Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.1 — Māyāpur, February 10, 1977

Pradyumna:

śrī-nārada uvāca...

[break] [leads chanting of synonyms]

Translation: "The great saint Nārada Muni continued: The demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and other great demigods, dared not come forward before the Lord, who at that time was extremely angry."

Prabhupāda: Hmm. Any more? Translation? Oh, you have done. Read the purport. Purport.

Pradyumna: "Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung in his Prema-bhakti-candrikā, 'krodha' bhakta-dveṣi jane: anger should be used to punish a demon who is envious of devotees. Kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and mātsarya—lust, anger, greed, illusion, pride and envy—all have their proper use for the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotee. A devotee of the Lord cannot tolerate blasphemy of the Lord or His other devotees, and the Lord also cannot tolerate blasphemy of a devotee. Thus Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva was so very angry that the great demigods like Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva and even the goddess of fortune, who is the Lord's constant companion, could not pacify Him, even after offering prayers of glorification and praise. No one was able to pacify the Lord in His anger, but because the Lord was willing to exhibit His affection for Prahlāda Mahārāja, all the demigods and the others present before the Lord pushed Prahlāda Mahārāja forward to pacify Him."

Prabhupāda: So in the material world, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and mātsarya, these things are condemned. And for a sādhana, means a neophyte devotee, he is advised to give up these low-grade habits—kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya. But people may question, "Wherefrom these low-grade qualities came?" Kāma is low grade, admitted, but wherefrom it came? In the Vedānta-sūtra we get the reply, janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]: "Everything that we experience, it comes from God." So...

[aside:] You stand that side. You are standing; they can stand.

So without the original source, even these low-grade things, wherefrom it comes? It comes from God. Just like adharma, irreligiosity, is described as the back side of God, and religiosity is described as the front side of God. So there is no difference between front side and back side—absolute. God is absolute any way. Even apart from God's body, even in our body, we do not make any distinction. Suppose if there is some trouble, if there is some boil here in the front side and if there is some boil in the back side, does it mean I shall not take care of the back side boil? I shall take care of it; I shall have treatment for it. I cannot neglect the back side boil because it has come out from the back side. There is no such reason.

So these bad habits, kāma, krodha—kāma means lust; krodha means anger—so if they are also coming from God, then how we can neglect it? How we can reject it? So there is no need of rejecting. That is the Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura's... You cannot reject. That is not possible. As you are a living being, there must be kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mātsarya. You cannot reject it. You cannot make it zero. That is impersonalism. But it has its proper use. That you have to know. Unless you know the proper use of everything, everything... Proper use means it must be used for Kṛṣṅa. Then it is proper use. Otherwise it is misused. There is no such thing as bad. Everything is good when it is used for Kṛṣṅa. That is the difference between material and spiritual. Spiritual, everything is good, and material, everything is bad. You cannot make any distinction. When a thing is used materially it is bad. Therefore in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said, dvaite bhadrābhadra sakali samāna. Dvaite—means in this world of duality—everything is bad. You will see. They have invented some artificial meaning, "This is good, this is bad," but actually everything is bad in the material world. There is nothing good. And just the opposite: in the spiritual world, everything is good.

The other day I was giving the example that Kṛṣṅa is thief also—Mākhanaḥ-corā. And there is still in Remuṅā, Kṣīracorā. Kṣīracorā. He's famous, "The thief who stolen condensed milk." So this corī means stealing is there in Kṛṣṅa. Does it mean that it is bad? No. It is good. Because it is connected with Kṛṣṅa, it is good. Otherwise how people are worshiping a thief? And when it is used materially, when I steal something for my sense gratification, I am beaten with shoes. That... This is the distinction. Anything, bad or good, they are coming from Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate [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.]

Ahaṁ-sarvasya prabhavaḥ: "I am the origin of everything." So anything coming from Kṛṣṅa, how it can be bad? It cannot be bad. Absolute. Kṛṣṅa says personally, and Vedānta says, janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]: "Absolute Truth is that from where everything is coming."

So the lust is also coming from Kṛṣṅa. We find lusty desires among the gopīs, among Kṛṣṅa. But Kṛṣṅa, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, recommends, ramya kācid upāsana vraja-vadhū kalpitā: "There is no better mode of worship than it was conceived by the vraja-vadhū, damsels of Vraja, Vṛndāvana, parakīya-rāsa." But in the material world Caitanya Mahāprabhu was so strict about women that once upon a time there was singing of woman in the Jagannātha temple, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu was running fast: "Oh, how nice singing is going on in the temple. Let Me go and hear." Then Govinda, His personal servant, checked Him: "My dear Sir, this singing is done by woman." "Oh? It is woman? Govinda, you have saved My life." Just see. And the same Caitanya Mahāprabhu has recommended about the gopīs, who loved Kṛṣṅa as paramour: ramya kācid upāsana vraja-vadhū-vargabhir ya kalpitā. Just see the distinction. The same business is there, but it is all spiritual.

Therefore Absolute, everything is variegated, blissful. They do not understand. The sahajiyā means the blissful dealings, transcendental, spiritual dealings of gopīs and Kṛṣṅa, they take it as material. Therefore they are condemned. They are... It looks similar, but it is not the same thing. One is gold; one is iron. A polished iron, a golden thing, golden color, does not mean it is gold. "All that glitters is not gold." So we should not mistake. Therefore one who cannot distinguish the spiritual lust and the material lust, these should avoid very strictly. They have no spiritual realization. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has strictly avoided. In His kīrtana He never described the pastimes of Kṛṣṅa, His dealings with gopīs. That we mark in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Eighteen years He lived in Jagannātha Purī. Every night there was kīrtana, but there was no līlā-kīrtana you'll find, no līlā-kīrtana. Hare Kṛṣṅa, that's all. No līlā. But does it mean that Kṛṣṅa..., Caitanya Mahāprabhu avoided līlā-kīrtana? No. He enjoyed it with very, very confidential devotees like Rāmānanda Rāya, Svarūpa Dāmodara, like that. Not public.

Because so long we are in the lower stage of devotion, we shall misunderstand. They are doing that. You'll find that these rascals who have no idea about Kṛṣṅa, they are very much fond of painting Kṛṣṅa's picture dealings with the gopīs, because they take it that it is just like we deal with young men or woman, it is something like that. So that is a great mistake. They should not. Then they will become sahajiyā. Very strictly prohibited. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Śukadeva Gosvāmī has warned that one should not even dream like that, that "Kṛṣṅa's dealing with gopīs is just like our dealing with woman." No. It is completely different. Therefore we have to understand Kṛṣṅa. Vyāsadeva has devoted nine cantos to understand Kṛṣṅa, and then, in the Tenth Canto, he has put the gopīs' dealings with Kṛṣṅa. That is also beginning from twenty-ninth chapter.

So we should always know this, that lust is coming from Kṛṣṅa, but His lust, this lusty desire, and our lusty desire in the material world, they are not the same. So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura advises, kāmaḥ kṛṣṅa-kārmārpaṅe [Prema-bhakti-candrikā].

[I will engage my lust by offering the fruits of my work to Lord Kṛṣṅa, and I will engage my anger by directing it at those who are envious of the lord's devotees. I will engage greed by becoming greedy to hear the glories of the Lord in the association of saintly devotees. By not attaining my worshipable Lord Kṛṣṅa, I will engage the quality of bewilderment; and I will engage madness by becoming mad to glorify the transcendental qualities of the Lord. In this way I will spiritualize these material qualities for the service of the Lord.]

We have got lusty desires, but it should be utilized for Kṛṣṅa. Just like we are very much anxious to fulfill our lusty desires. So if we turn our lusty desire for serving Kṛṣṅa, we should be equally enthu... [break] [end]