Sharanagati

Krishna says: “I am the strength of the strong, devoid of passion and desire. I am sex life, which is not contrary to religious principles, o lord of the Bharatas, Arjuna.”[1]

Strength is very much appreciated in the world. Knowledge, strength, power or time is very much appreciated usually. People judge things according to different measurements. Bramins judge superiority according to knowledge. Right? Whoever is more knowledgeable is more respected. Very useful principle. Kshatriyas judge according to power. Vaishyas judge according to money. And shudras judge according to age. And you collect your wealth according to these different levels. If you are on a shudra level you are doing nothing but just aging; and just collect your years. If somebody has vaishya mentality, he will collect money, wealth, possessions. This is so popular these days: ah, I possess so much, I am wealthy, I am great. Right? Of course, it is different if you have full pocket; you feel different when your pocket is empty. Shrila Prabhupad said that a sign of intelligence is to have always something in your pocket. And money or wealth is very sweet, very sweet, very attractive! You can be attached to that very much. But you remember, when Mao Tze Dun died, they started to sue „the gang of four”. And one of these was the wife of Mao Tze Dun. Behind a great man there is a great woman. She was very powerful and they asked her: “What is the most attractive thing on earth? Is that sex life?” She said: “It’s nothing!” And said: “Power! That is the real thing!” So kshatriyas search for power. They want to have influence. To influence people – this is even more charming than sexual life or money… Power! But this is stupidity. We should become minimum bramins, because the bramin collects wealth on knowledge, realizations.

All right but then where to position the vaishnava? Vaishnava is a shudra, or bramin, or kshatriya, or this, or that? What is the wealth of a vashnava? What is he collecting?

Bhakti-shakti: Prema-bhakti.

Tirtha Maharaj: Ah, that would be nice! On a practical level service he is collecting. And his wealth is his devotion. In this way you can transcend these human categories.

„I am the strength of the strong.” But if you are strong, you should be devoid of passion and desire. That is real power – when you have no desire and no passion. If you are really surrendered, no harm can come to you. This is the strength of a devotee – fully surrendered and fully under the protection of the Lord. This is real strength.

But then Krishna goes on saying: “I am sex life which is not contrary to religious principles.” Usually people think that sexual life is a kind of taboo and sometimes it is very difficult to talk about it. But this is simply a part of life, which should be regulated according to divine principles, in order to achieve the goal. Sexual life is very important when you want to get in the material trap. Because if your father and mother did not have sexual life, you could not come. So, for entering the material platform this is necessary. But when you want to get out of this trap, it is not so much necessary. So, we should decide: which direction – inside or outside?