252 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 7, Ch. 9

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, O infallible one, my position is like that of a per-
son who has many wives, all trying to attract him in their own way.
For example, the tongue is attracted to palatable dishes, the
genitals to sex with an attractive woman, and the sense of touch to
contact with soft things. The belly, although filled, still wants to
eat more, and the ear, not attempting to hear about You, is
generally attracted to cinema songs. The sense of smell is attracted
to yet another side, the restless eyes are attracted to scenes of sense
gratification, and the active senses are attracted elsewhere. In this
way I am certainly embarrassed.

PURPORT

The human form of life is meant for God realization, but this process,
which begins with sravanam kirtanam visnoh—hearing and chanting of
the holy name of the Lord—is disturbed as long as our senses are ma-
terially attracted. Therefore devotional service means purifying the
senses. In the conditioned state our senses are covered by material sense
gratification, and as long as one is not trained in purifying the senses, one
cannot become a devotee. In our Krsna consciousness movement,
therefore, we advise from the very beginning that one restrict the ac-
tivities of the senses, especially the tongue, which is described by Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura as most greedy and unconquerable. To stop this
attraction of the tongue, one is authoritatively advised not to accept meat
or similar uneatable things nor to allow the tongue to hanker to drink or
smoke. Even the drinking of tea and coffee is not permitted. Similarly,
the genitals must be restricted from illicit sex. Without such restraint of
the senses, one cannot make advancement in Krsna consciousness. The
only method of controlling the senses is to chant and hear the holy name
of the Lord; otherwise, one will always be disturbed, as a householder
with more than one wife would be disturbed by them for sense gratifica-
tion.

TEXT 41
at @entfad = aaaawa-
UTA TATA |
