Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.6.2 Pradyumna: (leads chanting, etc.) “Translation: Srila Sukadeva Gosvami replied: My dear King, you have spoken correctly. However, after capturing animals, a cunning hunter does not put faith in them for they might run away. Similarly, those who are advanced in spiritual life do not put faith in the mind. Indeed, they always remain vigilant and watch the mind’s action.” Prabhupada: rsir uvaca: satyam uktam kintv iha va eke na manaso ’ddha visrambham anavasthanasya satha-kirata iva sangacchante. First of all, one must prove that he’s trustworthy; then we can accept him as trustworthy. Our mind is not fixed up, very restless. Cancalam hi manah krsna pramathi balavad drdham. This is right example. Just like Haridasa Thakura. He was competent enough, mukta-purusa, but still, he was chanting regularly 300,000 times Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Even Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that “Now you have become old man. You can reduce the number.” Sankhya-purvaka-nama-gana-natibhih kalavasani-krtau nidrahara-viharakadi-vijitau catyanta-dinau ca yau vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau. Raghunatha dasa Gosvami especially, he was very strict in the matter of following the regulative principles, Raghunatha dasa Goswami. He was living in Radha-kunda. He was very rich man’s son and practiced very rigidly vairagya. Bhakti-yoga means vairagya, as far as possible to deny material necessities, that is vairagya. It is called vairagya-vidya. Srila Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya has said, vairagya-vidya-nija-bhakti-yogam. Vairagya-vidya. Bhakti-yoga means vairagya. Bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra syat [SB 11.2.42]. This is bhakti-yoga, no more any necessity for material things. Niskincinasya bhagavad-bhajanonmukhasya. There are so many. Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, they were liberated persons. Even Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He’s God Himself, but still, to teach us, He was observing the regulative principles of a sannyasi very, very strictly. These things, to teach us… Similarly, Haridasa Thakura, he’s called Brahma-Haridasa. Sometimes he is called Yavana-Haridasa. Yavana means Muslim or those who are not in the Vedic principles, yavana, mleccha. Just like we have seen some temples. Our foreign devotees are not allowed because they have got the rules that mlecchas and yavanas, because they are very unclean, they should not be allowed. But that should not be applicable to the devotees of this Krsna consciousness movement, because they have learned how to remain clean, how to follow the… At least, they are expected. They promised at the time of initiation, “Yes, I shall not do this. I shall not do this.” So if he’s actually following the rules and regulations, he is no more unclean—simply by chanting. apavitrah pavitro va sarvavastham gato ’pi va yah smaret pundarikaksam sa bahyabhyantarah sucih He become… If we follow our promise… That is gentlemanly. If you have promised something, you must follow it. That is gentlemanly. So because we may fail… There is chance; we are prone to fail. Jivera svarupa haya nitya krsna dasa [Cc. Madhya 20.108-109]. But sometimes we forget. Not sometimes—practically always we forget. That is material. When we forget that we are eternal servant of Krsna, that is material life. Otherwise, if we remain servant of Krsna, even in this material body, still, we are liberated. iha yasya harer dasye karmana manasa vaca nikhilasv apy avasthasu jivan-muktah sa ucyate So we must follow the rules and regulation very… Therefore it is said that visrambham anavasthanasya satha-kirata iva sangacchante. We should not believe our mind, that we have become perfect. By mental dictation we should not be guided. That is a very bad practice, to think of, that “I have now become liberated, I don’t require to follow the regulative principles.” So we must be very careful. Here we have quoted that, yajna-dana-tapah-karma na tyajyam karyam eva tat yajno danam tapas caiva pavanani manisinam Yajna, dana. Brahmacari should offer yajna, grhastha should give in charity, and sannyasi, vanaprastha, should undergo tapasya. Yajna-dana-tapah-karma. We should not give up this, these things. “Because I have become sannyasi—I have given up my family— therefore I give up also all other regulative principles.” No. That you cannot. The sannyasi means… Sannyasi, they have got also rules and regulation. Caitanya Mahaprabhu very rigidly followed. He did not lie down even on a quilt, only one naked cloth. He did not use… And no woman should come to offer Him obeisances very near. They must do it from a distant place. He was so strict. One of His personal associates, Haridasa, Junior Haridasa, he simply glanced over a young woman with lusty desire. He immediately rejected him: “Ask Haridasa not to come anymore.” So He never excused him very strictly. And Haridasa, being disappointed, he… On his behalf, very close devotees like Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, Ramananda Raya, big, big devotees, Svarupa Damodara and others, requested Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu that “He has committed mistake, but he is Your personal servant. Kindly excuse him.” Then Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “All right, then you can call him. You live with him. I shall go from here. You live with him; let Me go away.” He was so strict. Then, when Haridasa Thakura Junior… The senior is another. Then he committed suicide—“Now it is hopeless. I cannot come to Caitanya Mahaprabhu.” He committed suicide. And when this information was given to Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He did not regret. “Oh, this man has committed suicide? Yes, it is right.” He said, “Yes, it is right.” So He was so strict. Therefore in the sastra it is forbidden that Kali-yuga is very difficult to follow the rules and regulation of a sannyasi; therefore better not to accept sannyasa. Kalau panca vivarjayet. Sannyasam pala-paitrkam devarena sutotpattim kalau panca vivarjayet. Instead of becoming a false sannyasi, do not accept sannyasa. This is the injunction of the sastra. But for preaching work we have to get the help of some sannyasi, but we should remember that we are in Kali- yuga. We should not be sentimentally very much anxious—“Please give me sannyasa, give me sannyasa”—and then fall down and go to hell. That is not good. That is not good. If one is able to strictly follow the sannyasa rules and regulation, he should take. Otherwise, Krsna has said that sannyasa, real sannyasa, means one who does not take any remuneration for his service to Krsna. That is sannyasa. Anasritah karma-phalam karyam karma karoti yah sa sannyasi. “It is my duty. I am eternal servant of Krsna. To serve Krsna is my duty.” Karyam: “I must do it.” Actually that mentality is sannyasa. It doesn’t matter whether we have changed the dress or not, but if we decide it, that “I am eternal servant of Krsna; my only duty is to serve Krsna,” that is sannyasa. So better we should try to stay in this determination than to accept the sannyasa order by changing the dress and then again we fall down. That is not very good. There are instances like that, but it is not at all good. We should not trust the mind. And even we take, we should be very, very vigilant on the mind. Visvaso naiva kartavyam. Canakya Pandita says, (chuckles) visvaso naiva kartavyah strisu raja-kulesu ca. “Never trust woman and politician.” He was a politician, and his wife was kidnapped. He had very bad experience of these two things, Canakya Pandita. Therefore he gave this injunction, visvaso naiva kartavyah strisu raja-kulesu ca: “Never trust woman and politician.” So Canakya Pandita was not inexperienced; he was very experienced. All the slokas of Canakya Pandita—very useful for daily affairs. So similarly, we should not trust the mind, that “Now I have become liberated.” Never think so. We should always remember that liberation is not so easy thing, but if we follow the rules and regulation, then there is every possibility of becoming liberated. But this is the business in the human…Tapah. That is the instruction. Tapo divyam putraka yena suddhyed sattva. You must purify your existence. This is the only business of human life, tapasya. So tapasya means brahmacari. Tapasa brahmacaryena [SB 6.1.13]. Tapasya means brahmacaryena, no sex life. That is tapasya, real tapasya. Tapasa brahmacaryena samena damena ca. Even if you practice yoga system, this regulation must be followed, celibacy, not that fashion yoga system. Now in your country there are so many transcendental yogis, and they say, “Yes, whatever you like, you can do. God has given you senses, you must enjoy.” These are manufactured cheating processes. But actually yoga means indriya-samyamah. Yoga indriya-samyamah. Not gymnastic. That is not yoga. Yoga indriya-samyamah. Mind control. The same thing, mind control. So mind you cannot control unless your mind is fully engaged in the service of Krsna. Sa vai manah krsna padaravindayor vacamsi vaikuntha-gunanuvarnane. These are the examples. So Raghunatha dasa Gosvami followed very strictly, Caitanya Mahaprabhu also followed very strictly, and the Rupa-Sanatana Gosvami followed very strictly. Not that because one is living in Vrndavana with a short cut cloth and therefore he has become like Rupa Gosvami… Rupa Gosvami was fully engaged. Nana-sastra-vicaranaika-nipunau sad-dharma-samsthapakau lokanam hita-karinau. They were in Vrndavana, but they were always thinking how to do good to the people, to this material world. Just like Prahlada Maharaja. Soce tato vimukha-cetasa. Sadhu’s concern is to think of the misled materialistic persons. They are always thinking, making plan how to elevate them, they are suffering. This is sadhu. Lokanam hita-karinau, sadhu, not that “I have changed my dress in such a way, and people out of sentiment will give me roti, and I shall eat and sleep.” That is not sadhu. Sadhu… Bhagavan, Krsna, says who is sadhu. Api cet su-duracaro bhajate mam ananya-bhak sadhur eva sa mantavyah [Bg. 9.30]. That is sadhu. Who has fully dedicated his life for Krsna, he is sadhu. Even he has got some bad habits… Bad habits? A sadhu cannot have bad habits because if one is sadhu, if in the beginning he has got some bad habit, that will be rectified. Sasvad bhavati dharmatma. Ksipram bhavati dharmatma sasvac-chantim nigacchati. If he’s actually sadhu, his bad habits will be rectified very soon, very soon, not that he’s continuing his bad habits and also a sadhu. That cannot be. That is not sadhu. Maybe due to his past habits, he might have committed some mistake. That can be excused. But if he, in the name of sadhu and become a liberated person, he continues to do all nonsense, he’s a cheater. He’s not sadhu. Api cet su-duracaro. Cet, yadi, if, by chance, it is possible. But if he sticks to Krsna consciousness, then ksipram bhavati dharmatma sasvac-chantim nigacchati. In the beginning there may be some mistake, but we must see that “Whether my mistakes are now correct?” That should be vigilance. Never trust the mind. That is the instruction here. Mind should not be trusted. My Guru Maharaja used to say that “After getting up from your sleep, you take your shoes and beat your mind hundred times. This is your first business. And while going to bed, you take a broomstick and beat your mind hundred times. Then you can control your mind. Otherwise it is very difficult.” So this is… This beating with shoes and broomstick is also another tapasya. For men like us, who have no control over the mind, we should practice this tapasya, beating the mind with shoes and broomstick. Then it can be controlled. And swami means who has control over the mind. Vaco-vegam, krodha-vegam, udara-vegam, upastha-vegam, manasa-vegam, krodha-vegam, etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah prthivim sa sisyat. This is Rupa Gosvami’s instruction. When we can control vaco-vegam… (child crying, Prabhupada pauses) This is krandana-vegam. (laughs) They cannot control. They cannot control. Therefore they are child. The child can be excused, but if a person who is in the spiritual life, he cannot control, then hopeless. Then he’s hopeless. This should be controlled. Vaco-vegam, krodha-vegam, udara-vegam, upastha vegam. But the most important thing is udara-vegam and jihva-vegam. Jihva-vegam, it is very controlled. Bhaktivinoda Thakura said that “All the senses are there, but out of them, this jihva is very dangerous.” Ta’ra madhye jihva ati lobhamoy sudurmati ta’ke jeta kathina samsare. It is very, very difficult to control the tongue. Just we can see. Practically I have seen that we… Our prohibited injunctions are that we should not eat meat. So I have seen when on the plane… Of course we never go to the hotel or restaurant, but on the plane we see so many European, American friends traveling. They are eating the meat, not very large quantity, very little quantity. Some of them are eating voraciously, no, but generally I see… But if they give up that little one piece of meat, say, one ounce or two ounce, immediately we can save ourself from so much sinful activities, so many slaughterhouses running on all over the world. If we simply control the tongue, what is that? You are eating a piece of meat. But they cannot. They cannot. Jihva-vegam. The tongue is dictating, “No, meat is very nice. Take it.” A little. It is not much. He’s not living on meat. There are loafs, there are vegetables. Actually he’s living on that. Nobody takes two or three loaf, of the same weight meat. Meat, little quantity. But they take loaf, butter, rice, other things. Without vegetables, without food grains, you cannot live. It is simply for the tongue. Ta’ra madhye jihva ati lobhamoy sudurmati. Simply for this tongue, little only. He cannot live simply on meat unless he’s an animal exactly. He has to take vegetable, food grains, butter. These are milk products. Otherwise he has no chance to live. But for the tongue’s sake he’s taking little piece of meat, and for that reason, we have to maintain thousands and thousands of slaughterhouse. This is our position. Therefore ta’ra madhye jihva ati. Simply for the tongue we are committing so much sinful activities and becoming implicated because implication means there is no God consciousness, no Krsna consciousness. Two things are there: one is God, and one is the repetition of birth and death. There is no third way. Either you take God… This chance… This is a chance. This human form of life is a chance. Either you go back to home, back to Godhead, or go to hell. I think Christians also, they say. Two things are there. And in our sastra, Krsna says, Bhagavad-gita, mam aprapya nivartante mrtyu-samsara-vartmani. Two things are there. Either go this way or that way. Either go to hell or go to heaven. This is the general, yes. Asat-sanga-tyaga,—ei vaisnava-acara. So if you are serious about going back to home, back to Godhead, we must be educated how to control the senses, how to control the senses. Therefore while eating, we are reminded that this eating is… If you do not take it as prasadam, then eating is sense enjoyment. sarira avidya-jal jodendriya tahe kal jive phele visaya-sagore ta’ra madhye jihva ati lobhamoy sudurmati ta’ke jeta kathina samsare krsna baro doyamoy koribare jihva jay swa-prasad-anna dilo bhai sei prasadanna pao radha-krsna-guna gao preme dako caitanya-nitai We should be very cautious, always remembering Caitanya-Nitai and practicing the regulative principles, chanting Hare Krsna mantra. Then it will be all right. Thank you very much. (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Vrndavana, November 24, 1976