Guest (2): Well, let's take the situation of an individual who is very deeply addicted to the senses, such as sexual...
Prabhupāda: That is only practice. There are processes by which you can give up so much addiction to sex life. There are processes.
Guest (2): Processes which would not fall into the category of what a psychiatrist would call repression? Something that would cripple the mind in some other way?
Prabhupāda: No. Why? Therefore I say if you think it is good... First of all you have to decide whether sex life is good or bad. First of all you have to understand this. If you think that sex life is very nice, then how can you give it up? It is not possible.
Guest (2): You have to approach it with jñāna.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Jñāna. That is called knowledge. But it is a fact that sex life is not good because there are so many inebrieties. Just like modern civilization, they prescribe contraceptive method. Why? Why? Unless there is some bad result of sex life, why they are prescribing this medicine? Why? If it is good, then why the medicine counteractive? Therefore it is to be accepted it is not good. By reason. Why there are contraceptive methods? Let everyone enjoy sex life and let the result be there. Why contraceptive method? Therefore it is not good.
Guest (3): It's against the reproduction of human species.
Prabhupāda: That means that is not good. You think that is not good therefore. Therefore this process is not good. If the result is not good, then process is not good.
Guest (3): Well, if everybody remained celibate,
Prabhupāda: That you can voluntarily do. That is brahmacārī. That is restraint. That is mahātmā. That is recommended in Vedic life, that you can have sex life only for children. That's all. Therefore sex life without any desire of children is not good. Yes.
Guest (2): Now, what is the situation of an individual who is double-minded and split, who is perhaps convinced, okay, intellectually, but nonetheless is torn by very deep emotions and distractions, very deeply sunk in māyā. Are there ways of dealing with his kind of problem? Do we have to force him, or is there some...
Prabhupāda: First of all you have to understand that this material life... Material life means birth, death, old age and disease. Just try to understand. Do you like repeated birth, repeated death? Do you like?
Guest (2): I have to work for those now.(?)
Prabhupāda: Do you like? First of all answer. Do you like it?
Guest (2): No.
Prabhupāda: Do you like old age?
Guest (2): No.
Prabhupāda: Do you like disease?
Guest (1): Oh, no.
Prabhupāda: That is materialistic life. As soon as we get this body, there is birth, there is death, there is old age and there is disease. Therefore if you want real happiness then you have to get free from all these four—miserable life. That is spiritual life. You have to become free from birth, you have to become free from death, you have to become free from old age, and you have to become free from disease. That is real life. "I don't like this" means this is not real life. The real life is different. So if that real life you want, then you have to follow the process. That is being discussed here. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet (SB 5.5.1).