We have to purify our desires.
Continuing with His warnings about the dangers of an uncontrolled mind, in verse five Maharaja Rishabhadeva details the different stages of contamination of the materially attached mind. "The mind is the root cause of lust, anger, pride, greed, lamentation, illusion and fear. Combined, these constitute bondage to fruitive activity. What learned man would put faith in the mind?"
Prabhupada listed off each state of impurity and then gave an excellent class on how these apparently material traits can be spiritualized by Krishna consciousness, making sure that we know how to distinguish between the two. "Kamo manyur mado lobhahsoka moha bhayadayah/ karma bandhas ca yan mulah svikuryat ko nu tad budhah. So budha means one who is aware of everything. Such budha, intelligent person, will not accept these base qualities. Kama, manyur means greediness, lusty; madah-pride; lobhah-greediness; soka-lamentation; moha-illusion; Bhaya means when we are too much materially absorbed then there is bhaya.
"Kama; krishna kama karmarpane. Narottama dasa Thakura has advised that kama and the desire will be transformed how to serve Krishna. Krishnarthe akhila ceshta, the same thing. Kama means fruitive activities for sense gratification, but this kama can be utilized in Krishna's service. Just like we have constructed this temple with the enthusiasm there must be a very nice temple for Krishna Balarama. The same desire, as somebody is willing that 'I must have a very big skyscraper building,' so the same desire. People may ask, 'What is the difference between these two desires? Somebody is desiring to possess a very big house and another body is desiring to possess a very nice temple, expensive temple. So what is the difference?' Difference is one is kama and the other is prema. That is difference."
People sometimes say that we should become desireless to free ourselves of these unwanted attributes, but, Prabhupada said, it is not possible to supress our desires. "You have got eyes, and if you want to suppress your eyesight, 'I shall not see anything,' is that possible? That is not possible. Yes, I have got my eyes, but I want to see Krishna Balarama. That is wanted. That is wanted. Not that 'No, I shall not see.' Even meditation, so called meditation, that is also seeing. Real meditation, seeing within.
Dhyanavasthita tad gatena manasah pasyanti yam yoginah [SB 12.13.1].
Pasyanti, this word is used. Pasyanti means sees, but within, not without. Meditation means seeing within. Not that without seeing. Concentrating the mind to see the form of Lord Vishnu, that is real meditation."
Therefore, he said, it is a question of purifying our desires by using them in Krishna's service. "Then it is bhakti. Then it is prema. We sometimes mistake the activities of gopis?it appears just like lusty affairs, but actually that is not. Gopis used to dress themselves very nicely, attractively, so that Krishna may be very pleased. That was gopis' desire. 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 gopis are dressed very nicely not for the purpose of her own satisfaction. They want to satisfy Krishna, that 'If I dress nicely, Krishna will be pleased.' So that is prema. In the material [world] nobody wants to please anyone. He wants to please himself. That is kama. We should understand what is kama and what is prema."
Prabhupada told us that when everything is focused on pleasing Krishna, then even these deleterious qualities can be spiritualized. He provided some examples to show how this can be done. From our current experience he explained how to direct our anger. "This manyu means krodha, anger?it can be also utilized. Bhakti dvesi jane, those who are envious of devotees . . . Just like they are making propaganda in Europe and America that 'Why this Krishna conscious persons should be allowed?' So bhakti dvesi. So one should utilize his krodha, anger, upon these persons. That is wanted."
As far as moha, illusion, goes, he used the Lord Himself as an example.
Prabhupada's second pranama mantra glorifies him for destroying the teachings of the sunyavadi, the voidists. But, he told us, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu sometimes adopted this mood of the voidist. "Just like Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaching, yugayitam nimeshena cakshusha pravrisayitamsunyayitam jagat sarvam. This is illusion. Sunyayitam. Jagat is not sunyam. Just like we have got practical experience. If somebody's beloved has died, he sees everything zero. Nothing is appealing to him. Similarly, if we have developed our love for Krishna and if we do not see Krishna, that is sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda virahena me. But a devotee and ordinary person, if ordinary person wants to see something and if he cannot see, he becomes angry because that is kama. But a devotee, he says that 'Krishna, although the whole world is vacant because I cannot see You, still I cannot change my mind to love You.' One side sunyayitam jagat sarvam, the other side aslishya va padaratam pinashtu mam marma hatam karotu va adarsanam?'You break my heart by not allowing me to see You; still You are my beloved, worshipable Lord.' That is the difference. There is no manyu, no disappointment. Disappointment is there, but so much disappointed that broken heart. Still he wants to love Krishna. That is pure love. Not that 'I have been disappointed, my heart is broken; therefore I give up Krishna.' "
Telling us that the material counterparts cause karma-bandha, bondage by the laws of material nature, and that by doing everything for Krishna we become liberated, Prabhupada referred to his recent meetings with his Indian disciples, repeating once again that their feelings of dissatisfaction against their 'Western' Godbrothers is not spiritual. "We have to purify our desires. Sarvopadhi vinirmuktam tat paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. When we give up this conception of life that 'I am Indian,' 'I am Christian,' 'I am Hindu,' 'I am this and that,' these are upadhis. So while serving Krishna, don't come back to the upadhi platform, that 'We are Indians and they are Europeans, so they are taking more advantage and we are not given advantage,' or visa versa. This means coming back to the upadhi. That is not the stage of devotion. We have to become free from the upadhi. 'I am neither Indian nor American. I am eternally Krishna's servant.' That's all. 'Whatever Krishna orders, in whichever position he keeps me, I am his eternal servant.' "
Prabhupada also had strong words about those who impatiently try to understand or experience the highest feelings of devotion even while they are not free from their lowest impulses. We are in Vrindavana, and he has many times warned us not to be sentimentally swept up in what appears to be feelings of Krishna-prema, but to execute our devotional service carefully and cautiously. "Now, when we are in the pure stage, the same kama, the same manyu, the same mado lobhahsoka, lamentation . . . Just like the gopis, they were lamenting, 'Krishna is going to Mathura,' and He has gone there; the lamentation is there. This lamentation and our lamentation is not the same.
Therefore in the beginning, the neophyte devotees, they should not try to understand the dealings of the gopis with Krishna. Unless one is free from the material concept, sarvopadhi vinirmuktam tat paratvena nirmalam. That means we have to execute devotional service in the regulative principle. 'I cannot follow the regulative principle, and I am trying to understand Radha Krishna prema,'?this is rascaldom. This is rascaldom. Only rascals will do that. He does not see his position, that 'What is my position? I am still full of lusty desires. My mind is still disturbed by seeing a nice woman or nice man, and I am discussing Radha Krishna?' This is nonsense. Narottama dasa Thakura said, rupa raghunatha pade haibe akuti kabe hama bujhabo se yugala piriti [Prarthana-Song 1-Lalasa-mayi]. Unless you are expert in devotional service, by practical application of the instruction of Bhakti rasamrita sindhu . . . Then if we are qualified, then someday we may be able to understand what is yugala piriti, love between Krishna and Radharani. Not so sudden. That is sahajiya. Not so sudden. We should not try to do that. First of all I must see how much I have become sarvopadhi vinirmuktam, how much I am free from the designational position. Then we shall be able.
"Radha krishna pranaya vikrti ahladinisakti asmad [Cc. Adi 1.5]. The Radha Krishna pranaya, loving affairs of Radha and Krishna, this is not ordinary thing. When you worship Radha Krishna, we are not fit for that . . . We shall think ourself as servant of Krishna, eternal servant of Krishna, under the guidance, adau gurvasrayam. So if we want to do something, we must inquire from guru. We must follow. We should not manufacture things, that 'This way I shall be able to satisfy Krishna.' No. 'If I discuss about Radha Krishna lila in my neophyte stage, Krishna will be pleased.' No. You must first of all purify yourself by the regulative principles. And when you are completely free from the material conception, then you understand what is Radha Krishna lila."
Reference: Transcendental Diary Volume 5 by Hari Sauri Dasa
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