼤的拥抱呢？

Not me. I immediately put my arms around him.
我是不能，我⽴刻张开双臂回应他。

Then I began to wonder, What makes a hug so much fun? The pressure of the arms? The warmth of the body? The feeling of someone breathing?
然后我开始思考，是什么让⼀个拥抱如此有趣？是⼿臂的压迫感吗？是⾝体的温暖吗？还是⼈呼吸的感觉？

Maybe the feeling of the skin. I touched his face. Nope. Not that either.
也许是肌肤的感觉，我摸了摸他的脸。不。也不是。

Then I remembered what Srila Prabhupada told us many years ago. The pleasure comes from the soul. When we hug someone, we hug a soul, though the bodies get in between.
然后我想起了施瑞拉·帕布帕德很多年前告诉我们的。愉悦感来⾃于灵魂。当我们拥抱⼀个⼈的时候。我们拥抱的是灵魂，尽管躯体会阻隔我们。

No soul? No hug. Who wants to hug a corpse?
如果没有灵魂的话呢？那就没有拥抱了，谁愿意拥抱⼀具⼫体呢？

Yeah. I went over and turned on the computer, and up came a photo of Marilyn Monroe, once world famous for her beauty. But what man would want to even look at that body today? The soul has been gone for sixty years. Just the thought makes me shudder.
是啊。我⾛过去打开电脑，出现了⼀张玛丽莲梦露的照⽚，她曾以美貌⽽闻名世界。但现在有哪个男⼈会想要看她的⾝体呢？那个灵魂已经⾛了 60 年了。仅仅是这个想法就让我浑⾝发抖。

A Soul in the Tomato
西红柿中的灵魂

The afternoon was getting on. I walked over to the kitchen where my roommate was cutting some bright red tomatoes. Have you noticed that the internet tells us to buy fruits and vegetables with shiny skins and bright colors?
下午时光。我⾛向厨房，我的室友正在切鲜红的西红柿。你们有没有注意到，⽹络上说我们买蔬果的时候，要挑选表⽪光滑⽽且颜⾊光亮的。

Bright red shows a healthy tomato. And good health means life. And life means the soul. So the internet really wants us to buy our fruits and vegetables while the soul still lives in them.
鲜艳的红表明这个西红柿很健康，⽽好的健康意味着⽣命⼒，⽽⽣命⼒意味着灵魂。所以⽹上实际上的意思是，买蔬菜和⽔果的时候，挑灵魂还在⾥⾯的。

Then I went back to the internet. I saw an article denouncing the falsity of the law of karma. How can karma exist? said the article. Don’t we all know that bad things happen to good people?
我们再回到互联⽹上，我看到⼀篇谴责因果定律（karma 业报）的⽂章。⽂章说，因果定律怎么可能存在呢？我们谁不知道好⼈没好报？

Oh? Want to deny the law of karma, do you? Well it would help if you knew something about it. What does the law of karma actually say?
哦？看来你是想否认因果定律的存在是吗？好吧，其实如果你对此有所了解，那会很有帮助。那么因果定律实际上说的是什么呢？

Stealing an Old Lady’s Purse
偷⽼太太的钱包

The Vedas tell us that karma follows you from one life to the next. So maybe you take care of the sick in this life, but you break your leg.
韦达⽂献告诉我们，业报跟随着我们从⼀个⽣命到另⼀个⽣命。所以也许你这辈⼦照顾病⼈，但是你的腿却受伤了。

Why? Because you stole the purse from an old lady and knocked her down in the life before.
为什么这样？因为你前世偷了⼀个⽼太太的钱包，并且把她打倒在地。

Generally, though, karma brings both good luck and bad. So the creep down the road who steals from the charity collection box inherits a big house from his great aunt Myrtle.
不过⼀般来说，业报既有好的⼀⾯也有不好的⼀⾯。所以沿着马路偷偷摸摸的偷了募捐箱的⼈，从他姨姥姥默特尔那⾥继承了⼀栋⼤房⼦。

Feels good to know how the universe works,doesn’t it?
了解宇宙的运作⽅式感觉很好，不是吗？

The Fragrance of Wet Mud
湿泥的⾹⽓？

Then I found an article about people working to save the mangrove forests. Mangrove trees grow near water, and I remembered gardening when I was younger and digging my hands into wet mud. It feels soothing on my skin, and the fragrance drives away my worries.
然后我发现了⼀篇⼈们努⼒拯救红树林的⽂章。红树林⽣长在⽔边，我记得年轻的时候做园艺，把⼿挖进湿的泥⼟⾥，泥⼟舒缓的感觉和芬芳的⾹⽓驱散了我的烦恼。

In fact, in the Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Krishna says, “I am the original fragrance of the earth.” (7.9)
实际上，在《博伽梵歌》中，主奎师那说“我是⼟地最原初的芳⾹。”（7.9）

Have you ever wondered where the flowers get their sweet smell? I’ll tell you. They get it from the earth. Where else could it come from?
你有没有想过鲜花的⾹⽓是从哪⾥来的？我来告诉你，它们从⼟地中得到。还能从哪⾥来？

A Secret about the Earth
关于地球的秘密

And flowers are the essence of perfume. So the next time you expand your lungs to let in the jasmine incense, give a thought to Krishna, the original fragrance of the earth.
⽽花是⾹⽔的精华，所以下次当你深吸⼀⼜⽓，让茉莉花⾹进⼊你的肺部时，想想奎师那，⼤地原始的芬芳。

Want to know a secret about the earth too? About why we say Mother Earth?
还想要知道⼀个关于地球的秘密吗？为什么我们说“地球母亲”？

The earth also has a soul. The Vedas call her Bhumi Devi (“Goddess Bhumi”). Mother Earth is a great devotee of Krishna. And as one of the mothers of humanity, she provides the grains, vegetables, and fruit that nourish us.
地球也有灵魂，韦达⽂献称她为 Bhumi Devi （Bhumi ⼥神）。“地球母亲”是奎师那的⼀个伟⼤的奉献者，作为⼈类的母亲之⼀，她提供了滋养我们的⾕物、蔬菜和⽔果。

Don’t believe me? I didn’t make it up. Honest. You can read it in the Srimad Bhagavatam.
不相信我说的？这不是我编的。真的。你可以在《圣典博伽⽡谭》中读到这些。

So the next time you see a field of wheat remember that Goddess Bhumi provides this for her children.
所以下次当你看到⼀⽚麦⽥的时候，记得这是 Bhumi ⼥神为她的孩⼦们提供的。

Don’t Step on Your Mother
不要踩踏你的母亲

Many sages and yogis say a prayer to the earth as they get up in the morning. “Please excuse me, my dear mother,” they pray. “Please forgive me. I am about to put my feet on you.”
许多圣⼈和瑜伽师在早晨起床时向⼤地祈祷：“请原谅我，我亲爱的母亲，”他们祈祷说。“请原谅我，我要踩在你⾝上了。”

I looked at the imaginary mud in my hands. “I am touching my mother the earth,” I thought.
我看着⼿中假想的泥⼟。“我正在触摸我的地球母亲，”我想。

Then I saw a little green bug running down my hand into the mud below. My mind went back to 1970 to our center in Los Angeles. I was sitting with the others in the lecture hall as sunlight poured in through the windows.
然后我看到⼀个绿⾊的⼩⾍⼦从我的⼿中进到泥⼟⾥。我的思绪也回到了 1970 年，我们在洛杉矶的中⼼，我和其他⼈坐在演讲厅⾥，阳光透过窗户照进来。

We listened, hanging on to every word as Prabhupada spoke.
我们倾听着，紧紧的抓住帕布帕德的每个字。

“If you try to catch a little bug,” said Prabhupada, “he will run away because he has free will. This free will is the perfection of God’s creation.”
“如果你试着抓住⼀个⼩⾍⼦，”帕布帕德说，“他会逃跑，因为它有⾃由意志，这种⾃由意志是上帝创造的最完美的部分。”

My mind came back to the present. I ambled over to the dining nook where my hugger friend was chomping down on bright red tomato slices wallowing in sesame oil.
我的思绪回到现在。我慢吞吞的⾛到餐厅的⾓落，拥抱我的那个朋友正在狼吞虎咽的吃着泡在⾹油⾥的鲜红的西红柿⽚。

“I learned something about the soul today,” I thought. “Thank you, Krishna.”
“我今天学到了⼀些关于灵魂的知识。”我想。“谢谢你，奎师那。”

⁓Umapati Swami, November 23, 2023
~乌玛帕提·斯⽡⽶，2023.11.23

Eternally touching my head to the floor at the lotus feet of my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, for showing me 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。

NOTES:

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。）

Scriptural passages © Bhaktivedanta Book Trust

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

Write to me: hoswami@yahoo.com

© Umapati Swami 2023

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 followers 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.