One should not enter the temple of the Deity without first making some sound. (4) One should not offer any foodstuff to the Deity which has been seen by dogs or other lower animals. (5) One should not break silence while worshiping. (6) One should not pass urine or evacuate while engaged in worshiping. (7) One should not offer incense without offering some flower. (8) Useless flowers without any fragrance should not be offered. (9) One should not fail to wash his teeth very carefully every day. (10) One should not enter the temple directly after sexual intercourse. (11) One should not touch a woman during her menstrual period. (12) One should not enter the temple after touching a dead body. (13) One should not enter the temple wearing garments of red or blue color or garments which are unwashed. (14) One should not enter the temple after seeing a dead body. (15) One should not pass air within the temple. (16) One should not be angry within the temple. (17) One should not enter the temple after visiting a crematorium. (18) One should not belch before the Deity. So, until one has fully digested his food, he should not enter the temple. (19) One should not smoke marijuana, or gañjā. (20) One should not take opium or similar intoxicants.
Sexual intercourse (Books)
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 13 - 18
Then when we are awake we shall see that everything is simply a dream. But factually, although the demons say that life is a dream, they are very expert in enjoying this dream. And so, instead of acquiring knowledge, they become more and more implicated in their dreamland. They conclude that as a child is simply the result of sexual intercourse between man and woman, this world is born without any soul. For them it is only a combination of matter that has produced the living entities, and there is no question of the existence of the soul. As many living creatures come out from perspiration and from a dead body without any cause, the whole living world has come out of the material combinations of the cosmic manifestation. Therefore material nature is the cause of this manifestation, and there is no other cause.
A young man and a young woman meet, and the senses drive the young man to see her, to touch her and to have sexual intercourse. In the beginning this may be very pleasing to the senses, but at the end, or after some time, it becomes just like poison. They are separated or there is divorce, there is lamentation, there is sorrow, etc. Such happiness is always in the mode of passion. Happiness derived from a combination of the senses and the sense objects is always a cause of distress and should be avoided by all means.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
Viṣṇu is therefore known as Padmanābha. Brahmā is known as ātma-bhū because he was begotten directly from the father without any contact of mother Lakṣmījī. Lakṣmījī was present near Nārāyaṇa, engaged in the service of the Lord, and still, without contact with Lakṣmījī, Nārāyaṇa begot Brahmā. That is the omnipotency of the Lord. One who foolishly considers Nārāyaṇa like other living beings should take a lesson from this. Nārāyaṇa is not an ordinary living being. He is the Personality of Godhead Himself, and He has all the potencies of all the senses in all parts of His transcendental body. An ordinary living being begets a child by sexual intercourse, and he has no other means to beget a child other than the one designed for him. But Nārāyaṇa, being omnipotent, is not bound to any condition of energy. He is complete and independent to do anything and everything by His various potencies, very easily and perfectly. Brahmā is therefore directly the son of the father and was not put into the womb of a mother. Therefore he is known as ātma-bhū.
It is foretold herein that in the absence of a monarchical regime, the general mass of people will be an unwanted population like dogs and monkeys. As the monkeys are too sexually inclined and dogs are shameless in sexual intercourse, the general mass of population born of illegitimate connection will systematically go astray from the Vedic way of good manners and qualitative engagements in the castes and orders of life.
The Vedic way of life is the progressive march of the civilization of the Āryans. The Āryans are progressive in Vedic civilization. The Vedic civilization's destination is to go back to Godhead, back home, where there is no birth, no death, no old age and no disease. The Vedas direct everyone not to remain in the darkness of the material world but to go towards the light of the spiritual kingdom far beyond the material sky. The qualitative caste system and the orders of life are scientifically planned by the Lord and His representatives, the great ṛṣis.
SB Canto 2
The materialistic man of the modern age will argue that life, or part of it, is never meant for discussion of theosophical or theological arguments. Life is meant for the maximum duration of existence for eating, drinking, sexual intercourse, making merry and enjoying life. The modern man wants to live forever by the advancement of material science, and there are many foolish theories for prolonging life to the maximum duration. But the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam affirms that life is not meant for so-called economic development or advancement of materialistic science for the hedonistic philosophy of eating, mating, drinking and merrymaking. Life is solely meant for tapasya, for purifying existence so that one may enter into eternal life just after the end of the human form of life.
Does it mean that the prolonged lives of the abovementioned trees are more important than Śaṅkara or Caitanya? Prolonged life without spiritual value is not very important. One may doubt that trees have life because they do not breathe. But modern scientists like Bose have already proved that there is life in plants, so breathing is no sign of actual life. The Bhāgavatam says that the bellows of the blacksmith breathes very soundly, but that does not mean that the bellows has life. The materialist will argue that life in the tree and life in the man cannot be compared because the tree cannot enjoy life by eating palatable dishes or by enjoying sexual intercourse. In reply to this, the Bhāgavatam asks whether other animals like the dogs and hogs, living in the same village with human beings, do not eat and enjoy sexual life. The specific utterance of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in regard to "other animals" means that persons who are simply engaged in planning a better type of animal life consisting of eating, breathing and mating are also animals in the shape of human beings. A society of such polished animals cannot benefit suffering humanity, for an animal can easily harm another animal but rarely do good.
The ass is an animal who is celebrated as the greatest fool, even amongst the animals. The ass works very hard and carries burdens of the maximum weight without making profit for itself. Footnote. The ass is generally engaged by the washerman, whose social position is not very respectable. And the special qualification of the ass is that it is very much accustomed to being kicked by the opposite sex. When the ass begs for sexual intercourse, he is kicked by the fair sex, yet he still follows the female for such sexual pleasure. A henpecked man is compared, therefore, to the ass. The general mass of people work very hard, especially in the age of Kali. In this age the human being is actually engaged in the work of an ass, carrying heavy burdens and driving ṭhelā and rickshaws. The so-called advancement of human civilization has engaged a human being in the work of an ass. The laborers in great factories and workshops are also engaged in such burdensome work, and after working hard during the day, the poor laborer has to be again kicked by the fair sex, not only for sex enjoyment but also for so many household affairs.
The heavenly pleasure for the conditioned soul is sexual pleasure, and this pleasure is tasted by the genitals. The woman is the object of sexual pleasure, and both the sense perception of sexual pleasure and the woman are controlled by the Prajāpati, who is under the control of the Lord's genitals. The impersonalist must know from this verse that the Lord is not impersonal, for He has His genitals, on which all the pleasurable objects of sex depend. No one would have taken the trouble to maintain children if there were no taste of heavenly nectar by means of sexual intercourse. This material world is created to give the conditioned souls a chance for rejuvenation for going back home, back to Godhead, and therefore generation of the living being is necessary for upkeep of the purpose of creation. Sexual pleasure is an impetus for such action, and as such one can even serve the Lord in the act of such sexual pleasure. The service is counted when the children born of such sexual pleasure are properly trained in God consciousness. The whole idea of material creation is to revive the dormant God consciousness of the living entity.
The whole idea of material creation is to revive the dormant God consciousness of the living entity. In forms of life other than the human form, sexual pleasure is prominent without any motive of service for the mission of the Lord. But in the human form of life the conditioned soul can render service to the Lord by creating progeny suitable for the attainment of salvation. One can beget hundreds of children and enjoy the celestial pleasure of sexual intercourse, provided he is able to train the children in God consciousness. Otherwise begetting children is on the level of the swine. Rather, the swine is more expert than the human being because the swine can beget a dozen piglets at a time, whereas the human being can give birth to only one at a time. So one should always remember that the genitals, sexual pleasure, the woman and the offspring are all related in the service of the Lord, and one who forgets this relationship in the service of the Supreme Lord becomes subjected to the threefold miseries of material existence by the laws of nature. Perception of sexual pleasure is there even in the body of the dog, but there is no sense of God consciousness. The human form of life is distinct from that of the dog by the perception of God consciousness.
SB Canto 3
The human being is more passionate than the animals, and thus the sex life of the human being is more irregular. The animals have their due time for sexual intercourse, but the human being has no regular time for such activities. The human being is endowed with a higher, advanced stage of consciousness for getting relief from the existence of material miseries, but due to his ignorance he thinks that his higher consciousness is meant for advancing in the material comforts of life. Thus his intelligence is misused in the animal propensities—eating, sleeping, defending and mating—instead of spiritual realization. By advancing in material comforts the human being puts himself into a more miserable condition, but, illusioned by the material energy, he always thinks himself happy, even while in the midst of misery. Such misery of human life is distinct from the natural comfortable life enjoyed even by the animals.
Lust for sexual intercourse is so strong that it appears herein that Brahmā could not be dissuaded from his determination in spite of the appeal by his great sons like Marīci. Therefore, the great sons began to pray to the Supreme Lord for the good sense of Brahmā. It is only by the grace of the Supreme Lord that one can be protected from the allurement of lusty material desires. The Lord gives protection to devotees who are always engaged in His transcendental loving service, and by His causeless mercy He forgives the accidental fall of a devotee. Therefore, sages like Marīci prayed for the mercy of the Lord, and their prayer was fruitful.
In Bhagavad-gītā sexual intercourse for begetting children is accepted as righteous. A person sexually inclined for simple sense gratification, however, is unrighteous. In Diti's appeal to her husband for sex, it was not exactly that she was afflicted by sex desires, but she desired sons. Since she had no sons, she felt poorer than her co-wives. Therefore Kaśyapa was supposed to satisfy his bona fide wife.
Lord Śiva, or Rudra, is the king of the ghosts. Ghostly characters worship Lord Śiva to be gradually guided toward a path of self-realization. Māyāvādī philosophers are mostly worshipers of Lord Śiva, and Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya is considered to be the incarnation of Lord Śiva for preaching godlessness to the Māyāvādī philosophers. Ghosts are bereft of a physical body because of their grievously sinful acts, such as suicide. The last resort of the ghostly characters in human society is to take shelter of suicide, either material or spiritual. Material suicide causes loss of the physical body, and spiritual suicide causes loss of the individual identity. Māyāvādī philosophers desire to lose their individuality and merge into the impersonal spiritual brahma-jyotir existence. Lord Śiva, being very kind to the ghosts, sees that although they are condemned, they get physical bodies. He places them into the wombs of women who indulge in sexual intercourse regardless of the restrictions on time and circumstance. Kaśyapa wanted to impress this fact upon Diti so that she might wait for a while.
He lives mostly in the crematorium, where dead bodies are burnt, and the whirlwind dust of the crematorium is his bodily dress. He is unstained by material contamination. Kaśyapa took him as his younger brother because the youngest sister of Diti (Kaśyapa's wife) was married to Lord Śiva. The husband of one's sister is considered one's brother. By that social relationship, Lord Śiva happened to be the younger brother of Kaśyapa. Kaśyapa warned his wife that because Lord Śiva would see their sex indulgence, the time was not appropriate. Diti might argue that they would enjoy sex life in a private place, but Kaśyapa reminded her that Lord Śiva has three eyes, called the sun, moon and fire, and one cannot escape his vigilance any more than one can escape Viṣṇu. Although seen by the police, a criminal is sometimes not immediately punished; the police wait for the proper time to apprehend him. The forbidden time for sexual intercourse would be noted by Lord Śiva, and Diti would meet with proper punishment by giving birth to a child of ghostly character or a godless impersonalist. Kaśyapa foresaw this, and thus he warned his wife Diti.
It appears from the talks of Kaśyapa with his wife that he was a worshiper of Lord Śiva, and although he knew that Lord Śiva would not be pleased with him for such a forbidden act, he was obliged to act by his wife's desire, and thus he offered his obeisances unto fate. He knew that the child born of such untimely sexual intercourse would certainly not be a good child, but could not protect himself because he was too obligated to his wife. In a similar case, however, when Ṭhākura Haridāsa was tempted by a public prostitute at the dead of night, he avoided the allurement because of his perfection in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the difference between a Kṛṣṇa conscious person and others. Kaśyapa Muni was greatly learned and enlightened, and he knew all the rules and regulations of systematic life, yet he failed to protect himself from the attack of sex desire. Ṭhākura Haridāsa was not born of a brāhmaṇa family, nor was he himself brāhmaṇa, yet he could protect himself from such an attack due to his being Kṛṣṇa conscious. Ṭhākura Haridāsa used to chant the holy name of the Lord three hundred thousand times daily.
As one has to take bath after using the toilet, so one has to wash himself with water after sexual intercourse, especially when at a forbidden time. Kaśyapa Muni meditated on the impersonal brahma-jyotir by chanting the Gāyatrī mantra within his mouth. When a Vedic mantra is chanted within the mouth so that only the chanter can hear, the chanting is called japa. But when such mantras are chanted loudly, it is called kīrtana. The Vedic hymn Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare can be chanted both softly to oneself or loudly; therefore it is called the mahā-mantra, or the great hymn.
Kaśyapa Muni appears to be an impersonalist. Comparing his character with that of Ṭhākura Haridāsa as referred to above, it is clear that the personalist is stronger in sense control than the impersonalist. This is explained in Bhagavad-gītā as paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate; (BG 2.59) i.e., one ceases to accept lower grade things when one is situated in a superior condition. One is supposed to be purified after taking bath and chanting Gāyatrī, but the mahā-mantra is so powerful that one can chant loudly or softly, in any condition, and he is protected from all the evils of material existence.
When one is ashamed of an abominable action, one naturally becomes down-faced. Diti came to her senses after the abominable sexual intercourse with her husband. Such sexual intercourse is condemned as prostitution. In other words, sex life with one's wife is equal to prostitution if the regulations are not properly followed.
The conditions for having good progeny in society are that the husband should be disciplined in religious and regulative principles and the wife should be faithful to the husband. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.11) it is said that sexual intercourse according to religious principles is a representation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Before engaging in sexual intercourse, both the husband and the wife must consider their mental condition, the particular time, the husband's direction, and obedience to the demigods. According to Vedic society, there is a suitable auspicious time for sex life, which is called the time for garbhādhāna. Diti neglected all the principles of scriptural injunction, and therefore, although she was very anxious for auspicious children, she was informed that her children would not be worthy to be the sons of a brāhmaṇa. There is a clear indication herein that a brāhmaṇa's son is not always a brāhmaṇa. Personalities like Rāvaṇa and Hiraṇyakaśipu were actually born of brāhmaṇas, but they were not accepted as brāhmaṇas because their fathers did not follow the regulative principles for their birth. Such children are called demons, or Rākṣasas. There were only one or two Rākṣasas in the previous ages due to negligence of the disciplinary methods, but during the age of Kali there is no discipline in sex life. How, then, can one expect good children? Certainly unwanted children cannot be a source of happiness in society, but through the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement they can be raised to the human standard by chanting the holy name of God. That is the unique contribution of Lord Caitanya to human society.
Vidura said: The line of Svāyambhuva Manu was most esteemed. O worshipful sage, I beg you—give me an account of this race, whose progeny multiplied through sexual intercourse.
The mental situation at the time of sex life may then be transferred into the womb of the wife, and good children can come out of that pregnancy. Here is a special reference to Devahūti's bodily features. Because she had become skinny, she feared that her body might have no attraction for Kardama. She wanted to be instructed how to improve her bodily condition in order to attract her husband. Sexual intercourse in which the husband is attracted to the wife is sure to produce a male child, but sexual intercourse based on attraction of the wife for the husband may produce a girl. That is mentioned in the Āyur-veda. When the passion of the woman is greater, there is a chance of a girl's being born. When the passion of the man is greater, then there is the possibility of a son. Devahūti wanted the passion of her husband to be increased by the arrangement mentioned in the kāma-śāstra. She wanted him to instruct her in that way, and she also requested that he arrange for a suitable house because the hermitage in which Kardama Muni was living was very simple and completely in the mode of goodness, and there was less possibility of passion's being aroused in his heart.
Here the daughter of Svāyambhuva Manu, Devahūti, is described as suratotsuka. After traveling with her husband all over the universe, in Mount Meru and the beautiful gardens of the heavenly kingdoms, she naturally became sexually stimulated, and in order to satisfy her sexual desire, Kardama Muni expanded himself into nine forms. Instead of one, he became nine, and nine persons had sexual intercourse with Devahūti for many, many years. It is understood that the sexual appetite of a woman is nine times greater than that of a man. That is clearly indicated here. Otherwise, Kardama Muni would have had no reason to expand himself into nine. Here is another example of yogic power. As the Supreme Personality of Godhead can expand Himself in millions of forms, a yogī can also expand up to nine forms, but not more than that. Another example is that of Saubhari Muni; he also expanded himself into eight forms. But however powerful a yogī may be, he cannot expand himself into more than eight or nine forms. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, can expand Himself into millions of forms, ananta-rūpa—innumerable, countless forms—as stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā. No one can compare to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by any conceivable energetic manifestation of power.
As stated in the last chapter, after suffering different kinds of hellish conditions, a man comes again to the human form of body. The same topic is continued in this chapter. In order to give a particular type of human form to a person who has already suffered hellish life, the soul is transferred to the semen of a man who is just suitable to become his father. During sexual intercourse, the soul is transferred through the semen of the father into the mother's womb in order to produce a particular type of body. This process is applicable to all embodied living entities, but it is especially mentioned for the man who was transferred to the Andha-tāmisra hell. After suffering there, when he who has had many types of hellish bodies, like those of dogs and hogs, is to come again to the human form, he is given the chance to take his birth in the same type of body from which he degraded himself to hell.
The Supreme Lord, as Supersoul, is always present with the individual soul. He directs material nature to supply a particular type of body to the individual soul according to the result of his work, and the material nature supplies it. Here one word, retaḥ-kaṇāśrayaḥ, is very significant because it indicates that it is not the semen of the man that creates life within the womb of a woman; rather, the living entity, the soul, takes shelter in a particle of semen and is then pushed into the womb of a woman. Then the body develops. There is no possibility of creating a living entity without the presence of the soul simply by sexual intercourse. The materialistic theory that there is no soul and that a child is born simply by material combination of the sperm and ovum is not very feasible. It is unacceptable.
Since the child depends completely on the assimilated foodstuff of the mother, during pregnancy there are restrictions on the food taken by the mother. Too much salt, chili, onion and similar food is forbidden for the pregnant mother because the child's body is too delicate and new for him to tolerate such pungent food. Restrictions and precautions to be taken by the pregnant mother, as enunciated in the smṛti scriptures of Vedic literature, are very useful. We can understand from the Vedic literature how much care is taken to beget a nice child in society. The garbhādhāna ceremony before sexual intercourse was compulsory for persons in the higher grades of society, and it is very scientific. Other processes recommended in the Vedic literature during pregnancy are also very important. To take care of the child is the primary duty of the parents because if such care is taken, society will be filled with good population to maintain the peace and prosperity of the society, country and human race.
SB Canto 4
Among the ten kinds of purificatory processes, one is puṁ-savanam, in which the wife is offered some prasāda, or remnants of foodstuff offered to Lord Viṣṇu, so that after sexual intercourse with her husband she may conceive a child.
The first aphorism in the Vedānta-sūtra is athāto brahma jijñāsā. In the human form of life one should put many questions to himself and to his intelligence. In the various forms of life lower than human life the intelligence does not go beyond the range of life's primary necessities—namely eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Dogs, cats and tigers are always busy trying to find something to eat or a place to sleep, trying to defend and have sexual intercourse successfully. In the human form of life, however, one should be intelligent enough to ask what he is, why he has come into the world, what his duty is, who is the supreme controller, what is the difference between dull matter and the living entity, etc. There are so many questions, and the person who is actually intelligent should simply inquire about the supreme source of everything: athāto brahma jijñāsā. A living entity is always connected with a certain amount of intelligence, but in the human form of life the living entity must inquire about his spiritual identity. This is real human intelligence. It is said that one who is simply conscious of the body is no better than an animal, even though he be in the human form. In Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) Śrī Kṛṣṇa says, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: "I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness."
Since there are 8,400,000 species of life, there are also many different living conditions. In the lower grades of life (in plant and tree life) there is no system for sexual intercourse. In the upper grades (in the life of birds and bees) there is sex, but the insects and animals do not know how to actually enjoy sex life. In the human form of life, however, there is full knowledge of how to enjoy sex. Indeed, there are many so-called philosophers who give directions on how to enjoy sex life. There is even a science called kāma-śāstra, which is the science of sex. In human life there are also such divisions as brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. There is no sex life except in the gṛhastha, or householder, āśrama. The brahmacārī is not allowed any sex, a vānaprastha voluntarily refrains from sex, and the sannyāsī is completely renounced. The karmīs do not practice brahmacarya, vānaprastha or sannyāsa life, for they are very much interested in gṛhastha life. In other words, a human being is very much materially inclined. Indeed, all living entities are materially inclined. They prefer gṛhastha life because there is a concession for sex. The karmīs think the other statuses of life are worse than animal life, for animals also have sex, whereas the brahmacārī, vānaprastha and sannyāsī completely give up sex. The karmīs, therefore, abhor these orders of spiritual life.
Most of these activities center around the killing of animals. Modern civilization is centered around animal-killing. Karmīs are advertising that without eating meat, their vitamin value or vitality will be reduced; so to keep oneself fit to work hard, one must eat meat, and to digest meat, one must drink liquor, and to keep the balance of drinking wine and eating meat, one must have sufficient sexual intercourse to keep fit to work very hard like an ass.
There are two ways of animal-killing. One way is in the name of religious sacrifices. All the religions of the world—except the Buddhists—have a program for killing animals in places of worship. According to Vedic civilization, the animal-eaters are recommended to sacrifice a goat in the temple of Kālī under certain restrictive rules and regulations and eat the flesh. Similarly, they are recommended to drink wine by worshiping the goddess Caṇḍikā. The purpose is restriction. People have given up all this restriction. Now they are regularly opening wine distilleries and slaughterhouses and indulging in drinking alcohol and eating flesh. A Vaiṣṇava ācārya like Nārada Muni knows very well that persons engaged in such animal-killing in the name of religion are certainly becoming involved in the cycle of birth and death, forgetting the real aim of life: to go home, back to Godhead.
SB Canto 5
Even though one may be very learned and wise, he is mad if he does not understand that the endeavor for sense gratification is a useless waste of time. Being forgetful of his own interest, he tries to be happy in the material world, centering his interests around his home, which is based on sexual intercourse and which brings him all kinds of material miseries. In this way one is no better than a foolish animal.
In the lowest stage of devotional life, one is not an unalloyed devotee. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam: (CC Madhya 19.167) to be an unalloyed devotee, one must be freed from all material desires and untouched by fruitive activity and speculative knowledge. On the lower platform, one may sometimes be interested in philosophical speculation with a tinge of devotion. However, at that stage one is still interested in sense gratification and is contaminated by the modes of material nature. The influence of māyā is so strong that even a person advanced in knowledge actually forgets that he is Kṛṣṇa's eternal servant. Therefore he remains satisfied in his householder life, which is centered around sexual intercourse. Conceding to a life of sex, he agrees to suffer all kinds of material miseries. Due to ignorance, one is thus bound by the chain of material laws.
Sound, touch, form, taste and smell are the objects of the five knowledge-acquiring senses. Speech, touch, movement, evacuation and sexual intercourse are the objects of the working senses. Besides this, there is another conception by which one thinks, "This is my body, this is my society, this is my family, this is my nation," and so forth. This eleventh function, that of the mind, is called the false ego. According to some philosophers, this is the twelfth function, and its field of activity is the body.
It is said that household attraction resides in the wife because sex is the center of household life: yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). A materialistic person, making his wife the center of attraction, works very hard day and night. His only enjoyment in material life is sexual intercourse. Therefore karmīs are attracted to women as friends or wives. Indeed, they cannot work without sex. Under the circumstances the wife is compared to a whirlwind, especially during her menstrual period. Those who strictly follow the rules and regulations of householder life engage in sex only once a month, at the end of the menstrual period. As one looks forward to this opportunity, his eyes are overwhelmed by the beauty of his wife. Thus it is said that the whirlwind covers the eyes with dust. Such a lusty person does not know that all his material activities are being observed by different demigods, especially the sun-god, and are being recorded for the karma of one's next body. Astrological calculations are called jyoti-śāstra. Because the jyoti, or effulgence, in the material world comes from the different stars and planets, the science is called jyoti-śāstra, the science of the luminaries.
The precarious condition of a householder's life is described herein. A householder's life is full of misery, and the only attraction is sex with the wife who kicks him during sexual intercourse, just as the she-ass does her mate. Due to continuous sex life, he falls victim to many incurable diseases. At that time, being afraid of death, which is like an elephant, he remains hanging from the twigs and branches of the tree, just like a monkey.
As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.9.29): viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt. Bodily necessities-eating, sleeping, mating and defending-are all very easily available in any form of life. It is stated here that the vānara (monkey) is very much attracted to sex. Each monkey keeps at least two dozen wives, and he jumps from one tree to another to capture the female monkeys. Thus he immediately engages in sexual intercourse. In this way the monkey's business is to jump from one tree to another and enjoy sex with his wives. The conditioned soul is doing the same thing, transmigrating from one body to another and engaging in sex. He thus completely forgets how to become free from the clutches of material encagement. Sometimes the monkey is captured by a hunter, who sells its body to doctors so that its glands can be removed for the benefit of another monkey. All this is going on in the name of economic development and improved sex life.
Material happiness means to have good facilities for eating, sleeping, sexual intercourse and defense. Within this world, the materialistic person lives only for these four principles of sense gratification, not caring for the impending danger of death. After his father's death, a son tries to inherit his money and use it for sense gratification. Similarly, one whose son dies tries to enjoy the possessions of his son. Sometimes the father of a dead son even enjoys his son's widow. Materialistic persons behave in this way. Thus Śukadeva Gosvāmī says, "How wonderful are these pastimes of material happiness transacted by the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead!" In other words, materialistic persons want to commit all kinds of sinful activities, but without the sanction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, no one can do anything. Why does the Supreme Personality of Godhead permit sinful activities? The Supreme Lord does not want any living being to act sinfully, and He begs him through his good conscience to refrain from sin. But when someone insists upon acting sinfully, the Supreme Lord gives him the sanction to act at his own risk (mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca (BG 15.15)). No one can do anything without the sanction of the Lord, but He is so kind that when the conditioned soul persists in doing something, the Lord permits the individual soul to act at his own risk.
A man or woman who indulges in sexual intercourse with an unworthy member of the opposite sex is punished after death by the assistants of Yamarāja in the hell known as Taptasūrmi. There such men and women are beaten with whips. The man is forced to embrace a red-hot iron form of a woman, and the woman is forced to embrace a similar form of a man. Such is the punishment for illicit sex.
SB Canto 6
Tapaḥ is explained in the smṛti-śāstra as follows: manasaś cendriyāṇāṁ ca aikāgryaṁ paramaṁ tapaḥ. "Complete control of the mind and senses and their complete concentration on one kind of activity is called tapaḥ." Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching people how to concentrate the mind on devotional service. This is first-class tapaḥ. Brahmacarya, the life of celibacy, has eight aspects: one should not think of women, speak about sex life, dally with women, look lustfully at women, talk intimately with women or decide to engage in sexual intercourse, nor should one endeavor for sex life or engage in sex life. One should not even think of women or look at them, to say nothing of talking with them. This is called first-class brahmacarya. If a brahmacārī or sannyāsī talks with a woman in a secluded place, naturally there will be a possibility of sex life without anyone's knowledge. Therefore a complete brahmacārī practices just the opposite. If one is a perfect brahmacārī, he can very easily control the mind and senses, give charity, speak truthfully and so forth. To begin, however, one must control the tongue and the process of eating.
Alas, all condemnation upon me! I acted so sinfully that I degraded my family tradition. Indeed, I gave up my chaste and beautiful young wife to have sexual intercourse with a fallen prostitute accustomed to drinking wine. All condemnation upon me!
Now unite in sexual life as man and woman, and in this way, by sexual intercourse, you will be able to beget hundreds of children in the womb of this girl to increase the population.
The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.11), dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo 'smi: "I am sex that is not contrary to religious principles." Sexual intercourse ordained by the Supreme Personality of Godhead is dharma, a religious principle, but it is not intended for sense enjoyment. Indulgence in sense enjoyment through sexual intercourse is not allowed by the Vedic principles. One may follow the natural tendency for sex life only to beget children. Therefore the Lord told Dakṣa in this verse, "This girl is offered to you only for sex life to beget children, not for any other purpose. She is very fertile, and therefore you will be able to have as many children as you can beget."
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura remarks in this connection that Dakṣa was given the facility for unlimited sexual intercourse. In Dakṣa's previous life he was also known as Dakṣa, but in the course of performing sacrifices he offended Lord Śiva, and thus his head was replaced with that of a goat. Then Dakṣa gave up his life because of his degraded condition, but because he maintained the same unlimited sexual desires, he underwent austerities by which he satisfied the Supreme Lord, who then gave him unlimited potency for sexual intercourse.
It should be noted that although such a facility for sexual intercourse is achieved by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this facility is not offered to advanced devotees, who are free from material desires (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (CC Madhya 19.167)). In this connection it may be noted that if the American boys and girls engaged in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement want to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness to achieve the supreme benefit of loving service to the Lord, they should refrain from indulging in this facility for sex life.
After you give birth to many hundreds and thousands of children, they will also be captivated by My illusory energy and will engage, like You, in sexual intercourse. But because of My mercy to you and them, they will also be able to give Me presentations in devotion.
SB Canto 7
In household affairs the first attraction is the beautiful and pleasing wife, who increases household attraction more and more. One enjoys his wife with two prominent sense organs, namely the tongue and the genitals. The wife speaks very sweetly. This is certainly an attraction. Then she prepares very palatable foods to satisfy the tongue, and when the tongue is satisfied one gains strength in the other sense organs, especially the genitals. Thus the wife gives pleasure in sexual intercourse. Household life means sex life (yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45)). This is encouraged by the tongue. Then there are children. A baby gives pleasure by speaking sweet words in broken language, and when the sons and daughters are grown up one becomes involved in their education and marriage. Then there are one's own father and mother to be taken care of, and one also becomes concerned with the social atmosphere and with pleasing his brothers and sisters. A man becomes increasingly entangled in household affairs, so much so that leaving them becomes almost impossible. Thus the household becomes gṛham andha-kūpam, a dark well into which the man has fallen. For such a man to get out is extremely difficult unless he is helped by a strong person, the spiritual master, who helps the fallen person with the strong rope of spiritual instructions. A fallen person should take advantage of this rope, and then the spiritual master, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, will take him out of the dark well.
In human life there are four principles to be fulfilled-dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa (religion, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation). First one should be religious, observing various rules and regulations, and then one must earn some money for maintenance of his family and the satisfaction of his senses. The most important ceremony for sense gratification is marriage because sexual intercourse is one of the principal necessities of the material body. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). Although sexual intercourse is not a very exalted requisite in life, both animals and men require some sense gratification because of material propensities. One should be satisfied with married life and not expend energy for extra sense gratification or sex life.
SB Canto 8
Once one is agitated by lusty desires upon seeing a woman, those desires increase more and more, but when semen is discharged in the act of sex, the lusty desires diminish. The same principle acted upon Lord Śiva. He was allured by the beautiful woman Mohinī-mūrti, but when his semen had been fully discharged, he came to his senses and realized how he had been victimized as soon as he saw the woman in the forest. If one is trained to protect his semen by observing celibacy, naturally he is not attracted by the beauty of a woman. If one can remain a brahmacārī, he saves himself so much trouble in material existence. Material existence means enjoying the pleasure of sexual intercourse (yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukham (SB 7.9.45)). If one is educated about sex life and is trained to protect his semen, he is saved from the danger of material existence.
A forest fire begins when two pieces of wood rub against one another, being agitated by the wind. Actually, however, fire belongs neither to the wood nor to the wind; it is always different from both. Similarly, here it is to be understood that the union of Kaśyapa Muni and Aditi was not like the sexual intercourse of ordinary human beings. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has nothing to do with the human secretions of sexual intercourse. He is always completely aloof from such material combinations.
The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.29), samo 'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu: "I am equal toward all living entities." Nonetheless, to protect the devotees and kill the demons, who were a disturbing element, the Lord entered the womb of Aditi. Therefore this is a transcendental pastime of the Lord. This should not be misunderstood. One should not think that the Lord became the son of Aditi the way an ordinary child is born because of sexual intercourse between man and woman.
SB Canto 9
Saudāsa thus acquired the propensity of a man-eater and received on his leg a black spot, for which he was known as Kalmāṣapāda. Once King Kalmāṣapāda saw a brāhmaṇa couple engaged in sexual intercourse in the forest.
After twelve years, when King Saudāsa was released from the curse by Vasiṣṭha, he wanted to have sexual intercourse with his wife. But the Queen reminded him about the curse by the brāhmaṇī, and thus he was checked from sexual intercourse.
After being thus instructed, the King gave up the future happiness of sexual intercourse and by destiny remained sonless. Later, with the King's permission, the great saint Vasiṣṭha begot a child in the womb of Madayantī.
Urvaśī said: "My dear hero, only preparations made in ghee (clarified butter) will be my eatables, and I shall not want to see you naked at any time, except at the time of sexual intercourse." The great-minded King Purūravā accepted these proposals.
It appears from the words of Urvaśī that the standard of living, eating, behavior and speech are all different on the heavenly planets from the standards on this planet earth. The inhabitants of the heavenly planets do not eat such abominable things as meat and eggs; everything they eat is prepared in clarified butter. Nor do they like to see either men or women naked, except at the time of sexual intercourse. To live naked or almost naked is uncivilized, but on this planet earth it has now become fashionable to dress half naked, and sometimes those like hippies live completely naked. Indeed, there are many clubs and societies for this purpose. Such conduct is not allowed, however, on the heavenly planets. The inhabitants of the heavenly planets, aside from being very beautiful, both in complexion and bodily features, are well behaved and long-living, and they eat first-class food in goodness. These are some of the distinctions between the inhabitants of the heavenly planets and the inhabitants of earth.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura remarks that Purūravā was very lusty. Immediately after getting the Agnisthālī girl, he wanted to have sex with her, but during sexual intercourse he could understand that the girl was Agnisthālī, not Urvaśī. This indicates that every man attached to a particular woman knows the particular characteristics of that woman during sex life. Thus Purūravā understood during sexual intercourse that the Agnisthālī girl was not Urvaśī.
King Yayāti was completely aware of the duty of a kṣatriya. When a kṣatriya is approached by a woman, he cannot deny her. This is a religious principle. Consequently, when Dharmarāja, Yudhiṣṭhira, saw Arjuna unhappy after Arjuna returned from Dvārakā, he asked whether Arjuna had refused a woman who had begged for a son. Although Mahārāja Yayāti remembered Śukrācārya's warning, he could not refuse Śarmiṣṭhā. He thought it wise to give her a son, and thus he had sexual intercourse with her after her menstrual period. This kind of lust is not against religious principles. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.11), dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo 'smi: sex life not contrary to the principles of religion is sanctioned by Kṛṣṇa. Because Śarmiṣṭhā, the daughter of a king, had begged Yayāti for a son, their combination was not lust but an act of religion.
When the she-goat, who had very nice hips, got out of the well and saw the very handsome he-goat, she desired to accept him as her husband. When she did so, many other she-goats also desired him as their husband because he had a very beautiful bodily structure and a nice mustache and beard and was expert in discharging semen and in the art of sexual intercourse. Therefore, just as a person haunted by a ghost exhibits madness, the best of the he-goats, attracted by the many she-goats, engaged in erotic activities and naturally forgot his real business of self-realization.
Materialists are certainly very much attracted by sexual intercourse. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). Although one becomes a gṛhastha, or householder, to enjoy sex life to his heart's content, one is never satisfied. Such a lusty materialist is like a goat, for it is said that if goats meant for slaughter get the opportunity, they enjoy sex before being killed. Human beings, however, are meant for self-realization.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Madhya-lila
"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind."
In the present verse of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, the word prakṛti-sparśana refers to the Lord's glancing over material nature and placing the living entities in contact with dull matter. The glancing is performed by Mahā-Viṣṇu: sa aikṣata lokān nu sṛjā iti. (Aitareya Upaniṣad 1.1.1) In the conditioned stage we impregnate according to the bodily conception—that is, by sexual intercourse—but the Supreme Lord does not need sexual intercourse to impregnate. The impregnation is performed simply by His glance. This is also explained in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.32):
- aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti
- paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti
- ānanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
Govinda can impregnate simply by glancing. In other words, His eyes can work as His genitals. He does not need genitals to beget a child. Indeed, Kṛṣṇa can beget any one of the living entities with any part of His body.
It is said that Indra, the King of heaven, is very lusty. Once he had sexual intercourse with the wife of a great sage, and when the sage learned about this, he cursed lusty Indra with a curse that put vaginas all over his body. Being very much ashamed, Indra fell down at the lotus feet of the great sage and begged his pardon. Being compassionate, the sage turned the vaginas into eyes; therefore Indra possesses hundreds and thousands of eyes all over his body. Just as Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva have many faces, the King of heaven, Indra, has many eyes.
CC Antya-lila
One should strictly follow the regulative principles, namely no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no intoxication and no gambling, and in this way one should make progress in spiritual life. If an unfit person sentimentally accepts vairāgya or takes sannyāsa but at the same time remains attached to women, he is in a very dangerous position. His renunciation is called markaṭa-vairāgya, or renunciation like that of a monkey. The monkey lives in the forest, eats fruit and does not even cover itself with a cloth. In this way it resembles a saint, but the monkey always thinks of female monkeys and sometimes keeps dozens of them for sexual intercourse. This is called markaṭa-vairāgya. Therefore one who is unfit should not accept the renounced order of life. One who accepts the order of sannyāsa but again becomes agitated by sensual disturbances and talks privately with women is called dharma-dhvajī or dharma-kalaṅka, which means that he brings condemnation upon the religious order. Therefore one should be extremely careful in this connection. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura explains the word markaṭa to mean "restless." A restless person cannot be steady; therefore he simply wanders about, gratifying his senses.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Nectar of Devotion
Nectar of Instruction
As far as the urges of the genitals are concerned, there are two—proper and improper, or legal and illicit sex. When a man is properly mature, he can marry according to the rules and regulations of the śāstras and use his genitals for begetting nice children. That is legal and religious. Otherwise, he may adopt many artificial means to satisfy the demands of the genitals, and he may not use any restraint. When one indulges in illicit sex life, as defined by the śāstras, either by thinking, planning, talking about or actually having sexual intercourse, or by satisfying the genitals by artificial means, he is caught in the clutches of māyā. These instructions apply not only to householders but also to tyāgīs, or those who are in the renounced order of life. In his book Prema-vivarta, Chapter Seven, Śrī Jagadānanda Paṇḍita says:
| Page Title: | Sexual intercourse (Books) |
| Compiler: | Mayapur, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 08 of Oct, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=2, SB=51, CC=3, OB=2, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 58 |