akāmasya kriyā kācid dṛśyate neha karhicit |
yad yad dhi kurute jantus tat-tat-kāmasya ceṣṭitam ||
(Manu Smṛti: 2.4)
“No action whatsoever of a desireless person is observable anywhere here [i.e., in this world] since whatever a person does is an action of [i.e., motivated by] desire for that [i.e., for whatever object the action is related to].”
kāmātmatā na praśastā na caivaihāsty akāmatā |
kāmyo hi vedādhigamaḥ karma-yogaś ca vaidikaḥ ||
(Manu Smṛti: 2.2)
“Being desirous is not praiseworthy, but there is no desirelessness in this world. Study of the Veda and the practice of the karma described in the Vedas are based on [i.e., prompted by] desire.”
kāmamaya evāyaṁ puruṣa iti | sa yathā-kāmo bhavati tat-kratur bhavati | yat-kratur bhavati tat karma kurute | yat karma kurute tad abhisampadyate |
(Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: 4.4.5)
“The living being is indeed made of desire. As is his desire, so is his intention. As is his intention, so is the action he performs, and as is the action he performs, so is that which he attains.”
saṅkalpo viditaḥ sādhvyo bhavatināṁ mad-arcanam |
mayānumoditaḥ so’sau satyo bhavitum arhati ||
na mayy āveśita-dhiyāṁ kāmaḥ kāmāya kalpate |
bharjitāḥ kvathitā dhānā prāyo bījāya neśate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.22.25–26)
“[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa to the gopīs who worshipped Kātyāyanī to attain him as their husband:] O honorable girls, your resolve (saṅkalpa) in worshipping me is understood. It is approved by me and fit to become true. The desire of those whose minds are absorbed in me does not lead to desire [i.e., desire for anything else]. Do fried and boiled roasted grains likely act as seed?”
loka-dharma veda-dharma deha-dharma-karma |
lajjā dhairya deha-sukha ātma-sukha-marma ||
dustyaja ārya-patha nija parijana |
svajane karaye yata tāḍana-bhartsana ||
sarva-tyāga kari kare kṛṣṇera bhajana |
kṛṣṇa-sukha-hetu kare prema-sevana ||
ihāke kahiye kṛṣṇe dṛḍha anurāga |
svaccha dhauta-vastre yaiche nāhi kona dāga ||
ataeva kāma-preme bahuta antara |
kāma andha-tamaḥ, prema nirmala bhāskara ||
ataeva gopī-gaṇe nāhi kāma-gandha |
kṛṣṇa-sukha lāgi mātra, kṛṣṇa se sambandha ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.4.167–172)
“Social dharma [i.e., conventional rites and conduct], Vedic dharma [i.e., rites and conduct enjoined in the Vedas], activities dictated by bodily dharma [i.e., appeasing one’s thirst and hunger, etc.], shyness, composure, and pleasing the body [i.e., activities performed to please the senses]—which are [all] based on pleasing oneself—the difficult to give up noble path [i.e., the code of proper social conduct], one’s own relatives, and all the punishment and chastisement leveled by one’s kinsfolk—forsaking all [of these] and engaging in worship of Kṛṣṇa, that is, engaging in service with prema for the sake of Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure—this is called firm anurāga for Kṛṣṇa. It [i.e., such anurāga] is like a pure washed cloth on which there is no blemish whatsoever. Therefore, there is a vast difference between kāma and prema: kāma is like blinding darkness, and prema is like the spotless sun. Therefore, there is not even a trace of kāma within the gopīs. Their relationship with Kṛṣṇa is only for the sake of Kṛṣṇa’s happiness.”
svakīyaḥ paramānanda-śakti-vṛtti-viśeṣodaya-rūpa-prema-viśeṣa-svarūpo yaḥ kāmas … |
(Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 183)
“Kāma, which is of the nature of a special type of prema in the form of a manifestation of a special functional capacity (vṛtti) of his [i.e., Bhagavān’s] own potency (śakti) of supreme bliss ….”
alaso manda-buddhiś ca sukhī ca vyādhi-pīḍitaḥ |
nidrāluḥ kāmukaś caiva ṣaḍ ete śāstra-varjitāḥ ||
(Unknown source)
“The lazy, the dull-witted, the happy-go-lucky, those plagued by disease, the slumberous, and the lustful—these six are excluded by śāstra [i.e., they lack the qualifications needed to follow the teachings given in the śāstra and thus the teachings of the śāstra are not applicable to them; they will not attain the ideals taught in śāstra, and those who wish to attain such ideals should avoid their association].”
na kaṭhoraṁ na vā tīkṣṇam āyudhaṁ puṣpadhanvanaḥ |
tathāpi jitam evāsīd amunā bhuvanatrayam ||
(Kāvyādarśa: 2.324)
“The weapon of he of flower bow [i.e., Kāmadeva] is neither hard nor sharp, yet the three worlds have indeed been conquered with it.”
hiṁsraḥ sva-pāpena vihiṁsitaḥ khalaḥ
sādhuḥ samatvena bhayād vimucyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.7.31)
“A hurtful, wicked person is hurt by his own sin. A sādhu is freed from danger by [his own] equability.”
kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobho harṣo māno madas tathā |
ṣaḍ-vargam utsṛjed enaṁ tasmiṁs tyakte sukhī nṛpaḥ ||
(Hitopadeśa: Sandhi, 102)
“Give up the six enemies: lust, anger, greed, pleasure, egotism, and pride. O King, one who rejects them is happy in this world.”
