Qualification for Spiritual advancement

Lecture:

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Srimad Bhagavatam 4.22.24

Translation

A candidate for spiritual advancement must be nonviolent, must follow in the footsteps of great ācāryas, must always remember the nectar of the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, must follow the regulative principles without material desire and, while following the regulative principles, should not blaspheme others. A devotee should lead a very simple life and not be disturbed by the duality of opposing elements. He should learn to tolerate them.


Purport
Another important point mentioned in this connection is anindayā — we should not criticize others' methods of religion. There are different types of religious systems operating under different qualities of material nature. Those operating in the modes of ignorance and passion cannot be as perfect as that system in the mode of goodness. In Bhagavad-gītā everything has been divided into three qualitative divisions; therefore religious systems are similarly categorized. When people are mostly under the modes of passion and ignorance, their system of religion will be of the same quality. A devotee, instead of criticizing such systems, will encourage the followers to stick to their principles so that gradually they can come to the platform of religion in goodness. Simply by criticizing them, a devotee's mind will be agitated. Thus a devotee should tolerate and learn to stop agitation.

Another feature of the devotee is nirīhayā, simple living. Nirīhā means "gentle," "meek" or "simple." A devotee should not live very gorgeously and imitate a materialistic person. Plain living and high thinking are recommended for a devotee. He should accept only so much as he needs to keep the material body fit for the execution of devotional service. He should not eat or sleep more than is required. Simply eating for living, and not living for eating, and sleeping only six to seven hours a day are principles to be followed by devotees. As long as the body is there it is subjected to the influence of climatic changes, disease and natural disturbances, the threefold miseries of material existence. We cannot avoid them. Sometimes we receive letters from neophyte devotees questioning why they have fallen sick, although pursuing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They should learn from this verse that they have to become tolerant (dvandva-titikṣayā). This is the world of duality. One should not think that because he has fallen sick he has fallen from Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness can continue without impediment from any material opposition. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa therefore advises in Bhagavad-gītā (2.14), tāḿs titikṣasva bhārata: "My dear Arjuna, please try to tolerate all these disturbances. Be fixed in your Kṛṣṇa conscious activities."


Prthu Mahraj meeting with four Kumaras. In this one sloka the qualifications required for a candidate make progressive spiritual advancement are described. In the sector of this purport there is emphasis on the essential needs to control the senses. Do not criticize others and to live a humble simple life by which one can tolerate the dualities of material nature.

The senses are addicted to the pleasures which comes from the contact of the objects of senses. This conditioning is from time that cannot be possibly traced back. The desire for sense gratification is so very deeply rooted in the heart. In this world if a person is addicted to anything for a long duration of time very very difficult to extract ones activities from that effect.

If a person has been smoking or drinking alcohol for 30 to 40 years, It has become such a interpart of our life, really people look for shelter in these things. We become habituated to take shelter in our bad habits.

We have all seen someone addicted to cigrattes, that habit due to conditioning creates such cravings that mentally as well as physiologically that every part is longing from seperation for that experiance of that poisoning nicotin smoke coming to their lungs they become so disturbed, so agitated that literally seeking shelter to the cigarette. We are habituated to that conditioning so we get some relief to that addiction.

Actually every type of sense gratification is at same nature people become addicted to sex life. Idea of sex life from scriptures is apparently pleasure but actually it is not why people needed so much, it is not pleasure, it is because they are addicted to it, without it there is so much pain. So much anguish so much agitation and people take shelter of the so called pleasure because it relieves then of the suffering of being without it because material addiction, material conditioning. Every type of sense gratification is a source of shelter to the conditional soul to relieve him or her from the boredem agitations of the world.

The impersonalists they try to annihilae all of these desires. But it is very difficult since time immorial for milloons and millions of birth we have perpetuated this chronic addiction and now we want to just give it up. Some people are addicted to sense gratification in mode of passion or ignorance. From the mode of goodness we can give it up altogether. For those who are in mode of ignorance and passion they should learn what is sense gratificaion in mode of goodness. But everyone is addicte.