Temptation is caused not so much by perception as by provocation

[Reflection at Gainesville, USA]

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
yeah the power of temptation is determined not so much by the magnitude of perception as by the magnitude of provocation and we are going to resist temptations in our in our attempts to stay pure stay focused stay principled at time what determines whether we will be able to resist temptation is not just what we perceive is a fact another what we perceive certainly we have to try our best avoid unhealthy perceptions there are perceptions of sensuality that we need to avoid that just as a tortoise withdraws its limbs from the sense objects we do need to from from externals we need to withdraw our senses from externals we need to minimize our exposure to sense objects but along with that we cannot do that entirely because we have to function in this world we cannot function with closed eyes the eyes of course represent all the senses and the eyes are often the source of the greatest sense agitation now if we consider the then we do need purification and that means the effect of what we perceive in on us is not negative it’s like a person who has never drunk alcohol and there’s no interest for inclination in drinking alcohol the perception does not call any provocation because there is no impurity within when there is impurity then the perception causes provocation now the Puranas for example tell the story of Vishwamitra Mani who actually was provoked merely by hearing the sound of the ankle bells of Menka he was such a determined person that he renounced the whole world for pursuing something higher than this world and here you may wonder how we’re just hearing the ankle bell agitated like that because it was not just the ankle bell the sound of the ankle bell triggered the imagination and the mindset imagined oh this must belong to a beautiful person and this person is so beautiful and if I am not enjoying that beauty then I am being deprived why should I be deprived I will not be deprived and so the person succumbed so it was the perception it was the perception magnitude of the perception is not the problem the magnitude of the provocations similarly you may just sometimes see one sight you may see it for a moment or two it’s not that we are staring at it for hours or in several minutes or whatever but that side if it registers deeply into our consciousness it penetrates deeply into our consciousness that will agitate us that will frustrate us that will fill us with so much feelings that I am being deprived that we absolutely refuse to consider the path of resistance and abstinence anymore because we feel that we have a right to enjoy and that this is the right way to enjoy so how do we prevent this provocation one is of course purification if we are pure if we have no desires to enjoy with them then we know provocation the second is if there is purposefulness say if we are going for exam a very urgent exam very important exam and that time we see a movie poster along the way we won’t consider that very seriously because we have something very important to do we focus on that which is important and urgent at that stage and just neglect similarly if we have a lot of serious things to do not serious things to do but things that we also recognize are serious things that we also feel the weight of the seriousness of then they will give us a purposefulness that will minimize the provocation yes perception will happen but we won’t have much time to think about it the idle mind is the devil’s workshop as it is said so if we don’t think too much then we won’t be troubled then third would be that there has to be the understanding that we consider conviction that this is dangerous although it might seem pleasurable the pleasure is deceptive as the Bhagavad Gita says that which tastes like nectar in the beginning will taste like poison in the end so this understanding of the consequence can also protect us from inordinate agitations so even if the temptation even the perception happens when the provocation starts happening initially we often treat the provocation like a titillation come on let me have a little pleasure so if we can remember with our intelligence that there is pain over here we think that when we relate ourselves with by imagining then we are getting all gain and no pain we think that i’m not going to indulge in anything i’m just imagining or i’m just seeing so i can just get the pleasure but you can’t get simply the pleasure actually what happens is that imagine that perception that imagination and simply causing agitation and that agitation torments us so because of that torment we end up first we end up feeling deprived and then we succumb which is given so if we are aware of the consequence if our intelligence is sharp enough to remember the consequence and to be convinced that this consequence is for real and the initial appearance of pleasure is deceptive then also we will resist the activation of the imagination that may happen because of the because of the perception and lastly we also need divine grace that actually we can get agitated at any moment we can succumb at any moment that is how vulnerable we are and that is how much we need Krishna’s mercy without which we are just powerless without which we just can’t do anything so we need to be prayerful so that prayerful independence in Krishna you alone can protect me please keep me pure please let me not get provoked please give me the intelligence to avoid perception avoid sensual perceptions and whenever i can’t avoid sensual perceptions please let me at least avoid let me not get provoked that is the actual actually the ultimate protection so to prevent perception from triggering provocation we need purification we need purposefulness we need perception of the painful consequence and we need prayerfulness