761030 - Lecture SB 05.05.08 - Vrndavana

Lectures by Date, 1976

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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761030SB-VRNDAVAN - October 30, 1976 - 29.46 Minutes

Devotee: Translation: "The attraction between male and female is the basic principle of material existence. On the basis of this misconception, which ties together the hearts of the male and female, one becomes attracted to his body, home, property, children, relatives and wealth. In this way one increases life's illusions and thinks in terms of 'I' and 'mine.'"

Prabhupāda:

puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ

tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ

ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair

janasya moho ayam ahaṁ mameti

(SB 5.5.8)

This is material world, ahaṁ mameti, "I am this," artho 'ham, balavān aham. "I am everything," aham, "and this is mine. This is my property. This is my country. This is my society. This is my nation." Mine, mine, mine. And I, I, I. This is material world. Kṛṣṇa says, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29). The Supreme Personality of Godhead declares clearly that "I am the proprietor." Śāstra says, Veda says, īśāvāsyam idam sarvam (ISO 1): it is God's property, everything. We are claiming, our country, "This is my country," but as soon as you go on the beach of the sea, your country finishes, the land. Then whose . . . the water, whose water that is? But the foolish person: "No, it is in my front, it is mine." So this is moha, illusion. We have heard so many times about illusion. This is illusion, ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). "I am this body, and everything in my bodily relationship, that is mine."

So how it begins? The begins, mithunī-bhāvam etam, the unity of man and woman. Mithunī-bhāvam. A man is searching after woman, and woman is searching after man. How nature's arrangement to keep the conditioned soul under the laws of nature . . . because the conditioned souls are put under the laws of nature; or he has come voluntarily under the laws of nature.

kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kare

pasate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare

As soon as we deny to serve Kṛṣṇa, immediately māyā. As soon as we deny to obey the state laws, immediately we are criminal and subjected to the criminal acts, "Go to the prison." This is . . . we have got practical experience. You cannot defy the laws of the state or the laws of the words of the government. If you cannot . . . you cannot do it. If you do it, then you are punishable. That is the statement in every śāstra. Daṇḍaniya. Daṇḍaniya, this daṇḍa is going on, one after another. Daṇḍa means punishment. But we are, because we are in illusion, we are thinking this daṇḍa is advancement of civilization. Daṇḍa.

So we should know, puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8): this material world is nothing but a false attraction between man and woman. Not only in human society—in birds, beast, animal, aquatics, trees, plants, everywhere. You will find these pigeons, as soon as one female pigeon is there, and the male pigeon immediately wants to canvass, "Please come. Let us unite." You have seen, this is nature's way, sparrow. The same feelings: puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī. So therefore in the human society, by Vedic knowledge, by education we have to understand that we are bound up within this material world. What is the cause? The cause is that attraction between man and woman. This is the cause. Puṁsaḥ. Puṁsaḥ means the bhokta, the enjoyer. Here the male and female, both of them are puṁsaḥ, puruṣaḥ, because everyone has got that feeling that "I shall enjoy." Nobody is feeling that, "I shall be enjoyed." Everyone is thinking, "I shall enjoy." Nobody wants to be predominated; everyone wants to be predominator. This is the illusion.

So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to learn how to be predominated, not to become predominator. Just the opposite. And Kṛṣṇa comes personally and He says that "I am the predominator." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). "I am predominator. Why you are trying to be predominator? That is not possible." So as soon as artificially we want to be predominator, immediately the māyā is there.

kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kare

pasate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare

Everybody is: "All right, come here." This is the human civilization, to learn that because I wanted to become predominator: "I am the monarch of all I survey. Whatever I survey, that is my property . . ." so this inclination, this false inclination, is the cause of our bondage within this material world. We should know that we are ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am spirit soul." And we learn from Kṛṣṇa that na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācin (BG 2.20). "I cannot take birth; I cannot die. I am not subjected to sufferings of this material world. But why I am put into this condition?" That is called conditioned soul. That is called intelligence. I am not to be conditioned. I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is free; I am also free, because I am His part and parcel. I may be small, very small. A gold particle is gold, that is not otherwise. So all the qualities of gold is there, even it is particle. So these things are to be considered, and this knowledge can be acquired. This is called brahma-jijñāsā. Athāto brahma jijñāsā (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.1).

So unless a civilized man is trained up to understand these problems of life, what is that life? That is animal life. If one is not jijñāsu, if one is not inquisitive about the miserable condition of his life, if he remains satisfied in miserable condition of life, then he is nothing but animal. Animal cannot understand. Animal is being taken to the slaughterhouse, and they are going very easily, and one animal enters the slaughterhouse shed, every animal will enter. In Hindi it is called bheriyāgasā. One bheri enters, then all the bheris will enter, automatically. He does not know that "Where I am entering? I am entering in this shed for being slaughtered." But he has no knowledge. This is going on. This is called illusion. Ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). We, in Hindi it is called ye thak dhol bajakarke bewakoof banana. (Play the drums and make a fool of the person.) When you are married in India, there is some band party, and the bride . . . bridegroom is decorated like king, and he is on the horseback and is taken. But one who knows, he says that "This rascal is becoming more rascal." Dhol bajakarke, (To beat the drums.) So therefore to check him not to become a bewakoof, (foolish), gadhā, (ass,) the first education is brahmacārī—don't enter. Don't enter this puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam. That is education; that is called brahmacārī. Warning, that "It is not good. Better remain brahmacārī," brahmecarati iti brahmacārī. "Remain with Brahman, celibacy. You will be happy." But . . . that is the first education, brahmacārī. Then one, if he is unable to remain brahmacārī, "All right, take wife, regulated, gṛhastha." Don't remain cats and dogs. That is not human civilization. First of all, education is, "Don't unite. Remain brahmacārī." But if you are not able, "All right, take a wife like a gentleman and live like a gentleman." Ekonari brahmacārī, that is also . . . if one is satisfied with one woman, then he is also brahmacārī. He is not 'vyabhicārī.

So that is regulated, that you must have wife. Not must have, but if you cannot avoid, take one wife and remain as a gṛhastha. And there are so many rules and regulations of gṛhastha life. Gṛhastha life is not that "Whenever I like, we have sex." No, that is not. There is regulated: once in a month. When there is menstruation, and if the wife is pregnant—then no more sex life. There are so many rules and regulations. The gṛhastha means one who follows the rules and regulation of sex life. That is gṛhastha. Not that simply united, man and woman, and live like animals. No, that is not gṛhastha. That is called gṛhamedhi. Gṛhamedhi and gṛhastha, there are two words. Gṛhamedhi means he does not know the rules and regulation. He thinks that this family, this husband and wife, children and home, that is everything. That is called gṛhamedhi. But gṛhastha means he is as good as a sannyāsī. Gṛhe tiṣṭhati 'pi gṛhastha. He is suitable . . . he is not suitable to become a brahmacārī, because every facility is there, but regulated. And one who follows the regulative principles, he is āśrama. Either it is gṛhastha āśrama or sannyāsa āśrama, the same thing. Āśrama means—very easily understood in India; there is discussion—the place where the spiritual culture is cultivated, that is called āśrama. What is the difference between the āśrama and ordinary home? Ordinary home means the . . . without any regulative principles, and āśrama means real purpose is self-realization, development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But if one is unable to accept sannyāsa āśrama or brahmacārī āśrama, that is gṛhastha āśrama. Not that animal āśrama.

So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, therefore He has said, "If we are eager for advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then we can stay in any āśrama. It doesn't matter." Either gṛhastha āśrama or sannyāsa āśrama, it doesn't matter. Kṛṣṇa . . . Caitanya Mahāprabhu says to Rāmaṇanda,

kibā vipra, kibā śūdra, nyāsī kene naya

yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei 'guru' haya

(CC Madhya 8.128)

Sei guru. Who can become guru? Generally a brāhmaṇa, a sannyāsī, that is, that is their post. Brāhmaṇa is the guru of other varṇas, and sannyāsī is the guru for all varṇāśrama. This is . . . but Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that is social system. If there is a brāhmaṇa, if there is a sannyāsī, one should accept . . . give preference to him, to accept guru. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, "That is not the criterion. One must be well expert, experienced, well aware of the science of Kṛṣṇa. He shall be guru." Not that particularly because one is born in a brāhmaṇa family or one has taken sannyāsa, he is immediately by the dress or by birth one can become guru. No. That is going on. Now it is diminishing. Formerly, in India it was the practice.

So Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that "It doesn't matter." Kibā vipra, kibā śūdra. Vipra means brāhmaṇa, and śūdra means the fourth class, less than the vaiśyas. So kibā vipra, kibā śūdra, nyāsī kene naya. Nyāsī means sannyāsī. Never mind nyāsī, or without nyāsī, because śūdra cannot be sannyāsī. Without becoming brāhmaṇa, there is no question of becoming sannyāsa. In the Śaṅkara-sampradāya they are very strict. Unless one is born in a brāhmaṇa family, he is not awarded the sannyāsa. That is the stricture. But according to our Vaiṣṇava, according to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, pāñcarātrikī-viddhi, if there is little tendency of a person to become devotee, he is given the chance, never mind he's born in a śūdra family, a caṇḍāla family. That is sanctioned in the śāstra: kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ, ye 'nye ca pāpā (SB 2.4.18). Anyone. Kṛṣṇa also says, māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ (BG 9.32). So Nārada Muni, he is a great devotee, he has given allowance to everyone to become a brāhmaṇa, to become a sannyāsī. First of all he must be trained up to become a brāhmaṇa, then sannyāsī. This is a fact. Without becoming a brāhmaṇa, there is no question of sannyāsa.

So these regulative principles are there. So what is . . . what is the big plan behind these regulative principle? The big plan is: here is the attraction, puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam—to cut down this attraction between male and female. This is the big plan. Otherwise, there is no need of the varṇāśrama. Varnāśrama means to train the candidates gradually to become free from this entanglement of man and woman. This is the basic principle. Yoga system is also the same thing. Jñānī, that is also same. Karma also. The karma-kāṇḍīya vicāra, that is also, one has to take sannyāsa at the ultimately, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13), gradually, if one cannot take it immediately.

So this is the training of Bhagavad-gītā. This is the training of Bhāgavata. Everywhere the Vedic principle, the first principle is that we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa. In the previous verse we have already studied, gata-smṛtir vindati tatra tāpān (SB 5.5.7), because we have forgotten what is our position. Gata-smṛti. Smṛti means memory. There is one word called alpa-medhasām, and there is another word, su-medhasam. These words are there, tad-bhavati alpa-medhasām, in the Bhagavad-gītā. Those who are trying to be happy in this material world, kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ . . . (BG 7.20). They, people generally, they are kāma, this kāma, puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī; this is kāma. This kāma is manifested in different ways. The actually the central point is kāma. So that when that kāma is fulfilled . . . because a man is searching after woman and woman is searching after man, when they unite, then the kāma becomes hard knot, very tightly. When they are separated, there is chance of not being tied, but as soon as they are tied by marriage or by some way or other, then tayor mitha hṛdaya-granthim āhur. Hṛdaya-granthim. We are already attracted to these things, and when it is united, then we see practically in our Indian families that when the boy is grown up and the girl is grown up, the father, mother unite them by marriage system. Everywhere. But India still going on. Why? Because unless he is married, he'll not get attracted to this material life.

So the father and mother's duty is to unite them so that they may not be spoiled, they may not be like cats and dogs. At least there will be some regulative principles they will follow. But the bondage is, as soon as they are united, the economic development, ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair (SB 5.5.8), then searching after: "Now we must have an apartment. So to . . ." Either you construct a house or rent a house, anyway, money is required, so you will be enthused to earn money: "I have got wife, I have to keep her nicely, I have to eat nicely, I have to give her dress, and so on, so on." So first of all, get one apartment or house, ataḥ gṛha. Then how to maintain the house. Formerly there was no other business except that agriculture. Agriculture, that is the economic, annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). We have to eat, so grow food grains. So where shall I grow my food grains? Not on the roof, but I must have some land—ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra, land is wanted, ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra. Then putra-hīnaṁ gṛhaṁ śūnyam. Family life, married life, but there is no son. That is another troublesome There are so many married life, they haven't got son, children—they are very unhappy. They spend so much money to get a children. They go to the saintly persons and beg blessing, "Give us one children, one child."

There was one great big man long ago, he had no child, so he came to my Guru Mahārāja and he offered, "Guru Mahārāja, if I get a child, I can give you the whole estate." So these are natural demands. First of all husband and wife and child, then apartment, then land, then friends, then money, in this way we become entangled more, ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). So instead of sukhera lagiya ei ghara bandhun, I became a householder for happiness, agune puriya gela, now there is blazing fire. Sukhera lagiya ei ghara bandhun agune puriya gela. And there is another, ravana hoila ithe gatila janja: "I wanted to be happy in this way, but it has become an embarassment." So this is going on.

So we should not be entangled as far as possible. It is not possible, very, very difficult, but if it is possible we can . . . there is brahmacārya. This is tapasya. Because we have begun these verses, tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyed sattvam (SB 5.5.1). Tapasya. That tapasya begins, tapasā brahmacāryeṇa (SB 6.1.13), brahmacārī. That is tapasya. So if possible we should try to remain. But Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so nice, if we accept Kṛṣṇa very seriously, with Kṛṣṇa anyone, either man or woman, we can remain very happy with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa can become my friend, Kṛṣṇa can become my husband, Kṛṣṇa can become my son—whatever you want. So in this way, if we advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then we can save ourselves, janasya moho 'yam. In this illusory, galaxy of illusory, this material world, we may be saved, and that is wanted that we have to give up the attraction for this material world. Then there is possibility of spiritual advancement. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is canvassing personally that, "You give up all these plans, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That will save you from this precarious position of material world, threefold miseries, suffering after suffering after suffering."

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya . . . (end)