Bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiḥ. Our material life begins by a knot in the heart. What is that knot? That is sex desire. This is the knot. A man is hankering after a woman, and a woman is hankering after a man. This attachment is the beginning of material life. Everyone, not only human society. In animal society, in bird society, in beast society you'll find this sex attachment. This is the hṛdaya-granthiḥ, beginning.
Therefore, according to Vedic civilization, the first teaching to a student is to give him lesson how to become brahmacārī. How not to become attached in sex life, that is called brahmacārī. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa (SB 6.1.13). Tapasā, to become brahmacārī, to become . . . abstaining from sex life, it requires tapasya. It is not so easy thing. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa damena śamena. One has to practice how to control the mind, how to control the senses. This is brahmacarya. Tapasya. It requires tapasya.
At the present moment, the students are, what to speak of tapasya, they are given all kinds of luxuries. So how there will be brahmacārī? It is not possible. Especially in the Western countries, the boys and girls, they are educated in one place, co-education, and they live in the same building, and there are so many things. You know better than me.
So there is no brahmacārī. There is no brahmacarya. That means the knot in the heart, sex desire, is more and more increased. It is not decreased. But if one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, by practice one comes to the point of giving up all these unwanted things. Chidyante, bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiḥ (SB 1.2.21). I have several times explained to you that this knot of the heart is the sex desire. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam (SB 5.5.8). Sex desire, mithunī-bhāvam etam.
Tayor hṛdaya-granthim. And when they're actually united, that knot becomes more and more tight. But if one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then gradually, bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiḥ, that knot, sex desire . . . that is the test whether one's sex desire has diminished. That is the test. Bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiḥ.
Bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiś chidyante sarva-saṁśayāḥ. Saṁśayāḥ (SB 1.2.21). We are now in hazy conclusion what is our position. We do not know. We do not know what is God, what I am, what is our relationship. Everyone is speculating. There are . . . therefore, there are so many parties: the jñānī party, the yogī party, the karmī party, generally. And within each and every party there are hundreds and thousands of parties. So when one actually becomes free from the knot, or the knot is cut off, the attachment for material desire is cut off, at that time he can understand what is his position. What is his position.
Therefore two things must go on in parallel line. One side, a person should cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and another side, he should try to give up all the unwanted things. That will help him. You cannot continue both the things. Just like when a person is diseased, he's given medicine. At the same times, he has to act: not to take this, not to take that. That is the way of treatment. Not that whatever you like, you can eat; whatever you like, you can do; at the same times you become spiritually advanced. This is all nonsense.
Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa (SB 6.1.13). One has to practice tapasya. Tapa. Tapa means a little inconvenience, voluntarily accepting inconvenience. Just like brahmacārī lies down on the floor. A sannyāsī also, they follow the same practice as far as possible. Taking bath three . . . thrice daily, and so many rules and regulation are there. But at the present age, it is not possible to follow all the rules and regulation, but at least everyone who is interested in advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness must rise early in the morning, before four, and take his bath and become cleansed, perform maṅgala-ārātrika and study.
These are tapasya. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa śamena ca damena va, tyāgena (SB 6.1.13). Tyāgena means renouncement. I like something, but voluntarily I should give it up. That is called tyāga. Of course, one who takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously, Kṛṣṇa helps him to become qualified in these matters. So bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiś chidyante sarva-saṁśayāḥ (SB 1.2.21).
Now unless one is taken to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness practice, he has got so many doubts: "Why I shall do this? Why I shall do that?" But when he is raised to the platform of goodness, as it is expressed, mukta-saṅgasya jāyate, bhagavat-tattva-vijñānam (SB 1.2.20), when he understands the science of God, automatically he becomes disinterested with these unwanted things. Kṣīyante ca asya karmāṇi. Karmāṇi, karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām (Bs. 5.54).
We are bound up in this material existence due to our karma. According to my past karma, I have got this body, and again, as we are acting in this body, I am preparing forward my next body. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). We have got varieties of body. Varieties of body. Not that because we are all human beings . . . we have got common factors—two hands, two legs, one head—but each body is different from the other body. You won't find one pair of body exactly of the same nature. That is not possible. Because everyone's karma is different. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa. According to our karma, we get different types of body.
So we have to stop this karma. We have to stop this karma. How you can stop this karma? Yajñārthe karmaṇaḥ anyatra karma-bandhanaḥ (BG 3.9). If we simply act for Kṛṣṇa, then we get rid of the resultant action of karma. Yajñārthe karma. Whatever you do, you do for Kṛṣṇa. Yajñārthe. Yajña means Viṣṇu. Kṛṣṇa's the origin of viṣṇu-tattva. So whatever you are ordered to do for Kṛṣṇa, you are not bound up by the karma. Otherwise, good or bad, you are bound up by the resultant action of karma.