Category:Natural Instinct
Theme Analysis
The concept of natural instinct is central to understanding the conditional and liberated states of the living entity. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that there are two distinct types of natural instinct: the polluted instinct born of the material body, and the pure, original instinct born of the eternal soul. Because the soul is active and conscious by nature, it must exhibit attachment and inclination. When covered by material illusion, this instinct is pervertedly directed toward bodily sense gratification, manifesting as an automatic attraction to sex, meat-eating, and intoxication.
However, the true spiritual instinct of every living entity is to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just as it is the natural instinct of a part to serve the whole, it is the inherent dharma of the soul to love and obey Lord Kṛṣṇa. Great souls like Uddhava exhibit this spontaneous, pure instinct from birth. The living entity is also naturally inclined toward seeking ānanda (bliss) and glorifying others, but in the material world, these urges are misdirected toward mundane literature and temporary relationships.
The perfection of life, therefore, is not the artificial suppression or annihilation of our natural instincts. Instead, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement teaches the art of dovetailing these propensities in the service of the Lord. By singing, dancing, eating prasādam, and reading transcendental literature, our instincts are completely purified. Even deeply ingrained material habits, such as the anger of the serpent Kāliya, can be overcome by the Lord's mercy, awakening the nonviolent and compassionate natural instinct of a pure Vaiṣṇava.
- The Two Instincts: The living entity possesses both a temporary material instinct driven by the bodily concept of life and an eternal spiritual instinct to serve God.
- The Base Urges: Without spiritual education, the conditioned soul is naturally drawn to lower animalistic behaviors such as illicit sex and intoxication.
- The True Dharma: The original, unchangeable natural instinct of the soul is to render loving devotional service to the Supreme Lord.
- Dovetailing in Service: Kṛṣṇa consciousness does not artificially stop natural instincts; it purifies them by dovetailing activities like singing, eating, and glorifying in the Lord's service.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Natural Instinct - Dovetailing Our Eternal Propensities.
Pages in category "Natural Instinct"
The following 37 pages are in this category, out of 37 total.
A
- A living entity has got natural inclination for vyavaya, sex life; and madya sevah, intoxication; amisa sevah, and meat-eating. A natural instinct there is. But asuras, they do not try to stop it. They want to increase it. That is asura life
- A woman, as bodily constituted, is naturally inferior to her husband. Thus the natural instinct is that the husband wants to post himself as superior to the wife, and this must be observed
- As we have got this natural instinct, similarly, God has also the same instinct. If we study ourself analytically, we can understand what is God, because we are the sample of God
- Attachment, that is my natural instinct. I cannot be free from attachment. I shall be either attached to this matter or I shall be attached to spirit. If I am not attached to spirit, then I must be attached to matter. This is the process
D
H
- He does not fight out of his own will, because a Vaisnava's natural instinct is not to do harm to anyone. However, when a Vaisnava knows that Krsna wants a particular thing done, he does not care for his own considerations
- Human life is not to be carried away by the so-called natural instinct. Natural instinct, material life . . . there are two kinds of natural instinct
J
- Jijnasu is our natural instinct, but we go to who has no knowledge. That is the difficulty. We are misled. But the knowledge is there already: the Vedic knowledge is there
- Just like attraction for the opposite sex, a girl or a boy. That is natural. Nobody goes to school and colleges how to learn how to be attracted by young man, young . . . no. It doesn't require any education. The natural instinct is already there
K
- Kaliya said, "My dear Lord, I (Kaliya) am born as a serpent; therefore, by natural instinct I am very angry. How is it then possible to give up my acquired nature without Your mercy? It is very difficult to get out of the clutches of Your maya"
- Kaliya said, "Your Lordship knows well that it is very difficult to give up one’s natural instincts, although by such instincts the living creature transmigrates from one body to another"
- Krsna says, don't try to waste your time to elevate yourself or to transfer yourself from this planet to that planet. That is natural instinct. Especially I see in your country that people are so restless, they cannot stay in one place
N
S
- She (mother Yasoda) saw (within Krsna's mouth) the time allotted for the living entities, she saw natural instinct and the reactions of karma, and she saw desires and different varieties of bodies, moving and nonmoving - SB 10.8.37-39
- So long we are in the bodily concept of life, there are different natural instincts, and when we come to the platform of spiritual understanding, that natural instinct is different. That is real natural instinct
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the SP of Godhead, Krsna Himself. How is He stealing, and how is He fighting? It is not as a thief or an enemy but as a friend in a loving condition. He steals as a child not because He is in want but out of a natural instinct
- Such natural instincts (for gross selfishness) of a woman or a man are manifested only in the bodily conception of life. When either a man or a woman is advanced in spiritual consciousness, the bodily conception of life practically vanishes
T
- The natural instinct of a woman is to enjoy the material world. She induces her husband to enjoy this world by satisfying his tongue, belly and genitals, which are called jihva, udara and upastha
- The people in general want to read (that is a natural instinct), but because their minds are polluted they want such literatures
- These activities (of the material world) may be taken up as the natural instinct of each and every living being, or even of the inert objects, and after the manifestation of activities there are varieties of products and by-products of the same nature
- Those who are elderly person, they have got experience. If their sons go wrong, how much they are anxious. How much the father is anxious to get his son back again. Back again. That is the natural instinct
- To attain perfection, one must make devotional service the center of life. In this way one can awaken his natural instincts by work, association and education
- To glorify a great man is a natural instinct for living beings, but they have not learned to glorify the Lord. Perfection of life is attained simply by glorifying the Lord in association with a self-realized devotee of the Lord
W
- We do not want stopping the natural instincts of the living entities, we simply want them to be dovetailed in Krishna's service
- We prosecute these Krsna consciousness activities through singing, dancing, eating, & talking philosophy received through authorized disciplic succession, & therefore it gives us everything we want, without any artificial change of our natural instincts
- We sometimes love the body or sometimes love the mind or sometimes love the soul, or in this way, but the ultimate aim is to love Krsna. That is our natural instinct
- Which decreases, that is not real happiness. That is illusion. Ramante yoginah anante satyanande cid-atmana. Cit, that is spiritual, spiritual ananda. Really we want ananda, happiness, blissfulness. That is our natural instinct