Lecture on BG 5.26-29 -- Los Angeles, February 12, 1969
Devotee: Verses 27 and 28: "Shutting out all external sense objects, keeping the eyes and vision concentrated between the two eyebrows, suspending the inward and outward breaths within the nostrils—thus controlling the mind, senses and intelligence, the transcendentalist becomes free from desire, fear and anger. One who is always in this state is certainly liberated."
Prabhupāda: Now here is a hint of the yoga practice: shutting out the external sense objects. This is another process. But the bhakti-yoga process is automatically yoga process. Here it is said, "shutting out all external sense objects." Sense object . . . what is that sense object? Just like I want to see some beautiful woman or beautiful man. I want to smell some nice flower or scent. The flower is the sense object, woman is the sense object. There are so many sense objects. We have got five senses, and there are five objects also. Otherwise, what is the use of sense?
Now this yoga practice is to withdraw the senses from the sense object. But the bhakti-yoga process is that if I do not like to see artificially the beauty of woman or man, if I try to see the beauty of Kṛṣṇa, naturally my this propensity of seeing beautiful man or woman becomes extinguished. You do not require to shut your eyes. There are so many beautiful girls sitting.
I do not require to shut my eyes. If my mind is concentrated on the beauty of Kṛṣṇa, I can see these beautiful girls as Kṛṣṇa's gopīs. That is another vision. So artificially if I close my eyes and if some beautiful girl is in my imagination even after closing my eyes here, what is the use of closing your eyes?
So by force you cannot control the senses. That is not . . . this is . . . there are many instances. Even great yogīs, they have failed. This is artificial way of controlling the senses. The real sense control is that you purify your sense in the activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is real sense control. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170).
Hṛṣīka means senses and hṛṣīkeśa means Kṛṣṇa. When you apply your senses for satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, then it is called bhakti. And when your senses are engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa it cannot be engaged otherwise. Otherwise the sense will be engaged in the sense objects.
Therefore there is failure. Those who are not engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, simply artificially trying, they fail. Viśvāmitra Muni, Durvāsā Muni, there are many great instances. These are artificial. But that is a process recommended. We may be successful to a certain extent, but in this age it is very difficult to practice such things. Nobody can practice how to control the senses from the sense object.
So you have to employ your senses in the service of the owner of the senses. Kṛṣṇa is the owner of the . . . Hṛṣīkeśa, the Lord of the senses. That people they do not know. I am thinking that this is my eye, these are my eyes. But actually these are explained in the Upaniṣads: Just like the sunshine. When the sun sees you, you can see the sun. Now at night the sun does not see you, so you cannot see the sun. You cannot see the sun, you cannot see anything, because the sun does not see you. Similarly the Upaniṣad says when Kṛṣṇa sees you or Kṛṣṇa sees, then you can see.
Just like I have got these spectacles. The spectacle is not seeing; my eyes are seeing, therefore spectacle is seeing. Similarly, actually all the senses are acting because Kṛṣṇa is acting. As soon as Kṛṣṇa desires that these senses will not work, it will not work. So in spite of your claim that, "This is my hand," "This is my eyes," "This is my mouth," it will not work.
So the people, they do not know. The bhakti-yoga practice says hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170).
When you employ your senses in the service of the proprietor of the senses, that is called bhakti. That is called bhakti. So that is real yoga, bhakti-yoga. Otherwise artificially if you try, one or two may be successful, but mostly they will fail.
Go on.
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