SB 11.8.13
padāpi yuvatīṁ bhikṣur
na spṛśed dāravīm api
spṛśan karīva badhyeta
kariṇyā aṅga-saṅgataḥ
A saintly person should never touch a young girl. In fact, he should not even let his foot touch a wooden doll in the shape of a woman. By bodily contact with a woman he will surely be captured by illusion, just as the elephant is captured by the she-elephant due to his desire to touch her body.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura writes, “Therefore, to see a woman on some pretext, or to even think about her, is totally prohibited for those who are renounced. One should not allow his mind to be lost in lusty dreams of sex pleasure. Sexual enjoyment is exhibited in various ways, such as by talking, by contemplating, by touching, and ultimately, by engaging in sexual intercourse. All of these constitute a network of illusion by which one is helplessly bound to material existence. Therefore, an intelligent person should not indulge in any form of sense enjoyment with women.”

In modern day and age, there are many pretexts wherein one can see maya in the form of opposite sex. All of it constitutes sex life. In today’s day and age of social media, it includes seeing YouTube videos involving women in some form, Whatsapp photos, statuses wherein a woman’s photo is there, and similar ways of doing the same. Not to speak of seeing a woman directly!

One time I asked a boy his hobby, and he very casually replied, “Looking at girls!” Now, this was not the answer I expected in the wildest of my dreams from anyone. And this was before WhatsApp was launched, before Insta came into existence. Maya doesn’t deserve a second look, but we wish to give a countless looks on different pretexts.

If the mind is obsessed with sex life, why won’t one try to look out for maya?

Prahlada Maharaja was obsessed with getting good association, and he found it. An avadhuta externally appeared as a madman, with no fixed residence, no fixed income, and Prahlada approached him, took the dust of his lotus feet, and submissively inquired from him. His business going out with his associates was to look for some saintly person, and he found it!

Rather than seeing maya on some pretext, one must try to look out and watch for Krishna conscious elements on some pretext. Shrila Prabhupada would look out for his spiritual master on no pretext! Few devotees of Gaudiya Math would get alarmed and say about him – Fools rush where angels fear to tread. But Prabhupada knew what he was doing.

Akrura’s service given to him by Kamsa was to get Krishna from Vrindavan, on that pretext he got the darshan of Krishna! His life’s purpose was fulfilled seeing Krishna, and on the way to Vrindavan, he had a myriad of deep emotions for Krishna.

Krishna is also obsessed wanting to see His devotees on some pretext. The gopis are unable to join Krishna when Krishna goes for cowherding with his friends. But Krishna wants to give them His mercy. And He deliberately makes a calf run in a different direction by pulling her tail, and he goes nearer to the home of the gopi who is not even allowed to leave her house. And through the space between the two doors, she now sees Krishna!

Krishna’s formula is extremely simple – ye yatha mam prapadyante…

We need to decide whom we wish to see!!