The Īśopaniṣad teaches us, īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (Īśo mantra 1); "Nothing, nothing belongs to you. Everything belongs to God. Everything belongs to God." There is a story that God laughs when two party fights for the land. Actually we have seen. In India, when there was partition day, the Hindu, Muslim, fought. Hindu, Muslim, fought, and when both of them died and lied on the street and strewn all over the street and ask them, "Now, whose land it is?" now nobody replied. Nobody replied. The God's land will remain here. And we simply fight, that "This is my land. This is my land." These are all these, I mean to say, paraphernalia of our illusion. Illusion.
So here Lord says that yadā saṁharate cāyaṁ kūrmo 'ṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ: "Just like the tortoise closes his senses according to his wish, similarly, the person who is able to use his senses according to his own control, he is to be understood that he's situated in the spiritual platform." Use of the senses is not bad, but one should use when it is needed, not according to the dictation of the senses. Not according to the dictation of the senses. You'll find here in the Bhagavad-gītā later on that God says that "Sex intercourse for generating a child is Myself." God says: "I am." But beyond that, sexual intercourse is not . . . the Lord says: "I have nothing to do with that."
So in every way, in every way, it does not prohibit that we should not use our senses. No. We shall use our senses when it is required, not according to the dictation of the senses. That should . . . we should be in that platform. If I am following the dictation of my senses, then I am not the master of the senses; I am the servant of the senses. So actually our position is like that. Because we have forgotten our real master, real master, the Supreme Lord, by illusory energy we have been put to be servant of the senses. Instead of becoming servant of the Supreme, we have become the servant of the senses.
The whole material life is nothing but servant of sense. Servant of sense. The whole . . . people are working whole day hard. So the Bhāgavata, Bhāgavata has diagnosed why they are so much enthusiastic in working so hard. Now, yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45).
The only impetus is that they will have some sex enjoyment. That's all. That is the end of all activities. The whole world is . . . not only in human being; you'll find in the kingdom of the birds, in the beasts, that everyone is working, everyone is busy. Why? To end it into the sex life. That means in the this material conception of life everyone has become the servant of the senses. And in the spiritual conception of life he'll no longer be the servant of the senses, but he'll be the master of the senses. That is the difference.