Positive Engagement of the Senses

Downward spiral from contemplating the objects of the senses
excerpt from lecture on Bhagavad-gita 2.62-72, Los Angeles, December 19, 1968

You Need Help

No One Can Save Himself, No Matter How Hard He Tries Hansadutta das

We can counteract such sinful deeds and reactions by doing pious activity of various kinds, such as giving in charity, performing penance, performing austerity, being renounced, being truthful and being clean. Although such pious acts counteract impious acts, they do not actually uproot the cause of sin, which is ignorance--ignorance of our eternal relationship with Krishna. Therefore such sins are compared to dried leaves which have fallen from a creeper. The leaves may be burned, but the roots of a creeper continue to exist, and they will go on producing more leaves, which will result in more sinful reactions. more

TAMAL KRSNA: [reads from Bhagavad-gita As It Is:] "While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises [Bg. 2.62]." Purport: "One who is not Krishna conscious is subjected to material desires while contemplating the objects of the senses. The senses require real engagements, and if they are not engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, they will certainly seek engagement in the service of materialism."

PRABHUPADA: Yes. Here is the secret of yoga system. Yoga indriya-samyama. The real purpose of yoga is to control the senses. Our material activities means to engage the sense in some particular objective or enjoyment. That is our material engagement. And yoga system means that you have to control the senses and detach the senses from material enjoyment, or material pleasure and pains, and divert it, focusing towards seeing the Supersoul Vishnu within your soul. That is the real purpose of yoga. Yoga does not mean... Of course, in the beginning there are different rules and regulations, sitting posture, just to bring the mind under control. But they are not end in themselves. The end is to stop the material engagement and begin spiritual engagement. So here it is explained. Go on reading.

TAMAL KRSNA: "In the material world everyone, including Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma—to say nothing of other demigods in the heavenly planets—is subjected to the influence of sense objects."

PRABHUPADA: Sense objects, yes.

TAMAL KRSNA: "Sense objects. And the only method to get out of this puzzle of material existence is to become Krishna conscious."

PRABHUPADA: It is learned from Vedic literature that... Of course, they are showing us, Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma. They were also sometimes attracted by sense objects. Just like Lord Brahma, his daughter Sarasvati... Sarasvati is considered to be the most perfect form of beauty, womanly beauty, Sarasvati. So Lord Brahma became enchanted by the beauty of his daughter just to show us the example that even personalities like Lord Brahma sometimes become enchanted. This maya is so strong. He forgot that "She's my daughter." Then to penance this, Brahma had to quit the body. These stories are there in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Similarly, Lord Shiva also, when Krishna appeared before him in Mohini-murti... Mohini means the most enchanting, beautiful womanly form. Lord Shiva also became mad after Her. So wherever She was going, Lord Shiva was chasing. And it is stated that while chasing Mohini-murti, Lord Shiva had discharges. So these examples are there. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, daivi hy esha gunamayi mama maya duratyaya [Bg. 7.14]. The whole material energy is enchanting every one of us by this beauty, the womanly beauty. Actually, there is no beauty. It is illusion. Shankaracharya says that "You are after this beauty, but have you analyzed this beauty? What is the beauty?" Etad rakta-mamsa-vikaram. It is just like our students Govinda dasi and Nara-narayana molding plaster of paris. At this time, there is no attraction. But this plaster of paris when it will be nicely painted, it will be so attractive. Similarly, this body is combination of blood and muscles and veins. If you cut the upper portion of your body, as soon as you see inside, it is all obnoxious horrible things. But outwardly so painted by the illusory color of maya, oh, it looks very attractive. And that is attracting our senses. This is the cause of our bondage. We are being bound up by some false illusory beauty of this world. Mirage. The exact example is the mirage. What is mirage? Reflection of the sunlight on the desert appears like water. Where is water there? There is no water. The animal, thirsty animal, is after the mirage. "Oh, here is water. I'll be satisfied." Similarly we are hankering after, running after the mirage. There is no peace, there is no happiness. Therefore we have to divert our attention back to Godhead. Don't run after this mirage. Just turn back to Godhead, back to Krishna. That is our propaganda. Don't divert your... Don't engage your senses in the illusory material beauty. Just apply your senses to Krishna, the real beautiful. That is Krishna consciousness. Go on.

TAMAL KRSNA: "Lord Shiva once was in deep meditation, but when the beautiful maiden Parvati agitated him for sense pleasure, he agreed to the proposal and as a result Karttikeya was born."

PRABHUPADA: Oh, here is Karttikeya [namesake, Prabhupada's disciple] present. [laughter] Yes. Hare Krishna. Go on. [laughter]

TAMAL KRSNA: "When Haridasa Thakura was a young devotee of the Lord he was similarly allured by the incarnation of Maya Devi."

PRABHUPADA: Now here is the difference. Lord Shiva, he is the greatest of the demigods. He was also allured by Parvati, and as a result of that attraction, this boy Karttikeya was born. That was the, what is called, conspiracy of the demigods, that unless one son is born out of the semina of Lord Shiva, it is impossible to conquer the demons. So Karttikeya is considered the commander in chief of the demigods. But here, another example. Haridasa Thakura. Haridasa Thakura was young boy, about twenty, twenty-four years old, and he was chanting Hare Krishna, and the landlord in that village, he was very much envious of Haridasa Thakura. He conspired and engaged one prostitute to defy him. So the prostitute agreed and at dead of night, with very beautiful dress and she was young, and tried to captivate Haridasa Thakura. But he was not captivated. That is the difference. A Krishna conscious person, even an ordinary person, not in the level of Lord Shiva or Lord Brahma, he's never conquered by maya. But one who is not fully in Krishna consciousness, either he may be Lord Shiva or Lord Brahma, he'll be conquered by maya, what to speak of others. This is the position. Go on. "When Haridasa Thakura was a young devotee of the Lord..."

TAMAL KRSNA: "...he was similarly allured by the incarnation of Maya Devi, but Haridasa easily passed the test because of his unalloyed devotion to Lord Krishna. A sincere devotee of the Lord learns to hate all material sense enjoyment due to his higher taste for spiritual enjoyment in the association of the Lord. That is the secret of success."

PRABHUPADA: Param drishtva nivartate [Bg. 9.59]. Param, if you get better thing, you give up inferior quality thing. That is our nature. Just like our students, American students, they were all accustomed to meat-eating. But now another student, she is preparing the sweetballs, ISKCON balls, and they are forgetting meat-eating. They do not like any more meat-eating. They have got better engagement, sweetballs. [laughter] Similarly, that is the way. When you get better engagement... We are hankering after pleasure. Anandamayo 'bhyasat (Vedanta-sutra 1.1.12). Every living entity is seeking after pleasure. That is his nature. You cannot stop. If you stop... Just like a child is seeking after some enjoyment, he's breaking something, enjoyment. But he does not, that... He is breaking, but he's simply enjoying that breaking. Similarly, we do not know what is enjoyment in this material concept of life. We are breaking and building. In your country I have seen in several places. Nice building is dismantled, and again, in that very place, another building is raised. You see? Breaking and building. Breaking and... "Oh, this building is old. Break it." The same childish play. You see? Simply wasting engagement, valuable time of this human form. Breaking and building, breaking and building. "This motorcar is useless. Another '69 model." And thousands of people are engaged in that '69 model. You see? What is that? In essence, the breaking and building, breaking and building. Just like the child. You see? So unless one has got better engagement, Krishna consciousness, surely they will be engaged in this breaking and building, breaking and building. Childish engagement. Param drishtva nivartate [Bg. 9.59]. And so far our students of Krishna consciousness, they are trying to get two hours more than twenty-four hours. They have got so much, so many engagements.

So unless one is engaged in Krishna consciousness, he must be in the maya's engagement, same thing. People may eulogize such engagement, "Oh, he's so moneyed man. He has dismantled such nice building and again constructed another nice building." So, this is very nice in material estimation, but in spiritual estimation they are simply wasting time. [sings:] Hari hari biphale janama gonainu, that song. [sings:] Manushya-janama paiya, radha-krishna na bhajiya, janiya shuniya bisha khainu. Knowingly, purposefully, I am drinking poison. Poison. Why poison? Wasting time of this valuable human form of life is drinking poison. Just like a man drinks poison. He does not know what is his next life. He's going to become a ghost. For years together, he'll not have this material body as punishment. You have seen? Gaurasundara has written one ghost article in our Back to Godhead. In England, that ghost who fought with Cromwell? There is still fighting. At night, there is sound of fighting going on. You see? So poison means this human form of life is the chance to get into Krishna consciousness and go back to Godhead. But if we do not engage in this Krishna consciousness, simply engage in this breaking and constructing, then we are simply drinking poison. That means next life I'll be thrown into the cycle of birth and death in the 8,400,000 species of life, and my life is spoiled. We do not know for how many millions of years I'll have to travel in that cycle of birth and death. Therefore it is poison. Janiya shuniya bisha khainu. I know this, I am hearing. Still,... Janiya shuniya bisha ... Just like a thief. Janiya shuniya, these words are very significant. Janiya means knowing, and shuniya means hearing. So a habituated thief, he knows that "If I steal I shall be put into jail." And he has heard from scriptures that "Don't steal. Then you'll be put into hell." So he has heard from the scriptures and he has seen practically. He has experienced practically, but still, as soon as he's freed from the prison life, he again commits the same mistake. Janiya shuniya bisha khainu. We know, we are hearing from the scriptures, from authorities, Vedic literatures, that "I have got this miserable conditional body, material body, to suffer threefolds of material miseries; still, I am not very much anxious how to stop this repetition of birth and death. I am drinking poison." Janiya shuniya bisha khainu. Hari hari biphale janama gonainu. These songs are very instructive. Simply purposefully, we are drinking poison. Go on.

TAMAL KRSNA: "One who is not, therefore, in Krishna consciousness, however powerful he may be in controlling the senses by artificial repression, is sure ultimately to fall, for the slightest thought of sense pleasure will drive him to gratify his desires." 63: "From anger, delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool."

PRABHUPADA: Our position is, we are constituted of this body. Body means the senses and the controller of the senses or the, what is called, driver, driver of the senses, is the mind. And mind is conducted, thinking, feeling, and willing, the psychology, the science of psychology, that is being conducted under intelligence. And above the intelligence, I am sitting. I am a spirit soul. So how we become victim of this maya, that is described here, that from anger, delusion arises, and from delusion, bewilderment of memory. Bewilderment memory. I have forgotten completely that I am not this body, I am spirit soul, aham Brahmasmi; I am part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman, spirit, absolute whole. That I have forgotten. And when memory is bewildered, and as soon as I forget that I am spirit soul, I identify myself with this material world, illusion. Intelligence is lost. I should have used my intelligence to conduct the activities of the mind—thinking, feeling and willing—and because my mind is not controlled, my senses are not controlled, therefore I am fallen. This is the analysis of the whole bodily construction. Go on.

TAMAL KRSNA: 64: "One who can control his senses by regulative principles and who is free from attachment and aversion can attain the mercy of God."

PRABHUPADA: Yes. We have fallen down. How we have fallen down? Fallen down to the platform of sense enjoyment. Therefore you have to begin rising up from the senses, controlling of the senses. That is the way of self-realization. Either you practice yoga or practice bhakti, devotional service, the beginning is to control the senses. So the yogis and other methods, they are trying to control the senses by force. "I shall go to the Himalayas. I shall not see any more beautiful woman. I shall close down my eyes." These are forceful. You cannot control your senses. There are many instances. You don't require to go to Himalaya. You just remain in Los Angeles city and engage your eyes to see Krishna, you are more than a person who has gone to Himalayas. You'll forget all other thing. This is our process. You don't require to change your position. You engage your ears for hearing Bhagavad-gita As It Is, you'll forget all nonsense. You engage your eyes to see the beauty of the Deity, Krishna. You engage your tongue for tasting Krishna prasadam. You engage your legs to come to this temple. You engage your hands to work for Krishna. You engage your nose to smell the flowers offered to Krishna. Then where your senses will go? He's captivated all round. The perfection is sure. You don't require to control your senses forcibly, don't see, don't do it, don't do it. No. You have to change the engagement, the status. That will help you. Go on.

TAMAL KRSNA: Purport. "It is already explained that one may externally control the senses by some artificial process, but unless the senses are engaged in the transcendental service of the Lord there is every chance of a fall. Although a person in full Krishna consciousness may apparently be on the sensual plane, actually, because of his being Krishna conscious, he has no attachment to or detachment from such sensual activities. The Krishna conscious person is concerned only with the satisfaction of Krishna and nothing else. Therefore he is transcendental to all attachment or detachment. If Krishna wants, the devotee can do anything which is ordinarily undesirable, and if Krishna does not want, he will not do anything which he would have ordinarily done for his own satisfaction. Therefore to act or not to act is within his control because he acts only under the dictation of Krishna. This consciousness is the causeless mercy of the Lord which the devotee can achieve in spite of his being attached to the sensual platform." 65: "For one who is so situated, the threefold miseries of material life exist no longer. In such a happy state one's intelligence is steady." 66: "One who is not in transcendental consciousness can have neither a controlled mind nor steady intelligence, without which there is no possibility of peace, and how can there be any happiness without peace?"

PRABHUPADA: Everyone in this material world, they are after peace, but they don't want to control the senses. It is not possible. Just like you are diseased, and doctor says that "You take this medicine, you take this diet," but you cannot control. You are taking anything you like, against the instruction of the physician. Then how you can be cured? Similarly, we want cure of the chaotic condition of this material world, we want peace and prosperity, but we are not ready to control the senses. We do not know how to control the senses. We do not know the real yogic principle of controlling the senses. So there is no possibility of peace. Kutah shantir ayuktasya. The exact word is there in the Bhagavad-gita. If you are not engaged in Krishna consciousness, there is no possibility of peace. Artificially, you may try for it. It is not possible. Go on.

TAMAL KRSNA: 67: "As a boat on the water is swept away by a strong wind, even so, one of the senses in which the mind becomes fixed can carry away a man's intelligence."

PRABHUPADA: Yes. If you... Suppose on the Pacific Ocean you are on a boat or on a nice seat, but if you have no controlling capacity, one wave of that Pacific Ocean can immediately bring you to the bottom of the sea. So this is required. We are in the midst of the Pacific Ocean of this mayika world. Samsara-samudra. It is called samudra. So at any moment our boat can be topsy-turvied if we have no controlling power. Yes.

TAMAL KRSNA: 68: "Therefore, O mighty armed, one whose senses are restrained from their object is certainly of steady intelligence."

PRABHUPADA: Yes. Now, one whose sense are restrained... This human life is meant for restraining the senses. Tapah. This is called tapasya, penance. Suppose I am habituated to some type of sense gratification. Now, I take to Krishna consciousness. My spiritual master or the scripture says, "Don't do this." So in the beginning, I may feel some inconvenience, but if you can tolerate that, that is tapasya. That is tapasya. Tapasya means I am feeling some inconvenience, bodily, but I am tolerating. That is called tapasya. And this human form of life is meant for that tapasya. Not that because my senses are demanding this satisfaction, I shall immediately offer. No. I shall train myself in such a way that my senses may demand, "My dear sir, give me this facility," I will say, "No. You cannot have." This is called gosvami or svami. At the present moment, everyone, we are, we have made our svami or master the senses, and when you actually become the master of the senses, then you are svami or gosvami. That is the significance of svami and gosvami. It is not the dress. One who has controlling power, one who is not dictated by the senses, one who is not servant of the senses. My tongue is dictating, "Please take me to that restaurant and eat sticks." What is that sticks?

DEVOTEE: Steak.

PRABHUPADA: Steak? What is that spelling?

DEVOTEE: S-t-e-a-k.

PRABHUPADA: So anyway... Or that fried chicken. Yes. So tongue is dictating me. But if you can control your tongue, "No. I'll give you sweetballs. Don't go there." [laughter] Then you'll become master of the senses. You see? The others are trying that "Don't go there," only. That is impossible. The tongue must have something beautiful. Otherwise it is not possible. That is artificial. If the tongue, you give him something more beautiful than this fried chicken or steak or this or that, it will stop. That is the policy. Our policy is that. We can give that, what is called, casein fried with rice. How nice it is. He'll forget meat-eating. So this is the policy, Krishna consciousness. All the senses should be supplied something. Not artificially stop it. That is not possible. That is not possible. Others, they are simply trying artificially to stop the function of the senses. No. That is not possible. Our policy is tat-paratvena nirmalam [Chaitanya-charitamrita Madhya 19.170]. You can purify the activities of the senses, being engaged in Krishna consciousness. Then senses will not disturb you. If you want to control the senses, you have to control the tongue first of all. Then you will be able to control other senses very easily. So you give tongue the engagement of chanting Hare Krishna, and for tasting Krishna prasadam you'll find that your other senses are already controlled. This is the key of controlling our senses, the tongue. And if you give privilege and indulgence to the tongue, you'll never be able to control other senses. This is the secret of controlling senses.