Page 31 - Powerful Feminine Qualities

including bugs, germs, etc. Besides the unwitting killing of living entities, a person may also commit sins such as eating
animal flesh especially the flesh of a cow, intoxication, illicit sex, and gambling. It is necessary for the householder to
perform the panca-suna sacrifices on a daily basis to counteract all these sins. When Krishna was present in Dwarka,
He exhibited the ideal practices of a householder. He performed the panca-yajna sacrifices every day to give a good
example to follow. These sacrifices are defined as follows: patho homas catithinam saparya tarpanam balih -- "reciting
the Vedas, offering oblations into the sacrificial fire, waiting on guests, making offerings to the forefathers, and
offering [a share of one's food] to living entities in general." When Krishna reappeared as Lord Caitanya, He began the
congregational chanting of Hare Krishna as the recommended sacrifice to purify all sins in this age of Kali – the age of
hypocrisy and quarrel. Those persons who do not accept the easy method of chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra
may choose to perform the Vedic sacrifices for purification. The difference between the Vedic rituals for purification
and the chanting of Hare Krishna is this - chanting is so powerful that when a person chants without committing
offences, all sinful reactions and the desire to sin are purified. On the other hand, the ritual performances clear sins
but not the desire to sin. Without purifying the desire to sin, one will again commit sinful activity.
The history of Kasyapa Muni and his wife Diti is very instructive. His wife became agitated to have sex to obtain sons.
Kasyapa Muni was married to thirteen daughters of King Daksa. All the wives of Kasyapa Muni were faithful to him,
but Diti was the only one who did not have children. She was very anxious to have children like her sisters, but she
chose an inauspicious moment to have union with her husband. It was during the late afternoon worship time when
he was performing a fire sacrifice as the sun was setting. Kasyapa Muni was attracted to his wife, thus he was not
persuasive enough to refuse her advances at that time.
At dusk Lord Siva, the king of the ghosts, sits on the back of his bull, Nandi, and travels accompanied by his ghost
followers. Lord Siva is considered the best of the Vaishnavas because he will accept even the most fallen persons like
ghosts and demons, and try his best to elevate them to become pure Vaishnavas. This is possible because Lord Siva is
fully dedicated to serve Lord Krishna. The heartfelt desire of Lord Siva is revealed, “He also desires only to be a servant
of Lord Krishna. Sri Sadashiva always says, ‘I am a servant of Lord Krishna.’ Intoxicated by ecstatic love for Lord
Krishna, he becomes overwhelmed and incessantly dances without clothing, and sings about Lord Krishna’s qualities
and pastimes.” (CC Adi 6.80-81)
The downside of sexual union at the inauspicious time is that Lord Siva helps his ghost followers attain physical bodies
by placing them in the wombs of women who indulge in sexual intercourse regardless of the restrictions on time and
circumstance. Kasyapa Muni tried to explain this to his wife so that she would patiently wait until the passage of Lord
Siva. But Diti was so anxious for union that she caught hold of the clothing of Kasyapa Muni just like a shameless
prostitute. He gave in to her urgency by first offering his respect to divine fate, then lay with her in a secluded place.
Actions performed in the mode of passion characterized by the lustful attraction between man and woman result in
misery, whereas actions performed in the mode of goodness are more thoughtful based on knowledge and generally
result in a sense of happiness due to avoidance of sinful reactions. If marriage is undertaken as a duty performed in
mutual cooperation for spiritual advancement, then the couple will avoid lower influences of passion and ignorance,
and will strive together for spiritual enlightenment.
Kasyapa Muni was a worshipper of Lord Siva. He was aware that Siva would not be pleased with him for performing a
forbidden act. But he was obliged to act due to his wife’s desire. Lord Siva immediately understood what transpired,
and Kasyapa realized that the children would not be born with good qualities. Yet he could not control himself due to
his attraction for his wife and her insistence.

The right consciousness for sexual union for bearing good children
There is a spiritual process for begetting children born with divine qualities. Everything in life is driven by
consciousness. Every creation begins with an idea. According to Vedic knowledge, the mental condition of a child
depends upon the mental status of the parents at the time of conception. In Vedic times the first sacrament of life (the
Sanskrit term for sacrament is samskara) was performed before conception. It was required of the married couple to

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