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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[ Canto 3, Ch. 5 ]
life. One who is attached to sex life is to be understood as devoid of knowledge. Knowledge must be followed by detachment. That is the way of self-realization. These two essentials for self-realization, knowledge and detachment, become manifest very quickly if one performs devotional service to the lotus feet of the Lord. The word  dhīra  is very significant in this connection. A person who is not disturbed even in the presence of cause of disturbance is called  dhīra . Śrī Yāmunācārya says, “Since my heart has been overwhelmed by the devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa, I cannot even think of sex life, and if thoughts of sex come upon me I at once feel disgust.” A devotee of the Lord becomes an elevated  dhīra  by the simple process of meditating in eagerness on the lotus feet of the Lord.
Devotional service entails being initiated by a bona fide spiritual master and following his instruction in regard to hearing about the Lord. Such a bona fide spiritual master is accepted by regularly hearing from him about the Lord. The improvement in knowledge and detachment can be perceived by devotees as an actual experience. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu strongly recommended this process of hearing from a bona fide devotee, and by following this process one can achieve the highest result, conquering all other methods.
TEXT 43
विश्वस्य जन्मस्थितिसंयमार्थे
कृतावतारस्य पदाम्बुजं ते ।
व्रजेम सर्वे शरणं यदीश
स्मृतं प्रयच्छत्यभयं स्वपुंसाम् ॥४३॥
viśvasya janma-sthiti-saṁyamārthe
kṛtāvatārasya padāmbujam te
vrajema sarve śaraṇam yad īśa
smṛtam prayacchaty abhayam svapuṁsām
viśvasya —of the cosmic universe;  janma —creation;  sthiti —maintenance;  saṁyamārthe —for the dissolution also;  kṛta —accepted or assumed;  avatārasya —of the incarnations;  pada-ambujam —lotus feet;  te —Your;  vrajema —let us take shelter of;  sarve —all of us;  śaraṇam —shelter;  yat —that which;  īśa —O Lord;  smṛtam —remembrance;  prayacchati —awarding;  abhayam —courage;  svapuṁsām —of the devotees.