For DMW -- a sensitive topic

[Guest guest]

> I wonder how householders feel about these comments that recently came in

> the brahmacarya conference. Ekanath Prabhu--do the acaryas comment on

> this?

 

Not everybody agrees that "kama" in BG 7.11 refers to sex. However, our main

commentators do agree on this point:

 

Sridhara Svami: kama means approaching ones wives only for the purpose of

begetting sons.

 

Visvanatha: approaching one's wife only for the purpose of begetting a son.

 

Baladeva: same as Visvanatha.

 

Then there are a couple of others who also agree on that. None of the

acaryas is commenting any further on how far one should contemplate these

things.

 

Both Sankara and Madhvacarya do not connect this (the words k€ma and

aviruddha), with sex at all. For Sankara this is a purely philosophical

discussion on the nature of desire. To him the Lord is manifest in desires

which are not opposed to the scriptures.

 

For Madhva it is similar. He gives "icchat€" as synonymous for "k€ma":

 

"dharm€viruddha-k€me 's€v up€syaƒ k€mam icchat€", "He is worshipable in a

desire which is not opposed to religion".

 

I would not propose that sex is a transcendental experience, just as I would

not propose that drinking water is.

 

The commentators have explained that here Krishna shows how He is the

underlying essence of all phenomena in the universe. The series of verses

spoken by Krishna is supposed to help one appreciate His presence in pure

phenomena, such as taste in water, aroma in earth etc., and in activities

that are performed under the influence of goodness. Since He is discussing

His subtle presence as the essence behind everything, "desire" certainly is

one of these essential things. If this is to be taken as "sex", then our

commentators suggest that we should think of it as "dharmic". That such

"dharmic" sex should be a transcendental experience, however, is an

extrapolation. Anything CAN be a transcendental experience, even killing, as

for Arjuna, but these would be special cases.

 

Your servant

Ekanatha dasa