Some spiritual practitioners think that now they have achieved some reasonable control of the physical sex urge, they are well nigh up there in the wispy clouds of victorious abstinence, deserving of respect and honour. Wrong! Congratulations on becoming a decent human being. Welcome to the world of subtle selfishness.
By Kesava Krsna Dasa
Srila Prabhupada states: ‘Illicit sex is the most prominent sin due to lusty desire.’ (SB 5.14.22 purport) This is because it is sometimes called ‘ adi-rasa ‘ the primeval, original pleasure, which sadly for us, is a twisted iron-like perversion enjoyed separately from Krishna. With a little enlightenment some people can see the problems arising from lust, but; ‘The conditioned soul sometimes personally appreciate the futility of sense enjoyment in the material world, and he sometimes considers material enjoyment to be full of miseries. However, due to his strong bodily conception, his memory is destroyed, and again and again he runs after material enjoyment, just as an animal runs after a mirage in the desert.’ (SB 5.4.10)
Whenever Srila Prabhupada uses the words ‘sense gratification,’ it is another way of saying self-gratification, or satisfaction of the self. Our own nitya-baddha selfish pursuits will hopefully end in Krishna consciousness. ‘The background for the devotee is the all-good Himself. Why should the devotee aspire for something good for himself? A Krishna bhakta has no desire for his own personal benefit.’
(CC Madhya 19.149 purport)
Such a high ideal has to be attained if any devotee wishes to progress without limit. Having ‘girdled the loins’ for celibacy, a host of challenges will confront us. The subtle realm of the stubborn mind, intelligence, and ego will present a myriad of contemplative opportunities to slacken our resolve, and lead us downwards to physical puzzlement. ‘The senses, the mind, and the intelligence are the sitting places of this lust. Through them lust covers the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him.’ (BG 3.40)
While celibacy is a basic human quality, many practitioners develop an inordinate fixation on trying to control the sexual urge. This will happen if our decision to become celibate was done in haste, out of frustration, or simply overestimating the ability to control lust. This can be compared to sleeping on the floor because the bed is broken. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta explains, ‘When an impersonalist or illusionist shows off his renunciation in the material world, he simply exposes himself in anger or deep attachment with the object of apparent renunciation. He would have continued to enjoy those objects if they were of no trouble to him.’
(Upakhyane Upadesa)
Many other devotees would have learnt, ”.nor by renunciation alone can one attain perfection’. (BG 3.4) and so heeded the advice of the Lord in the summation of the third chapter of Bhagavad-Gita, ”.and thus ‘ by spiritual strength ‘ conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust.’ (3.43) by chanting sincerely and associating with serious devotees, we should be able to remain celibate. This is the easy part. If one feels heroic for being celibate, his sense of achievement may get quickly undone when more culturally refined and subtle forms of lust appear, from deep inside the psyche.
So what is subtle sex? Is this something that only afflicts devotees? Is it difficult to overcome?
Srila Prabhupada’s observation of certain sporting activities led him to make this interesting comment in (SB 3.35.20 purport) ‘Sometimes the demoniac arrange for so-called sports like tennis, with the opposite sex. The purpose of such sporting is to see the bodily construction of the beautiful girl and enjoy a subtle sex mentality.’ We can well imagine this scene repeated in other sports like gymnastics and so on, where decent officials and the public might admire things other than the contest itself.
In matters of sexual crimes, a study of case histories will reveal how most perpetrators cannot explain the impulse, which led them to commit perverted crimes, when asked by a psychologist or other professional. Yet it is lust, which fuels their delusional fantasies, which begin as contemplation, then fulfilled in gruesome and peculiar ways. (BG 2.62-63)
A spiritual practitioner can also do abnormal things impelled by lust, yet give the impression that such behaviour is quite normal. If one thinks, he is amongst star-struck and immature devotees who would hardly notice his transgressions, or look the other way for fear of committing offences, such misleading indecency is naked subtle sex in action. If one is in a position of authority, he can manoeuvre things managerially to get as close as possible to the object of contemplation, all the while appearing as a staunch renouncer. It should not be discounted that similar fantasies can be met from the sacred asana, during kirtana, or any other sphere of devotion. ‘Many devotees fall down due to illicit sex. They may steal money and even fall down from the highly honoured renounced order. Then for a livelihood they accept menial services and become beggars.’ (SB 5.14.22 purport)
We have a culture of giving tribute to certain positions held. In theory it means that unqualified persons can occupy the post and still be highly praised, which is an imbalanced approach in light of the following verse. ‘On the other hand, if a sincere person tries to control the active senses by the mind and begins karma-yoga
(in Krishna consciousness) without attachment, he is by far superior.’ (BG 3.7) This means that a so-called lowly grhastha who earns an honest living, is superior to one of higher standing who is grappling with celibacy issues, or is a pretender.
On the spiritual frontier, if controlling the physical sexual urge is supposed to be the easy part, then how is subtle sex more difficult to overcome? It is no coincidence that one has to be more advanced spiritually, to slowly dissolve the subtle remains of lust and selfish desire, which are rooted in the false ego, the most formidable element to deal with. Can we ever wonder why Srila Prabhupada repeatedly stressed that we are not the body, or in this case, not this egotistical identity’?The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O Partha, when a man gives up all varieties of desire for sense gratification, which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind, thus purified, finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness.’ (BG 2.55)
For a devotee, subtle sex means dealing with numerous mental concoctions or various forms of selfish desires. If one finds celibacy to be a dreary affair, he will try to compensate the lack with positional advantages to ensure a good dose of pratistha ‘ name, fame, adoration, and distinction. By doing so his flirting may be kept on the subtle level. However, eventually, the curiosity of missed sexual chances will have to manifest on the gross level. When Krishna says, ”.though the taste for sense objects remains.’ (BG 2.59) it can be an absurd situation when faced with how to curb the enemy known as lust. Such speculation will try to keep it hidden from public scrutiny, lest the unimaginable happens. ‘The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmented parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.’ (BG 15.7)
Subtle sex also means to think oneself as important, a big devotee, a celebrity, as learned and other larger than life caricatures, which can border on the delusional or bewilderment plane, depending on how much memory and intelligence has been eroded by lust, or selfish desire. The bottom line is, whenever we display lust or selfishness, it is a symptom of envy towards Krishna, and by implication, to other living entities and devotees. ‘But those who out of envy, do not regularly follow these teachings are to be considered bereft of all knowledge, befooled, and ruined in their endeavours for perfection.’ (BG 3.22)
Most of us are trying to follow these teachings however, but it seems highly improbable to ever overcome envious and perverted adi-rasa. What can be done?
We firstly should not be judgemental of other devotees who struggle with the senses.
Their undertaking is indeed a heroic one. We may not understand why such devotees come to join Krishna consciousness due to some mystical intrigue by the Lord. ‘The Lord understands the devotee who hesitates to engage in the Lord’s service, not knowing whether he should again try to revive his material life. After repeated attempts and failures, he fully surrenders to the lotus feet of the Lord.’ (SB
5.14.10 purport)
Considering our own selves to be envious of Krishna, we have to be convinced it is a very unhealthy state of affairs. If we feel strongly enough it can propel us to be enthusiastic with self-exertion. Some self-effort is required to obtain some mercy.
‘But a person free from all attachment and aversion and is able to control his senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord.’ (BG 2.64)
This mercy should translate into spiritual strength required to surmount formidable obstacles. Through the mercy of the guru, we have to gain spiritual strength. Moving forward, the inflexible mind aided by lust and false ego will present ludicrous excuses not to continue. In effect, we are transforming our existence from false to real. ‘We may sometimes be absorbed in some thought which is sinful, but if we give up the sinful thought, it may be said that we give up the body.’ (SB 3.20.28 purport)
While pushing forward and chanting earnestly, the scoundrel mind will remind us, ‘Are you really getting anywhere with your laborious efforts? Slow down. Be balanced and stop being fanatical! There’s always another time to get serious. I promise I’ll help you then.’ Such semi-naked subtle sexual overtures will try to slow the pace and make our envy of Krishna a cosy bed of roses. Time and time again we will get these comforting reminders, which can make us feel that attaining perfection is impossible. We are almost correct thinking like this. Srila Ramananda Raya says, ‘There is an inexplicable fact about the natural inclination of the gopis. The gopis never want to enjoy themselves with Krishna personally.’ (CC Madhya 8.207)
This should be the basis of our sincere efforts to advance in Krishna consciousness.
We literally have to do the inexplicable, and change our motives from cute, cuddly envy, to those pleasing to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga. The unlimitedly powerful holy names can do inexplicable wonders with ease and extricate our false identity. ‘Therefore Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says here, Krsna-bhakta niskama. Since the Krishna bhakta, the devotee of Krishna, is satisfied with Krishna, there is no possibility of a falldown.’ 9CC Madhya 19.149 purport)
Ys, Kesava Krsna dasa.
Source: http://m.dandavats.com/?p=18715
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