If a man is very influential, he is also opulent. If a man is very strong... Now the strong man, formerly strong men had request, ahh, respect. All the kings, they were respected on their personal strength. They used to..., they had to fight with the opponents. So that is also opulence. Then beauty. A very beautiful man or woman, that is also opulence. And wise, very learned, wise man, that is also opulence—scientist, philosopher, mathematician. So they are also opulent. And renouncer. Renouncer, that one who give up everything, he has everything in his possession, but he disposes himself, that is called renunciation. Just like king, Mahārāja Bharata, under whose name India is called Bhārata-varṣa. He was the emperor of the world, but at the age of twenty-four years only he gave up everything—his young wife, young children. Lord Buddha, Lord Buddha was prince, but very young boy, at the age of twenty years or something like that, he gave up everything, his father's kingdom. This is called renunciation.
Beautiful women (Lectures)
Expressions researched:
"beautiful and attractive woman"
|"beautiful and youthful women"
|"beautiful face of woman"
|"beautiful gestures of women"
|"beautiful girl among women"
|"beautiful lotus-eyed woman"
|"beautiful man and woman"
|"beautiful man or woman"
|"beautiful men and women"
|"beautiful than the women"
|"beautiful woman"
|"beautiful women"
|"beautiful young woman"
|"beautiful young women"
|"beauty of a Bengali woman"
|"beauty of a material woman"
|"beauty of a woman"
|"beauty of a young woman"
|"beauty of some other woman"
|"beauty of the women"
|"beauty of woman"
|"beauty of women"
|"woman is beautiful"
|"woman is very beautiful"
|"woman's beauty"
|"women are very beautiful"
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
They are very rich. So everyone knows in the world. So they are opulent, opulent by wealth. Similarly, somebody is opulent by fame, and somebody is opulent by strength. And so strength is opulence, wealth is opulence, and fame is opulence. And then beauty; beauty is also opulence. If one, one man or woman, is very beautiful, he attracts persons. He attracts. So anything that attracts, that is called opulence. A wealthy man attracts. A strong man attracts. A famous man attracts. If somebody, famous man, comes here, oh, so many people will gather to receive him.
He was a yogi, great yogi. Now, this Viśvāmitra was performing meditation in the forest very supremely. So the... Now, Indra, the King of heaven, he became frightened: "So, this man is performing so much penance. So he might come. He might ask from God and claim my seat. So just wake him, wake him. Just detach him from this purpose." So he had many beautiful women at his control, one of whose name was Menakā. So Menakā was ordered that "You go there and try to induce him to have your association." Because in this world our real bondage is this... Either for man or woman, this is the real bondage, the sex life. So the Menakā was sent to Viśvāmitra, and Viśvāmitra was meditating, but his eyes were closed. So that woman made some sound of his (her) bangles, and Viśvāmitra thought, "Oh, in front me, a very nice beautiful woman, very young." Now, that woman was sent for that purpose, so he became implicated in that woman, and a girl was born out of that combination. That girl's name is Śakuntalā.
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 Kṛṣṇa, 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-gītā As It Is, you'll forget all nonsense. You engage your eyes to see the beauty of the Deity, Kṛṣṇa. You engage your tongue for tasting Kṛṣṇa prasādam. You engage your legs to come to this temple.
This is very important thing. Yoga indriya-saṁyamya. Yoga, the definition of yoga means sense control, controlling the sense. So here Kṛṣṇa says that you cannot control your senses artificially. It is not possible. Those who are trying... Just like some of the yogis, they close their eyes, "Oh, I'll not see beautiful woman." That is another practice, but that does not mean that he can control his senses. No. You cannot curb down the natural force of sense. This is the secret. People do not know. And if you let the senses go on in its own way, that is also dangerous. Then you are going to hell. Adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisram. If your senses are not controlled, then your senses will drag you to the darkest region of hell. That is another problem.
So ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt. Ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt. The Vedic version says, Vedānta, that "A spirit soul is by nature joyful." Therefore—we are spirit soul—we are hankering after joy, where there is dance, where there is cinema, where there is nice food, where there is nice song, nice picture, nice beautiful woman or man. Everyone is searching after joy. Therefore the Supreme must be joyful. But I am conditioned. Therefore my joy is being checked up. But He is not conditioned. His joy is unlimited. He is everlastingly in enjoyment in Vṛndāvana, dancing with gopī.
So you simply study this tat tvam asi. You can understand yourself and God, if you are a philosopher, if you are thoughtful. The tat tvam asi is so nice. But if you simply become more fool, "Oh, I am God, so I have nothing to do. I have become God. I have no seeing. I have no... Yes. Meditation. That's all." This is another foolishness. Just try to understand. "You are the same." That's nice.
There have been many instances like that. And tinkling of bangles, oh, immediately his yoga practice was broken. And he become attached by Menakā and there was birth of Śakuntalā. There is a drama written by Kālidāsa Kavi, "Śakuntalā." This is the subject matter, how a yogi failed to control his senses and was attached by a beautiful woman girl, and how Śakuntalā, the beautiful girl was born. That is the subject matter.
So this is sometime impossible. There are many, many instances. So this is artificial way of yoga system. But when actually, as it is recommended, śabdādīn indriyāṇy anya indriyāgniṣu juhvati. That indriyāgniṣu means the indriya of Kṛṣṇa. When we satisfy the indriya, the senses of Kṛṣṇa, then automatically our indriyas become satisfied, engaged.
Now here is a hint of the yoga practice, shutting out the external sense objects. This is another process. But the bhakti-yoga process is automatically yoga process. Here it is said, "shutting out all external sense objects." Sense object, what is that sense object? Just like I want to see some beautiful woman or beautiful man. I want to smell some nice flower or scent. The flower is the sense object, woman is the sense object. There are so many sense objects. We have got five senses and there are five objects also. Otherwise what is the use of sense? Now this yoga practice is to withdraw the senses from the sense object. But the bhakti-yoga process is that if I do not like to see artificially the beauty of woman or man, if I try to see the beauty of Kṛṣṇa, naturally my, this propensity of seeing beautiful man or woman becomes extinguished. You do not require to shut your eyes. There are so many beautiful girls sitting. I do not require to shut my eyes.
Devotee: "But a person acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness works for the satisfaction of the whole without self-interest. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has no desire for self-satisfaction. His criterion is the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. And thus he is the perfect sannyāsī or perfect yogi. Lord Caitanya, the highest perfectional symbol of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, prays in this way: 'Oh almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor to enjoy beautiful women. Neither do I want any number of followers. What I want only is the causeless mercy of your devotional service in my life, birth after birth.' "
Prabhupāda: So a devotee does not want even salvation. Why Lord Caitanya says "birth after birth"? The salvationists, they want to stop, the voidists, they want to stop this material way of life. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, "birth after birth." That means he is prepared to undergo all kinds of material pangs birth after birth. But what He wants? He simply wants to be engaged in the service of the Lord. That is the perfectional. I think you can stop. Stop here.
This requires little intelligence, that "Where is the enjoyment for the dead body?" The dead body no more can enjoy. Suppose if a man is offered a dead body of a beautiful woman, will he accept? Or a woman is offered the dead body of a beautiful man, will she accept? No. Because that enjoying spark is moved now. That requires intelligence. Who is enjoying? Who is enjoying? The enjoying, the enjoying spirit. The spirit is enjoying, not this body. That requires intelligence. Then again... Now, if that spirit is enjoying, then the spirit must have enjoying senses also. Otherwise how it can enjoy? If you have no enjoying sense organ, then how you can enjoy? A blunt cannot enjoy. Therefore it is accepted that the spirit soul, although it is very small, atomic, we cannot measure...
That because there must be somebody controller, he is jagad-īśa. The controller of the whole universe. So He's saying, "My dear controller of the universe," or the Lord. Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ na kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye. "I do not pray from You any amount of wealth or any number of followers or any nice beautiful woman." These are material claims. People generally want to become a very great leader within this material world. Somebody is trying to become a very rich man like Ford or Rockefeller, somebody is trying to become the President, somebody is trying to become such thing and such thing, to become a very good leader so that many thousands of people may follow. So these are material demands. "Give me some money, give me some followers, and give me a nice wife," that's all. But Lord Caitanya refuses. He says "I don't want all these things." Na janaṁ na dhanam. Dhanam means wealth and janam means followers. Na sundarīṁ kavitām, "or beautiful wife."
These are called opulences. If one person is very rich, he is opulent, he attracts attention of many persons. Similarly, if one person is very influential, strong, he also attracts. Similarly, if one man is very famous for his activities, he also attracts attention. Similarly, if one man is very beautiful or a woman is very beautiful, he or she attracts attention. If one is very wise, learned, he also attracts attention. These are called six opulences, and these opulences are possessed by us in small quantity. Every one of us may possess some riches, maybe little wise or very... Not very strong, little strong. Little, little quantity of these opulences are there in every person. But when you find a person that nobody possesses more than him all these opulences... The Sanskrit word is asama ūrdhva. Asama means "equally," and asama means "without being equal." And ūrdhva means "above." When you find somebody, above him or equal to him, anyone else is as rich, as famous, as opulent, as wise, as beautiful, that person is called God.
Vidyāpati, a great poet, Vaiṣṇava poet, he has sung that... We are happy within this material world. How? Suta-mita-ramaṇī-samāje. Suta. Suta means children, and mita means friends, and ramaṇī means woman. So actually, our material life, existing, is society, friendship and love. If there are nice, beautiful women at home, children and friends, we are taking, "This is our life." But that is not life. Real life is to understand what I am, ātma-tattvam. Ātma-tattvam. Without understanding ātma-tattvam, the life is failure. Therefore Vidyāpati sings, tātala saikate vāri-bindu-sama, suta-mita-ramaṇī-samāje. We have created this society, friendship and love in this material world for becoming happy. Everyone wants to be happy, because that is his natural inclination. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). As Kṛṣṇa is happy always... You will see. Kṛṣṇa is enjoying His life with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and the gopīs or the cowherds boys or His father, mother.
Suta-mitā-ramaṇi-samāje.(?) The exact English equivalent is "society, friendship and love." Everyone is busy—society, family, friends, country, nation, community, in this way, suta-mitā-ramaṇi-samāje. And what is the composition? Now, children, suta; mitā means friends; and ramaṇi, some woman. If they are beautiful woman, that is also very nice. So they are busy. They are busy. The other day we had been guest in Hyderabad. He is very busy with this suta-mitā-ramaṇi-samāje. Everyone is. Everyone is busy with suta-mitā-ramaṇi-samāje.
So somebody can say, "Unless there is happiness, why people should be interested?" There is happiness certainly. So that happiness is compared by Vidyāpati, the great Vaiṣṇava poet, that it is just like tatala seikate vari-bindu sama.(?) Just like desert. You have seen desert.
Just imagine. Here in this material world there is sex life. That is considered to be the highest pleasure. But the spiritual world means there is no sex life. Although there are very beautiful women, very beautiful men, with four hands. The men are with four hands there and very attractive. All of them are young. They never become old. Because in the spiritual world there is no birth, death, old age and disease. That is spiritual world. So there is no... Old age is due to this body. Otherwise, spirit soul is everlastingly young. You can think over yourself. Just like I am now old man. So sometime I think that in my childhood, when I was born, I was jumping and dancing. Now I cannot do that. Because of this old body. So we are hampered on account of this material body. Encagement.
So actually the news they are published that one, there was one Mr. Glandi. So he was coming. And people misunderstood as Gandhi. So my point is that a famous man also attracts. These things are attraction, richness, wealth, and strength, and famous, fame.
Then beauty. Beauty also attracts. If a man is beautiful, or a woman is beautiful, oh, many man or woman are after them, beautiful. Any beautiful, not only man or woman. Any beautiful flower, any beautiful picture, anything beautiful, that attracts. Beauty.
Form and knowledge. If one is learned, he's known as very possessing much knowledge. Just like great scientists, philosophers, or religionist, or teacher, they also attract.
And renunciation. That is also another attraction. If a man is in the renounced order of life. Renunciation means one has got all these things, richness, fame, beauty, knowledge, but he renounces everything for some higher purpose. Just like, in our country, for national movement, so many rich men, they renounced everything.
Traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna. So Vedas also says that "If you make such and such sacrifice, then you will be elevated to such and such higher planetary system to become demigods and enjoy beautiful woman, higher standard of life." So yām imāṁ puṣpitāṁ vācam, veda-vāda-ratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ. So we must understand what is this material world, how it is working. That will be described in this Fifteenth Chapter.
- ūrdhva-mūlam adhah-śākham
- aśvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam
- chandāṁsi yasya parṇāni
- yas taṁ veda sa veda-vit
- (BG 15.1)
One who understands what is the constitution of this material world, how it is working, what we are, why we have come here, why we are so struggling hard for existence, what is our duty, how to get out of this entanglement... That is Vedic knowledge. Not only to get out of this material entanglement, but to be engaged.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Not designated. Designated will be wrong word. Actually. Because God name, God's name is given according to His transcendental quality. Just like this word, "Kṛṣṇa." "Kṛṣṇa" means, real means the all-attractive. So because He has got transcendental qualities to attract everyone, He can attract the richest man, He can attract the most beautiful man or woman, He can attract the most strong man, He can attract the most wise man; therefore He's all-attractive. So adhokṣaja means you cannot perceive. You cannot have any actual idea of God by your mental speculation. He is called adhokṣaja.
So here the definition is adhokṣaja means God, the Supreme Lord. The definition is: that principle of religion is the best by which you can develop your devotion or love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How nice this definition is, just try to understand. You may follow Christianism or Hinduism or Buddhism or Muhammadanism—it doesn't matter.
So don't think in the Vaikuṇṭha or in Goloka Vṛndāvana there is no sex impulse. There is—in Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. But not like this abominable way. The impulse is there in a perfect order. So they're enjoying. Not like this abominable sex life. The devotees there, they are so much absorbed in Kṛṣṇa thought, they don't like to have sex. There are beautiful women, beautiful men, very, very. But they have got other engagement, very nice engagement. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. Just like, for example, in this, our society also, you see thousands of men are standing, paying to see some dead body. Sense enjoyment. You see? But our men are not so rascal that they will stand for five hours to see some dead body. You see? Similarly, why? Why they are able not to go there, stand? Because they have seen something better.
So the more you see better thing, you give up this abominable. That is progress of spiritual life. Thank you.
So Bhagavān, Kṛṣṇa, when He was present on this planet, nobody could excel His opulences. That's a fact. Everyone knows. People want to enjoy. That is natural tendency, the association of woman. Here also we see that very, very rich men, they want to associate with nice, beautiful woman. In the Western countries I have seen. In Paris there are many clubs. So the club business is to go and enjoy the association of nice beautiful woman. So everyone knows it. So tendency is there. That is also richness. So that richness I have already explained. Here in the material world the same thing is represented pervertedly, not in actual position. Therefore we are frustrated.
So there are two kinds of philosophers. The mental speculators, empiric philosophers, they therefore reject that this should be zero. Here the association of woman is so abominable that it should be rejected.
In Bengal there is a proverb, nāti nāti sagye bhati(?): "If one can see grandson of the grandson, his life is successful." His door to heaven is open now. Nāti means grandson, and nāti's nāti, grandson. That means six generations. So people like this—good family and full of beautiful women and very good bank balance, motorcars—then life is successful. Śriyaiśvarya-prajepsavaḥ. But who are after this śriyaiśvarya-prajepsavaḥ? That is explained: rajas-tamaḥ-prakṛtayaḥ. Rajas-tamaḥ-prakṛtayaḥ, those who are influenced by the modes of passion and ignorance.
In the Bhagavad-gītā, the division of the society is given there: cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). According to guṇa and according to karma, there are four classes of men. The first class men, the brāhmaṇas, because they are on the platform of goodness. Goodness means they can see.
So anyone who is trying to utilize fully the advantage of this human form of life, being desire, desirous of becoming liberated from these material clutches and acts accordingly, he's a brāhmaṇa. Mumukṣavaḥ. Others, who are not brāhmaṇas, those who are influenced by the material ignorance and passion, rajas-tamaḥ-prakṛtayaḥ, their business is how to get money, how to get beautiful woman, and how to have many followers. Caitanya Mahāprabhu denies this. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4). Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, "My dear Lord, Jagadīśa, I don't want riches," dhanam, na janam, "neither good," I mean to say, "progeny or followers," na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāma... Sundarīṁ kavitām, "very poetic, beautiful wife." Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye. "I don't want all these things." Just see. This is the difference between sattva-guṇa and rajo-guṇa. Rajas-tamaḥ-prakṛtayaḥ, those who are influenced by the passion and ignorance, their desire is śriyaiśvarya-prajepsavaḥ. Śrī. Śrī means beauty. Śriyaiśvarya, opulence, śriyaiśvarya. And prajā, good progeny. That nāti. Nāti.
Pradyumna: (leads chanting, etc.)
- dhānvantaraṁ dvādaśamaṁ
- trayodaśamam eva ca
- apāyayat surān anyān
- mohinyā mohayan striyā
- (SB 1.3.17)
Translation: "In the twelfth incarnation, the Lord appeared as Dhanvantari, and in the thirteenth He allured the atheists by the charming beauty of a woman and gave nectar to the demigods to drink."
Prabhupāda: This is very interesting verse. (laughs) (laughter) To have very charming wife is not very good. And in your country you have got all charming wife. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says that there are four kinds of enemies in family life. These are very experienced version. He says, mātā śatru. In family means we live with father, mother, wife, children. This is family. In your country family does not mean father-mother, only wife and children. But in our country, according to Vedic civilization, family is a large conception. Father, mother, brother, sister, sister's son, brother's son. If there are difficulty, one has to su... So on the whole, father, mother, wife and children, consisting of, family.
Therefore the combination should be that the husband should be first-class devotee, Kṛṣṇa conscious, and woman should be, woman should be devoted to the husband, faithful, so that she would help the husband to make progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then their both life is successful. Otherwise, if the husband simply becomes captivated by the charming beauty of woman and engages himself in the sex life, then his life is lost, and the woman, they are less intelligent, unless they are guided by proper husband, her life is also lost. So those who are not demigods... Here it is said, apāyayat surān. Sura-asura. Sura, those who are not developed to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are asura. So every husband should be a sura. Sura means devotee. And every woman should be religious. Religious means to become chaste, faithful to the husband. And the husband should become a devotee. Then both of them will make progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and that is the perfection of life.
He has given the Bhagavad-gītā. Apart from other instructions, the Bhagavad-gītā is there. Who has given such wise instruction throughout the whole world, throughout the whole universe? Nobody has given. God means the wisest, the richest, the most powerful, the most beautiful. So He was so beautiful that 16,108 very, very beautiful women... And this is married. And unmarried, many millions, they were attracted by Kṛṣṇa, the most beautiful. Śyāmasundara. His name is sundara, very beautiful. Although śyāma, blackish, still He's so attractive. Kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobham (Bs. 5.30). Kandarpa-koṭi, He's so beautiful that He can surpass in His beauty the Cupids, millions and millions of Cupids. His name is Madana-mohana. Madana-mohana, Madana is Cupid. Cupid enchants everyone, but he is enchanted by Kṛṣṇa. Therefore His name is Madana-mohana.
That is called dirty thing. Amalam. Everyone is samala. Samala, with dirty things. The karmī, jñānī, yogi, everyone is infected with dirty things. Why? The karmīs, they want that "I shall be elevated in the heavenly planet and I shall enjoy there in the Nandana-kānana, and beautiful wife, beautiful women." That is their ambition, the people are working very hard here. Everyone wants very comfortable life with good bank balance, good house, good wife, good children. That is their ambition. That is karmī. They have no other ambition. Similarly, jñānī. When the jñānī sees that his good wife, good family, good money, and good house is nonsense... "It will not stay, but for some years I can enjoy. Then it will be all vanquished." They are jñānīs. They know how things are happening. Therefore they want mukti. But there is still want, that "Now I have given up all this. I don't want this material happiness.
You can say anything. But without that soul, this body is useless, dead body, and you can give all titles, Ph.D, D.H.C., they are all useless. Suppose a man is dead and from Oxford University somebody comes, "Now I give you Ph.D. title," what is the use? Suppose a beautiful woman attracted so many people. Now, when she is dead, if she is offered, "Now you can take this body. You can use it as you...," nobody will like. Why? The same beautiful lying on the... Why don't you take it now? You were after her so many... "No. It is no, (laughing) no more useful. No more useful." Everyone knows it.
There is a story that one beautiful woman was hunted by another man. So he was wooing, canvassing, but she was chaste lady. But... She did not agree. But that man was after her. So one day she said, "All right, you come to me three days after. I will accept you."
Therefore consciousness, it depends on the senses, purifying the senses. Spirit soul is eternal, so his senses are eternal. You cannot stop the activities of his senses. That is not possible. Just like others. They think that "If we stop... " Just like Viśvāmitra Muni. He was a great yogi. He stopped the senses. He wanted to stop. He closed the eyes, "I'll not see a beautiful woman." But he failed as soon as he heard the tinkling sound of the bangles of the apsarā, Menakā.
So our senses are so strong. If you stop this sense, the other sense is prepared to kill you. Because they are called enemies, they are manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). We are struggling for existence with the mind and the senses. Otherwise it is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, "These living entities, they are My part and parcel." That means "They are as good as I am." Why they are rotting in this material world? Because on account of the mind and the senses.
That's all. Similarly, you take any sense; you cannot stop it, but you have to engage it. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You engage your hand and engage your legs, you engage your eyes, you engage your ears, engage your tongue—simply in Kṛṣṇa. You can engage everything. For eyes, instead of hankering after some beautiful man or beautiful woman, just see Kṛṣṇa, how nicely dressed. Then you will forget these other seeing. For tongue, you engage your tongue simply for chanting. Then your nonsense talking will automatically stop. You engage your tongue eating very nice prasādam of Kṛṣṇa, offered to Kṛṣṇa. Then you forget to go to restaurant. In this way our time should be utilized. As it is said that kim anyair asad-ālāpaiḥ. We should not allow our senses to be engaged in such thing which will never exist. That is the criterion. Simply engage yourself in such things which will continue, will exist forever.
And where the rascal is going himself, he does not know. But he's establishing a family, Lord family. Prajā-kāmaḥ. People want that son, grandson, great grandson, his son, his son, the family will be filled up with so many ... In India especially, the karmīs, they want like that.
Śry-aiśvarya-prajepsavaḥ. Śrī, beauty, beautiful women. Śrī, aiśvarya, wealth, and prajā. Prajā means many children. They are spending their whole time earning money, amass money, huge bank balance. Then his sons are married, the same thing. He begotten so many children by sex. So he's giving indulgence to his sons, "All right, you also take this sex indulgence and produce many children." Prajepsavaḥ. And then, grandchildren are also, "You also take another. You also produce children." So they are called prajepsavaḥ. They want, they are happy to see that he has got many children. Just like Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He has got... He had hundred sons, and the hundred sons had another hundred sons.
A ship carrying thirteen thousand tons of goods, but the strong rope brings it on the pier. Then he cannot move. In spite of having good machine and in spite of so much strength, it is baddhāḥ, uru-dāmni baddhāḥ. Julius Caesar, he was a great soldier, and she(he) became captivated by one beautiful woman. What is that? Cleopatra? You see? She's an ordinary woman, but because she had some Every woman is beautiful, but it is through the eyes I see that "This woman is beautiful." Woman's nature is fair sex. By nature she is beautiful. But I see "This is beautiful." I am entrapped. Is it not? There is a Bengali proverb, dekha yāra lāge bhāla... If I like somebody, it doesn't matter what he is or she is. There are so many instances. The attachment, there is attachment. There is no such hard and fast rules and regulation that "This man should be attached with this..." No. It is māyā's action. I become attached with somebody. That is going on.
Therefore ivābhāti. Iva means "It appears like that." It is not fact. But actually there are ladies and gentlemen. It is simply an imitation. So spiritual world, actually. And it is ivābhāti; it appears like that. But those who are fools, they are attached to this ivābhāti. If somebody goes, "Oh, here is nice beautiful woman. Let me embrace," that is foolishness. That is ivābhāti. That is difference. So therefore this very word is used, ivābhāti. Actually it is all matter. But they have been changed into different forms. The Māyāvadi philosophers, they say "It is ivābhāti. There is no form. Therefore make it formless." But our is that ivābhāti means there is form, but this is simply imitation. That is the difference between Māyāvada and They say "Because it is false therefore reality must be zero. It is formless. It must be zero." Śūnyavādi. Nirviśeṣa śūnyavādi. There are no varieties. They will say "No varieties," and somebody will say, "No. It is zero." We say, "No. There is variety."
Then all senses will be controlled. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane. And see. Eyes should be engaged to see the Deity, very gorgeously, nicely dressed. Then our eyes will not ask, "Oh, let me see this beautiful woman." No. You will see the most beautiful woman, Rādhārāṇī, and you will become... Similarly, ear should be engaged always hearing about Kṛṣṇa. Eyes, ear... Nose should be engaged for smelling the flower which is offered to Kṛṣṇa. Legs should be engaged for preaching work going or going to the temple. Hands should be engaged for cleansing the temple. In this, way if you are engaged always your senses, you are perfect. You are the greatest yogi. Yogi means yoga indriya-saṁyamaḥ: "Yoga practice means to control the senses." But this bhakti process is so nice-automatically senses are controlled.
There is no necessity. That they cannot. There the aeroplane is also spirit. It is living. It has taken the shape of aeroplane, but it is living. It is not false. Therefore there is no necessity of this petrol, simply beautiful aeroplane, and wherever you like, you can go. They are moving in the sky. And the beautiful women. They are women just like lightning. their beauty is so brilliant, glowing, that the women, they are, themselves, are lightning. As we find lightning in the cloud, very beautiful, similarly, when these aeroplanes fly in the outer space or Vaikuṇṭha sky, it looks like lightning in the cloud. Pramada uttamādyubhiḥ. Uttamādyubhiḥ.
Here the beauty is also false because it is material. A woman is very beautiful, but as soon as the spirit soul is gone, if somebody says that "You can take this woman at your house," nobody will like. Nobody will like, because the real thing is gone. It is false beauty. The same woman, beautiful, everyone is after this: "Oh, very nice woman." But as soon as the spirit soul is gone... Just like dolls. There are very, very beautiful women's dolls in the tailor's showroom, and nobody cares for it. Well, everyone knows this is false. Therefore Śaṅkarācārya said that "Why you are being attracted by this woman? It is simply lump of matter. It is a simply lump of matter." Everyone, it is in our experience that a lump of matter is standing, sometimes photograph of a nice woman, or the doll of a nice woman. Everyone knows that this is false. Nobody is attracted. So therefore there, there is nothing material. Everything is spiritual. The body is also spiritual. He is and everything... There is no distinction between body and soul. Everything is one. That we cannot experience now, but we have to get information from the authorized book.
When Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura was in Vṛndāvana he voluntarily plucked out his eyes. Because he was very much fond of seeing beauty of woman, so he thought, "These eyes are my enemies." So he personally plucked out his eyes. When he was going to Vṛndāvana, still he became attracted by a woman, and therefore... That woman, of course, was a very rich merchant's wife. So she told her husband that "This man is coming after me. What to do?" So that merchant received him. "Oh, he's saintly person. All right, you serve him." So Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura came to his senses. He said, "Mother, you give me the pins of your hair. So I am so much after the beauty of woman, so let me pluck out the eyes." So he made voluntarily blind. So he could not see, but still, Kṛṣṇa was coming in Vṛndāvana. Kṛṣṇa is always in Vṛndāvana. So He was supplying milk. So divya-kiśora-mūrtiḥ, he practically realized through bhakti. Therefore he wrote by his personal experience, bhaktis tvayi sthiratarā bhagavan yadi syād daivena naḥ phalati divya-kiśora-mūrtiḥ. And so far dharmārtha-kāma-mokṣa (SB 4.8.41), mokṣa, muktiḥ svayaṁ mukulitāñjali sevate asmān: "Mukti is not very important thing.
Therefore they are aspiring after going to the higher planetary system. Karma-kāṇḍīya. They perform yajñas and pious activities to go to the heavenly planets. Oh, what is the idea? The idea is that we shall be able to enjoy more, more, more duration of life, more opulence, more money, more beautiful woman, more nice garden. Actually, that is a fact. That is a fact. But a devotee is not interested in all these things. A devotee is not interested because he accepts Kṛṣṇa. Therefore he is not interested. Kṛṣṇa says, ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna: (BG 8.16) "My dear Arjuna, even if you are promoted to the Brahmaloka, or the planet where Brahmā lives, where the duration of life already I have explained, and opulence, and very, very great powerful, but still you have to fall down from there."
They want to create family. In the Western world there is "lord" family. In this, our Eastern, there are many big, big families. So śrī-aiśvarya-prajepsavaḥ. The materialistic, they are after this. They want to see very beautiful woman in the family, the man's wife, his son's wife, his grandson's wife, very beautifully dressed, ornamented. Śrī, that is called śrī, beauty. And they must have money to enjoy. Śriyaḥ aiśvarya, and prajā. So they are after the worshiping of demigods. But those who are intelligent, those who know that this śrī-aiśvarya-prajā, they are temporary... But these men, they do not see it although they know it is temporary. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said paśyann api na paśyati. Teṣāṁ pramatto nidhanaṁ paśyann api na paśyati. He knows that "These things will be destroyed. This will not exist," but still, he is after them, śrī-aiśvarya-prajepsavaḥ.
They want happiness in this world as well as after this world. After death also, they want to go to the heavenly planet, Svargaloka, where the duration of life is many, many thousands of years, and the standard of happiness is very, very high. There the place is very beautiful, the women are very beautiful, the gardens there... These descriptions are there. Nandana-kānana and apsarās there are. So this is also another higher standard of life, duration of life. That is the position of the karmīs.
And the jñānīs, they are hankering after to become one with the Supreme. They have experienced that even the standard of material happiness available in the heavenly planets, that also did not give them complete satisfaction. So they aspire to become one with the Supreme, that "That will give me happiness. I become one with..." Monist. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am one with Brahman."
Who is going to love that? Nobody is going to. Everyone knows that this is imitation. Similarly, this body is imitation. It is a layer on the spiritual body. The spiritual body, when gives up this body, it has no value. A dead body of a beautiful man or beautiful woman, nobody likes because the spiritual essence is gone. Therefore love is actually on the spiritual platform. Material love is simply superficial, and it will cheat you. We must know this. Asad-grahāt. Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt (SB 7.5.5).
So on the sat existence, this material existence develops, and the process of development is described here. And the development of the body is described here, dravya-sphuraṇa-vijñānam. Dravya-sphuraṇa. Dravya means physical, development of physical body. Vijñāna, this is the vijñāna, how things are developing one after another, one after another. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni.
He had no business to go. But still, he was using his legs to go to the temple. This is this yoga system. You employ your senses. Instead of going to the cinema and standing there for three hours for a ticket, if you engage your legs to come to this temple, it is yoga system, so simple thing. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ. Instead of thinking some beautiful woman or beautiful man, if you think of Kṛṣṇa, the most beautiful person, then it is yoga system, so simple.
So every senses you can engage in Kṛṣṇa's service. Just we have got senses, ten senses, and the mind. So mind engaged in Kṛṣṇa, legs engaged for going to the temple, hands engaged for cleansing the temple, nose engaged for smelling the flower offered to Kṛṣṇa or tulasī offered to Kṛṣṇa, tongue to taste Kṛṣṇa's prasādam, hear Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra—in this way, you can engage all the senses. There is no need of education. There is no need of passing M.A., Ph.D. You practice this simple yoga system.
Actually, senses are there for satisfaction. That's a fact. Otherwise, why the senses are there? Just like the smell is there, and the nose is there. So smell is there for satisfaction of the senses. For the smell, for the nose, nostril, the beautiful flower is there, or beautiful, anything beautiful... To the man, woman is beautiful; to the woman, man is beautiful. So the eyes are there, and the beautiful things are there. That is arrangement. That is development of this nature. As soon as... It is... It is coming from the fire. The... That we have already described. The fire is the origin of beauty and the fire is the origin of eyesight. The loss of eyesight means there is less fiery element. Loss of appetite means there is less of fiery elements. In the Ayurvedic treatment it is called agni-māndyam. So these are transformation of the fire. Similarly, the smell is transformation of the rasa, taste.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is explaining this verse that kaṣṭān, kaṣṭa-pradan kāmam yoṣit-darśana-sparśanadim na arhate naivarhati iti.(?) Kāmān. He has plainly explained that kāma, sense gratification, means to see woman with lust or to touch woman with lust. That is called kāma, or sense gratification. So this is natural. Materialistic life means wherever there is some beautiful woman or girl, it is natural. It is not... One sense, it is not bad because it is natural. There is a very nice verse written by Rūpa Gosvāmī. He is explaining, yuvatīnāṁ yathā yūni yūnāṁ yathā yuvatau.(?) Yuvatī means young girl, and yūna means young boy. So he is expressing his desire, "My dear Lord, as a young boy has got natural affection for a young girl, or a young girl has got a natural affection for a young boy..." Spontaneously. It is not to be taught or to be educated in the schools and colleges. Spontaneously the attraction is there. "...how my attraction for You will be like that, spontaneous?" It is a very nice example.
The eyes want to see very beautiful forms. Eyes, rūpa. Rūpa means form. And the tongue, it wants to enjoy very good taste, tasty food. So that is also enjoyment. Not that simply woman is for enjoyment. Any palatable foodstuff which attracts my tongue, that is also enjoyment.(?) Mahat-sevāṁ tamo-dvāram yoṣitā... These are yoṣit. A nice beautiful woman or man which attracts, a nice foodstuff which attracts my tongue, rūpa, rasa, śabda, nice singing which attracts my ear... Rūpa, rasa, śabda, gandha, smelling, which attracts my nostril. Rūpa, rasa, gandha, śabda, sparśa, touching. So these are all subject matter for my enjoyment, objectives. So tamo-dvāraṁ yoṣitāṁ saṅgi-saṅgam. Those who are attached only, the general public, they are attached to all these things. They are going to cinema, they are drinking wine, they are going to restaurant for satisfaction of the tongue, clubs, and talking, so many things.
I have promised it. If I am gentleman, how can I break my promise?" This is called jñāna. With knowledge one has to respect. That is called tapasya. With knowledge. Otherwise, to become attracted, that is not unnatural. Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to say... He was sannyāsī. He said that "Even if I see a doll made of wood, a beautiful woman, My mind becomes agitated." So what to speak of us? So this is the example. Caitanya Mahāprabhu giving some... To be agitated in the mind, that is not unnatural, but if you practice, then you'll not be agitated anymore. If you practice by your knowledge, then you'll not be agitated. That is called dhīra. Dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). You have to become dhīra.
Prabhupāda: That all-powerful. Now let us come to our own concept of all-powerfulness. We consider a rich man powerful, influential man powerful. Then a strong man powerful, a man of knowledge powerful. A man that is very beautiful, he is also powerful, or a woman is beautiful, she is powerful—she attracts so many. In this way, when all the six opulences are together in fullness, he is God. Is it clear?
Pandiya: Oh, yes.
Prabhupāda: God means nobody can be richer than Him, nobody can be stronger than Him, nobody can be more beautiful than Him, nobody can be wiser than Him, and nobody can be influential than Him. That is God. When you find somebody that "Here is the richest man in the whole universe or in the whole creation. Here is the most beautiful man in the whole universe," in this way, when you compare the six opulences, then that you will find in Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa was present He exhibited this practically. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that "You cannot be happy by all these religious systems." Religious system, there are two kinds of religious systems. Some of them are pravṛtti-mārga, increasing the path of enjoyment, sense enjoyment. That dictates that "You come to the heavenly planet. You'll have ten thousands of years duration of life and very beautiful women to enjoy. Very nice garden, and drinking soma-rasa." So this is called pravṛtti-mārga. And nivṛtti-mārga means a little more advanced, when one understands that there is no actual happiness in this way, then he says, "This is all false." Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: "The world is false. Now let me search out Brahman." Athāto brahma jijñāsā. But... That sort of brahma-jijñāsa is called nivṛtti-mārga, negativating this path of enjoyment. But śāstra says that simply by understanding that "This is false, and I'll have to become away from these false engagements," so without knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, such elevators, they become impersonalists and voidists, to make negative this material enjoyment.
As Kṛṣṇa dances with the gopīs, we also try to dance in the ball dance, the same imitation. But the ball dance does not endure. We become frustrated, because it is only shadow. The reality is there. A shadow... Suppose you love a boy or girl. But if it is a shadow, it does not give you actual pleasure. Just like in your country, in the tailor's shop, there are so many beautiful women and beautiful man also, dressed, but nobody is attracted there because you know it is shadow. It is shadow. There is a very nice, beautiful girl in the window, and you pass on. You are not attracted, don't see even, because you know it is false, it is not reality. Again, suppose you love one girl, very nice, beautiful, and when she is dead, you are no more attached, because you know it is shadow. Why you are not attached to the same lover or beloved who is dead now? "No, no, here is your lover. Here is your beloved. Why don't you...?" "No, no, she is gone," or "He is gone." "Oh, where he is gone? He is lying there." (laughter)
There is a planet which is called Siddhaloka within this universe. In the Siddhaloka they have got full perfection of life. And sometimes the yogis can demonstrate. In the Siddhaloka, for going from one planet to another planet there is no need of vehicles, no need of aeroplane. They can fly themselves in the sky. Sometimes we have seen pictures—a beautiful man and woman with wings. That is, of course, imagination. Maybe. We have not seen the inhabitants of the Siddhaloka, but we find it from Vedic scriptures that they can fly in the sky without any help of aeroplane or similar machine. They travel from one planet to another by yoga-siddhi. As the yogis can transfer themselves from one place to another without any difficulty, similarly, the inhabitants of Siddhaloka, they can fly in the sky. (aside:) What is that?
This is the way. Otherwise there may be fall down, as this Ajāmila fell down. He was neophyte, and as soon as he saw the śūdra and śūdrāṇī embracing, he became victmized.
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 women. 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.
The living entities who have accepted this material body, such kind of happiness, sarvatra labhyate. You can have anywhere, any life. Just like two bodies, male and female. It is not that in the human society two bodies, male and female, join and enjoy the pleasure. The dog also do that. The quality of happiness between a beautiful man and beautiful woman does not increase or decrease by other body. The hog also, they enjoy. It is not because they have got a nasty body therefore the enjoyment is less than human being, no. The feelings of enjoyment is the same, either of the dog or of the hog or of the human being, everyone. It is not... The quality does not change.
There is a story of a prostitute, Lakṣahīra. (aside:) You can sleep this way. I am asking you. Yes, you're sleeping. You can go and sleep. Don't make here. So there is a story of the prostitute, Lakṣahīra. There was a prostitute whose charges was one lakh of pieces of diamond. It doesn't matter, a big diamond or small diamond.
That is also pleasure. They read so many novels because there is sex life. They feel very happy: "How this man is talking with this woman, woman is talking, this woman, and how they are enjoying." So that is subtle, subtle enjoyment. There are eight kinds of subtle sex life. If you see one beautiful woman and if you appreciate, "Oh, how nice the face is," that is subtle sex. If you read books, that is also subtle sex. If you endeavor how to approach that woman or man to find out the opportunity, that is subtle sex. There are eight kinds of subtle sex life. So it is forbidden for a brahmacārī even to think of woman. That is brahmacārī. Even thinking of woman is subtle sex life. It is very, very difficult. But mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). If you catch the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa very tightly, these things will not disturb. That is said by Yamunacārya. Bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ. If you become pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa, then as soon as you think of sex, you'll spite. "Eh! Nonsense.
This world is going on, this material (world) is going on the principle of sense gratification, puṁsaḥ striya mithunī-bhāvam. Everyone is hankering after sex life, man and woman. This is the beginning of material life. In the Vaikuṇṭha-loka there are thousands times beautiful women and thousand times strong men (noise in background) (aside:) Where is this sound coming? ...but there is no sex desire. This is Vaikuṇṭha life. Here in this material world, as soon as there is strong man, as soon as there is beautiful woman, then there is sex impulse. In the Vaikuṇṭha world there is no such thing, because they are so much absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness that sex life is very insignificant. There is no sex life in the Vaikuṇṭha realm. But in this material world, the sex life is the basic principle of pleasure.
Sense you cannot extinguish. The living entity, you must have your senses. Living means you have got your senses. But they should be purified. They are now engaged in the service of māyā, and now, by bhakti-yoga process you have to purify and engage the senses in the service of the Lord. The eyes and hands, the legs, the tongue, the ear, all the senses. The eyes, instead of seeing very beautiful woman, see Kṛṣṇa, Rādhārāṇī. That sense perception is there, but it is spiritualized. The tongue wants go to restaurant and eat meat and drink wine, but engage the tongue in eating prasādam, that is control, that's all. Controlling, not that stop, lock up the tongue. Everything, every sense. Sex life. All right, if you can beget child to take care to raise him a Kṛṣṇa conscious, all right, have children. This is our sense control. Not artificially stopping them. No question of stopping. But utilize it for Kṛṣṇa's service, that is bhakti. That is bīja-nirharaṇam. You will never like to control over.
She cannot be separated. But if anyone attempts like that, he'll be ruined. He'll be ruined. The example is Rāvaṇa. So at the present moment people are very much fond of śrī, money. Śrī-aiśvaryā. Śrī-aiśvaryā. Śrī-aiśvaryā prajepsavaḥ. General people, they want śrī, money, or beauty, beautiful woman. Śrī-aiśvaryā, money, riches. Śrī aiśvaryā prajepsavaḥ. Prajā. Prajā means family, society, money. They want. So Śrī is always hankered after, searched after. But do not try to keep Śrī alone. Then you'll be ruined. This is the instruction. You do not try to keep Śrī alone. Keep always with Nārāyaṇa. Then you'll be happy. Keep Nārāyaṇa. So those are riches, those who have got riches, rich, they should worship Nārāyaṇa also with that money. Spend money. Money is meant for service of Nārāyaṇa. So if you have got money, don't spoil it like Rāvaṇa, but engage it in Kṛṣṇa's service.
They are all goddess of fortune. That is Kṛṣṇa. Lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama sevyamānaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi (Bs. 5.29). Kṛṣṇa, He's not after beauty, but beauty is after Him. That is Kṛṣṇa. Not Kṛṣṇa is after beauty. The materialistic person, they think that Kṛṣṇa was so much fond of beautiful woman. No, no. That is not the fact. The beautiful women were after Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is so beautiful... Kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobhaṁ (Bs. 5.30). Kandarpa. Kandarpa means Cupid. We have heard the name of Cupid, very beautiful, attractive. But He is kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya viśeṣa-śobhaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. Kṛṣṇa does not want any beauty for His satisfaction. He's self-satisfied. But devotees, beautiful devotees, rich devotees, aristocratic devotees, perfect devotees, they are after... That is... He's self-satisfied. He doesn't require.
Therefore you should be very, very careful. Very, very careful. And another place is, another... Just like in our society, compulsorily we have to mix with women—not only women, very beautiful young girls. But if one is not agitated even in this association of beautiful women and girls, then he is to be considered paramahaṁsa. He is very advanced. Those who are not... Paramahaṁsa means he's above all these material qualities.
So we cannot avoid in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. That was the problem from the very beginning. In India there is restriction between men and women, free intermingling, but in your country there is no such restriction. Therefore I got my disciples married. They criticize me that I have become a marriage-maker. Anyway, I wanted at least to regulate. That is required.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
In this way, this material happiness—śriyaiśvarya-prajepsavaḥ. The other day we discussed. Śrī means beauty, aiśvarya means wealth, and prajā means generation. So generally, people, they like it—good family, good bank balance and good wife, good daughter, daughter-in-law. If one family is consisting of beautiful women and riches and grea..., many children, he is supposed to be successful. He's supposed to be most successful man. So śāstra says, "What is this success? This success is beginning with sex intercourse. That's all. And maintaining them." So yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). Here the happiness begins from sex life, maithunādi. We may polish it in a different way, but this maithuna, sex life happiness, is there in the hogs. The hogs also, they are eating whole day, here and there: "Where is stool? Where is stool?" and having sex life without any discrimination. The hogs do not discriminate whether mother, sister or daughter.
Let me finish my chanting." Just see. At dead of night, a young man, Haridāsa Ṭhākura; in front, there is a beautiful young girl; there is nobody else; and she's proposing. But still, he's steady, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare. So Cupid cannot pierce. This is the example. There may be thousands of beautiful women before a devotee, but that does not disturb his mind. He sees they're all energies of Kṛṣṇa. "They are gopīs of Kṛṣṇa. They are enjoyable by Kṛṣṇa. I have to serve them. They're gopīs. Because I am servant of the servant." Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayoḥ dāsa-dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ (CC Madhya 13.80). So a devotee should try to engage all beautiful women in the service of Kṛṣṇa. That is his duty. Not to enjoy them. That is sense gratification. This is the position of a devotee. He's not pierced by the arrows of Cupid, but he sees everything, nirbandhe kṛṣṇa-sambandhe. He sees everything in relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Yukta-vairāgyam ucyate. That is vairāgyam.
So those who are preaching, we have to meet with these viṣayīs, but one... Because when we have to preach, we have to see so many viṣayīs, but we should be very, very careful. We should be very careful. We have to meet also women, sometimes young women, beautiful women. But we must be very, very careful. Otherwise it is very dangerous. These things are... These things create anxieties. Viṣayināṁ sandarśanam. As soon as we become attached to viṣaya and women, then we become anxiety. That is material.
So this line of devotional service, there is direction in the śāstras. Therefore we have made prohibition that no illicit sex, no gambling, no meat, fish-eating, no intoxication. Even the smallest intoxication, that is also dangerous. Just like fire.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
This is only one universe. This is called māyika brahmānanda. Māyika means shadow. Shadow... Shadow is existing on account of the real. So therefore it is called māyā. Just like the example is, in your country, in the window, there are many nice model, beautiful women standing or a man standing, nicely dressed, but that is not real man or woman. That is shadow. That is called māyā. This is the example of māyā. Māyā means it is not fact, but it appears like fact. That is called māyā. Another example is... Just like the mirage, water in the desert. Actually there is no water, but it appears that there is water. The foolish animals, they run after this water, but there is no water. Simply running after will o' the wisp, phantasmagoria. So every one of us in this material world—hankering after happiness. Everyone is trying to be happy. But it is like the same, that there is no water in the desert, and still, the foolish animal running after it.
Cupid is supposed to be the most beautiful person within the universe, but Kṛṣṇa is still more beautiful. Kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobham (Bs. 5.30). That is described in the śāstra. And when Kṛṣṇa was present, we know from the śāstra or from the evidences that Kṛṣṇa was attractive to so many gopīs. The gopīs were the most beautiful women, and Kṛṣṇa was attractive to them. So just imagine how much beautiful was Kṛṣṇa. Not only to the gopīs; there were 16,108 queens of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore His name is Kṛṣṇa. He is attractive to everyone. Jayatam suratau paṅgor mama. So why He should not be attractive to fallen souls like us? So that is the position of Kṛṣṇa.
We cannot stop sense activities. That is not possible. Artificially if we stop, even as a big successful yogi or jñānī, it will not act. There are many instances. Just like Viśvāmitra Muni. He was a great yogi. So artificially he was trying to stop the sense activities. But it also failed, the attempt. Later on he met one beautiful woman and he failed in controlling the senses. That is the history. He was the biggest yogi, Viśvāmitra Muni. Similarly, there are many so-called jñānīs also, trying to become one with the Supreme. That is also not possible. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas (SB 10.2.32). Vimukta-māninas, they are thinking that they have become liberated, but that is not the fact. Why it is not fact? Tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ. Because they did not take to the devotional service. Tvayy asta-bhāvād. They have no information of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Suppose a man is trying by his, following the religious principle to go to other planets. What is the purpose of going to other planets, heavenly planets? It is for having a better facility for sense enjoyment. Just like, according to Hindu conception, the heavenly planet, Indraloka, it is said there are very beautiful women and very beautiful gardens, and they can drink soma rasa and enjoy life for ten thousands of years, and their one day is equal to six months of this planet. So opulence, life, enjoyment, far, far greater than this; therefore they want to go to the heavenly planets. Similarly... These are facts. These are not, I mean to say, stories, or fiction. These are facts. Similarly, in the Koran also there is such injunction that if one follows the principles of Koran, in the next life they'll go to Hur(?), the land of the Hu(?), the same beautiful woman. Because we have got this material idea, sense gratification, and the last word in the sense gratification is sex life. That's all. So if we think that "Going to that place, I will have free sex life and beautiful man, beautiful woman, and nice drinking, nice eating," oh, so materialists, they think, "This is perfection of life.
So the prostitute said, "My dear Bilvamaṅgala, if you have got so intense love for me, oh, had it been for God, for Kṛṣṇa, how would have been, your life, sublime." Oh, that struck him: "Yes." He at once left and went away: "Yes, you are right."
Then he was (going to) Vṛndāvana. He saw another beautiful woman because he was practiced to that habit. So he was going behind. Although he determined, "Now I am going to Vṛndāvana," on the way he was again attracted by another woman. So he followed that woman. That woman belonged to a respectable family. So he came, and the woman said to her husband, "Oh, this man is following me. Please ask, 'What is the idea?' " So the husband asked, "My dear sir, you appear to be very nice gentleman, and you belong to very aristocratic family. From your appearances I understand. What do you want? Why you are following my wife?"
Festival Lectures
And as emperor he had his beautiful wife, young children. But at the age of twenty-four years, just young man, he gave up everything. All right. This is very old story, of course, but you know Lord Buddha. He was also a prince. He was also prince, not ordinary man, and he was kṣatriya, and he was always enjoying with beautiful women. That is the palace pleasure accustomed in every, in Oriental countries, that in the palace there are many beautiful girls, they're always dancing and giving pleasure to the kings and the prince. So Lord Buddha was also in such pleasure, but he gave up everything and began to meditate.
There are many hundreds of instances in Indian history that to realize the Brahman pleasure they gave up everything. They gave up everything. That is the way. Tapasya means voluntarily accepting something severe for realizing the supreme pleasure. That is called tapasya.
Initiation Lectures
Prabhupāda: Very nice name. It is Kṛṣṇa's incarnation. She allured the demons. Kṛṣṇa in the form of a beautiful woman allured the demons. The demons become allured by Kṛṣṇa's mohinī śakti. And devotees they are inclined to serve Kṛṣṇa being blessed by Rādhārāṇī. Hare Kṛṣṇa! Come on.
Devotees: Hari bol!
Devotee (2): The next initiate is Bhaktin..., Bhaktin Sue.
Prabhupāda: What are the rules?
Bhaktin Sue: No illicit sex. No meat-eating. No gambling and no intoxication.
Prabhupāda: How many rounds will you chant?
Bhaktin Sue: Minimum sixteen.
Prabhupāda: Thank you. What is her name?
General Lectures
Because everyone knows that "This is false. However beautiful it may be, it is false." But a living woman, if she is beautiful, so many people see her. Because this is real. This is an example. Here the so-called living is also dead, because the body is matter. It is a lump of matter. As soon as the soul goes away from the same beautiful woman, nobody cares to see her. Because it is as good as the doll on the window of tailor shop. So real factor is the spirit soul, and because here everything is made of dead matter, therefore it is simply imitation, reflection. The real thing is in the spiritual world.
There is a spiritual world. Those who have read Bhagavad-gītā, they can understand. The spiritual world is described there, paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). Bhāvaḥ means nature. There is another nature beyond this nature. We can see this nature up to the limit of the sky.
That is not advancement of civilization. To eat nicely, to sleep nicely, to defend nicely and to have sexual life nicely, that is not advancement of civilization. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca sāmānyam etat paśubhiḥ narāṇām. Sexual intercourse with beautiful woman and sexual intercourse with the female dog, the pleasure is the same. That is not advancement of civilization. Advancement of civilization is ātma-tattvam. Ātma-tattva. That is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām. Śrotavyādīni rājendra (SB 2.1.2). Mahārāja Parīkṣit asked Śukadeva Gosvāmī, "Now I am going to die. What is my duty? What I shall hear from?" So at that time Śukadeva Gosvāmī said, "My dear King," śrotavyādīni, nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ, apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām (SB 2.1.2), that "Those who are gṛhamedhī..."
Philosophy Discussions
Śyāmasundara: Aren't these desires given outlet in other ways? Do we channel the desires to some other field? Instead of seeing a beautiful woman, we see the beautiful form of Kṛṣṇa, like that?
Prabhupāda: That is our process. From this (indistinct) if you have got better engagement, you give up inferior engagement. When you are captivated by seeing the beautiful form of Kṛṣṇa, naturally you have no more desire to see the beautiful form of a young woman.
Śyāmasundara: The Buddhists also say repress desires, but they mean total repression.
Prabhupāda: Yes. We don't say that. We just say that sometimes there is strong desire, we have to repress it. Just like my Guru Mahārāja used to say that while you get up from bed, you beat your mind a hundred times with your shoe, and when you go to bed, you beat your mind a hundred times with a broomstick. Then you will be able to control your mind. Sometimes, just like wild tiger, they have got him to control by repression. The circus players, they do that. Because it is wild tiger, repression is required. But when it is under control, there is no question of repression. You can play with the tiger; he becomes your friend. So repression is not always bad.
| Page Title: | Beautiful women (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 25 of Sep, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=70, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 70 |