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Pradyumna: "Brahmacaris should be very polite and well... The Brahmacari should be quite well behaved and gentle in nature. He should not eat or collect more than necessary. He must always be active and expert, fully believing in the instructions of the spiritual master and the sastra. In this way, fully controlled over the senses, behave with women as much as necessary, as well as persons who are controlled by women, should be associated with only as much as necessary."
Prabhupada: susilo mita-bhug daksah sraddadhano jitendriyah yavad-artham vyavaharet strisu stri-nirjitesu ca [SB 7.12.6] |
So now, actually behavior, the first thing is susila, very well behaved, gentle. Sila means behavior, and su means very good. Susilo mita-bhuk. This can be attained only when one practices eating whatever is absolutely necessary, not eating more. This is also enjoined by Rupa Gosvami: atyaharah prayasas ca prajalpo niyamagrahah [NoI 2]. Atyahara, eating more than necessary, is condemned everywhere. Spiritual life means reducing eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. That is spiritual life. Nidrahara-viharakadi-vijitau. The Rupa Gosvami and other six Gosvamis, they conquered over these things, nidra-ahara. So a brahmacari should not eat anything except prasadam, that also when he is called by the spiritual master, "You can come and eat." This we have discussed.
So mita-bhuk. We shall be very, very cautious about eating. And daksah. Daksah means active, not lazy, sleeping. This is not good. Nidrahara-vihara. Everyone has to conquer over sleeping, so that is called daksah. And daksah means expert. Whatever business is entrusted to him, he does it very nicely, daksa. Just like Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, he had no interest in material things. His father's estate was very big, and he was not interested. But at a time when there was a political situation, he tackled it very nicely. This is the example of daksa. There was some political controversy between Raghunatha dasa Gosvami's uncle, father uncle, and the government minister. So the minister, in order to take advantage, he came to arrest Raghunatha Gosvami's father and uncle, and they fled away from the house. So the minister arrested Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, the son, because if he was chastised, he'll disclose the secret, where his father and uncle has fled. And so Raghunatha dasa Gosvami -- it is a long story -- tackled the situation so nicely that there was peace between the minister and his father and uncle, and the misunderstanding was settled up. So this is called daksa. Not that because he has become Krsna conscious, and Vaisnava, he is unable to do anything of this material world. No. One who is Krsna conscious, he is conscious of everything and he knows how to deal with them. That is called daksa. Not that "Because I have become Krsna conscious I have no knowledge in other things." No. Every... You must have, if not complete, to know something of everything. That is intelligence, to know something of everything and to know everything of something. That is wanted. You may be expert, a devotee. You know everything of devotional service, but you should not be callous. You know something of everything. That is called daksa.
Daksa sraddadhanah: faithful. Faithful to whom? To the spiritual master. Whatever he says, the brahmacari should take it: "Yes, it is my life and soul." That is the explanation given by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura. He is explaining with reference to the verse vyavasayatmika buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana [Bg. 2.41]. He very nicely explains. You have perhaps read it, Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura's... Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has taught very, very nicely about guru. Therefore he has written in Gurvastaka, yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah **. He is example, practical example of guru-bhakti, Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura. He accepted his guru, Narottama dasa Thakura. So he said that "I am not interested for my salvation or going back to Godhead. I am not interested." Interested means it may come; it may not come. "That I don't mind. But I am interested only with the words of my guru." Visvanatha Cakravarti said. "That is my life. Whether I will be successful or not successful, it doesn't matter. I must take the words of my Guru Maharaja as my life and soul."
Actually, that is the secret of success. Yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau.
yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante...
[SU 6.23]
So that is the secret of success, sraddadhana, to accept the words of guru very, very faithfully. Sraddha. This is brahmacari's... And jitendriya, self-controlled. That is the brahmacari. He is not agitated by the senses. The whole practice is to control the senses. That is Vedic civilization. I have several times explained that senses cannot be let loose. Senses must be controlled. That is called swami or gosvami. Swami does not mean that "I am the swami, husband of my wife, and I can use her to my best capacity." No. Swami means the master of the senses. That is called swami or gosvami. Go means senses, and svami... Everyone in this material world is controlled by the senses. That is material world. We cannot control our senses. The tongue is dry and dictating, "Take a cigarette, take a cigarette," and immediately I begin to smoke. That means I am dictated by the tongue. Then tongue, then belly. The belly is filled up, and still, there is some nice food stuff -- "All right, let me eat." Control, cannot control. And then genital. That, we know very well, we cannot control. This straight line: tongue, belly, and the genitals. Therefore one should control the tongue first. That is spiritual life, beginning, controlling the tongue. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau [Brs. 1.2.234]. The controlling of the senses begins from the tongue. If you allow the tongue to eat anything in the restaurant or anywhere, then you cannot become the jitendriya. And if you can control the tongue -- "My dear tongue, I shall not give you any food which is not offered to Krsna, krsna prasadam" -- then the tongue is controlled. And krsna-prasadam means patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati [Bg. 9.26]. If you want to offer Krsna something, we must know what Krsna wants to eat. Just like if you call a friend, you ask him, "My dear friend, what do you like to eat?" Then it is etiquette. And that is going on. Similarly, you have invited Krsna here. He has come. Don't think He has not come. He is here, saksad vrajendra-nandana-hari. The atheist may say, "Oh, these rascals are worshiping a stone," but that is not the fact. We are not spending so much energy and money for installing a stone. Stone is already there. Therefore it is forbidden, arcye sila-dhir gurusu nara-matih. If you think the Deity as sila, means stone, and gurusu nara-matih, if you think guru as ordinary human being, vaisnave jati-buddhi, and if you think a Vaisnava, "He is American Vaisnava. He is Indian Vaisnava," jati-buddhi naraki -- you become naraki immediately. These are the descriptions.
So jitendriya. A brahmacari means jitendriya. Samena damena va. Tapasa brahmacaryena [SB6.1.13]. Tapasa. Brahmacari life
means tapasya.
tapasa brahmacaryena
samena damena va
tyagena satya-saucabhyam
yamena niyamena va
[SB 6.1.13]
This is life. Not that extravagant life is life. That is the present position of India, that we have lost our own culture. Brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha, sannyasi -- this is compulsory. Every child should be trained up as brahmacari. Then, when he is completely trained up, if he still likes to get into married life or householder life, which is a concession for sex life... It is not required. According to Vedic civilization it is not required. You'll find, therefore, many naistika-brahmacaris. Naistika means never any connection with woman. That is called naistika-brahmacari. And upakurvana-brahmacaris. Upakurvana-brahmacari means he is married, but not for enjoying. He is married and to beget nice children under the order of his spiritual master. He is also brahmacari. If a grhastha abides by the order of a guru, he is also brahmacari. So here it is said jitendriya. Susilah mita-bhug daksah sraddadhano jitendriyah. Senses should not be used extravagantly. The modern civilization is that if you can use your senses more and more, then you are civilized. Then you are enjoyer. So Vedic civilization is different. Their aim is different. The whole scheme is controlling the senses, especially sex, because if we become too much addicted to sex life, then our life is spoiled. This is this.
Therefore next line, it is said, yavad-artham vyavaharet strisu. With woman you should be very, very cautious and careful, as much as required, not free mingling. No. Therefore, according to Vedic civilization, there is always a separation between woman and men. Here in India we find that whenever there is some meeting, the woman are sitting separately; men are sitting separately. This is required. Not only that, you cannot talk even with woman unnecessarily, even with your wife. This is restriction. Therefore it is said, yavad-artham vyavaharet: "as much as it is required." Don't talk unnecessarily, "Phish, phish, phish." That is very dangerous. Dangerous means in spiritual life. Yavad-artham. Even with your mother, with your daughter, with your sister, you cannot sit in a solitary place and talk. This is restricted. What to speak of others, even with your mother.
matra svasra duhitra va
naviviktasane vaset
balavan indriya-gramo
vidvamsam api karsati
[SB 9.19.17]
So according to Vedic civilization there is very, very strict stricture to mix with women. And in our childhood, we have seen in Calcutta that those who are aristocratic family, there are two section of the house, male section and female section. During daytime even the husband cannot meet wife. That is their restriction, even the husband. There was no chance because the women were in different house and men in a different house. So so many restriction. So here it is said, yavad-artham vyavaharet strisu... (end)
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.12.6 -- Bombay, April 17, 1976
© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
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