(recites responsively through end of verse 61)

So in the preliminary stage one is required to control the senses. Uncontrolled sense will drag me to the material plane. Adanta-gobhir visatam tamisram punah punas carvita-carvananam [SB 7.5.30]. There is a very nice verse in Bhagavata: matir na krsne paratah svato va mitho 'bhipadyeta grha-vratanam adanta-gobhir visatam tamisram punah punas carvita-carvananam [SB 7.5.30]. The purpose is that those who are uncontrolled of their senses and those whose mind is fixed up only for this material enjoyment, they cannot enter into the sphere of spiritual life. Matir na krsne. This Krsna philosophy, Krsna consciousness... Matih means attention. So attention to Krsna consciousness... Matir na krsne paratah svato va. Even by hearing instruction from learned, I mean to say, transcendentalists or by self-study. Paratah. Paratah means taking lessons or taking instruction from others. And svatah means by self-culture. Matir na krsne paratah svato va mitho va. Mitho va: "by assembly." By assembly. Na: "It will never be." Matir na krsne paratah svato va mitho 'bhipadyeta grha-vratanam. Grha-vratanam means... Grha means "house," and vrata means "vow." One who has made his vow that "This worldly live, eat, drink, be merry and enjoy, this is all in all," for them, there is no question of spiritual life. We have to decide it that spiritual life and material life, they are different angles of vision. If we give more stress to the material life, material way of life, then it is not possible to have any spiritual realization or spiritual emancipation. Those things... Because the whole idea is, as we are discussing for several weeks, that I am spirit, pure consciousness. I have been put to this material contact somehow or other. Without tracing the history and how I have put into it... [break] But the fact is that I am put into these material circumstances, and therefore, due to my material condition of life, I am undergoing miseries, so many miseries. So the whole idea is that I have to get out of this material contact and reinstate myself in the pure spiritual life so that I shall not, I shall be free from all miseries. Because spirit soul, as it is, in its pure form, it is sac-cid-ananda. It is eternal, it is blissful, and it is full of knowledge.

So the whole program is there. So visaya vinivartante. Still, even the yoga system... The yoga system, by mechanical process, concentrating the mind and dragging the mind from other engagement, that is also forceful. That is also forceful. Because by some artificial means... Because first thing is that "I am not this body." Still, I am trying to control my senses by some bodily activities. Therefore it is... Some way or other, it is artificial. And as I have... Last day I cited one example that a great yogi just like Visvamitra, he practiced yoga and he rose to the highest platform, but still, he failed to control his senses. He came in contact with Menaka, a society woman of the heaven, and Sakuntala was born. So here Bhagavad-gita says that visaya vinivartante niraharasya dehinah. There are some rules and regulation for drying up our sensual activities, artificially drying up. Just like "You are not to eat more than once. You are not to do this. You are not to do this." So many negative points. Just like a diseased fellow. A diseased fellow is advised by the physician to refrain from so many things. Similarly, there are rules and regulation for controlling the mind, for restraining the senses. There are so many rules and regulation, but still, those regulations, those restrictive regulation, may also fail. There are so many instances. But here the process which is recommended in the Bhagavad-gita, dovetailing your consciousness with the supreme consciousness, that is the highest. That is the highest. Rasa-varjam raso 'py asya param drstva nivartate. Param drstva [Bg. 9.59]. Just... In other processes, you have to... I'll give you some practical example. Just like in the yogic process there is strict regulation that "You cannot eat this. You cannot eat this. You shall have to eat like this. You shall have to sit like this. You have to breathe like this," so many restriction. But if you dovetail your consciousness with the supreme consciousness, so, in spite of without being restriction, you'll not like the restricted things. Rasa-varjam raso 'py asya param drstva nivartate. You'll dislike those restricted things. One process is that by force I am asking you, "Do not do this." But another process is that you have become so much elevated that you do not like to do this yourself. Just like the other day I cited the example of Yamunacarya. Yamunacarya said that "So since I have dovetailed my consciousness with the supreme consciousness of Krsna..." Yad-avadhi mama cetah krsna-padaravinde. "So long my consciousness has been fixed up in the transcendental service of Krsna," yad-avadhi, "since then, even if I think of sex life, oh, it becomes, my face becomes, I mean to say, turned, and I wish to spite on it." So why? One thing is... One process is applying that "You should restrict from this." Another process is that without even restriction, you do not like to do it. This process is so perfect. Krsna says that raso 'pi, even if you have that desire, so you do not like to use it. Although you have got the privilege, but you are at liberty, but you do not like to do it. Raso 'py asya, rasa-varjam raso 'py asya. Although he has all the full capacity... Not that he has become impotent or he has no capacity for sex life. In spite of his having all strength and all capacity, still, he does not like, "Oh, this is... What is this?" You see? That stage comes. Rasa-varjam raso 'py asya param drstva. Why? He has got some superior things, superior sex life, in which he wants to engage himself.

So this process is so perfect. The other process of restraining the senses from enjoyment, that is forced, but that forceful enjoyment may not stand. It may fail sometimes. But this process, having dovetailed oneself in the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Lord, one becomes completely detached from all these visaya. Visaya means eating, sleeping, defending and mating. Yatato hy api kaunteya purusasya, purusasya vipascitah, indriyani pramathini haranti prasabham manah. Our mind is so strong and so uncontrolled that even though we artificially try to control our senses, still, sometimes, at a certain period, we fail. Just like Visvamitra Muni failed. Yatato hy api kaunteya purusasya vipascitah. Vipascitah means a very learned man, very learned man, and still trying, not ordinary man, but learned man, trying to control his senses. Yatato hy api kaunteya purusasya vipascitah, indriyani prama... But the senses are so strong that at certain point it fails even by the attempt of a very learned scholar who knows everything. Therefore in social, social, I mean to say, engagement, according to Vedic injunction, especially for the brahmacaris, especially for the brahma... Not only brahmacaris. Brahmacari means student life, and other three orders of life means vanaprastha, retired life, and sannyasa life, these three orders of life are restricted from associating with women. Only householders, those who are married, they are simply allowed to associate with women. And others, just like the brahmacari, the vanaprastha, the sannyasa, they are strictly restricted from association of woman. And that stricture is said like this:

So we have to come to that point. And what is that point? Tani sarvani samyamya yukta asita mat-parah. The Lord says, "Therefore you, you can control your senses..." Sarvani. There are so many senses. "You can control your senses," yukta asita mat-parah, "when you engage the senses in, in relation with My service or unto Me." Therefore in the devotional service the beginning is the arcana. The arcana is a process which gives, gives engagement to all the senses. Just like eye, ear, and tongue and nose, hands, legs, and so many, we have got, senses, and each department has got his engagement. For example, just like we are engaging our tongue and ears in the transcendental sound of Hare Krsna, this engagement. We want to hear good music, melodious music, but if we engage our ears for hearing melodious music in relationship with the Supreme Lord Krsna... Just like Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama... There are many glories, not only in Sanskrit language, in other languages also, glories of Lord. If we try to hear glories of the Lord with the ear, then my ear may not be engaged in other songs. Param drstva nivartate [Bg. 9.59]. Similarly, my tongue. If I determine that "I shall eat only foodstuff which is offered to Krsna," then naturally my eating problem becomes restricted and as I go on eating the foodstuff which is offered first to Krsna and then I take, then, now, the natural effect will be that my tongue will be controlled. And if I want to control my other senses, then the tongue control is the first business, because if we cannot control the tongue, then other senses is impossible to be controlled. Therefore we, when we take our foodstuff, we sing this nice song, sarira abidya-jal, jodendriya tahe kal: "This body is a network of nescience." Sarira abidya-jal, jodendriya tahe kal: "And the material senses, they are just like kala." Kala means venomous serpents. So sarira abidya-jal, jodendriya tahe kal, ta'ra madhye jihwa ati, lobhamoy sudurmati: "Amongst all the senses, the tongue is very avaricious." You see? It is, it is, it wants so many palatable dishes now and then. Ta'ra madhye jihwa ati, lobhamoy sudurmati: "And it is very difficult to control." Now, krsna bado doyamoy: "So Krsna, Lord Krsna, is so kind that in order to control my senses, tongue, first, He has given me so many nice foodstuff so that if I eat them, then my tongue will be controlled."

So the whole thing is tani sarvani samyamya yukta asita mat-parah. We should always remember that, that to attain to the spiritual life, it is a great penance. It is a great penance. But although it is very difficult, although it is very difficult... Perhaps you know that in, in the Puranas, in the Vedic literature, we have got information that there are sages who underwent penance for so many, many years. Why in the history or the Puranas? You can see from the examples of Lord Buddha, Lord Jesus Christ, Lord Caitanya, Sankaracarya, who were recently within the limit of our historical knowledge. They attained spiritual perfection after undergoing penances for many, many years. So spiritual perfection is not very easy thing, that simply by attending a, a, in either of the so many groups and hearing something, nice lectures from a person. No. It is practical. It is practical. If we are ac..., if we are actually serious about attaining, so we must be in a spirit of sacrifice. In this age, by the grace of Lord Caitanya, the matter has been simplified. Matter has been simplified. What is that? He prescribed that

Now here it is said, tani sarvani samyamya. You can control your senses only when you engage that senses into the service of the Lord. Tani sarvani samyamya yukta asita mat-parah. Mat. Mat-parah means "unto Me, unto Me, in relationship with Me." That's all right. And in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu also, you'll find that nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe yuktam vairagyam ucyate. You haven't got to restrain yourself completely, but if you dovetail yourself, nirbandhah, when it is in relation with Krsna, then your vairagya, your detachment, is approved. Only thing is that don't do it for your sense gratification, but do it for the satisfaction of the Supreme. That's all. That should be the motto of our life, that "I shall not do anything for my sense satisfaction, but I shall do everything for the satisfaction of the Supreme." That penance, that sacrifice, will make me perfect spiritualized and perfectly on the spiritual platform and my life becomes perfect. Vase hi yasyendriyani tasya prajna pratisthita. In this way one has control. The simple thing is control. Vase. Vase means under control. Vase hi yasyendriyani. Anyone who has got his senses under control, he, he is spiritually perfect. So how senses under control? Just engage the senses under the control or under the direction of the Supreme. Then you become perfectly spiritual. Vase hi yasyendriyani tasya prajna pratisthita, pratisthita.

So these things are happening, and we are continuing our material life, life after life, and not only in human life, but in other forms of life. Should we not think that "We shall stop all this nonsense for good in this life"? Yes. Any sane man, any intelligent man, he should think like that, that "This opportunity, this nice form of human life with civilized, in civilized society, with developed consciousness, I must utilize this opportunity for my spiritual perfection so that I may not suffer life after life these material pangs." This is the determination. Otherwise... The whole thing, just see, controlling, how it is nicely... Dhyayato visayan pumsah. Thinking of sense enjoyment. Dhyayato visayan pumsah sangas tesu upajayate. Then I become attached to it. And if my lust is not fulfilled, then I become angry, and by anger, I forget myself. Then my intelligence is lost, and I may commit havoc. I may commit havoc. So actually, those who are serious for spiritual enlightenment of life, they should try, try to control the senses not by forceby regulating, by dovetailing it in relationship with the Supreme Lord. Then my senses will be purified. Purified.

So this process must be accepted.

So this is going on. So without taking any account how the things are going on, if you are actually serious for spiritual emancipation of life, then the, the process recommended in the Bhagavad-gita, as, and as practically demonstrated by Arjuna, if we follow this principle then we shall be proceeding towards the spiritual emancipation of life undoubtedly and without fail. So whole thing is that we have to make the best use of a bad bargain. The, that whole thing is the senses, senses are the cause of my material miseries. Now I cannot avoid the senses in my present status of life. The best thing is that senses may be engaged in the service of the Lord so that automatically they'll be restricted and purified, and my spiritual life will be revealed and the spiritual perfection will sure to come.

Thank you very much. Now if there is any question you can ask. (end)