Shloka 4
Ṛṣabhadeva’s Indifference to Siddhis, Vigilance Toward the Mind, and the Kali-yuga Rise of Anti-Vedic धर्म
नित्यं ददाति कामस्यच्छिद्रं तमनु येऽरय: । योगिन: कृतमैत्रस्य पत्युर्जायेव पुंश्चली ॥ ४ ॥
nityaṁ dadāti kāmasya cchidraṁ tam anu ye ’rayaḥ yoginaḥ kṛta-maitrasya patyur jāyeva puṁścalī
If a yogī makes friends with the mind and gives it an opening, the mind continually grants access to enemies like lust, anger, and greed—like an unchaste wife drawn by paramours, bringing ruin upon her husband.
In this verse the word puṁścalī refers to a woman who is easily carried away by men. Such a woman is never to be trusted. Unfortunately, in the present age, women are never controlled. According to the directions of the śāstras, women are never to be given freedom. When a child, a woman must be strictly controlled by her father. When she is young, she must be strictly controlled by her husband, and when she is old, she must be controlled by her elderly sons. If she is given independence and allowed to mingle unrestrictedly with men, she will be spoiled. A spoiled woman, being manipulated by paramours, might even kill her husband. This example is given here because a yogī desiring to get free from material conditions must always keep his mind under control. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura used to say that in the morning our first business should be to beat the mind with shoes a hundred times, and, before going to bed, to beat the mind a hundred times with a broomstick. In this way one’s mind can be kept under control. An uncontrolled mind and an unchaste wife are the same. An unchaste wife can kill her husband at any time, and an uncontrolled mind, followed by lust, anger, greed, madness, envy and illusion, can certainly kill the yogī. When the yogī is controlled by the mind, he falls down into the material condition. One should be very careful of the mind, just as a husband should be careful of an unchaste wife.
FAQs
This verse says kāma constantly creates a “chidrā” (weak opening) in one’s character, and through that weakness enemies like anger, illusion, and downfall quickly enter.
Because even disciplined practitioners can be betrayed if they become complacent; desire can overturn cultivated virtues like friendliness and trust, leading to loss of spiritual focus.
Identify recurring desire-triggers, avoid situations that feed them, and replace them with steady sādhana—hearing/chanting, clean habits, and accountable association—so the “opening” for downfall is closed.