750828 - Lecture SB 06.01.61 - Vrndavana

Lectures by Date, 1975

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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750828SB-VRNDAVAN - August 28, 1975 - 27:07 Minutes

Harikeśa: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. (devotees repeat) (leads chanting of verse, etc.)

dṛṣṭvā tāṁ kāma-liptena

bāhunā parirambhitāṁ

jagāma hṛc-chaya-vaśaṁ

sahasaiva vimohitaḥ

(SB 6.1.61)

(break)

Prabhupāda:

dṛṣṭvā tāṁ kāma-liptena

bāhunā parirambhitāṁ

jagāma hṛc-chaya-vaśaṁ

sahasaiva vimohitaḥ

(SB 6.1.61)

So in the morning we shall speak in Hindi for the foreign students. In the evening there will be Hindi. Morning, seven up to eight, or little more, and similarly in the evening.

So we are talking about Ajāmila. He was a nice brāhmaṇa boy executing the duties of a brāhmaṇa, but one day, when he was passing, he saw one śūdra and one śūdrāṇī embracing, kissing, talking, laughing—all lusty affairs. So it is mentioned here, śūdra.

ekadāsau vanaṁ yātaḥ

pitṛ-sandeśa-kṛd dvijaḥ

ādāya tata āvṛttaḥ

phala-puṣpa-samit-kuśān

(SB 6.1.58)

Dadarśa kāminaṁ kañcic chudram. Śūdram. This business on the public way, kissing, embracing, this is meant for the śūdras. Therefore it is said, kalau śūdrā-sambhavāḥ: "In the Kali-yuga the population is all śūdra." There is no brahminical culture. Brahminical culture means śama, dama, controlling the mind, controlling the senses. A real brāhmaṇa will never agree to embrace the opposite sex in public way. No. That is not brāhmaṇa's business. He has been trained up how to become controller of the mind, controller of the senses. That is the first business of a brāhmaṇa. Śama, dama, satyam. He is truthful; śaucam, clean, thrice taking bath.

So you should always. . . you are given the chance of becoming brāhmaṇa. You should not become again śūdra or mlecchas or caṇḍālas. Be careful. This is brāhmaṇa business. If we again come back to caṇḍālas or śūd. . . caṇḍāla means less than the śūdras. Even śūdras, they eat meat under control. But caṇḍālas, they eat meat without any control. So just like in the Vedic society, although there are meat-eaters, they would eat meat after offering sacrifice to Goddess Kālī. Restriction. Restriction. Because if you eat meat from the slaughterhouse there is no restriction. You can go and purchase at any time. But if you follow the scriptural regulation, they say: "Yes. . ." It is restriction. It is indirectly saying, "Don't eat," but because this less intelligent person will not be able to understand, therefore they are given some permission under certain restriction. This is restriction that, "If you want to eat meat, then you must offer sacrifice to Goddess Kālī and then you can." And the Goddess Kālī is worshiped once in a month. That means by restriction he will come to his senses, he will give it up. So śūdra, up to śūdra, there is possibility of raising him. Although he can see ideal character, it is not that anyone be ideal character like a brāhmaṇa. That is not possible. But still, in the society there must be an ideal person who is actually brāhmaṇa.

So śūdra. . . this kind of business on the public street . . . just like cats and dogs, they have sex pleasure without any shame on the street. Similarly, the śūdras, they embrace the opposite sex in the public street, and sometimes they have got sex also. I have seen in the Western countries—without any shame. . . so he saw, this brāhmaṇa boy. The brāhmaṇa boy saw. He is young man. Although he is qualified with the brāhmaṇa. . . not exactly qualified; otherwise he would not have fallen. He was on the neophyte stage. Therefore we restrict, "No illicit sex." Completely forbidden. Otherwise it will be very difficult to keep oneself in the brahminical standard and make spiritual progress. Without being in the platform of brāhmaṇa, you cannot make any spiritual progress. That is not. . . a śūdra, a vaiśya. . . but they can be trained up. Therefore Kṛṣṇa said:

māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya

ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ

striyo śūdrās tathā vaiśyā

te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim

(BG 9.32)

In Kṛṣṇa consciousness, a śūdra, a caṇḍāla, the lowborn, he can be elevated to the highest stage of Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava is higher stage than brāhmaṇa.

So this boy, Ajāmila, he was passing, he saw that the śūdra was embracing another śūdrāṇī. Dṛṣṭvā tāṁ kāma-liptena. When he saw that this man and woman is embraced with one another with lusty desire. . . embracing woman or man, this is kāma, lust. There is no question of any other thing. Kāma-liptena. Dṛṣṭvā tāṁ kāma-liptena bāhunā. The man was embracing the woman, and the woman was embracing, pari-liptena, very closely attached, and everything was going on. Then. . . we have got lusty desires. Everyone's heart. . . hṛd-roga-kāma. The material world means there is a heart disease which is called kāma, hṛd-roga-kāma. So hṛc-chaya-avaśam. If we. . . this is called impetus. If I see one engaged in lusty or sex affairs, naturally my sex desire also becomes awakened. Even though I am trying to control in the neophyte stage, still, if I see in my front something lusty affairs, naturally I will be inclined to such. Therefore it is called avaśam. He was student, brahmacārī, practicing śama, dama, satyam, śaucam. He was not very old man; he was young man. But he could not control. Therefore it is said, hṛc-chaya-avaśam. Avaśam sahasaiva: "all of a sudden," vimohitam, "he became very much attracted."

So this is the social condition. If in society we have no restriction, then naturally those young boys and girls, they will be inclined. And as soon as one is sexually inclined, he forgets all other culture and gradually becomes downfallen, as you will see from the life of Ajāmila, although he was trained up. So similarly, this is a warning to our students that they are learning how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. It is very difficult job. To become Kṛṣṇa conscious is not very easy thing. But by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu we are trying to teach them, and it is becoming effective. Otherwise, how you all European and Americans can give up these four sinful activities? So try to preserve. And it can be preserved only by remaining in the devotional service. It can be. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26).

māṁ ca vyabhicāriṇi

bhakti-yogena ya sevate

sa guṇān samatītyaitān

brahma-bhūyāya kalpate

(BG 14.26)

As soon as you come on the platform of Brahman, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54), then you will be able. Otherwise you will not be able. If you don't come on the transcendental platform, then you will not be able to.

So we have to stick to these principles to keep ourselves on the transcendental platform—rising early in the morning, offer maṅgala ārati, then gradually, one after another, attending class, guru-pūjā, and so on, so on. Up to till you go to bed, you should always be engaged. Then you will be above these three guṇas. Just like this boy, Ajāmila. He is attracted because all of a sudden he fell down on the platform of passion. There are three platforms: sāttvika, rājasika, tāmasika. So if you keep yourself on the sāttvika platform, there is also chance to falling down on the passion and ignorance. But if you keep yourself in the śuddha-sattva platform. . . śuddha-sattva platform means devotional service. Sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditam (SB 4.3.23). Śuddha platform means. . . that is called vasudeva. As Vasudeva can beget a child whose name is Kṛṣṇa, similarly, if you keep yourself on the vasudeva platform, sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditam, then Kṛṣṇa will take birth. Kṛṣṇa will take birth. So our these rules and regulation, restriction, means to keep one on the vasudeva platform. We should remember always that. And if you keep yourself on vasudeva platform, these things will not entice you. Otherwise we shall be enticed and fallen down. Agāma hṛc-chaya-vaśaṁ sahasaiva vimohitaḥ.

Sometimes we go to hear or see rāsa-līlā. But unless we are advanced in spiritual consciousness, this hearing of or seeing some rāsa-līlā, sometimes it brings us down. If one is actually seeing rāsa-līlā, the result will be hṛd-roga-kāmam apahinoty acireṇa dhīraḥ. This is the injunction in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. If one has actually heard from a realized person about vikrīḍitam idam vraja-vadhūbhir viṣṇoḥ (SB 10.33.39), Viṣṇu and vraja-vadhū, the gopīs, vikṛtam, their līlā, their pastime. . . śraddhānvita anuśṛṇūyād atha varṇayed yaḥ. One who is actually advanced in spiritual consciousness, śraddhānvita, anuśṛṇuyāt, and hears from the realized person—anu; anu means paramparā, not from ordinary person, professional reciter, but from a realized person—the result will be hṛd-roga-kāmam apahinoti. Then the. . . our natural lusty desires will disappear. That is the result. But in spite of disappearing our this lusty desire, if we increase our lusty desire, that means we are spoiling our life. Therefore it is forbidden that neophyte students, they should not indulge in these affairs of rāsa-līlā. You should be very careful. People are very much accustomed to see rāsa-līlā in Vṛndāvana. Maybe they are advanced, but the test is whether he has given up his lusty desire. That is the test. If he has given up, then, after seeing rāsa-līlā, he should not have returned to home. My Guru Mahārāja used to say: "Do not go to Vṛndāvana with return ticket."

So therefore it is very confidential. There are ten cantos in Bhāgavatam. Nine cantos are devoted to understand Kṛṣṇa, nine cantos. Then Tenth Canto begins. Then Kṛṣṇa's birth and pastimes are mentioned there. So we should not jump over the Tenth Canto all of a sudden. People are very much anxious to jump over the Tenth Canto. No. Tenth Canto is the mukhāravinda. It is the face of Kṛṣṇa, smiling. But Kṛṣṇa worship begins from the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Nobody offers flowers and tulasī on the face of Kṛṣṇa. They offer on the feet. That is the beginning, the first and second canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, two lotus feet. So we have to go by and by. And when you are actually experienced devotional servant, then you try to understand the Tenth Canto. This is the way. Otherwise there may be falldown, as this Ajāmila fell down. He was neophyte, and as soon as he saw the śūdra and śūdrāṇī embracing, he became victimized.

So we should be very. . . brahmacārī, there are so many restrictions. Even to see woman—"A beautiful woman is going, let me see"—that is also forbidden. That is also subtle sex enjoyment. Gross and subtle. There are so many subtle sex enjoyments—to think of woman, to see a beautiful woman going on the street, or to talk about woman, to read about woman. There are eight kinds of subtle sexual intercourse. So it is restricted. But in the Kali-yuga it is very difficult to follow all the rules and regulation. One is not trained up. Even up to ripe old age, one becomes attracted by beautiful woman, especially in the Western countries. I have seen in Paris, old man, seventy-five years old, eighty years old, they are going to the brothel, they are going to the night club. They are purchasing ticket to enter into the club—fifty dollars. Then they have to pay for the woman and wine and everything. In this way. . .

So hṛd-roga-kāma, this hṛd-roga, hṛc-chaya, is a heart disease. It is very, very difficult to avoid unless one is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious. And that is stated by Yamunācārya:

yadavadhi mama cettaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravinde

nava-nava-dhāmany rantum āsīt

tadavadhi bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne

bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca

This is the test. Yadavadhi kṛṣṇa-padāravinde: "Since I have learned how to take transcendental bliss from the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. . ." He is explaining. He was an emperor. He had ample opportunity of enjoyment, material enjoyment. He was enjoying it. But he said: "Since I have become Kṛṣṇa conscious and I am taking pleasure in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, from that time," bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne, "whenever I think of enjoying with woman, I spit on it." This is the test. This is the test how I am becoming advanced. You do not require any certificate from any others. You can learn yourself. Just like when you are eating, you do not require any certificate from others, "Whether I am feeling all right?" Eating means you are hungry, so if you eat, you will feel satisfied. Your hunger will be satisfied. You will be getting strength. These are the symptoms that you have eaten. Similarly, when you'll no longer be attracted by this sex desire, then you should understand that, "I am now making progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness." This is the test.

So this boy became victimized. Although he was under training, he was not completely fit. Therefore he fell victimized by seeing this affair, lusty affairs. So at that time might be one or two cases. Now the whole world is full with all of these lusty desires, especially in the Western country. Here also now it has come. No more they are following the Vedic principles. But it is not so deteriorated as in the Western countries, and so we should be very, very careful. Not only. . . simply becoming careful will not. . . we must advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and that is very easily done by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. If you keep yourself always engaged in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, (devotees complete mantra) then it will be. . . ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). This is hṛc-chaya-vaśam. The lusty desire is a disease of the heart. It is. . . practically it has no value. So therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. They cleanse the heart with all dirty things. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. How? Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. This is confirmed in Bhāgavatam: kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet (SB 12.3.51) Simply by chanting, you can keep. If you follow the rules and regulation in chanting, then you will not be victimized. You'll make your progress without any fear.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Devotees: Jaya Prabhupāda. (end)