How can one conquer the senses while living in this world? The answer to that question is, if one observes rules, they can be conquered. How to conquer rules while living in the world, meaning how to conquer rules while living amidst the five senses? Maharaj says that the association with the five senses can only be avoided if one goes alone into the forest and wanders like a deer. In this satsang satsang 1) True company. The practice of associating with Bhagvãn’s sant, other satsangis, the ãtmã, and the sacred shãstras, and also observing vartmãns and niyams. 2) Also refers to the sampradãy, which is the presence of good company. Tap to open in glossary → Whatever good is seen, offer it to Swami. Sometimes, brother, if I have made a mistake or committed a sin, offer that to Swami, here take it. Eat, Swami, like that. So, after entering Swami's stomach, it starts jumping. So Swami becomes like us. So, if there is association with the five senses, how to remain stable in it? How to remain? By keeping rules. If one keeps rules, one can remain. Maharaj says that the senses are conquered by rules, in a way they cannot be conquered by vairagya. Even if one has vairagya, if he is in the association of the five senses and tastes them a little, then his senses and mind will not remain under control just by thinking. It is the nature of the senses that if they enjoy the five senses, they will remember them. Maharaj said that only Lord Nara-Narayana can enjoy them and not remember them. To enjoy the five senses well and then not remember them, only Lord Nara-Narayana is like that, no one else. And all others will not remember them only if they stay away. Now, staying away is not affordable, as Maharaj said in this, Swami talked about living in the world, living amidst the five senses, so what to do? He said if one keeps rules, there will be no problem. By rules, the senses and mind are conquered more than by vairagya. They are conquered more than by vairagya. If one has vairagya and enjoys them, he will remember them. The only difference is that if he wants to leave them, he can do so quickly. And if vairagya is absent, he will not leave them at any cost, that is the only difference. He becomes sticky, gets attached to them. Then even if he tries to detach, he cannot. So that is the absence of vairagya. And if there is vairagya, he detaches quickly, that is the only difference. But even if there is no vairagya, and still one keeps rules, having a desire for moksha, and keeps rules, even then he will not remember them. He will remember them less, so he will get detached from them. So by rules, it is more. Maharaj says, does everyone have vairagya? In this satsang satsang 1) True company. The practice of associating with Bhagvãn’s sant, other satsangis, the ãtmã, and the sacred shãstras, and also observing vartmãns and niyams. 2) Also refers to the sampradãy, which is the presence of good company. Tap to open in glossary → Whether one has vairagya or not, everyone wants to go to Akshardham. That means it happens by rules. Now, the rules that have been given, the five vows, if one observes them, whether he has vairagya or not, Maharaj takes everyone. Swami, some rules might have been taken like, "I will not do this from now on." If we have taken a rule not to do this thing from now on, then it works for some time and then it doesn't work, then starting it again, why does that happen? What did you say? Why doesn't the rule taken last long? The rules mentioned here are the five vows assigned by Maharaj. The ones we take are special rules. Like, "Okay, I will not eat sweets," or "I will not sleep during the day," or "I will not waste free time," or "I will not waste time." Those are all the rules we have taken, and then they are broken repeatedly, which means there is not that much firmness. Maharaj says from the soul so much, Maharaj says if one is desirous, then nothing happens. No matter how difficult it is, nothing happens. But the desire is a bit weak. Because it is weak, it is like, "It's okay, if it remains, it remains, otherwise it's fine," because of that, it doesn't last long. If one is desirous, nothing happens to him. If he feels, "I must do this," then there is no problem. That means the knot of his firmness is a bit loose. The desire is a bit less, like, "It's okay, let it be, we are better than others anyway." He has kept some satisfaction in his mind, negligence. That cannot be called satisfaction, but negligence. Thinking in mind, "We are better than others, now we have no problem even if the rule is broken for a day, it's okay. Even if it is broken, we are still good." So, if one has kept such a feeling of his own goodness in mind, if there is negligence, then it is broken repeatedly. And how can one conquer the senses while living in this world? The answer to that question is, if one observes rules, they can be conquered. Its detail is, to behave in this way in this year and in this month. Just as one takes a rule to eat ten seers of purple yam yam Restraint. First step of ashtãng-yog, which involves moral living for purity of mind and unobstructed concentration. Tap to open in glossary → And in that pleasure, there is only misery. Many, when they sit to eat, say, "Okay, take two or three items." Then, on the day when two or three more items are prepared, what then? So, if one keeps such rules, there comes an occasion to withdraw the senses. If there are no rules, then there is no occasion to withdraw them, they wander freely everywhere. Then it becomes difficult to withdraw them. And if there are rules, they withdraw. Now, a very nice point has come up ahead, read it. Its detail is, to behave in this way in this year and in this month. Just as one takes a rule to eat ten seers of purple yam yam Restraint. First step of ashtãng-yog, which involves moral living for purity of mind and unobstructed concentration. Tap to open in glossary → This is the Chandrayana rule, like, "Okay, take eight morsels, and in one month we will take only two hundred and forty morsels." That became a rule. Then, even if one takes very large morsels, how much can go in? One has to exercise some control. So, on that pretext, one is said to have learned to restrain the senses. And if one learns to restrain them, then some day control is achieved. If one does not learn to restrain them at all, Sura Khachar said, "Maharaj, I never feel drowsy." Maharaj said, "You are very brave, you never feel drowsy?" He said, "Why, I have a trick. Before it comes, I go to sleep." Before drowsiness comes, I would have slept. So how can I feel drowsy? So, do not do that at all. Like, "I never have to restrain them, before it comes, if it comes, we jump in, where is the need to restrain?" Just as one takes a rule to eat ten seers of purple yam yam Restraint. First step of ashtãng-yog, which involves moral living for purity of mind and unobstructed concentration. Tap to open in glossary → And great kings, they do not trust even their wives or sons regarding eating, drinking, and sleeping. They do not trust anyone. Many old kings, great kings, used to keep tasters, so when their food was served, they would first make others eat it. Then, after some time, they would eat. Now, that happens only when he does not trust his wife or anyone else. And it is true, if they do not keep trust, then things like what happened to Lal Bahadur Shastriji happen. Sometimes it becomes difficult. So, many times this happens. What are those conflicts about? What are they about? They are about the five senses. What else is there? Coming to power is also a great sense pleasure. So they are all for power, coming to power, and after coming to power, they want to enjoy the senses. He who has power, gets the sense pleasures quickly. If one has a lot of money, even then he gets the sense pleasures quickly. That is why people run after them. It is not that they run because they lack something, but in that, the best are power and money, with which sense pleasures can be bought, sense pleasures. With power, one does not even have to buy them. They come running to him on their own. And the other has to buy sense pleasures, he can buy them no matter what kind they are. That is why people, the root is the five senses. And because of that, everything happens. So, in Gopalanand Swami's talks, it will be mentioned that if one is a player of the belt, then in that way, he keeps rotating the senses, some time this way, some time that way, and some time another way. If he does it continuously, then even in Chandrayana, his vow would be completed. But he has to keep changing it, keep changing it. Rules. If one keeps changing the rules, then the senses cannot have their way in everything. Otherwise, in a few days, they will have their way completely, okay. Suppose we took a rule of eating only faral for a month. Then if it continues for five months, even in faral, they will indulge more than before. More than what is normal, the nature of the senses is like that. They make space anywhere. Nothing like faral, they make space even in Chandrayana. So, the nature of the senses is such that if it remains continuous, they make space gradually. So, keep changing them, keep them tumbling from here to there and there to here. So they do not let them have their way. Then they are conquered a bit, like that, in another place in Swami's talks, it is mentioned. AI translation of the Gujarati transcript above, produced in the same pass that transcribed the audio, one English segment per Gujarati segment. Devotional and technical terms with no precise English equivalent (kirtan, satsang, vasana, samskara, and similar) are kept as their plain transliteration rather than force-translated. Not human-proofread., AI-translated, unverified · Source details