(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Helsinki, Finland, 2011)
It is true that any child will give happiness and distress. So what is the point in desiring to having a child?
If you think about it logically, it doesn’t make sense, actually………because here’s this child, who is going to give you happiness and distress. Why would you get involved with things that give happiness and distress, from a spiritual point of view. If one could simply think like:
“Well my aim is to get back to Godhead and while I’m in this material world I will try to avoid dealing with the material energy as much as possible. I will only deal with the material energy in the service of the Lord”.
Then you are taking a purely transcendental stand…………just like the tortoise, who withdraws it’s limbs in the shield…….and it only puts them out when it is favourable within spiritual life. But because we are winding up in certain bodies, then there are desires with these bodies…………………………………..For example in the Caitanya Bhagavad, there is an instance where Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was performing programs in the house of Srivas Thakur at night. Some ladies were also there. Some devotees said:
“Ladies……here?”
And Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said:
“Yes they are not women. They are vaisnavis!”
So that’s different, then one is dedicated to the transcendental. But one must understand that the dictates of the body may go into the opposite direction, and with the body it also includes the mind……….that is the most difficult part. The body perceives the world through the ten senses…………………………………………………. These senses are getting us entangled. They dictate, and until these senses are purified and become attached to Krishna, they will constantly dictate us to engage with the material energy. The mind equally so will dictate us to engage with the material energy.