Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.61

Harikeśa: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse, etc.]

dṛṣṭvā tāṁ kāma-liptena bāhunā parirambhitāṁ jagāma hṛc-chaya-vaśaṁ sahasaiva vimohitaḥ [SB 6.1.61]

[break] [02:06]

Prabhupāda:

dṛṣṭvā tāṁ kāma-liptena bāhunā parirambhitāṁ jagāma hṛc-chaya-vaśaṁ sahasaiva vimohitaḥ [SB 6.1.61]

So in the morning we shall speak in Hindi for the foreign students. In the evening there will be Hindi. Morning, seven up to eight, or little more, and similarly in the evening.

So we are talking about Ajāmila. He was a nice brāhmaṅa boy executing the duties of a brāhmaṅa, but one day, when he was passing, he saw one śūdra and one śūdrāṅī embracing, kissing, talking, laughing—all lusty affairs. So it is mentioned here, śūdra.

ekadāsau vanaṁ yātaḥ pitṛ-sandeśa-kṛd dvijaḥ ādāya tata āvṛttaḥ phala-puṣpa-samit-kuśān [SB 6.1.58]

Dadarśa kāminaṁ kañcic chudram. Śūdram. This business on the public way, kissing, embracing, this is meant for the śūdras. Therefore it is said, kalau śūdrā-sambhavāḥ: "In the Kali-yuga the population is all śūdra." There is no brahminical culture. Brahminical culture means śama, dama, controlling the mind, controlling the senses. A real brāhmaṅa will never agree to embrace the opposite sex in public way. No. That is not brāhmaṅa's business. He has been trained up how to become controller of the mind, controller of the senses. That is the first business of a brāhmaṅa. Śama, dama, satyam. He is truthful; śaucam, clean, thrice taking bath.

So you should always... You are given the chance of becoming brāhmaṅa. You should not become again śūdra or mlecchas or caṅḍālas. Be careful. This is brāhmaṅa business. If we again come back to caṅḍālas or śūd... Caṅḍāla means less than the śūdras. Even śūdras, they eat meat under control. But caṅḍālas, they eat meat without any control. So just like in the Vedic society, although there are meat-eaters, they would eat meat after offering sacrifice to Goddess Kālī. Restriction. Restriction. Because if you eat meat from the slaughterhouse there is no restriction. You can go and purchase at any time. But if you follow the scriptural regulation, they say, "Yes..." It is restriction. It is indirectly saying, "Don't eat," but because this less intelligent person will not be able to understand, therefore they are given some permission under certain restriction. This is restriction, that "If you want to eat meat, then you must offer sacrifice to Goddess Kālī and then you can." And the Goddess Kālī is worshiped once in a month. That means by restriction he will come to his senses; he will give it up. So śūdra, up to śūdra, there is possibility of raising him. Although he can see ideal character, it is not that anyone be ideal character like a brāhmaṅa. That is not possible. But still, in the society there must be an ideal person who is actually brāhmaṅa.

So śūdra... This kind of business on the public street... Just like cats and dogs, they have sex pleasure without any shame on the street. Similarly, the śūdras, they embrace the opposite sex in the public street, and sometimes they have got sex also. I have seen in the Western countries—without any shame... So he saw, this brāhmaṅa boy. The brāhmaṅa boy saw. He is young man. Although he is qualified with the brāhmaṅa... Not exactly qualified; otherwise he would not have fallen. He was on the neophyte stage. Therefore we restrict, "No illicit sex." Completely forbidden. Otherwise it will be very difficult to keep oneself in the brahminical standard and make spiritual progress. Without being in the platform of brāhmaṅa, you cannot make any spiritual progress. That is not... A śūdra, a vaiśya... But they can be trained up. Therefore Kṛṣṅa said,

māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ striyo śūdrās tathā vaiśyā te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim [Bg 9.32]

[O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth—women, vaiśyas [merchants], as well as śūdras [workers]—can approach the supreme destination.]

In Kṛṣṅa consciousness, a śūdra, a caṅḍāla, the lowborn, he can be elevated to the highest stage of Vaiṣṅava. Vaiṣṅava is higher stage than brāhmaṅa.

So this boy, Ajāmila, he was passing, he saw that the śūdra was embracing another śūdrāṅī. Dṛṣṭvā tāṁ kāma-liptena. When he saw that this man and woman is embraced with one another with lusty desire... Embracing woman or man, this is kāma, lust. There is no question of any other thing. Kāma-liptena. Dṛṣṭvā tāṁ kāma-liptena bāhunā. The man was embracing the woman, and the woman was embracing, pari-liptena, very closely attached, and everything was going on. Then... We have got lusty desires. Everyone's heart... Hṛd-roga-kāma. The material world means there is a heart disease which is called kāma, hṛd-roga-kāma. So hṛc-chaya-avaśam. If we... This is called impetus. If I see one engaged in lusty or sex affairs, naturally my sex desire also becomes awakened. Even though I am trying to control in the neophyte stage, still, if I see in my front something lusty affairs, naturally I will be inclined to such. Therefore it is called avaśam. He was student, brahmacārī, practicing śama, dama, satyam, śaucam. He was not very old man; he was young man. But he could not control. Therefore it is said, hṛc-chaya-avaśam. Avaśam sahasaiva: "all of a sudden," vimohitam, "he became very much attracted."

So this is the social condition. If in society we have no restriction, then naturally those young boys and girls, they will be inclined. And as soon as one is sexually inclined, he forgets all other culture and gradually becomes downfallen, as you will see from the life of Ajāmila, although he was trained up. So similarly, this is a warning to our students that they are learning how to become Kṛṣṅa conscious. It is very difficult job. To become Kṛṣṅa conscious is not very easy thing. But by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu we are trying to teach them, and it is becoming effective. Otherwise, how you all European and Americans can give up these four sinful activities? So try to preserve. And it can be preserved only by remaining in the devotional service. It can be. Sa guṅān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate [Bg 14.26].

māṁ ca vyabhicāriṅi bhakti-yogena ya sevate sa guṅān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate [Bg 14.26]

[One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.]

As soon as you come on the platform of Brahman, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati [Bg 18.54],

[And of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.]

then you will be able. Otherwise you will not be able. If you don't come on the transcendental platform, then you will not be able to.

So we have to stick to these principles to keep ourselves on the transcendental platform—rising early in the morning, offer maṅgala ārati, then gradually, one after another, attending class, guru-pūjā, and so on, so on. Up to till you go to bed, you should always be engaged. Then you will be above these three guṅas. Just like this boy, Ajāmila. He is attracted because all of a sudden he fell down on the platform of passion. There are three platforms: sāttvika, rājasika, tāmasika. So if you keep yourself on the sāttvika platform, there is also chance to falling down on the passion and ignorance. But if you keep yourself in the śuddha-sattva platform... Śuddha-sattva platform means devotional service. Sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditam [SB 4.3.23]. Śuddha platform means... That is called vasudeva. As Vasudeva can beget a child whose name is Kṛṣṅa, similarly, if you keep yourself on the vasudeva platform, sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditam, then Kṛṣṅa will take birth. Kṛṣṅa will take birth. So our these rules and regulation, restriction, means to keep one on the vasudeva platform. We should remember always that. And if you keep yourself on vasudeva platform, these things will not entice you. Otherwise we shall be enticed and fallen down. Agāma hṛc-chaya-vaśaṁ sahasaiva vimohitaḥ.

Sometimes we go to hear or see rāsa-līlā. But unless we are advanced in spiritual consciousness, this hearing of or seeing some rāsa-līlā, sometimes it brings us down. If one is actually seeing rāsa-līlā, the result will be hṛd-roga-kāmam apahinoty acireṅa dhīraḥ. This is the injunction in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. If one has actually heard from a realized person about vikrīḍitam idam vraja-vadhūbhir viṣṅoḥ [SB 10.33.39], Viṣṅu and vraja-vadhū, the gopīs, vikṛtam, their līlā, their pastime... Śraddhānvita anuśṛṅūyād atha varṅayed yaḥ. One who is actually advanced in spiritual consciousness, śraddhānvita, anuśṛṅuyāt, and hears from the realized person—anu; anu means paramparā, not from ordinary person, professional reciter, but from a realized person—the result will be hṛd-roga-kāmam apahinoti. Then the..., our natural lusty desires will disappear. That is the result. But in spite of disappearing our this lusty desire, if we increase our lusty desire, that means we are spoiling our life. Therefore it is forbidden that neophyte students, they should not indulge in these affairs of rāsa-līlā. You should be very careful. People are very much accustomed to see rāsa-līlā in Vṛndāvana. Maybe they are advanced, but the test is whether he has given up his lusty desire. That is the test. If he has given up, then, after seeing rāsa-līlā, he should not have returned to home. My Guru Mahārāja used to say, "Do not go to Vṛndāvana with return ticket."

So therefore it is very confidential. There are ten cantos in Bhāgavatam. Nine cantos are devoted to understand Kṛṣṅa, nine cantos. Then Tenth Canto begins. Then Kṛṣṅa's birth and pastimes are mentioned there. So we should not jump over the Tenth Canto all of a sudden. People are very much anxious to jump over the Tenth Canto. No. Tenth Canto is the mukhāravinda. It is the face of Kṛṣṅa, smiling. But Kṛṣṅa worship begins from the lotus feet of Kṛṣṅa. Nobody offers flowers and tulasī on the face of Kṛṣṅa. They offer on the feet. That is the beginning, the first and second canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, two lotus feet. So we have to go by and by. And when you are actually experienced devotional servant, then you try to understand the Tenth Canto. This is the way. Otherwise there may be falldown, as this Ajāmila fell down. He was neophyte, and as soon as he saw the śūdra and śūdrāṅī embracing, he became victimized.

So we should be very... Brahmacārī, there are so many restrictions. Even to see woman—"A beautiful woman is going, let me see"—that is also forbidden. That is also subtle sex enjoyment. Gross and subtle. There are so many subtle sex enjoyments—to think of woman, to see a beautiful woman going on the street, or to talk about woman, to read about woman. There are eight kinds of subtle sexual intercourse. So it is restricted. But in the Kali-yuga it is very difficult to follow all the rules and regulation. One is not trained up. Even up to ripe old age, one becomes attracted by beautiful woman, especially in the Western countries. I have seen in Paris, old man, seventy-five years old, eighty years old, they are going to the brothel, they are going to the night club. They are purchasing ticket to enter into the club—fifty dollars. Then they have to pay for the woman and wine and everything. In this way...

So hṛd-roga-kāma, this hṛd-roga, hṛc-chaya, is a heart disease. It is very, very difficult to avoid unless one is fully Kṛṣṅa conscious. And that is stated by Yamunācārya:

yadavadhi mama cettaḥ kṛṣṅa-padāravinde nava-nava-dhāmany rantum āsīt tadavadhi bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca

This is the test. Yadavadhi kṛṣṅa-padāravinde: "Since I have learned how to take transcendental bliss from the lotus feet of Kṛṣṅa..." He is explaining. He was an emperor. He had ample opportunity of enjoyment, material enjoyment. He was enjoying it. But he said, "Since I have become Kṛṣṅa conscious and I am taking pleasure in Kṛṣṅa consciousness, from that time," bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne, "whenever I think of enjoying with woman, I spit on it." This is the test. This is the test how I am becoming advanced. You do not require any certificate from any others. You can learn yourself. Just like when you are eating, you do not require any certificate from others, "Whether I am feeling all right?" Eating means you are hungry, so if you eat, you will feel satisfied. Your hunger will be satisfied. You will be getting strength. These are the symptoms that you have eaten. Similarly, when you'll no longer be attracted by this sex desire, then you should understand that "I am now making progress in Kṛṣṅa consciousness." This is the test.

So this boy became victimized. Although he was under training, he was not completely fit. Therefore he fell victimized by seeing this affair, lusty affairs. So at that time might be one or two cases. Now the whole world is full with all of these lusty desires, especially in the 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 countries, and so we should be very, very careful. Not only... Simply becoming careful will not... We must advance in Kṛṣṅa consciousness, and that is very easily done by chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra. If you keep yourself always engaged in chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa, Hare Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa Kṛṣṅa, [devotees complete mantra] then it will be... Ceto-darpaṅa-mārjanam [Cc Antya 20.12].

[Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṅa, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṅa expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step.]

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-darpaṅa-mārjanam. They cleanse the heart with all dirty things. Ceto-darpaṅa-mārjanam. How? Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṅa-saṅkīrtanam. This is confirmed in Bhāgavatam: kīrtanād eva kṛṣṅasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet [SB 12.3.51]

[My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṅa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.]

Simply by chanting, you can keep. If you follow the rules and regulation in chanting, then you will not be victimized. You'll make your progress without any fear.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṅa.

Devotees: Jaya Prabhupāda. [end]