Don’t Underestimate the Enemy
If you are fighting a serious disease, a disease that you rate a 9 on a scale of 10, your cure must be at a level 10. Yet if we look at the strategies and efforts we employ to deal with sexual desires, often our efforts are insufficient to deal with the severity of the problem. In other words, the remedy must be sufficient to cure (or at least subdue) the disease. The goal of this section is that we take our efforts for sexual purity more seriously by acknowledging the incredible power of sexual attraction and thus the degree of effort that’s required to control sexual desires.
Prabhupada: “This sex life in this material world is so strong, even in the heavenly planets, big, big rsis (fall prey to sexual attraction). Sex life with animals also there is… Sex life is so strong. Man cohabiting with animals. It makes blind. Vyasadeva made one of her (his) students pregnant, what to speak of ourselves. Vyasadeva was born, Satyavati. She was low class. Although she was born by a king, but her mother was a low-class fisherwoman. And the fisherman raised her as daughter. And Parasara Muni became attracted. And Vyasadeva was born. Sex affairs, just see, in the highest circle. Brhaspati, the spiritual master of the devatas, he became so much mad for his brother’s wife who was pregnant, and forcibly they had sex. Just see. These are examples. Brahma became attracted to his daughter. Lord Siva became attracted with the beauty of Mohini-murti, even in the presence of his wife. So this sex life can be controlled only by becoming Krsna conscious. Otherwise there is no… The Bhagavata has discussed all this because in this material world there is no escape unless we become Krsna conscious, from the sex impulse. It is not possible. Yad-avadhi mama cetah krsna… When one is fully Krsna conscious, then he’ll reject all this nonsense: “What is this?” Bhavati mukha-vikarah susthu. He’ll spit: “Eh! Get out. Is that enjoyment?” It is possible for a Krsna conscious… No other can do it.” Room Conversation January 7, 1977, Bombay
“However great a hero one may be in the material world, he can be immediately conquered by the lumps of flesh and blood known as the breasts of women.” SB 4.24.26
It is said the average man thinks of sex every 20 seconds. When a teenage boy was told this by his father, he replied, “Well Dad, what am I supposed to think of for the other 19 seconds?”
Let’s look at the sexual problem in our society today
- 50% percent of men who claim to be good Christians view pornography at least once a month.
- 50% of the men attending a Promise Keepers event admitted to having looked at pornography within the last month.
- 65% of the men in Promise Keepers admit to a pornography addiction
- 50% of married men and 42% of married women will have an affair at some point in their marriage.
- Of all the websites on the internet, 30% are pornographic.
- 67% of 18 year old girls have had sex (it’s higher for boys).
- Of 30,000 women interviewed, 95% said they were sexually involved before marriage. It’s not much different in religious groups.
- 20,000 women (and children) prostitutes are coming into the US every year (sex slave industry).
- 1/3 of all divorce litigations are caused by online affairs.
- Most men don’t consider online affairs adultery.
- 1 out of 5 kids receive sexual solicitation online every year.
- 1 out of 5 girls are raped
- Every second $3000 is spent on pornography in US.
- 1960 5 % of babies were born out of wedlock. In 2000 over 30% are born out of wedlock.
- There are 55,000 cases of STD daily.
- In 2008, 750,000 women got pregnant and 1/3 had abortions.
Proverbs say: “For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil. But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword and her feet go down to death. Keep far from her. Don’t go near her house.” The Bible says that when we are tempted sexually we should run.
Krsna joked with the Pandavas that your mother is the most beautiful woman and even in her old age she is attractive and you are probably also attracted to her. Prabhupada said we may see a woman as attractive, but we have nothing to do with her. It may be many years before we are not overly attracted to the form of a woman, but still today we can and must properly deal with that attraction.
“To pursue the transcendental path is more or less to declare war on the illusory energy. Consequently, whenever a person tries to escape the clutches of the illusory energy, she tries to defeat the practitioner by various allurements. A conditioned soul is already allured by the modes of material energy, and there is every chance of being allured again, even while performing transcendental disciplines.” Bhagavad-gita 6.37 purport
“In the material world, the center of all activities is sex, and thus this material world is called maithunya-ägära, or the shackles of sex life. In the ordinary prison house, criminals are kept within bars; similarly, the criminals who are disobedient to the laws of the Lord are shackled by sex life. Advancement of material civilization on the basis of sense gratification means increasing the duration of the material existence of a living entity. Therefore, this lust is the symbol of ignorance by which the living entity is kept within the material world. While one enjoys sense gratification, it may be that there is some feeling of happiness, but actually that so-called feeling of happiness is the ultimate enemy of the sense enjoyer.” Bhagavad-gita 3.40 Purport
“Srila Vishvanatha Chakravati Thakura remarks that Mohini-murti dragged Lord Shiva to so many places, especially to where the great sages lived, to instruct the sages that their Lord Shiva had become mad for a beautiful woman. Thus although they were all great sages and saintly persons, they should not think themselves free, but should remain extremely cautious about beautiful women. No one should think himself liberated in the presence of a beautiful woman.” SB 8.12.34
Most of our problems with sex desire stem from not taking sufficient precaution to protect ourselves. The story of Mohini murti is a message for us to not take things lightly. As mentioned in the beginning of this section, the purpose of discussing the power of sexual desire is for us to acknowledge that if we are to deal with our sexual issues successfully, we cannot take them lightly.
Exercise
In what ways do you underestimate the enemy (what actions demonstrate this)?
What would you do differently if you didn’t underestimate the enemy?