My dear King, if a diseased person eats the pure uncontaminated food prescribed by the physician, he is gradually cured, and the infection of disease can no longer touch him. Similarly, if one follows the regulative principles of knowledge, he gradually progresses towards liberation from material contamination.
Prabhupada drew a clear distinction between human life and the life of the animals: "Animal nature is also present in the human body. Because the animal requires to eat, we also require to eat. Generally it is said, 'Man is a rational animal'. But that definition is not perfect. Rationality is there even in the animals. You can say, 'Man is spiritual animal'. That is the real definition. Not rational animal. Rational means 'reason'. Now, if a dog enters this room and I say 'Hut!', the dog will immediately understand that 'These people do not want me'. He will go away. This is rational. Although he's animal, he can understand that 'These people do not want me.' He does not understand your language, but by the symptom you are expressing on his arrival, he can understand. This is rationality. So the definition, 'Man is rational animal, is not a perfect definition. Man is spiritual animal'."
Prabhupada referred to the theme of the verse. "If you take sattvic foods, foodstuffs cooked in goodness, then you'll avoid the doctor's bill. That's a fact. Just like a patient is prescribed selected foodstuffs by the doctor: 'You should eat like this,' 'Such-and-such diabetic patient should eat like this.' Similarly, if we want to make perfection of our life, then we have to make it regulated. Not like the animal."
Regulated life, Prabhupada explained, was called tapasya, penance. This entailed denying the animal propensities of eating meat, taking intoxication and having illicit sex. Prabhupada, directing his points especially to the guests in the audience, spoke as if one of them.
"'Then, how shall I live? I'm accustomed to eating meat, and my life's subsistence is there. How can I give it up?' No. You can give it up by practice. Just like these European and American boys who are also with me, they were also meat-eaters. How they have given up? They have given up. They do not even smoke, what to speak of other intoxication, or even drinking tea or coffee."
Prabhupada compared the dependence on forbidden things to a disease. "If you want to cure your disease, you have to accept the physician's instructions. Therefore, on every bottle of medicine you'll find, 'As directed by the physician'. Even if you know that this medicine is for this disease, still you have to follow the direction of a physician. Similarly, tapasya means you have to accept, voluntarily accept, some negation under the direction of the spiritual master, just like these people are doing.
"Now, so many initiations have taken place today. You have seen it. So, our first promise is that one who is initiated, we ask them, 'Do you know what are the rules and regulations?' He says, 'Yes, I know. There is no illicit sex life, there is not meat-eating, there is no intoxication, there is no gambling.' This is called tapasya. Simply mechanically-like rounds, 'Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna' will not do. You have to undergo this tapasya, then it will improve. Just like simply medicine will not help you, you have to follow the instruction of the physician -- what to eat, what not to eat, how to eat, how to do. These things have to be accepted."
- From "The Great Transcendental Adventure" by HG Kurma Prabhu
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