The 4 principles of freedom

1. a Vaisnava (devotee) lives a purely vegetarian life, abstaining from the consumption of meat, fish and eggs. 2. he avoids intoxicants, not only drugs and alcohol but also coffee, tea and tobacco. 3. gambling and all kinds of “frivolous” sports and games are forbidden. 4. no unregulated sexual intercourse. Sexual activity within a marriage is limited to the procreation of children.

One who does not adhere to these principles can hardly be recognised as a Vaisnava. These principles are enormously helpful in successfully practising Krishna consciousness and chanting the Holy Name continuously. They snatch the practitioner from the clutches of the miserable material life and instead facilitate and open the auspicious path back to the spiritual realm of the Supreme Lord. They may be regarded as angels who protect you and at the same time help you to make your life successful.

The four regulative principles are not just arbitrary commandments of certain gurus or persons, but there is a spiritual principle behind them, which is the real purpose of the teachings. Following rules just for the sake of following rules misses the point. These regulating principles are basic prerequisites for a humane social order, as they teach ethical and moral values.

All yoga principles (not just bhakti yoga) describe the eating of meat, fish and eggs, in addition to the karmic aspects, as detrimental to spiritual development, as it counteracts the capacity for mercy in humans (cf. Atharva Veda 9.48.5: “Those noble souls who practise meditation and other types of yoga, who show consideration for all beings, who protect all animals, they are the ones who really take spiritual exercises seriously.”).

Why is the consumption of meat seen as a loss of compassion and therefore contrary to the spiritual development of human beings? Because it accepts the killing and suffering of other beings without necessity. Even Jesus says: “Thou shalt not kill.” In this way, cruelty becomes a habit that is no longer even perceived as cruel, because one has become numb to the feelings of other (weaker) beings (cf. Manu Samhita 5.49: “After thoroughly reflecting on the origin of meat food and the cruelty of binding and killing physical beings, man should no longer eat meat at all.”).

Why not eat meat?
Because slaughtering innocent animals merely to satisfy the perverse desires of the tongue is not what Krishna wants and what Mother Nature intended for us. Humans are neither carnivores nor omnivores, as various textbooks would have us believe. If humans were created by nature to hunt animals and eat their flesh, then it would be completely natural for us to hunt for squirrels, mice, rabbits and deer in the forest, for example, to tear them to pieces and eat them raw without getting sick or locked up in a closed institution. As supposed omnivores, we would of course also enjoy spiders, cockroaches, beetles, worms and various other unpronounceable things and would not run away screaming if we came into contact with them. However, if we find a few berries in the forest, it is only natural that we pick and eat them, raw and completely without artificial aids, because this food is naturally intended for humans. So you really don’t need to be an academic to understand that humans are vegetarians and that meat food is not for them, let alone omnivorous food.

Physically speaking, meat gives the body (as long as it is still young) strength without endurance. In other words, it makes it fat and causes disease. A great many diseases (especially so-called diseases of civilisation) could easily be prevented if people did not eat meat. Even worse are the mental and spiritual effects. A meat eater is not able to understand the subtle spiritual philosophy, and those who kill or eat a lot of animals even deprive themselves of their freedom, i.e. they become completely incapable of leading a spiritual life.

How can someone who knows no mercy towards animals expect mercy from God? Eating meat makes one “body conscious” instead of “Krishna conscious”. This means that instead of the grace of Krishna, one becomes subject to an inexorable law of nature, the law of karma – “tit for tat”. Because in this world, you cannot do anything without having to bear the consequences. It makes no difference whether you believe in these consequences or not. The law of karma is like fire, it burns everyone without distinction, regardless of whether they know and accept the fire or not. Those who kill will be killed; those who are merciless will receive no mercy. For a better world with less killing and war, the slaughter of animals must be stopped. As long as humans kill helpless creatures without necessity and even maintain horrific slaughter factories for this purpose, there will be concentration camps and wars and efforts to achieve lasting peace will be in vain. “Do not do to others what you would not want done to yourself.” Anyone who adheres to this principle has understood the law of karma.

A natural vegetarian diet, on the other hand, keeps the human body slim and healthy. It purifies the mind and helps us to understand the spiritual philosophy of leading a good life and finally breaking free from the cycle of birth and death. The Vedas say that a meat eater forfeits his right to heaven, whereas a mere vegetarian diet brings great spiritual rewards. Considering the very fact that eating meat causes so many problems for humans, animals and the environment, you don’t even need to believe in what the Vedas say to give up this bloody meal prepared with so much pain and chemicals. There may come a time when our own children will be as stunned by the atrocities of animal slaughter as we are today by the atrocities of slavery.

Why not gambling?
Gambling harbours the danger of becoming addicted to it. An addicted gambler gets into enormous financial difficulties, owes money to everyone and eventually even starts stealing. He can hardly sleep, often becomes addicted to drugs such as alcohol, is likely to become suicidal and neglects his social duties. In his delusion that there is a cheat (loophole) to the laws of nature where he can enrich himself in an unjust or cheap way, he causes a lot of harm to himself and others. Gambling is not just a weakness of will, but an all-consuming passion that is tantamount to an elemental force. Those who fall prey to it are in many ways worse off than drug addicts. It is certainly no coincidence that gambling has always been interwoven with mafia structures and shady characters.

Why not intoxication?
Intoxication means supplying the body with substances that do not serve to maintain the body, but cause states of intoxication that can be addictive. Therefore, intoxication does not only refer to alcohol and drugs, but in a broader sense also to teein (black and green tea), nicotine, cocoa and caffeine. Nowadays, many people are addicted to such stimulants and drugs in an attempt to escape their meaningless or boring lives or to suppress anxiety and guilt. However, this escape is only temporary and comes at a bitter price. In addition to often high costs and crime, the consequences include premature ageing and the loss of mental and physical health. Purity is lost through the use of increasingly powerful intoxicants. Those who ruin their minds with drugs, i.e. those who have fallen prey to stupidity and madness (to put it crudely), are no longer able to concentrate or effectively solve a problem, which is a major hindrance in spiritual life (and not only there). Drugs, intoxicants and narcotics can be found in all social classes today. Any police officer or criminologist will be able to confirm that there is a direct relationship between drugs, especially alcohol, and crime. Many crimes are committed or made possible under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and even small amounts are sufficient.

For those who have made intoxication a part of their everyday lives, drugs seem like another part of reality. But seemingly real does not really mean real. Before we start dealing with reality, we should first stop stuffing our brains with unreality. By abstaining from intoxicants, one becomes able to understand the real reality – and the supreme reality is God, Krishna. One who is settled in Krishna consciousness remains high forever.

Why no unregulated sex?
We seem to have freed ourselves from the supposedly stupid and primitive shackles of sexual restraint. And yet our march towards ever more alienating sexual practices is accompanied by an increasing number of problems. A plague of venereal diseases is claiming more and more victims.

Disgusting sexual perversions are becoming “socially acceptable”, including child abuse and rape, followed by even worse depravities. Contraceptives cause disease. Since unregulated sexual intercourse leads to impotence, dubious sexual enhancers celebrate great success at the expense of the health of those who use them. Many millions of abortions make a mockery of the concepts of “parenthood” and “humanity”; unwanted children who have escaped the clutches of birth control populate city streets and prisons. Never in living memory has the profane act of procreation caused such a nightmare as it has since the “sexual liberation” of modernity. All these things can never be justified by the pleasure of sexual intercourse (“because I enjoy it”).

Sexual intercourse is inherently designed to have spiritually enlightened children. Those who can properly house, feed and spiritually educate their children can have as many children as they like. If sexual intercourse is not for the procreation of proper children, then it becomes a cause of bondage, disease, infertility, unwanted children and abortion (mass murder in the womb). Through the process of Krishna consciousness, the living entity’s eternal nature and natural love of God is awakened and the desire for unregulated sex is thereby transformed into pure devotion/love of God, for lust is nothing but a perverted reflection of the living entity’s natural devotion to the Supreme Lord.

And if I can’t keep to these principles?
Good things take time. Patience and determination are necessary to adhere to the regulative principles. You have to realise that the regulating principles are not harassment, but on the contrary serve to enable you to lead a life that is as carefree, healthy, successful and above all spiritual as possible. The most important thing is not to give up; one should sharpen one’s intelligence (read Srila Prabhupada’s books!), seek the association of advanced Vaisnavas and simply try to engage in devotional service in some way. This is most important. Devotional service can be performed in all circumstances and is not dependent on regulative principles.

Srila Prabhupada says, “Svami and gosvami are called those who are able to restrain their senses. We need not think that we are unable to do so. It is possible for everyone. Chanting gives us the power to do so.

Chanting “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare” will help us.

We must not despair because we think we have no strength. The strength will be given to us. We just have to keep going. Kirtanam sravanam means to chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare and to hear or read some of the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. We must utilise these two opportunities and we will be given the necessary strength to lead a spiritual life. At the level at which we are able to restrain our senses, we must then become fully stabilised. (from: The Source of Absolute Knowledge)

Why should one observe these regulative principles at all?

Because there is dhira (peace). No more stress, no more running around like a madman to somehow appease the insatiable, burning desires of the senses. The mind becomes peaceful, you are the master of your senses instead of their slave. So many people pay their anti-stress therapists a lot of money. But in fact, all they have to do is follow the regulative principles and chant Hare Krishna. It’s even free. Even if you pay a psychiatrist to tell you that the regulating principles are the cause of your stress and that you finally need to “free yourself”, that won’t help you either.

It will only help your psychiatrist to make more money from you, because your condition will only get worse if you follow such bad advice. The medicine (Krishna consciousness) may taste horrible in the beginning and it will probably be an uphill battle with many defeats until these unwanted material desires or diseases are conquered with the help of the spiritual medicine of bhakti-yoga, but eventually the medicine will cure you of the disease of materialism. The so-called material sense pleasure (disease) is degrading, miserable and disgusting when viewed soberly. It is not real joy, but a disease that blocks our path to real spiritual joy.

Srila Prabhupada: “Spiritual balance (sama) can be attained only by one who is convinced that the Supreme Personal Godhead is the source of all things and who can control his senses. When one is willing to accept all conceivable material inconveniences in order to control the material senses and keep the mind in balance, this is called “titiksa” or “forbearance”. And when one can control the urges of the tongue and the genitals, this is called “dhiti”. Once you have reached the dhiti stage, you become dhira, peaceful. A peaceful person is no longer disturbed by the urges of the tongue and genitals.” (from: The Teachings of Sri Krishna Caitanya, Chapter 1)

Spiritual discipline
The Srimad-Bhagavatam contains, among other things, extensive explanations about spiritually advanced societies and also their decline. According to the Vedas, virtuous societies are based on the understanding of the government and the population that renunciation (simplicity or renunciation), truthfulness, purity and mercy are invaluable assets worth striving for. These four principles of true religion are opposed by people’s tendency to indulge in gambling, intoxication, unrestrained sexuality and indiscriminate eating without regard for loss. In order to promote civilisation, governments should therefore enforce regulations that take into account the need for sensual gratification on the one hand, but do not ignore the dangers of unrestricted self-centredness on the other. It is an essential element of statesmanship to maintain the right balance. Especially the clergy of a society are obliged to live exemplary lives as role models. Sri Krishna expects His devotees to be reliable partners for the people to follow. Those who want to progress in bhakti-yoga should therefore endeavour to approach the desirable goal, a life full of natural spiritual joy and without abuse. Some things may be easier and others more difficult. It is also usually not possible to change your entire lifestyle overnight. However, every serious spiritual seeker – even if they cannot (yet) follow the standard – will have to admit that the principles make sense.

Satisfaction
A general tendency of people is to want to enrich themselves through skilful manipulative behaviour. They do not realise that everyone only gets what fate provides anyway. Classically, gambling is representative of all methods of acquiring more in some way. Today, many people try their hand at money speculation of all kinds. The result of such activities is the growth of material attachment, including increased greed and avarice. Other consequences are the loss of mental balance due to fear and the increase of dishonesty and deceit, which destroys the sublime quality of truthfulness.

Sobriety
Intoxication refers to the ingestion of various substances that are not necessary for the maintenance of the body and have stimulating or depressive effects on the mind and body. These habits often cause illness, premature ageing and lack of concentration. One should therefore refrain from drug use. Progress in bhakti yoga leads to increased spiritual joy, so that the need to become intoxicated diminishes to the point of being recognised as completely unnecessary.

Non-violent and pure diet Eating meat and fish involves slaughtering or torturing animal forms to eat their bodies. If no other food is available, humans may be justified in eating animals. Otherwise, slaughtering animals just to feed on meat is condemned. One should not kill animals out of mercy and compassion.

There are various reasons why one should not eat meat. Anyone who eats the meat of the sacrifice must share the bad karma of the slaughterer. Moreover, eating meat is unhealthy. The saturated fatty acids in meat can lead to heart disease and cancer, while toxins in the decomposing meat can also attack the nervous system and lead to senility. There are ethical, religious, health, physiological and environmental reasons why people should not eat meat. In the Bhagavad-gita (9.26) Shri Krishna says:

पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति ।
तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः ॥२६॥

patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ / yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam / aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ

“If anyone offers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit or a little
water with love and devotion, I will accept it.” (BG 9.26)

When we eat such vegetarian offerings, we purify our existence.

Chastity

Nature has arranged it so that offspring are conceived through sexuality. Regulating sexuality is a necessity given by nature. Sexuality is natural – and so are children. Only humans oppose the laws of nature and try to circumvent these laws by using contraceptives, chemicals or even abortion. Sex is not evil, as is proclaimed by various moralisers. The experiences of desirable sexuality are even divine, as Sri Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita. People have a tendency to lose themselves in these activities without realising the higher purpose of transcending egocentric sexuality for pleasurable sense gratification to become more and more a servant of primal love games. Those who indulge in unbridled sexuality find it difficult to understand what treasures await them beyond it.