TEXT 5
All men are forced to act helplessly according to the impulses born of the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.
PURPORT
The totality of actions accumulated by the soul and their consequences is enormous. In the material world, any action or inaction causes consequences, and both good and bad consequences, in principle, cause the same. Kṛṣṇa says that the soul is essentially helpless in the face of this world element, and he is also quite helpless in the matter of controlling his own body and mind. Next, the soul is active, he cannot remain inactive, such is the quality of the spirit - he is eternal and eternally active. Even in sleep, when the whole body is resting, the mind continues to produce some images, because the soul is not asleep and this energy continuously flowing out of he, illuminating the mind.
The soul was in the spiritual world, then he foolishly went into the material world for the sake of personal domination, but the situation cannot be corrected with the help of mechanical renunciation of the world. Mechanical renunciation of the world is ineffective, and in fact it is impossible, only the execution of actions directed towards God provides a solution to the problem. We did not just live outside this world, we lived together with God, so the way out is not to renounce the world, but to reunite with God. It is quite useful to explain this principle over and over again.
TEXT 6
One who restrains the senses and organs of action, but whose mind dwells on sense objects, certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender.
PURPORT
Keeping senses mechanically while thinking about sensual happiness, there is always a deception to one degree or another. At the cost of great efforts, ascetics somehow make their mind even, but at any moment they can fall again. On the other hand, a person who devotes his activities to God is purified both faster and more painlessly. As for preaching, we always need to be a little aware of the events of the material world, commenting on them in a spiritual way.
Sometimes materialistic spiritual teachers say that the most important preaching is preaching within a religious community. However, the point is that our preaching should be aimed at creating preachers, while preaching to materialistic believers, both inside and outside the spiritual society, is the same, and it is more relevant to preach to people outside of society. But from the point of view of material comfort, it is much more convenient to "preach" to people within society who a priori agree with everything. Of course, when a preacher is already in his old age and it is difficult for him to withstand heavy loads, he can inspire those who are inside society to actively preach outside.
TEXT 7
On the other hand, he who controls the senses by the mind and engages his active organs in works of devotion, without attachment, is by far superior.
PURPORT by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:
Instead of becoming a pseudo-transcendentalist for the sake of wanton living and sense enjoyment, it is far better to remain in one's own business and execute the purpose of life, which is to get free from material bondage and enter into the kingdom of God. The prime svārtha-gati, or goal of self-interest, is to reach Viṣṇu. The whole institution of varṇa and āśrama is designed to help us reach this goal of life. A householder can also reach this destination by regulated service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For self-realization, one can live a controlled life, as prescribed in the śāstras, and continue carrying out his business without attachment, and in that way make progress. Such a sincere person who follows this method is far better situated than the false pretender who adopts show-bottle spiritualism to cheat the innocent public. A sincere sweeper in the street is far better than the charlatan meditator who meditates only for the sake of making a living.
PURPORT
Śrīla Prabhupāda's commentary contains the words "show-bottle spiritualism." "Show-bottle" this is a bottle that was filled with a colored liquid depicting medicine and displayed in the pharmacy window. “Show-bottle” is an imitation of a medicine, and “show-bottle spiritualism” is an imitation of spirituality, exposing it to the public.
TEXT 8
Perform your prescribed duty, for action is better than inaction. A man cannot even maintain his physical body without work.
PURPORT
Śrīla Prabhupāda writes quite a lot about pseudo-yogīs, this is relevant for India because India's religious culture is still quite high and such pseudo-yogīs, pseudo-gurus, pseudo-ascetics can make money on this. Sometimes it is said that if India is so spiritual, why is it so poor? But firstly, the reason for this is two hundred years of English colonization when the country was continuously plundered, and secondly, people with a high spiritual culture have completely different values. Western countries are materialistic countries where material domination and all the attributes associated with it come first. The British brought impersonalism to the West along with their loot during colonization, and hence a whole series of impersonal philosophers in Europe. Pseudo-yogīs such as Osho, Aurobindo and others went to the West along the same British path. Both yoga and impersonalism were new to Western culture. The devotees also traveled to the West, but the prim English aristocracy was too inert, while later the youth of the United States of America, dissapointed with bourgeois ideals, was more suitable for the preaching mission.
Of course, some religious festivals in India are simply stunning in their scope and the atmosphere of universal happiness and spiritual peace they create. There is no even a close example of such religion in Western countries and in Russia, but the prayerful asceticism of russian Christianity is also exalted in its own way. In general, India is a karmic country that is sinking in materialism now, like the whole world. One of the disadvantages of India is their strong attachment to family life, and the advantage of Russia is that the country is not systematic and therefore it is always in some anarchy and search. Russia is not well suited for a sensual life, willy-nilly, life here is always ascetic, so people have depth. Perhaps because of these and other positive aspects, Russia will be chosen to start a new era. However, before that, the spiritual uplift will begin in China.