HARE KRSNA HARE KRSNA KRSNA KRSNA HARE HAW, HARE RAMA

HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE

CONQUERING THE E N E M Y O F LUST G I V E N BY H. H.

RADHANATH SWAM I MAHARAJ

(lairapitam patinamca............viparyayam)

"In this human form of life, a man and woman unite for the sensual pleasure of
sex. But by actual experience we have observed thai none of! he in are happy.
Therefore seeing the contrary results, I have slopped nil i c part in the
materialistic activities."

Purport by his Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prahhupada:

It is stated by PrahladaMaharaj, (yanmailii nadi........tucchain) Man and woman

both seek sexual enjoyment and when they are united by the ritualistic ceremony
of marriage they are happy for some lime. Hut finally there dissension. And thus
there are so many cases of separation and
divorce. Although every man and woman is eager to ENJOY life for the sexual
unity; the result is DISUNEEY and DLS7RESS1 Marriage is recommended to
give man and woman a concession for restricted sex life, which is also
recommended in the Bhagvad-Gita by the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
'dharma virudho bhuteshu kamosmi)
'Sex life not against the principles of religion, is Krsna. Every living entity is
always eager to enjoy sex life because materialistic life consists of eating,
sleeping, sex and fear. In animal life, eating, sleeping, sexia' enjoyment and fear
cannot be regulated. But for human society the plan is thai although a man, like
the animals must be allowed to eat, sleep, en joy sex and take protection from
fear, they MUST be regulated. The 1 'edic plan for eating recommends that one
take (Jagsishta) or prasadam, the food offered to Krsna.

(jagyasisia ci........kilvasayi i)

The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat
food that is offered first for sacrifice. In material life one commits sinful
activities, especially in eating and because of sinful activities one is condemned
by-nature's laws to accept another body which is imposed as punishment. Sex
and eating are essential and therefore they are offered lo the human society under
Vedic restrictions. So that according to the J'cdic itijuiicn'jns, people may eat.
sleep, enjoy sex, he protected from fearful life, arid gradually be elevated and
liberated from the punishment of material existence. Thus the Vedic in/unctions
for the marriage offer a concession to human soc 'i\. The idea being 'hat a man
and a woman united
in a ritualistic marriage ceremony, should help one ,mother ..usance in the
spiritual life.

Unfortunately, in this age, ti.-an and woman ;, ■ te . / inresi'-i l~ d sex

enjoyment.
Thus they are victimised being obliged to take birth in the 'or<v. of animals to
fulfil their animalistic propensities. The Vedic injunctions therefore warn,
(nayam deho...............vidbhujahamje)
 One should not enjoy sex like hogs and eat everything even to the limit of stool. A human
being should eat prasadam offered to the deity, and should enjoy sex life according to the
Vedic injunctions. He should engage himself in the business of Krsna Consciousness. He
should save himself from the fearful condition of material existence and he should sleep
only to recover from the fatigue due to working hard. The learned Brahman says that since
everything is misused by the fruitive workers, he had retired from all the fruitive activities.

Translation:
"In this human form of life, a man and woman mule for the sensual pleasure of sex. But
by actual experience we have observed (hat none of them are happy. Therefore seeing the
contrary results, I have stopped taking part in the materialistic activities."

Hmm... This great Brahman, this self-realised personality, who is here instructing
Prahlada Maharaj is explaining by his own personal experience and realisation, why he
has taken to the renounced order of life. One who observes the, spiritual nature with the
spirit of detachment see everything as it is. The ways of this material world are very
obvious. The lessons to be learnt are quite clear. But if we look upon this world with
attachment, then we cannot see anything in truth. We see everything only according to our
relative spirit of enjoyment and therefore the truth that Krsna is trying to reveal to every
element of existence, is clouded. We cannot perceive anything as it i.\. Hut a person who
is detached from the material enjoyment, wherever he goes, whatever he sees, whatever he
hears, whatever he experiences, is simply echoing the words of his spiritual master and the
words of the scriptures. Therefore it is said that a intelligent man sees through his ears,
does not see through his eyes. He hears from the Sastras, he hears from the Guru and
Sadhus, exactly what is the real nature of this material existence. And because he is
detached from the spirit of enjoyment, he can see the truth. He can see the message of God
everywhere. And what is the message of God speaking through this material existence?
This great Avadhuta Brahman is describing; Due to the temporary nature of everything
within this world, ultimately, it is the place of suffering, it is a place of misery.

The ultimate pleasure of this world is the enjoyment of sex that is shared between the
male and the female.

pumsah striya milhuni-bhavam etani

tayor mitho hrdaya-granthiiri ahuh ato
grah-ksetra-sutapfa-vi (iair janasya
moho 'yam aham mameti

That the basic principle for the entire material existence is the attraction between the male
and the female. This attraction brings the male and female together to unite for sexual
enjoyment. The product of such sexual enjoyment is the endlessly increasing attachment
to children, to home, to relatives, to land, to prestige and so on and so on and so on. In this
way one cannot see anything in truth because one sees everything coloured by the image
of "I and mine". One sees everything in terms of "How 1 am this body and everything that
is mine is for my enjoyment". And whatever is not mine we have end/ess long desires to
possess for our sense gratification. So in this way the sex pleasure which is the ultimate
experience of gratification in this material existence, is the basic principle of this entire
material world. 11 is, is due to this spell of sex desire that the entire creation continues. It
is such a powerful urge that is impregnated within the hearts of all the conditioned souls,
indeed, according to the acharyas, it is the ultimate expression of envy towards the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Because Krsna is the enjoyer of everything. And lo the degree we want to enjoy his
property, to that degree we are expressing our envy towards him. And everything is his
property. Therefore to the degree we intensely want to enjoy, to that degree we are
envious of God. It is said in the Sastras thai this material world is 'mithuna agar a': that it
is the place where literally every living entity in th/s material encagement is shackled by
the chains of sex desire. Therefore, Vedic
civilisation, in fact actually every religious civilisation, tries to differentiate man from
animal by regulating and con/rolling these sexual propensities. The ideal is always to give
it up completely. It is never an easy thing. But if one is willing and able to make this great
sacrifice, it is considered a most worshippable expression of one's devotion to God.
Therefore in the Vedic society a sannyasi is always offered respect by all classes of men.
Because he is willing to make this sacrifice. A person who is not willing and able to make
this great sacrifice, atleast, he should take or she should, lake to the grihastha ashram and
regulate sexual conduct to at the maximum once per month for the purpose of procreating
Krsna conscious children. Otherwise the man and the woman, they come together only for
the service of the Supreme I ord Sri Krsna. They have, no other business together. They
raise children in the service of Krsna, they serve the deity in the service of Krsna. they
feed the sadhus and the devotees in the service of Krsna.

In this way the man and the woman in the grihastha ashram, they make Krsna the
CENTRE of all of the activities. To the degree we make KRSNA THE CENTRE, to that
degree the grihistha is detached from the impulse for sexual enjoyment. And to the degree
they do not put Krsna to
(he centre, to that very degree they Mill be vulnerable to wasting I heir precious life
enjoying like the animals. So here the avadhuta, because he was detached, he was simply
witnessing human society, simply watching like an observer. And what was his
conclusion7 His conclusion was, he was watching how so many people, practically
everybody, they are happily, so-called "happily" enjoying sex life, the unity of man and
woman. And he is seeing how practically in every instance, this so-called most unifying of
all principles, creates the greatest disunity in one's own heart.

' Why? Because it is just one of the greatest illusions in all the existence. People become
mad after this pleasure! But Prahlada Maharaj explains that this pleasure is nothing more
than just simply rubbing y< >ur hands together (makes the sound by rubbing the hands
together). From a fuelu 1/ point of view, from an unbiased point of view, simply rubbing
your hands iogetiier gives you a little pleasure. There is no more significance in this
u/timak sat, sfaction of the world than this. Prahlad Maharaj explains, it is just simply
scratching an itch! The more you scratch an itch, the more aggravates it and the more it
itches! If you want the itch to go away, you tolerate it and let it go through it's own course.
But if you scratch it, it simply increases the pain, the suffering and the discomfort. So
although the Maya, the illusory energy promises us so much happiness, prosperity and
pleasure through the unity of i/un and woman through sex life; we should know that when
these p. anises ccue into our hearts, it is simply a great illusion! It is Maya's Supreme
Weapon to caste us into a condition of bondage! And that is all!

Sense gratification, Krsna says, has an beginning and an end and therefore wise men do
not delight in it.
fyehi samsparasha ca..........bhuta)

It lasts for a few seconds and then it is gone and we are more disturbed then we were in
the first place for more! That is the condition. Krsna says in the Bhagavat-Gita, that lust is
like afire, it is insatiable , it is constantly burning and the more you feed it, the more
hungry the fire of lust becomes within your mind! When you feed lusty propensities with
sense gratification, what you are doing, is taking your WORST enemy and you are feeding
it sumptuously! And you are arming him with all of your weapons and all of your strength.
Sense gratification is factually a suicide, towards one's spiritual life! Krsna says in Gita,
(kameyesha krodhayesha........vairanam)

That it is lust only, which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world. So, ktjow that
this desire to enjoy sense gratification, which is held in its Supreme Manifestation to the
sex impulse, is the greatest most sinful enemy in our life. To one, who is hoping to
advance in the spiritual life, there is no greater and sinful enemy than this! Therefore, an
intelligent person, Krsna says, does not in anyway befriend his enemy. He conquers his
enemy! This is the difference between the intelligent person and a fool. An intelligent
person fights his enemy, conquers his enemy. Krsna says in the very beginning," (Conquer
the sinful enemy of lust". By keeping one's senses constantly engaged in the devotional
service of the Lord, by tolerating. But a foolish person is very anxious to befriend his
enemy. We feed our enemy very nicely, and provide him with all the weapons to destroy
us! That is the process of sense gratification. Therefore, this great avadhuta brahman, he is
seeing how I he whole material society is under the spell, the mystical spell of sexual
attraction, and how due to this there is the repetition of birth and death continuously going
on! So much frustration, so much bondage, so much disunity! Therefore simply on the
basis of this and this alone, the Brahman is explaining, he has completely renounced this
world. He says here,
"In this human form of life man and woman unite for sensual pleasure for sex hut by
actual experience we have observed that none of them are happy. Therefore seeing the
contrary results I have slopped taking part in the materialistic activities ".

Srila Prabhupada explains that, "The more one indulges in sex life, the more one becomes
entangled in the endless complexities of materia! existence. And the more one able to be
detached, the more one can live a simple, humble and happy life in this world. "
Krsna says in Gita,
(thane sarvani..............pratishthila)

That, " The process of fixing your consciousness on Krsna is that you must restrain your
senses from the objects. You cannot he Krsna conscious if you are allowing your senses to
be engaged in sense pleasures. And simultaneously it is impossible to fix, to restrain
yourselves unless you fix your consciousness upon Krsna." Therefore the process of
overcoming this demoniac all-devouring enemy of lust that, somehow or the other we
have welcomed to come and live within our minds, is to constantly the urges of minds and
senses. And in the process of tolerating the urges of mind and senses, we must keep them
constantly engaged in the service of Lord Han. It is said, " The ideal mind is the devil's
workshop". If our mind is not filled with Krsna, it will he filled with Maya. There is no in
between. There is either Krsna or Maya. We are the marginal energy of the Lord. That
means we are standing between the external inferior energy and the superior spiritual
energy. But please know that you are never in between. Sometimes we think
that the marginal vrutrgy is in between, but ihci e is no in-between. You are either in Maya
or you are in Krsna Consciousness.
If you are sleeping in Maya, Krishna consciousness means to he awake. Krsna
consciousness means to be conscious. You cannot be conscious of Krsna when vou are
sleeping. Prabhupada says," Sleeping means laying in the laps of Maya". Therefore we
reduce our sleep as far as possibh. In fact, on one occasion, Prabhupada saw so many
devotees sleeping during his classes, that he said that as far as he was concerned,
oversleeping was worse than illicit sex! Emm? Because this remaining too prolonged in
the state of unconsciousness influences so much the mode of ignorance that the mode of
passion is following right behind! So therefore it is very important to know thai the
marginal energy of the Lord, the jivatma, he always has the independence to either be
under Krishna's control or Maya's control, but he is never in between. Just like in the
material world, there is the km of gravity where something is cither going up or something
is going down. It is not that you throw something m I lie air and it fust stays in one place.
It is either going up or going down. Now it is easier by the laws of nature to let a thing go
down. ( 'orreel? Because it is I he very nature of this place where everything is coming
down. This material v or hi, everything is under the laws of gravity. What is the law of
gravity'' It brings everything down.

So in this material world everyone is under the laws of gravity. And in this spiritual life
also we are under the laws of gravity. As satin as we are the slightest of bit inattentive or
lazy, the gravitational pull of Mux a pulls us DOWN towards sense gratification, DOWN
towards bondage. It is a great struggle and it takes a great determination to continuously
go up. Or in the river the same principle is there. If you are swimming very hard, you
swim upstream. But as soon as you stop you never stay one place. You are immediately
pulled downstreams towards the ocean of birth and death. Or when you are pedalling a
bicycle up a hill, it is a very hard struggle. Hut if you stop for a second, you don't stay at
one place. You go down! So understand that v orking against the whole current of material
existence while trying to he Krsna conscious; everything in this material world is trying to
pull our mind and senses down to sense enjoyment. This whole material existence is trying
to pull us towards ultimately sex pleasure. Therefore a devotee knows thai an ideal mind is
a devil's workshop. If we are not struggling and striving to keep our mind and senses
engaged in Krishna's service, then as soon as we stop, we are engaged in Maya's service.

The precious energy of our human life is going to ojfer oblations of our valuable human
energy into the all-consuming, all-devouring fire of our sinful enemy in the form of lust.
Hut a devotee <f the lord, he uahses his precious energy to offer oblations for the pleasure
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of devotional service Therefore, there
are nine processes of devotional service and one must he always careful to always be
keeping his mind and senses engaged in one of these nine processes '! he "adma-Purana
describes, sarvopadhi-vinirmiiktam tat-parah'cna nir malum hrisikena hrsikesa-sevanam
bhaklir ucyate

That, " By engaging the mind and the senses in /he service of the Lord oj the senses, one
becomes purified. And through this process of purification (param....vartate), one develops
a higher taste. One's natural inclination to love Krsna is awakened. And then in that state
of always being engaged in Krishna's service, then the service of the senses becomes a
disgusting consideration. "

As Srila Yamunacarya has prayed, thai one lime, he describes, he was a king and he was
very fond of sexual life. But he says that," Now that I have tasted the ultimate sweetness
of the ultimate service of ford Tlari through l he process of bhakh, even the ultimate
pleasure of this material world, sex life, is so unpalatable and disgusting to me' That the
thought of it causes me to curl my lips in distaste and spit at the thought of it!" By hearing
and t hauling the glories of the Lord in the association of the devotees and by engaging in
the service of the Lord, by worshipping the deities, by chanting the holy name, by
remembering Krsna, by sitting and attentively hearing Srimad-Bhagvatam, by offering
prayers to the Lord, by rendering service as a personal servitor to the Lord and his
devotees, by carrying out the orders of the spiritual master, by befriending the Lord, and
by surrendering everything to the ford; these are the nine processes by which twenty four
hours a day, Krsna is giving us the opportunity to purify our lives by being engaged in his
service. And whenever the invitation of Maya comes into our fives we should be very
careful. We should not; it is said that if you play with the fire then you are burnt! Lust is
compared to fire. If you play with fire you will get burnt. Therefore we should he always
engaged in playing with Krsna. By serving his devotees.

Humility, the ultimate expression of humility comes when we control our senses, when we
are willing to say "No" to Maya and he the scream of Krishna's servants. Prabhupada says
that the difference between i f Gosvami and a Godasa, a servant of the senses and a
master of the senses; is not that the impulses are hot there. But the power to say. "No"':
The desire, the determination to say, "No"! When the tongue wants to taste something
which is hot according to the God's desire, we have to he willing to say. "No"! When the
ears want to hear something that is not conducive to Krsna consciousness, we must be
willing and determined to say, "No"' When the eyes want to see something thai is not
conducive for our Krsna consciousness, wc must be willing to say, "No"! Then we are
Gosvami. Godasa is one win- agrees with all the proposals that the Maya gives from
within and without. So therefore we must become very tolerant and we must become very
enthusiastic ,;l all limes to work very hard.

Prabhupada ends his purport practically by explaining iha>, steep is only to recover from
the fatigue due io working hard. So /he -devotees ate meant to work very hard. Devotees
must never he lazy. All tin grea- achcryas condemn laziness. When we are lazy, we are
just opening the doors fo> Maya to rush into our mind and lake complete control.
Therefore we must be very active, we must be very busy in hearing the glories of the ford,
in chanting 'he glories of the Lord and in rendering service by executing the instructionof
the higher authorities. In this way if we are working very hard, that we sleep simply to
recover from the fatigue and we get up and we work hard. This is the process of Krsna
consciousness. This is the process by which we can he i mm lined from the influences
which are constantly trying to drag us towards sense gratification. And the more we
control our senses, the more we follow these principles; the more we conceive the truth
being revealed by (rod in every situation of this material life. Why is it that the
Grihasihas, when they have marital problems, they are generally always more inclined
towards revealing their problems and taking shelter from a sannyasi or a hrahmacari than
another grihastha? From the material point of view it doesn 7 make sense! Because, "
What in the world does a sannyasi know about marriage problems'.' Often limes he is
never been married! He never had relationship with a woman' He never had children!
What does he know about these problems?" Hmm? He never has any like his own
experience. But factually, simply because he is detached, by notching others he can see
everything clear, through and through of what is taking place! One who is, it is just like, if
you are in the middle of the battlefield, all you know is who is attacking right
immediately. But you don V know what else is going on because voit just too involved in
your own little bailie. But if you are above in the helicopter, then you can see everything
as it is! Because you are detached from the whole situation! So similarly, one who is
detached, just by seeing the activities of the grihasthas, a person can understand the true
nature of a family life far better than somebody who is mashed and entranced in alt the
problems and complexities. Hmm? This is exactly what this Avadhuta Brahman is trying
to say. That the more you are detached, the more can you understand the truth and the
facts of the situation. And the more you are attached, I he more you cannot even see what
is taking place in your life!

There is a story of another m the 11th Canto of Bhagavaiam about one avadhuta who has
approached and asked, "Who is your spiritual master?" and he said, how many? (asks one
of the devotees) 24 spiritual masters. He says, "Because I am completely detached from
enjoying or getting entangled in any of these activities of this material world, J have
learned everything about the material life simply by watching, simply by observing! By
observing the moon, by observing the ocean, by observing the sun, hy observing the
pigeons, by observing the bees, by observing a prostitute of a name "ihnigala"! And in so
many ways he was watching and observing and because of detachment, so many truths
were revealed to him, of the true nature of this material existence. And the true nature of
the saintly person. This is the great opulence of detachment. Through detachment we can
see the things as they are! And according to Rupa Gosvami what is the ultimate
detachment'.-'

sarvopadhi-vinirmitklam (Hmm..)
(prapanca katiya........bhalagukhalyate)

'To use everything in the service of Krsna, thai is the '/Inmate detachment. Nothing for
our own sense enjoyment, everything, our mini, cur senses, our wealth, our ability,
everything! ff it is fully utilised to our maximum capacity in the service of Krsna - that is
the ultimate detachment' And through this process we can see everything as it is! And how
do you use every thing in the service'of Krsna? By hearing from the great souls, by
associat'iig with 'he great souls and hy executing their instructions as our life and sou'
and not dc-afng. That is the process of self realisation. Thank You very much.
Is there any questions?

A DEVOTEE : Krsna is Love of God. Is there any parallel of the......

SRI RADHANATH SWAMI MAHARAJ: Parallel as Love of (iod? Krsnadas

Kaviraj Gosvami explains that Love, Prema - is like GOLD! And LUST is that
same propensity, when it is mysteracted away from KRSNA it becomes IRON!
Both GOLD and IRON are metals. But one is of great value and one is quite
worse. When propensity for affection is directed towards Krsna, that is LOVE.
When it is directed away from Krsna to the objects of sense gratification, that is
LUST! So it is the same - the love and lust are the same energy. But.....

THE DEVOTEE: But what is the sex life7

SRI RADHANATH SWAMI MAHARAJ: The basic principle of LUST is SEX LIFE!
But that sex life manifests itself in so many varieties of ways in this world. Subtle sex life
is profit aderation and distinction. Gross sex life is using our gross senses to enjoy the
objects, the various objects of material life. LUST is the desire to enjoy anything, anyone,
anywhere in this material world. And LOVE is to always have KRSNA. in the CENTRE
of our life. Hmm? Yes?

NQTHER DEVOTEE: (Asking the question regarding one of the quotes by Srila
Prabhupada).

SRI RADHANATH SWAMI MAHARAJ: (pointing out to a mistake done by the devotee
while quoting the M>ords by Srila Prabhupada and also giving an answer to the query).

Whenever you quote Prabhupada, you do not quote him exactly. You shouldn't
say, "Prabhupada said..." ; you should say, "Prabhupada said SOMETHING
like this". Your way of quoting Prabhupada is always a little hit off. Prabhupada
does not say exactly like that. Prabhupada says that, "This is a very
dangerous process that, if you give your senses so much sense gratification then ultimately
you become so fatigued and tired that you become detached. But this process is. NEVER
EVER recommended by the a chary as and sadhus. The process recommended is
detachment in tolerance. Because, do you know how