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How to conquer this all-devouring sinful enemy - Lust? There is a method ... and it is a sure 100% method; and the Supreme Lord showed us this method in a wonderful way. He sent to this world, lust personified Ravana. Ravana was the most striking emblem of lust in the history of all creation.

Sita Devi is the wife of Rama. Sita is none other than an expansion of Lakshmi Devi, the goddess of fortune.

All the fortune of the world is the energy of Sita. What is fortune? Fortune does not simply mean money. Fortune means anything good. Fortune means good health, popularity, comforts in life, good friendship, good family, etc. Fortune means anything good in this world and to lose anything good is misfortune.

Lakshmi devi appeared as Goddess Sita. And everyone knows Sita is exclusively meant for Rama. What is the definition of love? Love means to assist Sita in Her affair with Ram. Is that not what Hanuman, Sugriva, Lakshman, and the residents of Ayodhya did? The only desire of the residents of Ayodhya was to see Ram and Sita happy.

But Ravana, he wanted to take Sita for himself. That is called kama or lust. In Caitanya Caritamrita, Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami describes - love is that natural inclination of the soul to want to give pleasure to God, but when the natural affection for God is misplaced, in trying to enjoy the property of God for our own selfish desire, then that love is transformed into lust. Love and lust is the same energy; same inclination within us. Prema is when that energy is placed toward God; when it is placed anywhere else, it is called Kama or lust.

So Ravana was very tricky. He disguised himself and stole Sita. And of course we read from the Ramayan of Valmiki Muni, how Lord Ram and His brother Lakshman looking for Goddess Sita made alliances with Sugriva and Hanuman and together with a great army, they attacked the island of Sri Lanka. And Ravana was so powerful that no one could defeat him. With Ravana, Indrajit, Kumbhakarna and the other Rakshasas, even the demigods were totally robbed of any pride and were living in utter fear. They were totally unconquerable by any jivatma.

Ravana was the symbol of Kama. And know that any desire you have to enjoy separate from the Lord is due to the presence of Ravana in your heart. Lord Sri Ramachandra wanted to really show to the world, how powerful Ravana was, how powerful lust really is.

Every time he cut off the heads of Ravana, another one grew. Doesn't that sound like our own material desires? Every time you do some yajna, sacrifice, puja and you give up one material sinful desire and immediately another head grows. And you perform penances, practice yoga, take vows, to give up this lusty propensity in your heart and finally you conquer it and then another head grows. Those who are on the spiritual path, know that as soon as you cut down one head, 10 more grows. It is an endless battle. Finally Rama shot His arrow into Ravana's heart. When the arrow pierced the heart, Ravana fell to the ground.

Rama is the only one who has this arrow. That arrow cannot be obtained by any mortal, any jiva, any living entity. It is the exclusive power of Ram. That is why Lord Krsna says in the Gita, this material energy is very very difficult to overcome. But one who surrenders unto Me I take the war in My own hands. I will conquer lust. I will conquer Ravana within your heart. For me it is not difficult. I will kill all the demons in your heart with My arrows.

When we surrender to the Lord, Ram appears within our heart. When we remember Krishna, when we remember Lord Ramchandra ji, He is non-different from that remembrance.

The process of Bhakti is to always remember the Lord, to be His devotee, to always worship Him and to offer homage unto Him.

Through this process Ram appears within our heart and with His mighty arrows, he shoots right into the heart of Ravana and all his heads and everything else falls and disappears from our life eternally.

- H.H. Radhanath Swami

Source : www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151649514772265&set=a.85735502264.98086.667582264&type=1&theater