Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.21.19

viṣayeṣu guṇādhyāsāt

puḿsaḥ sańgas tato bhavet

sańgāt tatra bhavet kāmaḥ

kāmād eva kalir nṛṇām

SYNONYMS

viṣayeṣu — in material objects of sense gratification; guṇa-adhyāsāt — because of presuming them to be good; puḿsaḥ — of a person; sańgaḥ — attachment; tataḥ — from that presumption; bhavet — comes into being; sańgāt — from that material association; tatra — thus; bhavet — arises; kāmaḥ — lust; kāmāt — from lust; eva — also; kaliḥ — quarrel; nṛṇām — among men.

TRANSLATION

One who accepts material sense objects as desirable certainly becomes attached to them. From such attachment lust arises, and this lust creates quarrel among men.

PURPORT

The actual goal of human life should not be material sense gratification, for it is the basis of conflict in human society. Although the Vedic literature sometimes sanctions sense gratification, the ultimate purpose of the Vedas is renunciation, since Vedic culture cannot possibly recommend anything that disturbs human life. A lusty person is easily angered and becomes inimical to anyone frustrating his lusty desires. Since his sex desire can never be satisfied, a lusty person ultimately becomes frustrated with his own sex partner, and thus a "love-hate" relationship develops. A lusty person considers himself to be the enjoyer of God's creation and is therefore full of pride and false prestige. The lusty, proud person will not be attracted to the process of humble submission at the lotus feet of the bona fide spiritual master. Attraction to illicit sex is thus the direct enemy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which depends upon humble submission to the representative of the Supreme Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa also states in Bhagavad-gītā that desire for illicit sex is the all-devouring, sinful enemy of this world.

Because modern society sanctions unrestricted mixing of men and women, its citizens cannot possibly achieve peace; rather, the regulation of conflict becomes the basis of social survival. This is the symptom of an ignorant society falsely accepting the material body as the highest good, as described here by the words viṣayeṣu guṇādhyāsāt. One who is too affectionate to his own body will inevitably be seized by sex desire.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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