A conversation with His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Srila Prabhupada [hearing the bells and music from a passing ice cream truck]: What is that?
Disciple: An ice cream truck, Srila Prabhupada.
Srila Prabhupada: Oh, ice cream. [Laughter.] You are taking ice cream? Huh?
Disciple: No, Srila Prabhupada. Sometimes they make it with eggs or slaughterhouse by-products or who knows what. But anyway, the trucks go up and down the street.
Srila Prabhupada: Canvassing?
Disciple: Yes.
Srila Prabhupada [laughing as the ice- cream-truck music grows louder]: Don’t take ice cream. This is maya. [Laughter.] “Come on, come on—enjoy me. Come on, come on—enjoy me.” [He says it musically and laughs.] As soon as you enjoy, you become entrapped. That’s all.
Just like fishing tackle. The fisherman throws the bait and invites the fish, “Come on—enjoy me. Come on, come on—enjoy me.” And as soon as the fish tries to enjoy—hupp! [Laughter.] Finished. [Prabhupada imitates the choking sound of a hooked fish.] And then the fisherman looks at the fish and says, “Where will you go now? Come on into my bag. Yes. I’ll fry you nicely.”
You see? So these things are all explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The fish loses his life because of his uncontrolled tongue. He cannot check the dictation of the tongue; therefore, he loses his life. You see?
Similarly with the deer in the forest. The hunter will play very nice flute, and all the deer will assemble to hear him playing so nicely. In that way the hunter gets one of the deer into his trap, and the deer loses his life. In other words, just as the fish loses his life by tasting, the deer loses his life by hearing.
Tasting. Hearing. And the elephant is caught by sexual attraction. Do you know how the elephant is captured? Yes, a trained she-elephant goes to the male elephant, and he follows and drops into a big pit. He remains there for some time. Then he’s shackled and taken away. In this way the Bhagavatam offers various examples of how our material senses can trap us in illusion.
That big black bee—what is it called? Bhramara? What is the English name for that big black bee? [Making an illustrative buzzing sound:] Onnnhhh.
Disciple: Bumblebee?
Srila Prabhupada: It may be. In any case, he is entrapped by smelling the lotus flower. He enters within the lotus flower and loses his life.
So, being pulled by just one uncontrolled sense, each of these different creatures is losing his life. And yet in this modern so-called civilization, we have got all our senses uncontrolled. So, just imagine, what our position is? These examples are from the animal and insect kingdoms, wherein only one uncontrolled sense is prominent. But in this modern so- called civilization, all our senses are uncontrolled. So what is our position? You see?
In this connection another example is given in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Imagine a man who has got six wives, and he has entered his house, and suddenly all the wives are dragging him—“You come to my room.” You see? One wife has taken his left hand, another has taken his right hand, still another has taken his left leg, and yet another has taken his right leg, and so forth. And he’s wondering, “Where shall I go?”
You see? So in this modern society, this is our position as human beings—overwhelmed by so many senses which to date we have neglected to control. Instead of controlling the senses, most people are becoming servants of the senses. Most people are losing their opportunity, this great opportunity of human life—to control the senses in Krishna’s service and then go back to His eternal abode.
Srila Prabhupada [hearing the bells and music from a passing ice cream truck]: What is that?
Disciple: An ice cream truck, Srila Prabhupada.
Srila Prabhupada: Oh, ice cream. [Laughter.] You are taking ice cream? Huh?
Disciple: No, Srila Prabhupada. Sometimes they make it with eggs or slaughterhouse by-products or who knows what. But anyway, the trucks go up and down the street.
Srila Prabhupada: Canvassing?
Disciple: Yes.
Srila Prabhupada [laughing as the ice- cream-truck music grows louder]: Don’t take ice cream. This is maya. [Laughter.] “Come on, come on—enjoy me. Come on, come on—enjoy me.” [He says it musically and laughs.] As soon as you enjoy, you become entrapped. That’s all.
Just like fishing tackle. The fisherman throws the bait and invites the fish, “Come on—enjoy me. Come on, come on—enjoy me.” And as soon as the fish tries to enjoy—hupp! [Laughter.] Finished. [Prabhupada imitates the choking sound of a hooked fish.] And then the fisherman looks at the fish and says, “Where will you go now? Come on into my bag. Yes. I’ll fry you nicely.”
You see? So these things are all explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The fish loses his life because of his uncontrolled tongue. He cannot check the dictation of the tongue; therefore, he loses his life. You see?
Similarly with the deer in the forest. The hunter will play very nice flute, and all the deer will assemble to hear him playing so nicely. In that way the hunter gets one of the deer into his trap, and the deer loses his life. In other words, just as the fish loses his life by tasting, the deer loses his life by hearing.
Tasting. Hearing. And the elephant is caught by sexual attraction. Do you know how the elephant is captured? Yes, a trained she-elephant goes to the male elephant, and he follows and drops into a big pit. He remains there for some time. Then he’s shackled and taken away. In this way the Bhagavatam offers various examples of how our material senses can trap us in illusion.
That big black bee—what is it called? Bhramara? What is the English name for that big black bee? [Making an illustrative buzzing sound:] Onnnhhh.
Disciple: Bumblebee?
Srila Prabhupada: It may be. In any case, he is entrapped by smelling the lotus flower. He enters within the lotus flower and loses his life.
So, being pulled by just one uncontrolled sense, each of these different creatures is losing his life. And yet in this modern so-called civilization, we have got all our senses uncontrolled. So, just imagine, what our position is? These examples are from the animal and insect kingdoms, wherein only one uncontrolled sense is prominent. But in this modern so- called civilization, all our senses are uncontrolled. So what is our position? You see?
In this connection another example is given in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Imagine a man who has got six wives, and he has entered his house, and suddenly all the wives are dragging him—“You come to my room.” You see? One wife has taken his left hand, another has taken his right hand, still another has taken his left leg, and yet another has taken his right leg, and so forth. And he’s wondering, “Where shall I go?”
You see? So in this modern society, this is our position as human beings—overwhelmed by so many senses which to date we have neglected to control. Instead of controlling the senses, most people are becoming servants of the senses. Most people are losing their opportunity, this great opportunity of human life—to control the senses in Krishna’s service and then go back to His eternal abode.
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