“Lord Brahma’s being captivated by the charms of his daughter and Lord Shiva’s being captivated by the Mohini form of the Lord are specific instances which instruct us that even great demigods like Brahma and Lord Shiva, what to speak of the ordinary conditioned soul, are captivated by the beauty of a woman. Therefore, everyone is advised that one should not freely mix even with one’s daughter or with one’s mother or with one’s sister, because the senses are so strong that when one becomes infatuated, the senses do not consider the relationship of a daughter, mother or sister. It is best, therefore, to practice controlling the senses by performing bhakti-yoga, engaging in the service of Madana-Mohana. Lord Krishna‘s name is Madana-Mohana, for He can subdue the god Cupid, or lust. Only by engaging in the service of Madanamohana can one curb the dictates of Madana, Cupid. Otherwise, attempts to control the senses will fail.
The first living creature is Brahma himself, and from him were created sages like Marici, who in their turn created Kasyapa Muni and others, and Kasyapa Muni and the Manus created different demigods and human beings, etc. But there is none among them who is not attracted by the spell of Maya in the form of a woman. Throughout the entire material world, beginning from Brahma down to the small, insignificant creatures like the ant, everyone is attracted by sex life. That is the basic principle of this material world. Lord Brahma’s being attracted by his daughter is the vivid example that no one is exempt from sexual attraction to a woman. A woman, therefore, is the wonderful creation of Maya to keep the conditioned soul in shackles.
There are many instances in the history of the world of a great conqueror’s being captivated by the charms of a Cleopatra. One has to study the captivating potency of a woman, and man’s attraction for that potency. From what source was this generated? According to Vedanta-sutra, we can understand that everything is generated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is enunciated there, janmady asya yatah.This means that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or the Supreme Person, Brahman, the Absolute Truth, is the source from whom everything emanates. The captivating power of a woman, and man’s susceptibility to such attraction, must also exist in the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the spiritual world and must be represented in the transcendental pastimes of the Lord.
The Lord is the Supreme Person, the supreme male. As a common male wants to be attracted by a female, that propensity similarly exists in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He also wants to be attracted by the beautiful features of a woman. Now the question is if He wants to be captivated by such womanly attraction, would He be attracted by any material woman? It is not possible. Even persons who are in this material existence can give up womanly attraction if they are attracted by the Supreme Brahman. Such was the case with Haridasa Thakura. A beautiful prostitute tried to attract him in the dead of night, but since he was situated in devotional service, in transcendental love of Godhead, Haridasa Thakura was not captivated. Rather, he turned the prostitute into a great devotee by his transcendental association. This material attraction, therefore, certainly cannot attract the Supreme Lord. When He wants to be attracted by a woman, He has to create such a woman from His own energy. That woman is Radharani. It is explained by the Gosvamis that Radharani is the manifestation of the pleasure potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When the Supreme Lord wants to derive transcendental pleasure, He has to create a woman from His internal potency. Thus the tendency to be attracted by womanly beauty is natural because it exists in the spiritual world. In the material world it is reflected pervertedly, and therefore there are so many inebrieties. Instead of being attracted by material beauty, if one is accustomed to being attracted by the beauty of Radharani and Krishna, then the statement of Bhagavad-gita, param drstva univariate, holds true. When one is attracted by the transcendental beauty of Radha and Krishna, he is no longer attracted by material feminine beauty. That is the special significance of Radha-Krishna worship. That is testified to by Yamunacarya. He says, ” Since I have become attracted by the beauty of Radha and Krishna when there is an attraction for a woman or a memory of sex life with a woman, I at once spit on it, and my face turns in disgust.” When we are attracted by Madana-Mohana and the beauty of Krishna and His consorts, then the shackles of conditioned life, namely the beauty of a material woman, cannot attract us.
Source: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (2014 edition), “”Srimad Bhagavatam“”, Third Canto, Chapter – Text 36 to 38
