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BRAHMACHARYA

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TAPASYA HANDBOOK
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MODEL BOOKLET -1
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TOTAL TOPICS ( 50 )
(FOR FREE BOOKLET - ONLY 5 TOPICS )

1. BASICS OF BRAHMACHARYA

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2. IMPORTANCE OF SEMEN

3. DEALING WITH BEAUTIFUL WOMEN

4. LUSTY DESIRES
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5. MAYA DEVI DEFEAT

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©JIVJAAGOMEDIA
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1.BASICS OF BRAHMACHARYA

Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa śamena damena vā (SB 6.1.13).

There is no question of your fall down. Chant 16 rounds regularly and no

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power in all three worlds will make you fall down. Krishna will save you

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always. Letter to Himavati -- London 19 August, 1971

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Brahmacārī means complete celibacy. No sex life, no amusement. Because

just to train him not to be attracted by this material sense enjoyment. Then
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he'll be able to grasp what is spiritual life. Lecture on BG 2.40-45 -- Los

Angeles, December 13, 1968

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If you cannot finish sixteen rounds, then you must not sleep on that day;
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you must not eat. Why don't you forget to eat, forget? Why do you forget

chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa? This is negligence, aparādha, offense. Rather, you

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should forget your sleeping and eating and must finish sixteen rounds. This

is called determination. This is called determination. So you are welcome to

take initiation, but if you are neglectful, if you want to make it a farce, that is

your business. I cannot give you any protection. 1974 -01-28 - Lecture SB

01.16.35 - Honolulu
Simply by desiring to go back to home, back to Godhead one is supposed

to follow the vow of brahmacārī. Brahmacārī, to live the life of celibacy, this

is called brahmacārī. So it has got so nice effect that if anyone from the

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birth to the death simply observe this life of celibacy he is sure to go back

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to home. Simply by observing one rule: yad icchanto brahmacaryaṁ

caranti. It is so nice, brahmacharya. So this is sacrifice. Sacrifice means my

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senses dictate that "You enjoy," but I am not enjoying. I am not enjoying.
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This is sacrifice .Lecture on BG 5.26-29 -- Los Angeles, February 12, 1969

Brahmacārī, there are two kinds of brahmacārīs. One who is leading

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complete celibacy, complete free from sex life, he is called brahmacārī.

Another brahmacārī is gṛhastha-brahmacārī. He has got his wife, but he

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has no other understanding with any other woman. And that wife also only,
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I mean to say, relationship is performed under regulation, he is also

brahmacārī. Lecture on BG 6.11-21 -- New York, September 7, 1966

Complete celibacy means one should not think of even sex life. Smaraṇam.

Or talk of sex life. Our modern literature, newspaper and everything, simply

full with talks of sex life. But this is against brahmacarya life. Smaraṇaṁ
kīrtanaṁ keli. And actually indulging in sex life. Prekṣaṇam: looking,

overlooking a nice boy or nice girl, that is also against brahmacarya.

Guhyam āsanam: whispering between girls and boys, that is also against

brahmacārī. Guhyam āsanaṁ saṅkalpam. Then determination of sex life.

Vyavasāya: endeavoring how to effect sex life. So when we can stop all

these activities, that is real brahmacharya. It is very difficult at the present

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age. Etan maithunyam aṣṭāṅgaṁ pravadanti manīṣinaḥ vikārita

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brahmacaryam eda astanam lakṣaṇam iti(?). So brahmacharya means that

you cannot think of sex life, you cannot talk of sex life, you cannot whisper
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about sex life, or you cannot endeavor for sex life. These eight types of
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activities in sex indulgence are against brahmacārī life. But here it is

prescribed that if you want to make solution of the problems of life, then
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you adopt, you have to adopt a life of tapasya, austerity, which begins from

brahmacārī. To summarise this brahmacarya life in this age we have given

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a simple formula, that "No illicit sex."-- Lecture on SB 6.1.11 -- New York,
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July 25, 1971

©JIVJAAGOMEDIA
2. IMPORTANCE OF SEMEN

It is understood here with that the faculty to discharge semen is the cause

of death. Therefore, yogīs and transcendentalists who want to live for

greater spans of life voluntarily restrain themselves from discharging

semen. The more one can restrain the discharge of semen, the more one

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can be aloof from the problem of death. There are many yogīs living up to

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three hundred or seven hundred years by this process, and in the

Bhāgavatam it is clearly stated that discharging semen is the cause of

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horrible death. The more one is addicted to sexual enjoyment, the more
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susceptible he is to a quick death. SRIMAD BHAGAVATM 3.26.57, Purport
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The system of Brahmacharya has been current since the birth of Brahmā.
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A section of the population, especially male, did not marry at all. Instead of

allowing their semen to be driven downwards, they used to lift the semen
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up to the brain. They are called ūrdhva-retasaḥ, those who lift up. Semen is

so important that if, by the yogic process, one can lift the semen up to the

brain, he can perform wonderful work—one's memory is enabled to act

very swiftly, and the duration of life is increased. Yogīs can thus perform all
kinds of austerity with steadiness and be elevated to the highest

perfectional stage, even to the spiritual world. SRIMAD BHAGAVATM

4.8.1, Purport

An important word in this verse is ūrdhva-retasaḥ, which means

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brahmacārīs who have never discharged semen. Celibacy is so important

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that even though one does not undergo any austerities, penances or

ritualistic ceremonies prescribed in the Vedas, if one simply keeps himself a

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pure brahmacārī, not discharging his semen, the result is that after death
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he goes to the Satyaloka. Generally, sex life is the cause of all miseries in

the material world. In the Vedic civilization sex life is restricted in various
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ways. Out of the whole population of the social structure, only the

gṛhasthas are allowed restricted sex life. All others refrain from sex. The
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people of this age especially do not know the value of not discharging

semen. As such, they are variously entangled with material qualities and
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suffer an existence of struggle only. SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 4.11.5,

Purport
Mahārāja Pṛthu underwent all these severe austerities in order to control

his words and his senses, to refrain from discharging his semen and to

control the life air within his body. All this he did for the satisfaction of

Kṛṣṇa. He had no other purpose. SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 4.23.7,

Translation

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Semen is meant to be discharged when one has a home, a wife and the

intention to beget children, otherwise, there is no injunction for discharging

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semen. These principles were followed from the beginning of creation, and
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such brahmacārīs never created progeny SRIAMAD BHAGAVATAM 4.8.1,

Purport
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One drop of semina is manufactured by so much blood. So unnecessarily

we discharge semina means we are enjoying, spending your own blood.

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Lecture on SB 1.15.37 -- Los Angeles, December 15, 1973

Prabhupāda: Just see. And how many, how much drops of semen he is

discharging... That means he's spoiling his blood. But he is thinking, "I am
enjoying." Would you like to, by giving your blood to enjoy? Would you like?

Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course -- May 15, 1973, Los Angeles

People want to enjoy by sex, by seminal discharge, but what is this? His

blood. By fifteen drops of blood, or something like that, one drop of semina

is created.

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Prabhupāda: Forty drops. Yes. So one ounce of semina discharge means

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forty ounce of blood sucked. This is a fact. So he is enjoying his own blood,

and he's thinking "I am enjoying." Therefore he's compared with the camel.

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Śva-viḍ-varāha uṣṭra kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ. Camel eats the
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thorny twigs, and the thorns pricks the tongue and blood comes out.

So after twig is mixed with blood, it becomes tasteful, and he thinks thorn is
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very nice. (laughs) So thorn is not nice; nice is his blood, own blood. But

he, because he's animal, he's thinking it is very nice. Arrival Room
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Conversation -- July 2, 1976, Washington, D.C.

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Prabhupāda: Nowadays boys are dull. Why dull?

Akṣayānanda: So dull in India.

Prabhupāda: Everywhere. Because they discharge semina like anything.

Must be dull.
Lecture on SB 1.15.37 -- Los Angeles, December 15, 1973

Student life, if one remains brahmacārī, he becomes determined. His brain

becomes very receptive. Therefore, in the brahmacārī system, complete

celibacy, no connection with woman. So up to twenty-five years, if he does

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not discharge semen, he becomes very stout, strong, and his health is built

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up for whole life, and he becomes so intelligent that anything he will hear,

he will remember immediately. Then after brahmacārī system, if one cannot

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remain brahmacārī, naiṣṭhika-brahmacārī, then the spiritual master allows
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him to marry. That is gṛhastha-āśrama. So when one is complete, fit for sex

life, he begets children, male children, and after twenty-five years, the child
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becomes grown up, so he retires. In this way, brahmacārī, gṛhastha,

vānaprastha, and sannyāsa. The whole aim is Viṣṇu, how to go back to

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home, back to Godhead.

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Not like, living like this, animals. Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-khara. Not to live.

Lecture on SB 2.3.19 -- Los Angeles, June 15, 1972

In student life there is no sex life. Then his brain will be finished. That is

happening nowadays. From the student life they indulge in sex life.

Therefore not very big men are coming now—because their brain

substance is finished. So a brahmacārī is supposed to raise the semina to

the brain, ūrdhvam anti,(?) not discharge, but keep it on the brain. Then

their memory becomes very sharp. Once heard from anyone, he will

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exactly produce, without any forget. Where is that science now? There is

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no such thing.

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So to fulfill the human life aim of human life, we have to become first-class

human being. The first-class human being, ideal human being, is the
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brāhmaṇa. Lecture on SB 6.1.13-14 -- Los Angeles, June 26, 1975

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That is brahmacārī, strictly. Brahmacārati iti brahmacārī. So ordinary brain

or brain with cow dung, they cannot understand the spiritual science.
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Therefore the brahmacārī should be trained up how to control the senses.

Then they will be able to understand. The brain will be sharp. Instead of
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discharging semina, there are brahmacārīs who takes the semina to the

brain. They are called ūrdhvaretaḥ, means the brain becomes very, very

fertile. Once heard from the spiritual master or teacher, he will remember.

He will never forget. Therefore, formerly there was no written book. Śruti,
simply by hearing, a brahmacārī would be educated, simply by hearing.

There was no need of books, writing. Therefore the Vedic literature is

known as śruti. It is to be learned by hearing. Even there is book, still, one

has to learn it by hearing from the realized soul. Therefore it is called śruti.

So this śruti memorizing power should be increased if one observes strictly

the life of celibacy. This is the science.Lecture on SB 6.1.48 -- Dallas, July

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30, 1975

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Vedic injunction is that "Do not waste your semina unnecessarily. Only you
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have sex life for begetting nice children, good population," that much order.

So even it is done according to the Vedic principle, still, there are so many
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sufferings—you have to take care of the children; you have to educate

them; you have to see that they are well raised. So many. So that is also
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botheration. But if you can remain brahmacārī, oh, you avoid this

botheration.Lecture on SB 7.9.23 -- Mayapur, March 1, 1976

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Prabhupāda: Therefore our prescription is that in the beginning of life,

teach him brahmācārya restraint, and when he is grown up, he is above

twenty, get him married. In the beginning, he will learn how to restrain. If
you teach your child to become saintly, he retains his semina, his brain

becomes strong, he can understand things, because wasting your semina

means less intelligence. So from the beginning, if he is brahmacārī, if he

stops misuse of semina, then he becomes intelligent and strong and fully

grown. For want of education, everything is being stunted-brain, bodily

growth, and everything. So after he is trained as a brahmacārī, if he thinks

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that still he will have sex enjoyment, all right, he can be married. But

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because he will have strength of body and brain, he will beget a child,

immediately there will be male child. This is practical remedy. And because
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he has been trained from boyhood to renounce this material way of
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enjoyment, when he is fifty years old, naturally his first-born child must be

twenty-five years old, so he can retire from sex life. (indistinct), because
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household life means a license for sex life. That is all. SRILA

PRABHUPADA Philosophy Discussion on Sigmund Freud:

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Prabhupāda: Uddhareta. There is a word uddhareta. Reta means semina.

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One who has learned how to divert the movement of the semina to the

brain. Uddhareta. Greatest yogis. By yogic power they can do that. Instead

of discharging, going down. Room Conversation -- September 6, 1976,

Vrndavan
3. DEALING WITH BEAUTIFUL WOMEN

When a woman's bodily features are attractive, when her face is beautiful

and when her voice is sweet, she is naturally a trap for a man. The śāstras

advise that when such a woman comes to serve a man, she should be

considered to be like a dark well covered by grass.SB 6.18.41, Purport

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The mode of passion is characterized by the attraction between man and

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woman. Woman has attraction for man, and man has attraction for woman.

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This is called the mode of passion. And when the mode of passion is

increased, one develops the hankering for material enjoyment. He wants to

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enjoy sense gratification. For sense gratification, a man in the mode of

passion wants some honor in society, or in the nation, and he wants to

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have a happy family, with nice children, wife and house. These are the
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products of the mode of passion. As long as one is hankering after these

things, he has to work very hard.-- Bhagavad Gita 14.7

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©JIVJAAGOMEDIA
We therefore request all the members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness

movement—both men and women—not to be attracted by bodily features

but only to be attracted by Kṛṣṇa. Then everything will be all right.

Otherwise there will be danger. SB 6.18.41, Translation and Purport

Especially in this age, the mind becomes disturbed, and due to so much

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agitation, the process of seeing the Lord within the mind is interrupted.

When there is sound vibrated praising the transcendental pastimes of the

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Lord, however, one is forced to hear. Srimad Bhagavatam 3.28.19,

Purport
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Human civilization, as conceived of by the sages of India, is to help one

free himself from the clutches of illusion. The material beauty of a woman is
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an illusion because actually the body is made of earth, water, fire, air, etc.

But because there is the association of the living spark with matter, it
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appears to be beautiful. No one is attracted by an earthen doll, even if it is

most perfectly prepared to attract the attention of others. The dead body
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has no beauty because no one will accept the dead body of a so-called

beautiful woman. Therefore, the conclusion is that the spirit spark is

beautiful, and because of the soul's beauty one is attracted by the beauty of
the outward body. The Vedic wisdom, therefore, forbids us to be attracted

by false beauty. SB 1.10.16, Purport

The difference between demons and demigods is that a beautiful woman

very easily attracts the minds of demons, but she cannot attract the mind of

a godly person. A godly person is full of knowledge, and a demoniac

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person is full of ignorance. Just as a child is attracted by a beautiful doll,

similarly a demon, who is less intelligent and full of ignorance, is attracted

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by material beauty and an appetite for sex. The godly person knows that

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this nicely dressed and ornamented attraction of high breasts, high hips,

beautiful nose and fair complexion is māyā. All the beauty a woman can
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display is only a combination of flesh and blood. Śrī Śaṅkarācārya has

advised all persons not to be attracted by the interaction of flesh and blood;
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they should be attracted by the real beauty In spiritual life. The real beauty
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is Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā. SB 3.20.31, Purport

The demons observed beautiful gestures in the woman's every step. Here
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they praise her full-grown breasts, her scattered hair and her movements in

stepping forward and backward while playing with the ball. In every step

they enjoy her womanly beauty, and while they enjoy her beauty their

minds become agitated by sex desire. As moths at night surround a fire

and are killed, so the demons become victims of the movements of the

ball-like breasts of a beautiful woman. The scattered hair of a beautiful

woman also afflicts the heart of a lusty demon. SB 3.20.36, Purport:

Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya has therefore warned the transcendentalists that

one who is after transcendental realization should not be attracted by the

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raised breasts of a woman because they are nothing but an interaction of

fat and blood within the body. SB 3.23.36-37, Purport

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Lord Brahmā's being captivated by the charms of his daughter and Lord

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Śiva's being captivated by the Mohinī form of the Lord are specific
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instances which instruct us that even great demigods like Brahmā and Lord

Śiva, what to speak of the ordinary conditioned soul, are captivated by the
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beauty of woman. Therefore, everyone is advised that one should not freely

mix even with one's daughter or with one's mother or with one's sister,
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because the senses are so strong that when one becomes infatuated, the

senses do not consider the relationship of daughter, mother or sister. It is

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best, therefore, to practice controlling the senses by performing

bhakti-yoga, engaging in the service of Madana-mohana. Lord Kṛṣṇa's

name is Madana-mohana, for He can subdue the god Cupid, or lust. Only

by engaging in the service of Madana-mohana can one curb the dictates of

Madana, Cupid. Otherwise, attempts to control the senses will fail. SB

3.31.36, Purport

In complete contrast with the influence of this atmosphere on the minds of

the living entities within the material world is the description of the spiritual

world. The women there are hundreds and thousands of times more

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beautiful than the women here in this material world, and the spiritual

atmosphere is also many times better. Yet despite the pleasant

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atmosphere, the minds of the denizens do not become agitated because in

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the spiritual world, the Vaikuṇṭha planets, the spiritualistic minds of the

inhabitants are so much absorbed in the spiritual vibration of chanting the

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glories of the Lord that such enjoyment could not be surpassed by any

other enjoyment, even sex, which is the culmination of all pleasure in the
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material world. In other words, in the Vaikuṇṭha world, in spite of its better
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atmosphere and facilities, there is no impetus for sex life. As stated in

Bhagavad-gītā (2.59), paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate: the inhabitants are so

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spiritually enlightened that in the presence of such spirituality, sex life is

insignificant. SB 4.6.30, Purport

Of the various parts of the body, those which incite sexual impulses are

referred to here indirectly. Because the body has genitals, when the living

entity attains the right age—be he man or woman—he becomes agitated

by the sex impulse. As long as one remains a child, he is not agitated by

seeing a beautiful woman. Although the sense organs are present, unless

the age is ripe there is no sex impulse. The favorable conditions

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surrounding the sex impulse are compared here to a garden or a nice

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solitary park. When one sees the opposite sex, naturally the sex impulse

increases. It is said that if a man in a solitary place does not become

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agitated upon seeing a woman, he is to be considered a brahmacārī. But
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this practice is almost impossible. The sex impulse is so strong that even

by seeing, touching or talking, coming into contact with, or even thinking of

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the opposite sex—even in so many subtle ways—one becomes sexually

impelled. a brahmacārī or sannyāsī is prohibited to associate with women,

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especially in a secret place. The śāstras enjoin that one should not even
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talk to a woman in a secret place, even if she happens to be one's own

daughter, sister or mother. The sex impulse is so strong that even if one

is very learned, he becomes agitated in such circumstances. If this is

the case, how can a young man in a nice park remain calm and quiet after

seeing a beautiful young woman? SB 4.25.17, Purport

It is said in the Prema-vivarta that when a living entity wants to enjoy

material nature, he is immediately victimized by the material energy. A

living entity is not forced to come into the material world. He makes his own

choice, being attracted by beautiful women. Every living entity has the

freedom to be attracted by material nature or to stand as a hero and resist

that attraction. It is simply a question of the living entity's being attracted or

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not being attracted. There is no question of his being forced to come into

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contact with material energy. One who can keep himself steady and resist

the attraction of material nature is certainly a hero and deserves to be

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called a gosvāmī. Unless one is master of the senses, he cannot become a
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gosvāmī. The living entity can take one of two positions in this world. He

may become a servant of his senses, or he may become master of them.

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By becoming a servant of the senses, one becomes a great material hero,

and by becoming master of the senses, he becomes a gosvāmī, or spiritual

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hero. SB 4.25.25, Purport

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In the material world, whether one be a man or a woman, one wants to

enjoy. A man wants to enjoy a beautiful woman, and a woman wants to

enjoy a powerful, opulent man. Every living entity who possesses such

material desires is called puruṣa, an enjoyer. Superficially it appears that

the woman is the enjoyed and the man is the enjoyer, but internally
everyone is an enjoyer. Consequently everything in this material world is

called māyā. SB 4.25.29, Purport

Everyone has lusty desires within, and as soon as one is agitated by the

movement of a beautiful woman's eyebrows, the cupid within immediately

throws his arrow at the heart. Thus one is quickly conquered by the

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eyebrows of a beautiful woman. When one is agitated by lusty desires, his

senses are attracted by all kinds of viṣaya (enjoyable things like sound,

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touch, form, smell and taste). These attractive sense objects oblige one to

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come under the control of a woman. In this way the conditional life of a

living entity begins. Conditional life means being under the control of a
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woman, and certainly the living entity is always at the mercy of a woman or

a man. Thus living entities live in bondage to one another, and thus they
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continue this conditional, material life illusioned by māyā. SB 4.25.30,

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Purport

Such a speech is typical of a living entity attracted by the opposite sex.

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This is called bewilderment occasioned by becoming conditioned by

material nature. When thus attracted by the beauty of the material energy,

one becomes very eager to enjoy. This is elaborately described in this

instance of Purañjana's becoming attracted by the beautiful woman. In

conditional life the living entity is attracted by a face, eyebrows or eyes, a

voice or anything. In short, everything becomes attractive. When a man or

a woman is attracted by the opposite sex, it does not matter whether the

opposite sex is beautiful or not. The lover sees everything beautiful in the

face of the beloved and thus becomes attracted. This attraction causes the

living entity to fall down in this material world SB 4.25.31, Purport

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The creator has constructed women in such a way that their beautiful

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voices and movements and the beautiful features of their hips, their

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breasts, and the other parts of their bodies attract the members of the

opposite sex, both on earth and on other planets, and awaken their lusty
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desires. When one is controlled by Cupid or the beauty of women, he

becomes stunned like matter such as stone. Captivated by the material

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movements of women, he wants to remain in this material world. Thus

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one's promotion to the spiritual world is checked simply by seeing the

beautiful bodily structure and movements of women. Śrī Caitanya

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Mahāprabhu has therefore warned all devotees to beware of the attraction

of beautiful women and materialistic civilization. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

even refused to see Pratāparudra Mahārāja because he was a very opulent

person in the material world.

those who are engaged in the devotional service of the Lord because they

are very serious about going back home, back to Godhead, should be very

careful to avoid seeing the beautiful gestures of women and should also

avoid seeing persons who are very rich. SB 5.2.6, Purport

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Sometimes a beautiful woman is dangerous because everyone, being

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captivated by external beauty (māyā-mohita), is unable to understand what

is in her mind. Those who are captivated by the beauty of the external

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energy are called māyā-mohita. SB 10.6.9, Purport
GO
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Māyā has many ways to entrap us, and her strongest shackle is the female.

Of course, in actuality, we are neither male nor female, for these

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designations refer only to the outer dress, the body. We are all actually

Kṛṣṇa's servants. But in conditioned life we are shackled by iron chains in

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the form of beautiful women. Thus every male is bound by sex, and

therefore one who wishes to gain liberation from the material clutches must

first learn to control the sex urge. Unrestricted sex puts one fully in the

clutches of illusion. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu officially renounced this

illusion at the age of twenty-four, although His wife was sixteen and His
mother seventy and He was the only male in the family. Although He was a

brāhmaṇa and was not rich, He took sannyāsa, the renounced order of life,

and thus extricated Himself from family entanglement. CC Introduction

A person fixed in spiritual knowledge will not be attracted by the allurement

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of material nature in the form of beautiful women and the sex pleasure

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enjoyed in their association. One, however, who is still immature in the

cultivation of spiritual knowledge may be attracted at any moment by the

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illusion of temporary happiness, just as the ocean is agitated by the rushing
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rivers and blowing wind that occur during the rainy season. It is therefore

very important to fix oneself at the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master
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who is a representative of God so that one will not be carried away by sex

agitation. Light of the Bhagavata 11, Purport

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The word pramattān is also significant. pramatta refers to one who

cannot control his senses. The entire material world is being exploited by

people who are pramatta, or vimūḍha. Prahlāda Mahārāja therefore said

"They are rotting in material activities for transient material pleasure and

spoiling their lives toiling all day and night simply for sense gratification,

with no attachment for love of Godhead. I am simply lamenting for them

and devising various plans to deliver them from the clutches of māyā." (SB

7.9.43) Karmīs who act very seriously for sense gratification are always

referred to in the śāstras by such terms as pramatta, vimukha and

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vimūḍha. They are killed by māyā. However, one who is apramatta, a sane,

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sober person, a dhīra, knows very well that a human being's primary duty is

to render service to the Supreme Person. Māyā is always ready to kill those
M
who are pramatta with her invisible bows and arrows SB 5.2.7 PUurport
GO
AA

It is explained here that spiritual knowledge vanquishes the knot of the

heart. Matter and spirit are knotted by false ego. This identification of
VJ

oneself with matter, which is called hṛdaya-granthi, exists for all conditioned

souls, and it becomes more and more tightened when there is too much
JI

affection for sex life. The explanation was given by Lord Ṛṣabha to His

sons that this material world is an atmosphere of attraction between male

and female. That attraction takes the shape of a knot in the heart, and by

material affection it becomes still more tight. For people who hanker after
material possessions, society, friendship and love, this knot of affection

becomes very strong. It is only by brahma-bhāvana—the instruction by

which spiritual knowledge is enhanced—that the knot in the heart is cut to

pieces. No material weapon is needed to cut this knot, but it requires bona

fide spiritual instruction SB 3.24.4, Purport

IA
ED
It is a woman's nature to want to decorate herself with ornaments and nice

dresses and accompany her husband to social functions, meet friends and

M
relatives, and enjoy life in that way. This propensity is not unusual, for
GO
woman is the basic principle of material enjoyment. Therefore in Sanskrit

the word for woman is strī, which means "one who expands the field of
AA

material enjoyment." In the material world there is an attraction between

woman and man. This is the arrangement of conditional life. A woman

VJ

attracts a man, and in that way the scope of material activities, involving

house, wealth, children and friendship, increases, and thus instead of

JI

decreasing one's material demands, one becomes entangled in material

enjoyment. SB 4.3.9, Purport

The word striyā, meaning "along with the wife," is significant. The male and

female living together constitute the sum and substance of material

existence. The attraction between male and female in this material world is

very strong. In all species of life the attraction between male and female is

the basic principle of existence. The same principle of intermingling is also

in human society, but is in a regulative form. Material existence means

IA
living together as male and female and being attracted by one another.

ED
However, when one fully understands spiritual life, his attraction for the

opposite sex is completely vanquished. By such attraction, one becomes

M
overly attached to this material world. It is a hard knot within the heart.
GO

puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ

AA

tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ

ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair
VJ

janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti

JI

(SB 5.5.8)

Everyone comes to this material world attracted to sense gratification, and

the hard knot of sense gratification is the attraction between male and

female. By this attraction, one becomes overly attached to the material

world in terms of gṛha-kṣetra-suta-āpta-vitta—that is, home, land, children,

friends, money and so forth. Thus one becomes entangled in the bodily

conception of "I" and "mine." However, if one understands the story of King

Purañjana and understands how, by sexual attraction, Purañjana became a

female in his next life, one will also understand the process of

transmigration. SB 4.29.85, Purport

IA
A man is attracted by woman, and the woman is attracted by man. This is

ED
the basic principle. Here, in this material world, there is no attraction for

M
God, but there is attraction. That attraction is, on the whole, sex attraction.

That's all. The whole world, not only human society, animal society, bird
GO

society, beast society, any society, any living being, the attraction is sex

Lecture on SB 2.4.2 -- Los Angeles, June 26, 1972

AA
VJ

By the attraction between male and female, sex-desire. For that sex-life,
JI

the whole universe is spinning round—and suffering! That is the harsh

truth. So-called love, here, means "you gratify my senses, I'll gratify your

senses," and as soon as that gratification stops: immediately there is

divorce, separation, quarrel, hatred. So many things there are, going on

under this false conception of love. Actual love means love of God,

Krishna. Letter to Lynne Ludwig -- Los Angeles 30 April, 1973

Material world there is attraction between men and women and this

attraction is stronger than anything else. In the spiritual world there is also

beautiful men and beautiful women and there is attraction but this attraction

IA
is not so strong as the attraction for chanting the Lord's glories. Letter to

Ramesvara -- Mayapur 18 January, 1976

ED
Māyā wanted to be favored by Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Therefore Haridāsa
M
Ṭhākura formally initiated her by asking her to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa
GO
mahā-mantra. -CC Antya 3.259
AA
VJ
JI
4. LUSTY DESIRES

"'O my Lord, there is no limit to the unwanted orders of lusty desires.

Although I have rendered these desires so much service, they have not

shown any mercy to me. I have not been ashamed to serve them, nor have

I even desired to give them up. O my Lord, O head of the Yadu dynasty,

IA
recently, however, my intelligence has been awakened, and now I am

ED
giving them up. Due to transcendental intelligence, I now refuse to obey the

unwanted orders of these desires, and I now come to You to surrender

M
myself at Your fearless lotus feet. Kindly engage me in Your personal
GO
service and save me'" CC Madhya 22.16, Translation

So this psychology's there, lusty desire. That is the basic principle of

AA

material life. So when one becomes free from this lusty desire,
VJ

kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ, that is spiritual life. That is spiritual life. Very simple

thing. The material life means the basic principle is lusty desire. Everyone
JI

is working so hard because the basic principle is lusty desire. "I shall enjoy

like this. My wife shall enjoy. My children shall enjoy. My grandchildren shall

enjoy. My countrymen will enjoy. My society will enjoy." Lecture on BG 4.19

-- Bombay, April 8, 1974:

So because we have got this body, therefore we must have some kāma.

That is a fact. You cannot avoid it. Lusty desire there is, and for the up keep

of the body the lusty desires may be fulfilled, but don't become lusty which

is duṣpūram, which is never to be fulfilled. So kāmasya na indriya-prītiḥ.

IA
Just like lusty desires, generally it is with reference to sex life. So sex life is

required for the physiological condition of the body. That is nature's way. Or

ED
by giving birth to some nice children, that sex life is required. Otherwise

M
why God has made the arrangement of sex? There is need, but not

duṣpūram. Kāmasya na indriya-prītiḥ: "Don't use it for sense gratification."

GO

You use it to fulfill the real purpose. So these lusty desires, unless you live

a very regulated life, then it will be duṣpūram, it will be never be

AA

fulfilled—always desire, always desire, always desire. Lecture on BG 16.10

VJ

-- Hawaii, February 6, 1975:

JI

This kāma and lobha is a heart disease. Actually, you don't require this, but

it is a kind of disease. "More and more and more and more and more."

Never satisfied. So we have to cure this disease. And this process, simple
process, Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given: ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC

Antya 20.12). To cure the heart disease of lusty desires and greediness is

chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam.

These are the shastric injunction, and spoken by personalities like Lord

Caitanya and other ācāryas. Lecture on SB 1.2.19 -- Calcutta, September

27, 1974

IA
ED
M
Therefore by nature, women are beautiful, they dress themselves
GO
beautifully. This is nature, to invoke the lusty desire of man. So according to

Vedic civilization, woman, when she is dressed nicely and she is beautiful,
AA

she must invoke lusty desires. Therefore Vedic civilization does not allow a

woman to be nicely dressed unless she is before her husband, unless she
VJ

is before her husband. Because if she, I mean to say, agitates the lusty
JI

desires of all others, that is not very good. So woman is allowed to dress

herself very nicely when her husband is present. Otherwise she will not

dress. Lecture on SB 1.8.47 -- Los Angeles, May 9, 1973

Material life means everyone is trying to become victorious in the struggle

of existence without God consciousness. That is our material disease.

Kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā kare. We may revolt. That

independence we have got, little independence, and we can misuse it, that

"Why shall I serve Kṛṣṇa? Let me serve myself." "Let me serve myself"

means "Let me serve my different propensities, kāma, krodha, lobha,

IA
moha, mātsarya," like that. My independence means "I will not serve God; I

ED
will serve my lusty desires." You cannot become independent. This is a

concoction only, that "I will not serve Kṛṣṇa." But you have to serve. What is
M
that? "Then I serve my lusty desires." Lecture on SB 3.26.23-4 -- Bombay,
GO
January 1, 1975
AA

"Due to ignorance, the materialistic person does not know anything about
VJ

his real self-interest, the auspicious path in life. He is simply bound to

material enjoyment by lusty desires, and all his plans are made for this
JI

purpose. For a temporary sense gratification, such a person creates a

society of envy, and due to this mentality, he plunges into the ocean of

suffering. Such a foolish person does not even know about this."Lecture on

SB 5.5.16 -- Vrndavana, November 4, 1976

If a young man sees another young man he's enjoying with another young

girl, then naturally his lusty desires increases. So these things are

forbidden therefore. Still in some places it is forbidden that you cannot...

India this is strictly forbidden. There is no such thing in the public street a

IA
young man can embrace or kiss. No. That is not possible. Then it will be

criminal. Neither a young boy can dare to speak with another young girl on

ED
the street. Still it is criminal. She'll begin immediately protest that is incivility.

M
Lecture on SB 6.1.26 -- Honolulu, May 26, 1976
GO

Now the whole world is full with all of these lusty desires, especially in the
AA

Western country. Here also now it has come. No more they are following

the Vedic principles. But it is not so deteriorated as in the Western

VJ

countries, and so we should be very, very careful. Not only... Simply

JI

becoming careful will not. We must advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and

that is very easily done by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. If you keep

yourself always engaged in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa,

then it will be... Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). This is

hṛc-chaya-vaśam. The lusty desire is a disease of the heart. It is...

Practically it has no value. So therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says,

ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. They cleanse the heart with all dirty things.

Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. How? Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. This

is confirmed in Bhāgavatam, kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ

vrajet (SB 12.3.51) Simply by chanting, you can keep. If you follow the

rules and regulation and chanting, then you will not be victimized. You'll

IA
make your progress without any fear. Lecture on SB 6.1.61 -- Vrndavana,

ED
August 28, 1975

M
GO
We have come to this material world to fulfill our lusty desires. Naturally

whenever there is any lusty activities, our heart disease immediately

AA

becomes impeted, and the same thing happened to Ajāmila. And

graha-grasto vicetasaḥ. Graha-grasta. Just like when we are haunted by

VJ

ghost—a ghost captures, then vicetasaḥ, we are lost, lost of our our

consciousness, our intelligence—he became like that. Tām eva manasā

JI

dhyāyan. Then, instead of meditating on Kṛṣṇa, he began to meditate on

the lusty affairs of the śūdra and the śūdrāṇī. Lecture on SB 6.1.63 --

Vrndavana, August 30, 1975

 We should make our life so simple and easy that we can get our

necessities of life without any hard labor and save time to advance in Kṛṣṇa

consciousness. That is a perfect civilization. This is not perfect civilization.

There is every chance of being influenced by these lusty desires, and that

is going on, especially in the Western country. They lusty for fulfilling these

lusty desires there are so many clubs at night, nightclubs, bottomless and

IA
topless and so many advertisements. This is not civilization. Civilization is

ED
peaceful life, and we should be satisfied in simple mode of life and always

think of Kṛṣṇa. Lecture on SB 6.1.63 -- Vrndavana, August 30, 1975

M
GO

A young boy loves a young woman for his sense gratification, not for her
AA

sense gratification. Similarly she also. So in this material, this cheating is

going on. I want to satisfy my lusty desires, but it is going on in the name of
VJ

love. There cannot be any love in this material world. Because love is

between spirit and spirit. But if we try to love the Supreme Spirit, Kṛṣṇa,
JI

then we shall understand how our love can be spread in the spiritual world.

Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām. Lecture on SB 7.6.9

-- New Vrindaban, June 25, 1976

Our distressed condition is due to lusty desires, kāmāturam. And the result

is harṣa-śokaḥ. When we can fulfill our desires—"I am very much inclined

to a woman or a man"—kāmāturam, lusty desires, if we can fulfill, then it is

very nice, harṣa: "Oh, I am very successful." And if you cannot fulfill, then

śoka. Two things are there. Śoka, there are so many things. We have got

practical examples. The so-called loving affairs of man and woman ends in

IA
even murder. We have got experience. So śokāturam. The lusty desires

ED
means for the time being it may be very happy condition, but the result is

śoka. It will end. Either illicit sex or legal sex, the end is śoka, śoka,
M
lamentation. There are many examples, practical. Lecture on SB 7.9.39 --
GO
Mayapur, March 17, 1976

But that is not the fact. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is a verse that the
AA

loving affairs of gopīs and Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu, it is not ordinary thing. If one can
VJ

hear from the proper source, and if he understands the real fact of rasa-līlā,

then the result will be that his heart, which is full with lusty desire, that will
JI

vanish. There will be no more lusty desires. Praṇaya-vikṛtiḥ, this

praṇaya-vikṛtiḥ hlādinī. So if anyone understands this praṇaya-vikṛtiḥ, the

loving affairs, transformation of different feelings, if one can understand,

then his material lusty desires will vanish. This is the result.

Hṛd-roga-kāmān apasya apahinoti dhīraḥ. He becomes dhīra. Here in this

material world everyone is adhīra, agitated, agitated by lusty desires. But in

the spiritual world they are dhīra. They are not agitated by lusty desires.

This is spiritual world. So long we are agitated by the lusty desires, we

must know that we are in the material world. Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.5 --

Mayapur, March 29, 1975:

IA
I was acting whimsically, by the dictation of my different senses," kāma,

krodha, lobha, moha, mātsarya, like that. Na kāmādīnāṁ katidha na

ED
katidhā pālitā durnideśa. The śāstra says you should not steal—an

M
example. But I am stealing. Why? Na kāmādīnāṁ katidha na katidhā pālitā

durnideśa (CC Madhya 22.16). I know I should not steal; therefore I go to

GO

somebody's house very secretly, or push my hand very secretly in one's

pocket. I know that I should not do this, but I am forced to do it. Why?
AA

Dictated by my lusty desire. So I have become servant of my six senses.

VJ

Manaḥ saṣṭhanīndriyāni prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). This is our

position. Kamāninā kulya . everyone knows. A thief knows that if he

JI

commits theft he'll be punished, either by the police or by the laws of God.

Everyone knows, but he still commits theft. Why? This is dictated by the

lusty desires.
So pravṛtti means we are dictated by our kāma, krodha, lobha, moha,

mātsarya, and we should agree to be dictated by Kṛṣṇa, that's all. That is

intelligent. Pravṛtti, nivṛtti. Our pravṛtti is to abide by the dictation of the

senses, and when we learn not to abide by the dictation of the senses but

to abide by the orders of Kṛṣṇa or His representative, then your life are

successful. This teaching, this learning, means Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is

IA
not difficult. Everyone can do it. Simply he has to change: instead of being

ED
dictated by the senses, one should be dictated by Kṛṣṇa. That requires

qualification. Kṛṣṇa is there, everyone's heart. Bombay, December 22,

1975)
M
GO
AA
VJ
JI
5. MAYA DEVI DEFEAT

MAYA DEVI AND HARIDAS THAKUR DISCUSSION

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta -Antya-līlā - CHAPTER THREE

IA
Text 235: With folded hands she offered obeisances at the lotus feet of

Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Sitting at the door, she then spoke in a very sweet

ED
voice.

M
Text 236: “My dear friend,” she said, “you are the friend of the entire world.
GO
You are so beautiful and qualified. I have come here only for union with

you.
AA

Text 237: “My dear sir, kindly accept me and be merciful toward me, for it is
VJ

a characteristic of all saintly persons to be kind toward the poor and fallen.”
JI

Text 238: After saying this, she began to manifest various postures, which

even the greatest philosopher would lose his patience upon seeing.

Text 239: Haridāsa Ṭhākura was immovable, for he was deeply

determined. He began to speak to her, being very merciful toward her.

Text 240: “I have been initiated into a vow to perform a great sacrifice by

chanting the holy name a certain number of times every day.

Text 241: “As long as the vow to chant is unfulfilled, I do not desire

anything else. When I finish my chanting, then I have an opportunity to do

anything.

IA
Text 242: “Sit down at the door and hear the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa

ED
mahā-mantra. As soon as the chanting is finished, I shall satisfy you as you

desire.”
M
GO
Text 243: After saying this, Haridāsa Ṭhākura continued to chant the holy

name of the Lord. Thus the woman sitting before him began to hear the
AA

chanting of the holy name.

Text 244: In this way, as he chanted and chanted, the morning

VJ

approached, and when the woman saw that it was morning, she got up and
JI

left.

Text 245: For three days she approached Haridāsa Ṭhākura in this way,

exhibiting various feminine postures that would bewilder the mind of even

Lord Brahmā.
Text 246: Haridāsa Ṭhākura was always absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa and

the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore the feminine poses the woman exhibited

were just like crying in the forest.

Text 247: At the end of the night of the third day, the woman spoke to

Haridāsa Ṭhākura as follows.

IA
Text 248: “My dear sir, for three days you have cheated me by giving me

ED
false assurances, for I see that throughout the entire day and night your

M
chanting of the holy name is never finished.”
GO
Text 249: Haridāsa Ṭhākura said, “My dear friend, what can I do? I have

made a vow. How, then, can I give it up?”

AA

Text 250: After offering obeisances to Haridāsa Ṭhākura, the woman said,

“I am the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I came

VJ

here to test you.

JI

Text 251: “I have previously captivated the mind of even Brahmā, what to

speak of others. Your mind alone have I failed to attract.

Texts 252-253: “My dear sir, you are the foremost devotee. Simply seeing

you and hearing you chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa has purified my
consciousness. Now I want to chant the holy name of the Lord. Please be

kind to me by instructing me about the ecstasy of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa

mahā-mantra.

Text 254: “There is now a flood of the eternal nectar of love of Godhead

due to the incarnation of Lord Caitanya. All living entities are floating in that

IA
flood. The entire world is now thankful to the Lord.

ED
Text 255: “Anyone who does not float in this inundation is most

M
condemned. Such a person cannot be delivered for millions of kalpas.
GO
Text 256: “Formerly I received the holy name of Lord Rāma from Lord Śiva,

but now, due to your association, I am greatly eager to chant the holy name
AA

of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Text 257: “The holy name of Lord Rāma certainly gives liberation, but the
VJ

holy name of Kṛṣṇa transports one to the other side of the ocean of
JI

nescience and at last gives one ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa.

Text 258: “Please give me the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and thus make me

fortunate, so that I also may float in the flood of love of Godhead

inaugurated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.”

Text 259: After speaking in this way, Māyā worshiped the lotus feet of

Haridāsa Ṭhākura, who initiated her by saying, “Just perform chanting of

the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.”

Text 260: After thus being instructed by Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Māyā left with

great pleasure. Unfortunately, some people have no faith in these

IA
narrations.

ED
Text 261: Therefore I shall explain the reasons why people should have

M
faith. Everyone who hears this will be faithful.
GO
AA
VJ
JI