Spirit of detachment must be there
Hari Sauri Dasa: After greeting Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari and receiving guru-puja, Srila Prabhupada took a tour of the building site. The foundation work has begun and some of it is already completed. He made a thorough inspection questioning, advising, and discussing the overall plans with Saurabha. He seems satisfied with the progress and proud that the building will be unique in this area of Bombay. It was a long, hard struggle to get the land, hold onto it, and finally obtain the permission to build. Now, with the same determination and strong desire, Srila Prabhupada is pushing on the building effort. This will be the biggest temple and asrama complex in ISKCON to date, and he wants to offer it to Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari. This is Srila Prabhupada's final day in Bombay. He is scheduled to go to Gujarat tomorrow.
Dr. Patel joined us again on the beach, his good humor restored. The doctor had previously extolled the value of experimentation in the search for truth, so Prabhupada took it up as today's theme. He challenged Dr. Patel why the truth should be the subject of experimentation. "If one knows the truth," he said, "there is no question of experiment." As usual, after some debate, Dr. Patel concurred. Prabhupada emphasized the principle that although the method of searching for the truth may be experimented with, the truth itself is not subject to experimentation. As we headed back toward the temple, we observed men and women on Juhu Beach going through their daily routines, vigorously swinging their arms and legs, bending and stretching in imitation of the Western mania for exercise. In Bombay especially, Indians are obviously becoming more and more interested in their bodies and less and less interested in their souls.
Lokanatha Swami asked what it is that creates the attraction between men and women, since all bodies are made of the same ingredients. Prabhupada gave an elaborate reply. "You want to be attracted. God has made in such a way that both of them are attractive to one another. That's all. You want to be attracted; therefore woman is made attractive. And the woman wants to be attracted; man is attractive. This is nature's arrangement so that you may be bound up by this attraction. You are already bound up, and by this attraction you will be more tightly bound up. Pumsah striya mithuni-bhavam etam. The whole material attraction means a man's attraction for woman and a woman's attraction for man. But when they are seeking, where is woman? Where is woman? Where is woman? And the woman is seeking. They come here to make this business. And when they are actually attracted or united, then this bondage will become more tight. "Therefore, the Vedic civilization is how to slacken it, and ultimately by force, separation, sannyasa. Because unless they are separated, there cannot be any spiritual advancement. That is the whole process. Their unity is bondage. I have written a letter, that man is good, woman is good, and when they are united, they are bad!" Prabhupada laughed. "Both of them are bad. And the material world is taking this is the best thing. But actually that is not. Man is good, because he is part and parcel of God. And woman is good, part and parcel of God. But when they unite, they become bad." Lokanatha Maharaja asked whether grihasthas could make spiritual advancement. Prabhupada replied candidly, "That advancement is not very solid. But there is advancement, but it is not very solid." "They say we want to come together to serve the Lord, is that excuse or is that ...?" Prabhupada broke into a smile. "Together they go to hell!" He explained that ultimately the spirit of detachment must be there, no matter what the external dress. If a householder is working only for Krishna, then he is also a sannyasi.
Reference: Transcendental Diary Volume 1 by Hari Sauri Dasa
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