Oct 18 1975 Johannesburg Africa
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: So with their advancement of knowledge…
Prabhupāda: What is the advancement of knowledge?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They are increasing sex life, and actually the advancement of knowledge should be decreasing sex life.
Prabhupāda: Yes. They do not know what is knowledge. The knowledge means sex life. That is their knowledge. Advancement of knowledge means how to enjoy sex life, how to take shelter of abortion, child-killing, and then contraceptive method—whole thing on the basis of sex life. That’s all. They do not know except these things. They know there is botheration after sex life, but they cannot give it up. Therefore all these arrangements: take contraceptive, kill child, and what… That means the whole thing is based on sex life. That’s all. Yan maithunādi gṛhamedhi sukhaṁ hi tuccham [SB 7.9.45]. Is that pleasure? They think it is pleasure to unite the urinals. (laughter) And this is pleasure, a standard of pleasure most third class, fourth class. Yan maithunādi gṛhamedhi sukhaṁ tuccham: very abominable. Tuccham, the śāstra says, “most abominable.” And they take it pleasure, and they make arrangement for this. When the dog enjoys sex life… Therefore they are allowed to do it on the street. People can see it. Is that very nice scene? The same thing is done by the human being, and they are taking: “This is all, everything.” This is basic principle of their happiness. That’s all. Mohinī, mohinī. This is captivation. And nature has made the woman’s face so attractive, beautiful, their breast, their hips, attractive, their sound, talking, singing, all very attractive, walking, and now they are dressing naked. They are showing simply the vagina, all other parts of the body clothed. This is going on. Whole thing is based on sex life, and that is tuccham, most abominable. Prakṛtiṁ mohinīṁ śritāḥ. It will take three hundred times births to understand that this sex life is abominable. Therefore it is bahūnāṁ janmanām ante [Bg. 7.19]. Not that immediately, simply by hearing our Bhagavad-gita lecture, they will give it up. It will take many, many births to understand. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante. In the Vedic system, sex life is allowed only for begetting children. Therefore they are… Restriction. Allowed, but with great restriction under religious rules and regulation and so many things, garbhādāna. Then the first principle is, even it is taken for begetting child, it is not secret.
Garbhādāna-saṁskāra. There should be a function, all the brāhmaṇas and relatives should come, and there will be ceremony, and everyone will know that “This man is going to now sex, have sex for begetting children.” This is ceremony, not secretly like cats and dogs. Cats and dogs also, they do not do secretly. A human being do it secretly and do not want the botheration. Therefore their scientific advancement means how to kill the child, how to make abortion, how to take contraceptive pills, how to distribute them, how allow the children, “Yes, you go on, but take these pills so that you may not be bothered.” Yes. Why not stop it, botheration? That you cannot, because animals. Because animal civilization, they cannot do it. Kaṇḍutive manivasi viṣaheta dhīraḥ. Why don’t you teach them to become dhīraḥ, sober—”Let me tolerate this itching sensation”—brahmacārī? That teaching is not good. You do it repeatedly, suffer, and suffer consequences. And to stop it they suffer in so many ways, suffering, suffering. Bahu-duḥkha bhajaḥ [SB 7.9.45]. Sex life, illicit or legal, the after-effect is suffering. Even it is not illicit—it is legal—then to take care of the wife or the children, for their education, for their upliftment and so on, so on, so on—suffering. And if it is illicit, then these sufferings: you commit sinful activities, kill the child, contraceptive, with the abortion, go to the doctor, pay, and so on, so on. So where is no suffering? Either legal or illicit, you have to suffer. Bahu-duḥkha bhajaḥ. Tṛpyanti neha kṛpana bahu-duḥkha bhajaḥ. These rascals, once they have done, “That’s all right. You have got one child. Just take of.” “No, again, again.” Once you have committed sinful activities, killing the child in the womb, “All right, stop it now.” “No, again.” Tṛpyanti neha kṛpana. He’s never satisfied. He knows that there is suffering behind this. Still, he’ll not stop it. Therefore a sober man… A man should be educated to become sober, that “Let me tolerate this itching, that’s all. I save so much trouble.” This is knowledge.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: We see practically that only the devotees are somewhat free from anxiety.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that’s a fact. We have little anxieties simply because we have to deal with this rascal world. Otherwise we have no anxiety. But we have taken this mission, to go and approach them, tell them the truth. Therefore we have got little anxiety. Otherwise there is no question of anxiety. Because we are mixing with these rascals—and we have to do that, who have taken this mission-therefore little anxiety there. That is also not very much. But you must know, the whole world is full of rascals and fools. That is not exaggeration. Eh? Or you have got different opinion?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: No.
Prabhupāda: Hm? What do you think? Do you agree?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They are mūḍhas.
Prabhupāda: (laughs) Our verdict is final: “All rascals and fools.” Therefore, when I ask these rascals, “Any question?” Stopped. (laughter) “Come on, any question?” What they will question? I challenge them, “Any question?” They know that “We have been proved as rascals.”
Lust is now defined-that which is the all devouring sinful enemy of this world-which is not just sex desire -but the desire to enjoy our senses separate from God-Krsna
July 31 1973 London
“This war, this fighting is not for my sense gratification, it is for Kṛṣṇa’s sense gratification…” Then he agreed, because he is a devotee. Kariṣye vacanaṁ tava: [Bg. 18.73] “Yes I shall now act.” This is the proposition. So ātmendriya-tṛpti-vā�chā dhare tāra nāma kāma. Kāma means lust. What is lust? Lust means whenever you try to satisfy your senses, that is called lust. And the same, whenever you try to satisfy Kṛṣṇa’s senses, that is love. Practically the same business, but personal and Kṛṣṇa.
So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means we have to act everything for Kṛṣṇa under proper direction. We cannot manufacture that “I am doing for Kṛṣṇa.” Then that is another misleading. Therefore we require the guidance of the spiritual master. Kṛṣṇa. Guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya [Cc. Madhya 19.151]. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, that you have to seek the mercy both of Kṛṣṇa and guru, not that you have become so advanced that you are directly in connection with Kṛṣṇa and whatever you are doing, it is mercy. No. Don’t think like that. It must be guided, it must be confirmed by guru. Guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja [Cc. Madhya 19.151]. … So therefore inexperienced persons, they should not try to teach Bhagavad-gītā to others because he has no knowledge. This knowledge has to be received by paramparā system. Evam paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ [Bg. 4.2]. So simply by academic career, by knowledge of ABCD, you cannot understand Bhagavad-gītā. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, bhakto ‘si priyo ‘si me [Bg. 4.3], without becoming bhakta… Therefore Sanātana Gosvāmī has forbidden that “Don’t hear anything about Kṛṣṇa from a person who is not a Vaiṣṇava.”.
Now- who is the real Bhakta, the Vaisnava , the pure devotee?
Srila Prabhupada explains
June 6 1969 New Vrndavana
So every Vaiṣṇava, every devotee of Kṛṣṇa, pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa, is a paramahaṁsa. So you, we are teaching people to become immediately paramahaṁsa, highest stage of sannyāsa. And the method is simply chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. You see? The post is paramahaṁsa. Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava means paramahaṁsa. He’s above brāhmaṇa, above sannyāsa. But we must be real Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava means ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam [Cc. Madhya 19.167]. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Brs. 1.1.11]. There is no other desire, material desire. Desire means material desire, this contaminated desire. It does not mean that we shall not desire to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. That desire is real desire. And any other desire, anyābhilāṣitā, for some material benefit, that is not required. But if we can keep ourself without any material desire, without any propensity for enjoying fruitive result… “I am doing something, I must enjoy this result. I must be enjoyer.” This is called j�āna-karma. “Oh, I must try to understand Kṛṣṇa by my speculative method.” Why? Kṛṣṇa is explaining Himself. Why don’t you try to understand Him in that way? Nonsense. (chuckling) What speculative power you have got? Simply you’ll commit blunder. Why? Kṛṣṇa says, “I am this, I am this, I am that, I am that.” In the Bhagavad-gītā, explains. God says. Why don’t you understand Him as He says? If I say that “I am from India. My birthplace is in Calcutta. I have got five children. I was formerly a businessman,” then why do you understand to speculate about me? What is the use of this speculation? If you actually want to know what Swamiji is, Swamiji says that “I was householder, and I was doing medical business. I have got five children. And this and that.” So that is sufficient. Why do you want to know Swamiji by speculation? Similarly, these rascals will try to understand Kṛṣṇa by speculation. No. There is no need. Paramahaṁsa. That is paramahaṁsa stage.
Some Conclusions-Right now in the USA there is a big fight over abortion “rights” as the Supreme Court has abolished the 50 year practice of abortion in America. This is huge for the pro lifers who understand yes there is life there in the mothers womb, and what right do we have to “terminate” it? So that demoniac mentality of the millions of women and men who go along with this ghastly abortion practice it has now been made illegal.
As Srila Prabhupada mentions above, this business of sex life, either licit or illicit is always a huge botheration for both male and females. If one uses contraceptives then a very bad result awaits those who do this both in this life and their next life. And for those who follow the Vedic system of Garbhadana samskara, that method is also problematic in raising a child. Child raising is always a difficult endeavor for anybody.
So better to avoid it if one can and as Prabhupada once mentioned if that can be done, then you are 50% of your way back to home, back to Godhead.
Next class Prabhupada explains lust —Lust means whenever you try to satisfy your senses, that is called lust. So lust does not necessarily mean only about sex life but it means all activity which is meant to satisfy my senses instead of the owner and master of my senses-Hrisikesa. And to know when I am acting for Krsna or for my own senses requires consultation with the spiritual master for if we just speculate, “Oh I am doing this for Krsna so it is OK”, that speculation will lead us into all sorts of maya.
Prabhupada mentions in one purport in BG that in the neophyte stage this requires great supervision by the guru. So if we dont have Prabhupada physically present to instruct us,. Then we must turn to his books and senior devotees who may not be motivated in the same way as us. Get confirmation from both and then we are safe to act.
But do devotees do this? In many cases they just go ahead with their “plans” and call it Krsna Consciousness.
Last class, Srila Prabhupada explains to us clearly who is a devotee. Many places he says devotee means Vaisnava, or pure devotee Paramahamsa, and in this lecture he gives us all kinds of evidence to support it.
So yes we all may be “devotees” but that is put in quotation marks to clarify .
Hare Krsna
damaghosa das
