So instead of becoming sinful, to become pious, you simply follow these four regulative principles. The first principle is illicit sex. That is forbidden. Sex is not forbidden, but illicit sex is forbidden. That is not very difficult. Everyone wants. That is the necessity of the body, that sex. As we want to eat, as we want to sleep, similarly, there is sex desire. But if you want to become first-class man, then don't have illicit sex. Except marriage, do not have sex. The human society... Therefore, human society, there is marriage. There is no marriage in the dog society. So therefore, sex life within marriage and regulative principle, that is not prohibited. That means anyone who follows these rules and regulation, he becomes purified and pious. Without becoming purified and pious, you cannot understand God.
Sex desire (Lectures)
Expressions researched:
"desire appears like attachment for sex"
|"desire for sex"
|"desire for sexual union"
|"desire for the sinful act of sex"
|"desire illicit sex"
|"desire is to keep many female monkeys and enjoy sex life"
|"desire of sex life"
|"desire to enjoy sex"
|"desired to have sexual relations"
|"desires for illicit sex"
|"desires for sense gratification, specifically sexual"
|"desires for sex"
|"desires for sexual indulgence"
|"desires powerful sex"
|"desires to enjoy his senses, and especially sex life"
|"desires to enjoy sex"
|"lusty desires of the opposite sex"
|"of which sex is the chief"
|"sex desire"
|"sex desires"
|"sex is our desire"
|"sex life, but he had only a slight desire for it"
|"sex, I desired to marry"
|"sexual attraction and desire"
|"sexual desire"
|"sexual desires"
|"want to have sex"
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Ajāmila, the story of Ajāmila. He was a son of a brāhmaṇa and he was very nicely trained up, brahmacārī, and when he was young, he was married also. So he was very faithful to his wife, father, mother, and executing the duties of a brāhmaṇa. But one day he went to collect some flowers for worshiping Deity, his father was old, he was helping. So, in the meantime, he saw a śūdra woman and man. They were embracing and kissing one another. So he became sexually agitated. There is that possibility. Therefore there is restriction of intermingling of woman and man. Because as soon as one falls a prey to the sex desire, then his whole career may be spoiled. May be spoiled. But if he is strongly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no such chance.
So one who is free from the conception of body, his demands, his āhāra, his nidrā, or his eating, his sleeping, his fear, and his sex desire, will automatically decrease. That is the situation. That is the situation of, of pure consciousness. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ sthita-dhīr munir ucyate (BG 2.56). Sthita dhīr munir ucyate. Even he is not affected by the greatest allurement. Greatest allurement.
Even in cats and dog the eating, sleeping, mating and defending... There is four symptoms of life. The cat also, or dog also, eat; we also eat. They also sleep; we also sleep. They have their sex desires; we have got our sex desire. We want to defend from enemies; they also want to defend from enemies. Similarly, in every species of life we will find these four principles existing. How you can say that you are better than him? You are better than him when you understand how the laws of material nature is working so that one has become tree to stand up for ten thousands of years, and I have got all freedom to move and to make education, to go to the school, colleges, take education, advancement of knowledge. That is the difference between tree and me. So far necessities of the body, material body, is concerned, the demand is there; demand is here.
We do not discourage, I mean to say, sex life, but we discourage illicit connection with man and woman. Sex life cannot be discouraged. Because you have got this body, material body, sex desire is a demand. We have to satisfy; otherwise we shall go ill. As we have to eat something, as we have to sleep for some time, so sex life is also required. So we cannot discourage it, neither all the Vedic literatures discourage. But Vedic literatures cannot allow you... If you actually serious about advancement of spiritual life, then you cannot encourage illicit connection, no. I request all my young students that "You get yourself married."
Prabhupāda:
- balaṁ balavatāṁ cāhaṁ
- kāma-rāga-vivarjitam
- dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu
- kāmo 'smi bharatarṣabha
Now, this particular verse we were discussing last day, that lust or sex desire on the principles of religiosity is Kṛṣṇa. This point we have discussed very elaborately, you may remember, that so far necessities of this body are concerned, that is allowed, but in a regulated form.
Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau **. All the Gosvāmīs, they did so. They conquered over sleeping, conquered over eating, conquered over sex desire and conquered defense. So in this way we have to minimize nidrāhāra-vihāra and save time for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break) And chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That is a botheration.
We don't want to stop the tendency of material enjoyment. No nivṛtti. The human life is meant for nivṛtti. The cats' and dogs' life is for pravṛtti. The sex desire, they cannot stop it. It is not possible. If you teach some dogs that "You forget the sex life," it is impossible. That is not possible. So they cannot stop this desire of sex life. But if a human being can be induced... Therefore there is brahmacarya system, there is Vedic education, there is Bhagavad-gītā, so many other things. If people take advantage of these books they can stop this pravṛtti, this intense desire for enjoying this material world.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So knot begins... Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8). The world, we are bound up within this material law of nature—why? Because we have got strong desire for sex. Not only also human society, in animal society also. The central point is sex. Yan maithunādi... These people are working so hard because they have got the aim, "I will enjoy sex life." Just like in your country, the hippies. They have given up everything, but sex is there. They cannot give it up. They have renounced everything, their father's property, their happy life, everything, but the sex is there. They cannot leave it. That is the central point of knot. "Where you shall go, sir? Here is your knot."
Kṛṣṇa is Madana-mohana. If one is attracted, actually, by Kṛṣṇa, madana cannot kill him. Kṛṣṇa will save. So the... Actually, the dirty thing is our..., this sex desire. Sex desire increases our attachment for this world.
- puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ
- tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ
- ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair
- janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti
- (SB 5.5.8)
Everything is there, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The ultimate knowledge to understand everything. Unfortunately, they speak on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but not scrutinizingly, pointing out what are the defects in our life. They want to enjoy another type of sense gratification. Anyway, we do not wish to discuss. But actually, if we want to get rid of all dirty things from our heart, we must hear scrutinizingly about Kṛṣṇa. This is the prescription given here.
Bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiḥ. Our material life begins by a knot in the heart. What is that knot? That is sex desire. This is the knot. A man is hankering after a woman, and a woman is hankering after a man. This attachment is the beginning of material life. Everyone, not only human society. In animal society, in bird society, in beast society, you'll find this sex attachment. This is the hṛdaya-granthiḥ, beginning. Therefore, according to Vedic civilization, the first teaching to a student is to give him lesson how to become brahmacārī. How not to become attached in sex life, that is called brahmacārī. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa (SB 6.1.13).
Especially in the Western countries, the boys and girls, they are educated in one place, co-education, and they live in the same building, and there are so many things. You know, better than me. So there is no brahmacārī. There is no brahmacarya. That means the knot in the heart, sex desire, is more and more increased. It is not decreased. But if one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, by practice, one comes to the point of giving up all these unwanted things. Chidyante, bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiḥ.
I have several times explained to you that this knot of the heart is the sex desire. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam. Sex desire, mithunī-bhāvam etam. Tayor hṛdaya-granthim. And when they're actually united, that knot becomes more and more tight. But if one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then gradually, bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiḥ, that knot, sex desire... That is the test whether one's sex desire has diminished. That is the test.
The gopīs wanted Kṛṣṇa as husband. They made tapasya, austerity, to have Kṛṣṇa as husband. But at that time Kṛṣṇa was... The gopīs and Kṛṣṇa were of the same age. Just like boys and girls play together. But girls become at the age of twelve, thirteen years, their sex desires become strong. But boys, they do not become sex desire so strong, unless they are badly associated. So neither it was possible that Kṛṣṇa would marry so many girlfriends. But they wanted Kṛṣṇa as husband, all of them.
This is the test. Yad-avadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravinde. You haven't got to ask anybody, "Whether I am advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Will you give me certificate?" You can have your certificate by yourself, whether you have no more any desire for sex life. That's all, not that he has become impotent. If required, he can give birth to hundreds of children, but he does not like it. That is. That is the certificate. And so long we'll have any such material desire, then Kṛṣṇa is so kind—He will give you chance to take birth again.
So woman is protected in childhood by the father, and when she is grown-up girl, youth, although the father is ready to give her protection in every respect, but she has developed by that time sex desires. Under the circumstances, it is the duty of the father to hand over the girl to a nice young boy to take her protection. This is marriage. Kanyā-dāna.
Devotee (3): How can one rid oneself of sex desire if one continues to chant, continuously chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and is still being plagued by desire for sex?
Prabhupāda: Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa seriously. The examples are there. Therefore Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and some envious person engaged some very beautiful prostitute to drag him. But she failed. Chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa is so strong.
We have to serve. You cannot avoid this. If you do not serve Kṛṣṇa, then you will have to serve māyā. That's all. But you have to serve. So in that respect, if we do not know who is the best master, then we will have to serve our senses, our lusty desires. If I do not become servant of Kṛṣṇa, then I shall become full of desire, to my lusty desires for sex life. I have to become servant. That is a fact. You cannot become master. Therefore the most intelligent person is he who knows that "Why shall I serve my lusty desires? Why not serve Kṛṣṇa?" Because I have to serve. This is intelligence.
There was a question, very nice question, by Akbar Vasar, the Muhammadan emperor, Mogul emperor of India, Akbar Vasar. He was in the fifteenth century, five hundred years ago. So he kept very intelligent ministers. They would reply. Whatever inquiries are made by the emperor, the particular minister will inform, "This is this, sir." So he inquired one minister. His name was... I forget now. So "How long the lusty desires continue, sex desire?" So he replied, "Up to the point of death."
First of all, one deha, one body. Just like this child. His only one conception, "Yes, I am everything, this body." Gradually, when one grows, becomes youthful, there is sex desire. Therefore finding out the opposite sex, kalatra, wife, or girlfriend or boyfriend. So kalatra ādi, making the center kalatra, then ātma-sainyeṣu, we increase our attraction to this material world.
This whole material world is based on sex desire. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8). Everywhere, either in cat society, dog society, human society, bird society, beast society, anywhere you go, even aquatics, fish, insects, flies, ants—everywhere you will find this attraction, sex attraction. This is the ādi-rasa. Everyone is trying to get some taste. So this is the beginning of taste. So we have got attraction, natural attraction. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam. This material world is simply attraction of this sex life.
Etam, this material life, is nothing but an attraction of sex. Puṁsaḥ striyā. The man is after woman, and woman is after man. This is material life, beginning. Everywhere, not only human society. Even in bird society, dog society, cat society, or demigods' society—everywhere you'll see the sex attraction. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ. And... They are seeking, and as soon as they are joined together to satisfy the sex desire, their the, I mean to say, attraction becomes more and more tight.
Dāmpatye ratim eva hi: "Marriage, husband and wife, they will be simply by agreement." Nowadays that is happening. You go to a marriage-maker and agree, and marriage is finished. Not like before. Dāmpatye ratim eva hi. And rati means sex desires. So long their sex desires will be completed, they can live.
The Caitanya-caritāmṛta kaṛacā, the author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, he has distinguished between kāma and prema. Kāma means lusty desires or sex desires. Generally, it is meant, sex desires. So he has very simplified the matter very much.
This material world means first of all we have got desire of sex, mixing together, man and woman. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8). Mithunī-bhāva. Mithunī-bhāva means sex desires, impelled by sex. That is the central point of this material life. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). The central point of material happiness is maithunādi, sex impulse. Everyone.
The whole yogic process means how to become free from sexual desire. Indriya saṁyama. Yogam indriya saṁyama. The yoga practice... Formerly, everyone was practicing this yoga, aṣṭāṅga-yoga, dhyāna dhāraṇā asana praṇāyāma, just to become very stout and strong in the matter of sense gratification. Sense gratification is not at all good without any restriction. That is tapasya—tapasā brahmacaryeṇa (SB 6.1.13). And the first-class tapasya is to cease from sex life, either man or woman. Then tapasya begins.
One should be completely satiated from this attachment of sex. Then he is liberated. Liberation means no more material life, and the basic principle of material life is sex. Therefore whole Vedic civilization is based on to train people how he becomes free from sex desire. The great emperor Yāmunācārya, he gave his experience how he became liberated from sex desire,
When we understand that I am becoming more and more implicated, puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8), by this sex desire I am becoming more and more implicated. This implication is engaging me more and more in karma, karmānubaddha. When we understand this, and try to get free from this business, then we become eligible for going back home back to Godhead.
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 it appears that gopīs are dressed very nicely not for the purpose of her own satisfaction. They want to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, that "If I dress nicely, Kṛṣṇa will be pleased." So that is prema. And as soon as... In the material 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 the whole civilization is how to restrict this sex desire. Because... Why restriction? Because the sex desire, sex life, will keep him within this material world in different bodies, either as human being or as animal or as bird or as insect—so long there will be this sex desire. To become free, to become liberated means to become liberated from sex desire. That's all. This is the basic principle. Not that this tantra-yoga, how to increase sex desires. This is not civilization. Civilization is how to cut down sex desire and ultimately become free, paramahaṁsa. That is civilization according to Vedic culture.
A brahmacārī is open to accept either a gṛhastha āśrama or vānaprastha āśrama or sannyāsa āśrama, but the guru advises, "Better remain all through brahmacārī. No botheration." So he's trained properly, but still if he has desire, then he's allowed to become a gṛhastha. That is also for a limited time. The whole plan is how to stop, because as soon as here, that Ajāmila, he was not properly married, he became the husband of a prostitute. But there are ten children, but he's entangled with the family, with children, and now he's engaged bhuñjānaḥ prapiban khādan bālakaṁ sneha-yantritaḥ, one after another. First of all sex desire, puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8).
This world, what is this world, material world? The material means sex desire. That's all. The woman is hunting after man, and the man is hunting after woman. Either in human society or bird society or beast society or dog society or cat society, the principle is sex. And the human society means to understand this, that what is the basic principle of material life. If we understand it is sex, therefore we have to cut down the sex desire gradually by becoming brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa. This is the process. Otherwise, if I do not know what is the cause of my material bondage, then how we can take remedy? This is the cause, puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam. The desire is there. As soon as one is grown up, reaching youthful time, the sex desire is very strong, very strong. So they unite, a man..., a boy finds out a girl, a girl finds out a boy. They unite, and there is sex, and as soon as there is sex then there is bondage. Immediately. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ tayor mitha.
Prabhupāda: One has to become perfect by tapasā, by austerities. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa. And becoming brahmacārī, celibate. What is called? Celibate life? Eh?
Jagadīśa: Celibacy.
Prabhupāda: Celibacy, yes. Life of celibacy, controlling the sex desire. This is tapasya. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa śamena damena vā (SB 6.1.13). These things are education. And what is this nonsense education how to become a big mechanics of motorcar parts? This is not education.
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."
This is the test, how I am becoming advanced. You do not require any certificate from anyone. 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 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 Kṛṣṇa consciousness." This is the test.
Gṛhamedhi means those who have decided to prolong this body for sense enjoyment. That is going on. Everyone is trying so hard. In big, big cities they are working so hard like hogs and dogs, not for... They say that "We are hungry. We must work very hard." But that is not the fact. The real fact is that "We want to enjoy sex." So far hunger is concerned, you can control, but sex desire, it is very difficult to control.
So this material world means that maithunādi. Maithuna means sex intercourse. That is the beginning of material life. You know very well how strong is sex desire in the Western countries. Even old man, going to die, he has also. Although he cannot enjoy sex, still, he is trying his best by medicine, by other means, by intoxication, by stimulant. So that is the only happiness of this material world.
Here it is said, na śaśāka samādhātum. He was a brāhmaṇa, learned brāhmaṇa. He knew that "I am being agitated by these sex desires. It is not good. It is not good." Yathā-śrutam. Śruta. Śruta means Vedic knowledge. He had sufficient education in Vedic knowledge. Yathā-śrutam and yāvat sattvam, as far he could control... Stambhayann ātmanā ātmānam. He tried to control the mind as far as intelligence concerned, but na śaśāka—he could not control. Na śaśāka samādhātum. Why? The mind was too much agitated. This is the point. This is the point, that his mind was too much agitated, madana-vepitam, by lusty desire. Lusty desire is very strong.
An animal cannot make distinction what is right or what is wrong. That is not possible. Therefore it is said, dharmeṇa hīnā paśubhiḥ samānāḥ: "One who is ignorant of dharma-adharma, he is no better than paśu." Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca sāmānyam etat paśubhiḥ narāṇām. Āhāra, eating. I eat, the dog eats, the cat eats. I sleep, the dog sleeps, and the cat sleeps. I have sex desire, I satisfy it. The cats and dogs also satisfy it. And I am also afraid of my enemy; the cats and dogs are also afraid of enemy. Then where is the difference between cats and dogs? The difference is that I can be trained up to become religious; the cats and dogs cannot be trained.
So in the human form of life, the whole training is... That is Vedic civilization, how to avoid sex life. That is liberation. If I have got desire for sex life, some way or other, then I will have to take birth again in this material world to satisfy. So the training should be how to give up this idea, and it is possible. If training is there, then it is possible. That is the instruction of Prahlāda Mahārāja: kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha (SB 7.6.1). From the very beginning, children should be trained up in this line. That is the responsibility actually, father's, mother's affection.
This world is going on, this material (world) is going on the principle of sense gratification, puṁsaḥ striya mithunī-bhāvam. Everyone is hankering after sex life, man and woman. This is the beginning of material life. In the Vaikuṇṭha-loka there are thousands times beautiful women and thousand times strong men (noise in background) (aside:) Where is this sound coming? ...but there is no sex desire. This is Vaikuṇṭha life. Here in this material world, as soon as there is strong man, as soon as there is beautiful woman, then there is sex impulse. In the Vaikuṇṭha world there is no such thing, because they are so much absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness that sex life is very insignificant. There is no sex life in the Vaikuṇṭha realm. But in this material world, the sex life is the basic principle of pleasure.
So we have to give up. So there is therefore regulative principle. At least, no illicit sex. Get yourself married, live like a gentleman, take responsibility, then gradually you'll be able to give up this sex desire. Unless we give up this sex desire, completely unagitated, there is no possibility of stopping this repetition of material birth—birth, death, old age and disease. That is not possible. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja advises daityeṣu saṅgaṁ viṣayātmakeṣu: "Don't associate with..." Asat-saṅga, the same thing, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu... Asat-saṅga-tyāga ei vaiṣṇava ācāra. This is Vaiṣṇava's business.
One brahmacārī is naiṣṭhikī-brahmacārī; he doesn't marry. And another brahmacārī is... Although he marries, he is fully under control of the spiritual master, even for sex. He is also brahmacārī. So why so much restriction on the sex life? The people do not understand throughout the whole world. They are captivated by sex life, especially in the Western countries. Puṁsāṁ-striyaṁ-mithunī-bhavam etat. Material existence means a desire of sex life, both man and woman.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
When you are trained up properly, you come to the platform of rāga-mārga, then your devotional si... That is called svarūpa-siddhi. Svarūpa-siddhi. So svarūpa-siddhi is attained at a certain stage. Just like svarūpa-siddhi... The desire for sex life is there in every human being, but when the boy and the girl come to the mature stage, it become manifest. It is, is not learned artificially. Similarly, the rāga-mārga, svarūpa-siddhi, becomes revealed or manifest.
So when the Akbar Shah and his daughter was entering, the man on the death bed, he was looking to the young girl, not to the Akbar. So he pointed out, "Just see." And he was convinced, "Yes." So the sex life is so strong that you cannot be satisfied. If you re..., remain in material existence, then this sex desire will never be satisfied. But it can be satisfied only when you come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This Yamunācārya has said,
- yad-avadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ
- nava-nava-(rasa)-dhāmany (udyataṁ) rantum āsīt
- tad-avadhi bata nāri-saṅgame smaryamāne
- bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭhu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca
Śrī Yamunācārya says, "Since I have been engaged in serving the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, from that time I do not any more have any desire for sex life. Even if I do remember of sex life, I want to spite on it." So this is the result. Kṛṣṇa is Madana-Mohana. Madana-Mohana. Madana, Cupid, he agitates everyone for sex life. But if we actually be attached to see the beauty of Kṛṣṇa then we shall never be enamored by the arrows of Cupid.
Everyone is attracted by sex life. The whole material world is existing on sex life. This is the fact. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-suhkhaṁ hi tuccham. Here, the happiness, the so-called happiness is maithuna, maithunādi. Maithunādi means here happiness begins from maithuna, sex intercourse. Generally, people..., a man marries. The purpose is to satisfy sex desire. Then he begets children. Then again, when the children are grown up, they, the daughter is married with another boy and the boy is married with another daughter, another girl. That is also the same purpose: sex. Then again, grandchildren. In this way, this material happiness—śriyaiśvarya-prajepsavaḥ.
In the Kali-yuga, it is stated in the śāstras, dāmpatye ratim eva hi. In... Love between husband and wife will be disturbed as soon as there is no satisfaction of sex desires. Dāmpatye ratim eva hi. And in the Western countries, we find... In our country also, it has already begun; there are so many divorce cases. Mostly the divorce cases take place when there is disturbance in sex, sex satisfaction. So that is lust.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
You are not forbidden to enjoy. Just like we say that illicit sex relation not ordered, not allowed. You should take it because it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Dharmāviruddho kāmo 'smi aham: "The sex desire which is sanctioned by religion, that is I am." That is Kṛṣṇa. Sex desire to fulfill—it does not mean that like cat, we are free. What is this freedom? That freedom has cats and dogs. They are so free that on the road they have sexual intercourse. You have not so much freedom. You have to find out a parlor, er, apartment. So do you want that is freedom? This is not freedom. This is, I mean to say, going to hell. This is not freedom. Therefore Vedic literatures enjoins that if you want sex life, then you become householder. You marry a nice girl, and then you have got very good responsibility. This, this concession, sex life, is allowed so that you have to serve the all others.
There is a name of Saubhari Muni, Ṛṣi, and he was in meditation, in trance within the water. Because the trance, there is no breathing, so there is no difficulty to remain even in water, because breathing causes difficulty within water. Within goes... So he was in trance, and he was a great yogi. He was meditating within water, but he... Some way or other, he was agitated by sex desire, by seeing the fish have sex intercourse. Just see. The sex power is so strong that even such a yogi who could meditate within the water, he was also agitated by sex desire. So he came out of the water and went to the king and asked him that "You give me your daughter as my wife." Oh, he was a great ṛṣi, and because he was in the water, his feature was very ugly. So the king became perplexed: "Oh, how my daughter will select such a nasty body as my son-in-law?" So he was yogi; he could understand: "Then all right..." (snaps fingers) He became very nice.
At that time, Bhīṣma recommended that "Nobody is present here spotless character as Kṛṣṇa." He recommended like that. "Kṛṣṇa, when He was sixteen years old, He was surrounded by girls, but He had never sex desire. I am brahmacārī from my birth. I think I could not be such restrained personality as Kṛṣṇa." He recommended like that. That is mentioned in Mahābhārata. So this is character.
Arrival Addresses and Talks
There is no sex life in the spirit soul. Sex life is in the material body. We are not this body, but because we are in this body, therefore we are thinking pleasure of the body is pleasure of the soul. Just like when you are sitting in a nice car, if the car is damaged, the proprietor thinks that he is damaged. But actually he is not damaged; the car is damaged. It is due to our false identification with the body. Therefore we think that sex life is a pleasure. But so long we are in this body, sex life is not prohibited, but it is regulated. By regulative principle, gradually we can give up sex life. Therefore there are four orders of life. The beginning is brahmacārī. There it is very nicely taught how to remain free from material encagement. But if one is unable to take immediately spiritual activity, he is allowed to marry. The married life is regulated sex life. Then, after fiftieth year, one has to give up this. So in that stage, vānaprastha stage, the wife is there, but there is no sex life. So in this way, when one becomes very strongly fit not to desire for sex life, then he takes sannyāsa. That is the perfect stage of life for spiritual advancement of life.
Cornerstone Ceremonies
This material civilization means the sex desire. Woman is hunting after man; man if hunting after woman. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhavam etaṁ tayor mithaḥ. And as soon as they are united, they require gṛha, apartment; gṛha-kṣetra, land; gṛha-kṣetra-suta, children, friends, money; and the moho, the illusion, ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8), "It is I, it is mine." This is material civilization. But the human life is not meant for that.
General Lectures
Just try to understand; it is very scientific. The standard of happiness is according to the body you have got. So Prahlāda Mahārāja says that this sense gratification process is already fixed up. You cannot increase it or decrease it. That is stated here. Sarvatra labhyate daivād. Daivāt means by the arrangement of the Supreme. That is arranged. Sarvatra labhyate, sense gratification. Now take for example the hog. He is also busy in sense gratification. He is eating stool and becoming fatty, and as soon as there is sex desire, without any discrimination he enjoys many she-hogs, never mind sister or mother. Because the life is so made that he will enjoy in this way.
We kill many animals and eat them. So that may be the difference. Otherwise the eating business of the animal and the human being is the same. Similarly, sexual intercourse. The dog can freely have sexual intercourse on the street. The hog can have sexual intercourse on the street and without any discrimination whether mother, sister, or anything. That is hog life, dog life. But a human being has the same sexual desires but little decently. That is the difference. So the śāstra says that if you become simply engaged in these four kinds of business—eating, sleeping, mating and defending—then you are no better than animal.
Philosophy Discussions
Hayagrīva: That this, that the will is asserted mainly due to sex.
Prabhupāda: Yes. So that is material life.
Hayagrīva: Yes.
Prabhupāda: That is material life. That we say always that yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). Here, those who are addicted to material world, their basic principle is maithuna, sex intercourse. So this strong desire for sex, that will continue so long you are in the material existence, because that is the center of all pleasure. But when we get taste of Kṛṣṇa pleasure we can give up this. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 9.59). By same superior pleasure they give up this inferior.
Prabhupāda: That we also say. Freud is encouraging, and our process is to stop. That is the difference. Freud says that when there is sex impulse, enjoy. (indistinct) care what it is.
Śyāmasundara: No. He doesn't say one way or the other. He is merely trying to analyze the sex impulse. He says that due to repressed childhood sex desires that these neuroses arise in a person's personality, and that by analyzing...
Prabhupāda: Our process is not repression. We don't repress. Therefore we give facility, that "You have got sex impulse. All right, you have it, but with your wife, legalized wife."
Prabhupāda: These are all right, but what is the remedy that he is suggesting? That the child should be allowed to have sex life?
Śyāmasundara: No. The tension that is created by repressing the sex desire...
Prabhupāda: There are so many (indistinct), we established some of them. There are so many problems. But our program is that threefold miseries, everyone who has accepted this body has to undergo the threefold miseries.
Śyāmasundara: Freud's idea, being as he came from the Victorian age, when there was straight restraint of sex desire by the social structure, was that if you tell a child, "Don't look at a woman. Don't look at a woman," that this will...
Prabhupāda: We don't say like that—"Don't look at a woman." Here is a woman sitting, I am looking. Does this mean immediately you become polluted?
Śyāmasundara: He sees that the mind is composed of a balance of conscious and unconscious, just like light and dark, there's an equal amount, but that the function of the personality is to integrate the conscious and unconscious functions. For instance, if one had a strong sex desire, if somehow he were able to cultivate or channel that into a creative art or a creative value. Just like this brahmācārya, that sex impulse is channelled into higher thinking about Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: That is our process. Just like sex impulse is natural for everyone in the material (world), but if we think of Kṛṣṇa embracing Rādhārāṇī or dancing with the gopīs, then our sex impulse becomes subordinate, no more stronger. Hṛd-rogaṁ kāmam āśv apahinoti. Hṛd-rogaṁ kāmam, this is a heart disease, to be lusty. But if anyone hears about the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs, through right source, then this hṛd-rogam, this lusty desire in the heart, is suppressed and he will develop devotional service.
Revatīnandana: Śrīla Prabhupāda, there's one point, I think if I understand it, you will say that from the man or a woman being you can see the (indistinct) sex desire is there, from the body comes sex desire. He says then that sex desire can be elevated for self-realization or for some kind of higher...
Prabhupāda: No, no.
Revatīnandana: No, but for some kind of higher pursuit, that same sex energy can be channelled at what you would call a higher (indistinct).
Devotee: Sublimation.
Revatīnandana: But we say that originally there were desires to enjoy coming from the soul. If it is channelled to the body it becomes sex lust, but if it is channelled higher it becomes higher (indistinct) for advancement. It's not coming from sex, it's coming from the soul, is that correct—the desire to enjoy?
Prabhupāda: No. Try to understand. Sex desire is there in everyone. So once sex desire is (indistinct) up, male sex desire and female sex desire. The sex desire is there in both male and female, but some from impartial view, it appears that the male is the enjoyer and the female is the enjoyed. So both of them are (indistinct). So the female, if she agrees to be predominated, enjoyed, then naturally she also becomes enjoyer. So living entities are described as prakṛti, female. So when the living entities agree to help Kṛṣṇa's sex desire, then they become happy.
Devotee (2): But it's not by Kṛṣṇa's sex desire. What is the meaning of the words "Kṛṣṇa's sex desire"? Kṛṣṇa's satisfaction?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Sense enjoyment, you can say. Sensual enjoyment. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme proprietor of the senses. So when we help Kṛṣṇa for His sense enjoyment, then naturally we also (indistinct).
| Page Title: | Sex desire (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Labangalatika, Visnu Murti |
| Created: | 10 of Jun, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=60, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 60 |