Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.6.5

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

kāmo manyur mado lobhaḥ śoka-moha-bhayādayaḥ karma-bandhaś ca yan-mūlaḥ svīkuryāt ko nu tad budhaḥ [SB 5.6.5]

[break] [02:46]

Translation: "The mind is the root cause of lust, anger, pride, greed, lamentation, illusion and fear. Combined, these constitute bondage to fruitive activity. What learned man would put faith in the mind?" [break]

Prabhupāda:

kāmo manyur mado lobhaḥ śoka-moha-bhayādayaḥ karma-bandhaś ca yan-mūlaḥ svīkuryāt ko nu tad budhaḥ [SB 5.6.5]

So budha means one who is aware of everything, jñānī. Budhā bhāva-samanvitaḥ [Bg 10.8].

[I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.]

Such budha, intelligent person, will not accept these base qualities. Kāma, manyur, means greediness, lusty; madaḥ—madness; lobha... Mada, mada? Kāmo manyur mada. What is mada? Madness? Mada—pride, yes. Kāmo manyur mado lobhaḥ—greediness; śoka—lamentation; moha—illusion; Bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syāt. When we are too much materially absorbed, then there is bhaya. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca sāmānyam etat paśubhir narāṅām [Hitopadeśa 25].

[Both animals and men share the activities of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. But the special property of the humans is that they are able to engage in spiritual life. Therefore without spiritual life, humans are on the level of animals.]

So long we are interested in bodily concept of life, these things are manifested. And when we are spiritually identified, so there is no more kāma-lobha-bhaya-śoka-bhayādayaḥ. Śoka-moha-bhaya apahaḥ. Spiritually means, advanced means, śoka moha bhaya, these things are not existing. These are the symptoms of karma-bandha. But if we devote ourself in the bhakti-yoga, in the service of the Lord, then the face of these things will change. The face of these things will change.

Kāma, kṛṣṅa-kāma-karmārpaṅe. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has advised that kāma and the desire will be transformed how to serve Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅārthe akhila-ceṣṭa, the same thing. Kāma means fruitive activities for sense gratification, but this kāma can be utilized in Kṛṣṅa's service. Just like we have constructed this temple with the enthusiasm, "There must be a very nice temple for Kṛṣṅa-Balarāma." The same desire, as somebody is willing that "I must have a very big skyscraper building," so the same desire. People may ask, "What is the difference between these two desires? Somebody is desiring to possess a very big house, and another body is desiring to possess a very nice temple, expensive temple. So what is the difference?" The difference is one is kāma and the other is prema. That is the difference. As soon as we desire, that is natural. We cannot be desireless. That is not possible. People say that "You become desireless." That is not possible. I am living being. How I can be desireless? No. That is very difficult task, if we want to become desireless. That is not possible. Kleśo adhikāras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām [Bg 12.5].

[For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progrese in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.]

Desireless means your desires are suppressed by forced: "I shall not desire." That is not possible. You have got eyes, and if you want to suppress your eyesight, "I shall not see anything," is that possible? That is not possible. Yes, I have got my eyes, but I want to see Kṛṣṅa-Balarāma. That is wanted. That is wanted. Not that "No, I shall not see." Even meditation, so-called meditation, that is also seeing. Real meditation, seeing within. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasaḥ paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ [SB 12.13.1].

[Sūta Gosvāmī said: Unto that personality whom Brahmā, Varuṅa, Indra, Rudra and the Maruts praise by chanting transcendental hymns and reciting the Vedas with all their corollaries, pada-kramas and Upaniṣads, to whom the chanters of the Sāma Veda always sing, whom the perfected yogīs see within their minds after fixing themselves in trance and becoming fully absorbed in thoughts of Him, and whose limit can never be found by any demigod or demon—unto that Supreme Personality of Godhead I offer my humble obeisances.]

Paśyanti, this word is used. Paśyanti means sees, but within, not without. Meditation means seeing within. Not that without seeing. Concentrating the mind to see the form of Lord Viṣṅu, that is real meditation. And without seeing Lord Viṣṅu, that is kleśa. If you want to fix up my mind into nothing, they say nothingness, that is not possible.

So you cannot be desireless. Desire means kāma. You cannot be. But desire has to be purified. That is wanted. Kāma..., kāma kṛṣṅa-karmātmane. Kāma should be utilized. The same desire should be utilized for Kṛṣṅa's service. Then it is bhakti. Then it is prema. We sometimes mistake the activities of gopīs, it appears just like lusty affairs. But actually that is not. Gopīs used to dress themselves very nicely, attractively, so that Kṛṣṅa may be very pleased. That was gopīs' desire. Just like in the material world the woman dresses very nicely so that a man may be attracted upon her, and then both of them will fulfill their sex desire or sense gratification. That is material world. But in the spiritual world there it appears that gopīs are dressed very nicely not for the purpose of her own satisfaction. They want to satisfy Kṛṣṅa, that "If I dress nicely, Kṛṣṅa will be pleased." So that is prema. And as soon as... In the material world, nobody wants to please anyone. He wants to please himself, his senses. That is kāma. We should understand what is kāma and what is prema.

So kāma, and the proof is because in the material world everyone wants to fulfill his own desire, therefore when the desire is not fulfilled he becomes angry, manyu. The next stage is manyu. Manyu means anger. And mada, then pride, then greediness, then śoka. These are different stages. Lamentation, bhaya. So many things. What is the cause? The root cause is karma-bandha. Because I am bound up by the resultant action of my past karma. Karmaṅā daiva-netreṅa yantra-dehopapattaye [SB 3.31.1].

[The Personality of Godhead said: Under the supervision of the Supreme Lord and according to the result of his work, the living entity, the soul, is made to enter into the womb of a woman through the particle of male semen to assume a particular type of body.]

By the superior arrangement, according to my karma I get a body with varieties of kāma, krodha, moha, like that. Kāma, because somebody has got the body of a human being, his kāma, desires, are different from the hogs and pigs because he has got a different body. He has got also kāma, and the human body, he has human being, he has got also kāma. But one is desiring to have a very palatable dish, and the other is desiring stool. The different..., according to the bodies the desires are [indistinct]-less. So conclusion is that when you get your spiritual body then the desire will be different. And that is prema. Desires are going on. Now the desires are designated. Designated. Because one has got a particular type of body, his desires are different from another because another person, he has got a particular type of body. But in the spiritual world, because there is no material body, only desire is how to satisfy Kṛṣṅa. 'Kāma' kṛṣṅa-karmārpaṅe. This is spiritual. Spiritual means when the center is Kṛṣṅa. That is spiritual. Otherwise it is material. That is material means to forget Kṛṣṅa and satisfy His own senses. That is material. Just like a flower, a nice flower. One is accepting this flower for satisfying his smelling power and another is accepting the same flower with the desire that "Here is a nice flower. Let me offer it to Kṛṣṅa." So according to different mentality. The Kṛṣṅa, sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṅa-pādāravindayor [SB 9.4.18],

[Mahārāja Ambarīṣa always engaged his mind in meditating upon the lotus feet of Kṛṣṅa, his words in describing the glories of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the Lord's temple, and his ears in hearing the words spoken by Kṛṣṅa or about Kṛṣṅa. He engaged his eyes in seeing the Deity of Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa's temples and Kṛṣṅa's places like Mathurā and Vṛndāvana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord's devotees, he engaged his sense of smell in smelling the fragrance of tulasī offered to the Lord, and he engaged his tongue in tasting the Lord's prasāda. He engaged his legs in walking to the holy places and temples of the Lord, his head in bowing down before the Lord, and all his desires in serving the Lord, twenty-four hours a day. Indeed, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa never desired anything for his own sense gratification. He engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires.]

if we simply engage our mind to Kṛṣṅa, naturally the flower will be offered to Kṛṣṅa.

In this way if we live, bhakti-yoga, then there is no such thing as to give up. Prapañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.256].

[On the other hand, one who rejects everything without knowledge of its relationship to Kṛṣṅa is not as complete in his renunciation.]

To give up, renounce... Renounce means renounce the mentality of sense gratification. That is renounce. Otherwise nothing can be renounced. Everything can be properly utilized. 'Kāma' kṛṣṅa karmārpaṅe 'krodha' bhakta-dveśi-jane. This manyu-manyu means krodha, anger—it can be also utilized. Bhakti-dveśi-jane, those who are envious of devotees... Just like they are making propaganda in Europe and America that "Why this Kṛṣṅa conscious persons should be allowed?" So bhakti-dveśi. So one should utilize his krodha, anger, upon these persons. That is wanted. 'Kāma' kṛṣṅa karmārpaṅe 'krodha' bhakta-dveśi-jane. And moha, without seeing a devotee, without seeing Kṛṣṅa... Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu teaching, yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṅa cakṣuṣā prāvṛsāyitaṁ śūnyāyitaṁ jagat-sarvam. This is illusion. Śūnyāyitam. Jagat is not śūnyaṁ. Just like we have got practical experience. If somebody's beloved has died, he sees everything zero. Nothing is appealing to him. Similarly, if we have developed our love for Kṛṣṅa and if we do not see Kṛṣṅa, that is śūnyāyitaṁ jagat-sarvaṁ govinda-viraheṅa me. But a devotee and ordinary person, if ordinary person wants to see something and if he cannot see, he becomes angry because that is kāma. But a devotee, he says that "Kṛṣṅa, although the whole world is vacant because I cannot see You, still I cannot change my mind to love You." That is... One side śūnyāyitaṁ jagat-sarvam, the other side, āśliṣya vā pādaratāṁ pinaṣṭu māṁ marma-hatāṁ karotu vā adarśanam. "You break my heart by not allowing me to see You, still You are my beloved, worshipable Lord." That is the difference. There is no manyu, no disappointment. Disappointment is there, but so much disappointed that broken heart, still he wants to love Kṛṣṅa. That is pure love. Not that "I have been disappointed, my heart is broken; therefore I give up Kṛṣṅa." No. Still Kṛṣṅa is good. That is pure love.

So we have to learn in that way. Kāma kṛṣṅa. Otherwise, karma-bandhana. Yajñārthe karmaṅe anyatra karma-bandhanaḥ [Bg 3.9],

[Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṅu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain unattached and free from bondage.]

it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Yajña means Viṣṅu. Whatever you do, if it is for Kṛṣṅa, then you are liberated. Otherwise, karma-bandha; you are bound up by the laws of nature, karma-bandha. So karma-bandha yān mūlaḥ. If we act for our sense gratification, then this kāma-krodha is bondage. And if we don't accept this karma-bandha, then you are liberated. Very easy thing. So we have to purify our desires. Sarvopādhi vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc Madhya 19.170].

[Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all material designations, and one’s senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord.]

When we give up this conception of life that "I am Indian," "I am Christian," "I am Hindu," "I am this and that..." These are upādhis. So while serving Kṛṣṅa, don't come back to the upādhi platform, that "We are Indians and they are Europeans, so they are taking more advantage and we are not given advantage," or visa versa. This means coming back to the upādhi. That is not the stage of devotion. We have to become free from the upādhi. "I am neither Indian nor American. I am eternally Kṛṣṅa's servant, that's all. Whatever Kṛṣṅa orders, in whichever position He keeps me, I am His eternal servant." This is upādhi-mukta-nirmalam, pure stage.

Now, when we are in the pure stage, the same kāma, the same manyu, the same mado lobhaḥ śoka, śoka, lamentation... Just like the gopīs, they were lamenting, "Kṛṣṅa is going to Mathurā," and He has gone there, the lamentation is there. But this lamentation and our lamentation not the same. Therefore in the beginning, the neophyte devotees, they should not try to understand the dealings of the gopīs with Kṛṣṅa. They should not try to understand. Unless one is free from the material concept, sarvopādhi vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc Madhya 19.170]... That means we have to execute devotional service in the regulative principles. "I cannot follow the regulative principle and I am trying to understand Rādhā-Kṛṣṅa prema," this is rascaldom. This is rascaldom. Only rascals will do that. He does not see his position, that "What is my position? I am still full of lusty desires. My mind is still disturbed by seeing a nice woman, a nice man, and I am discussing Rādhā-Kṛṣṅa?" This is nonsense. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura said, rūpa-raghunātha pade haibe ākuti kabe hāma bujhabo se yugala-pīriti [Lālasā-mayī Prārthanā 4].

[When shall I be very much eager to study the books left by the Six Gosvāmīs? One has to learn of the conjugal loving affairs of Rādhā-Kṛṣṅa through the teachings of these Six Gosvamīs.]

Unless you are expert in devotional service, by practical application of the instruction of Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu—rūpa-raghunātha pade haibe ākuti—then if we are qualified, then someday we may be able to understand what is yugala-pīriti, love between Kṛṣṅa and Rādhārāṅī. Not so suddenly. That is sahajiyā. Not so suddenly. We should not try to do that. First of all I must see how much I have become sarvopādhi vinirmuktam, how much I am free from the designational position. Then we shall be able. Rādhā-kṛṣṅa-praṅaya-vikrṭi ahlādinī śakti asmād [Cc Ādi 1.5].

The Rādhā-Kṛṣṅa praṅaya, loving affairs of Rādhā and Kṛṣṅa, this is not ordinary thing. When you worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṅa, we are not fit for that... [break] ...we shall think ourself as servant of Kṛṣṅa, eternal servant of Kṛṣṅa, under the guidance, ādau gurvāśrayam sad-dharma-pṛcchā. So if we want to do something, we must inquire from guru, sad-dharma-pṛcchā. Sādhu-mārganu-gamanam. We must follow. We should not manufacture things, that "This way I shall be able to satisfy Kṛṣṅa." No. Sādhu-mārganu-gamanam. "If I discuss about Rādhā-Kṛṣṅa līlā in my neophyte stage, Kṛṣṅa will be pleased." No. You must first of all purify yourself by the regulative principle. And when you are completely free, then, from the material conception, then you understand what is Rādhā-Kṛṣṅa līlā.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Prabhupāda. [end]