Hare Krishna Prabhuji/Mataji Dandavat Pranam 🙏
I am sorry if I cause offence with my questions, but with the age of ineternet new questions arise, this age of instagram has made lot of grey lines.
Do bikini models or revealing modeling or posting revealing photos affect their spiritual progress?
Internet is filled with sex and nudity, as sex sells. I tried my best to reduce my consuption of such media and now I mostly only watch animated films, if I ever watch a film.
I know there is a spiritual cost for men who in the infulence of so much bad media, give into their desires become weak and waste their semen.
Is there any karma for women who participate in the proliferation of such media? I have an instagram account and one of my female friends started doing bikini modeling and wearing revealing clothing to attract a big male following? Do only men suffer for giving attention to such women or do women also take some cost for this?
Even me when I started bhakti I had to do a lot of austrerity to slowly come out of this trap of the internet. Now I follow more people on instragram who preach krishna conciousness, But now I am recommend accounts by instagram who are female devotees, but they post revealing photos? My mind is a little disturbed because of this.
How do I understand this, without developing bad emotions.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question 🙏
Replies
Hare Krishna
I am also neophyte so I am not giving advice, but just curious on what austerity you do to get out of the clutches of maya because I spend quite a lot on internet too because I'm uni student,
"Even me when I started bhakti I had to do a lot of austerity to slowly come out of this trap of the internet."
"How do I understand this, without developing bad emotions."
Srila Prabhupada says anyone who is seriosuly fixed on spiritual life also "spits" on the idea of sex life. I find just the remembrance of this lecture is sufficient to overcome the sex life.
Also from psychology perspective when we become desensitized to such things, then it is more dangerous as it will lead to relapse without us desiring so.
Below is Bhagavad Gita Shloka and excerpt from Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, to understand how bad emotions develop due to the innate connection between desire and hatred.
Chapter 7: Knowledge of the Absolute
TEXT 27
O scion of Bharata [Arjuna], O conquerer of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, overcome by the dualities of desire and hate.
Srila Rupa Gosvami nicely describes the state we are all hankering after in "Teachings of Lord Chaitanya"
“Śama, equilibrium of mind, is achieved by one who has concluded that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original source of everything. And when one can control his senses, that is called śama. When one is ready to tolerate all kinds of sufferings to control the senses and keep the mind steady, that is called titikṣā, or tolerance. And when one can control the urges of the tongue and genitals, that is called dhṛtiḥ.” One who has attained dhṛtiḥ is a dhīra, a pacified person. A pacified person is never disturbed by the urges of the tongue and genitals.
Hare Krishna
"Is there any karma for women who participate in the proliferation of such media?"
Garga samhita 1.19.26-30 tells about Nalakuvara and Manigriva who were turned into trees for their display of public nudity. Maybe you have seen some pictures of trees with human-like forms. There are some dharma sastra verses to this effect, imho. This one pertains to male brahmanas:
na-aJjayantIM svake netre na ca-abhyaktAm anAvRtAm
na pazyet prasavantIM ca tejas kAmo dvijottamaH
A Brahmana who desires energy must not look at (a woman) who applies collyrium to her eyes, has anointed or uncovered herself or brings forth (a child). Manu 4.44
What about limiting your social networks presence and engaging in something more positive?
Hari Hari
ys J.