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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

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"last day I cited one example that a great yogī just like Viśvāmitra, he practiced yoga and he rose to the highest platform, but still, he failed to control his senses. He came in contact with Menakā, a society woman of the heaven, and Śakuntalā was born"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Last day I cited one example that a great yogī just like Viśvāmitra, he practiced yoga and he rose to the highest platform, but still, he failed to control his senses. He came in contact with Menakā, a society woman of the heaven, and Śakuntalā was born.

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 kṛṣṇe. This Kṛṣṇa philosophy, Kṛṣṇa consciousness . . . matiḥ means attention. So attention to Kṛṣṇa consciousness . . . Matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā. Even by hearing instruction from learned, I mean to say, transcendentalists or by self-study . . . parataḥ. Parataḥ means taking lessons or taking instruction from others.

And svataḥ means by self-culture. Matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā mitho vā. Mitho vā: "by assembly." By assembly. Na: "It will never be." Matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā mitho 'bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām. Gṛha-vratānām means . . . gṛha means house, and vrata means vow. One who has made his vow that "This worldly life—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 . . . 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-ānanda. It is eternal, it is blissful, and it is full of knowledge.

So the whole program is there. So viṣayā 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 yogī just like Viśvāmitra, he practiced yoga and he rose to the highest platform, but still, he failed to control his senses. He came in contact with Menakā, a society woman of the heaven, and Śakuntalā was born.

So here, Bhagavad-gītā says that viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ. 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 regulation, those restrictive regulation, may also fail. There are so many instances.

But here, the process which is recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā, dovetailing your consciousness with the supreme consciousness, that is the highest. That is the highest. Rasa-varjaṁ raso 'py asya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 2.59).

Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā. Just . . . in other processes, you have to . . . I'm giving 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-varjaṁ raso 'py asya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā 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 Yamunācārya. Yamunācārya said that, "So since I have dovetailed my consciousness with the supreme consciousness of Kṛṣṇa . . ." Yad-avadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravinde. "So long my consciousness has been fixed up in the transcendental service of Kṛṣṇa," 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." The another process is that without even restriction, you do not like to do it.

Page Title: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
Compiler:SharmisthaK
Created:2022-12-08, 07:37:52
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1