Generally, we are controlled by the mind. That is the position of our conditional life. Baddha-jīva, mukta-jīva. Liberated soul and conditioned soul. What is the difference? Conditioned soul means who is becoming conditioned by the mind or controlled by the mind, he is conditioned soul. And liberated soul means who is not conditioned by the mind. Mind says, "Why not smoke one cigarette?" And when you'll be able to say, "No cigarette!" then you've controlled the mind. Mind will say always for some sense gratification. But when you control the mind, then you are liberated person. Therefore the svāmī, svāmī means controller, or gosvāmī. Svāmī does not mean you simply stamp over your name "Svāmī." No. Svāmī means the controller of the mind. He is not controlled by the mind; he controls the mind. Then he is svāmī. Gosvāmī. Go means "senses," and svāmī means "master." When you are able to control your senses, then you are a gosvāmī or svāmī, the same thing. Otherwise, godāsa. Dāsa means "servant." Everyone in this material world, he's godāsa. Godāsa means servant of the mind, servant of the senses. Everyone, servant of the senses. He may be very big man, but he's servant of the senses.
So the spiritual process, spiritual advancement means that at the present moment we are all servants of the senses or of the mind. Mind is the master of the senses, central point. Therefore if you can control the mind, then you can control the senses. So among the senses, the tongue is the most formidable, very difficult to control. So Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said, tār madhye jihvā ati, lobhamoy sudurmati ta 'ke jetā koṭhina saṁsāre, that of all the senses, the tongue is the strongest enemy, always proposing, "Eat this, eat this, eat this, eat this, eat this." Just see, for tongue only, one person eats little bit of beef only, not much. No, I have seen. A piece of beef. But for the satisfaction of the senses, thousands of innocent animals are being killed. Just see. They cannot control this, a bit of beef. They cannot control. If they decide that "We shall not . . ." We are prohibiting, "No meat-eating." So this is controlling the sense. Because unless you bring the senses under control, there is no question of spiritual advancement. Tār madhye jihvā ati. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). Tṛpyanti neha kṛpana bahu-duḥkha-bhājaḥ (SB 7.9.45). The sense—the tongue, the belly, the straight line, and then the genital. If you can control the tongue, then you can control your belly and then control your genital. And that is required. Unless you can control the genital, there is no question of liberation from this material bondage. This is the principle.
Therefore by practicing bhakti-yoga, gradually . . . Immediately it is not possible. But gradually, by sticking to the regulative principles and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, we shall be able to control the senses, and the first sense is the tongue. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). The senses are so strong, they'll not allow me to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. They'll not allow me. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to understand Kṛṣṇa—His name, His form, His pastimes, His paraphernalia, so many things. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. How much we have to learn about Him, just imagine. So all these things cannot be understood by these blunt senses engaged in material sense enjoyment. That is not possible. Therefore we have to control the senses. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ. Our indriyas . . . We are now habituated to use this indriya for material sense enjoyment. Therefore these indriyas, senses, is not fit for understanding Kṛṣṇa. It has to be purified. The senses . . . you cannot stop the activities of the senses, but you have to purify. That is recommended. That purification of the senses begins from the tongue. Therefore we have recommended that don't eat meat, don't taste intoxication, don't . . . and illicit sex. From the tongue, it goes to . . . Sex is not prohibited, but illicit sex, that is controlled, that is controlled. If one is allowed to have unlimited, unrestricted sex, then he is doomed. Better restrict your sex in one. That means gradually it will be controlled.
So we have to follow this. If we are actually serious about Kṛṣṇa consciousness and going back to home, back to Godhead, make our lives successful in this very life, then . . . Life successful means mukti, to be not entangled again with this material body. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti (BG 4.9). That is success, that after giving up this body . . . This body means the combination of the so many, twenty-four elements. So long we'll be entangled within this network of twenty-four elements, it is called conditioned life. And mukti, liberated, means no more entanglement. Muktir hitvā anyathā rūpam. We are now entangled in these twenty-four elements, and mukti means we are not entangled. Muktir hitvā anyathā rūpam. Because we are entangled, we are thinking otherwise: "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am this," "I am that," "I am that," "I have got so many duties." These things. But when one understands that these so-called duties and entanglement of these twenty-four elements of matter, "I do not belong this. I am aloof. I am aloof," this understanding is called brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). At least theoretically if we understand, then our duty changes. Prasannātmā, fixed up, that whatever I am doing now, I am doing with this material . . . for the benefit of this material, not for my personal benefit. I am not these twenty-four elements. This is called mukti.