Page 39 - Defending Prabhupada Words - By Harivlas Das

material world and how we can be freed eternally from
such bondage. Lord Chaitanya says, na dhanam, na janam,
na sundarim, which must be carefully understood. The
principle of sundarim or the object of pleasure, whether
it be a woman for a man or a man for a woman (or any
other combination of these two), must be understood
profoundly before a person can free themselves from
such bondage.

There is a difference between Radha and Krishna’s pastimes
and those of material men and women. This is the point
made in the Isopanisad mantra 11 that explains one must
cultivate knowledge of vidya (knowledge) and avidya
(ignorance). The purport says, “……and the great sages
and saints of India have attempted to do this by a balanced
program of spiritual and material knowledge. They never
allow the misuse of human intelligence for diseased sense
gratification.”

Srila Prabhupada is presenting a balanced program of
spiritual and material knowledge. It is dishonest to
attempt to undermine his statements when he presents
shastric evidence relating to the material world. Brahma
das and others try to do this in a deceptive way by saying
such statements are not essential to devotional service, or
they are a product of 19th century Indian culture in which
Srila Prabhupada was educated, etc. Some also say that if

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