BHAGAVAD-GITA 4:26

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 4:26

 

srotradinindriyany anye

samyamagnisu juhvati

sabdadin visayan anya

indriyagnisu juhvati

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

srotra-adini--such as the hearing process; indriyani--senses;

anye--others; samyama--of restraint; agnisu--in the fires;

juhvati--offer; sabda-adin--sound vibration, etc.; visayan--objects of

sense gratification; anye--others; indriya--of the sense organs;

agnisu--in the fires; juhvati--they sacrifice.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Some [the unadulterated brahmacaris] sacrifice the hearing process and

the senses in the fire of mental control, and others [the regulated

householders] sacrifice the objects of the senses in the fire of the

senses.

 

PURPORT

 

The members of the four divisions of human life, namely the

brahmacari, the grhastha, the vanaprastha and the sannyasi, are all

meant to become perfect yogis or transcendentalists. Since human life

is not meant for our enjoying sense gratification like the animals,

the four orders of human life are so arranged that one may become

perfect in spiritual life. The brahmacaris, or students under the care

of a bona fide spiritual master, control the mind by abstaining from

sense gratification. A brahmacari hears only words concerning Krsna

consciousness; hearing is the basic principle for understanding, and

therefore the pure brahmacari engages fully in harer

namanukirtanam--chanting and hearing the glories of the Lord. He

restrains himself from the vibrations of material sounds, and his

hearing is engaged in the transcendental sound vibration of Hare

Krsna, Hare Krsna. Similarly, the householders, who have some license

for sense gratification, perform such acts with great restraint. Sex

life, intoxication and meat-eating are general tendencies of human

society, but a regulated householder does not indulge in unrestricted

sex life and other sense gratification. Marriage on the principles of

religious life is therefore current in all civilized human society

because that is the way for restricted sex life. This restricted,

unattached sex life is also a kind of yajna because the restricted

householder sacrifices his general tendency toward sense gratification

for higher, transcendental life.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.