Stages of Prakrtena (Bodily concept of life) -Sneha, love, affection,Moha and illusion.

Sneha: This morning I was reading the statement of a fisherman who caught Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His trance, and by touching Caitanya Mahaprabhu he became spiritually ecstatic, but he thought that he has become ghostly haunted: "Here is a ghost." And he was thinking, "I am ghostly haunted, so if I become mad, who will take care of my wife and children?" This is the position. The fisherman was actually, spiritually, by the grace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, simply by touching Him, he was so much spiritually advanced that he was chanting, dancing, crying -- means all the symptoms of spiritual ecstatic transformation was visible in his body -- but he thought that he had gone mad on account of touching the body, ghost. He was thinking like that. And the man thinking was that "If I become mad like this, then who will take care of my wife and children?"

Love: I have got personal experience in Kanpur, I was sitting in my room, and one monkey was outside the door with his (her) kitty to take something out of my eating. But by chance the small kitty entered through the bars of the window within the room, and I saw the mother became almost mad immediately: "Oh, my son has gone inside, and it will not be allowed to come again." Anyway, I managed to push the small kitty to go away; then she was relieved.

Moha or Illusion: Aboy was raised by his aunt very liberally. Then, gradually, the boy became, in bad association, a thief. And the aunt was encouraging, "Oh, it is a very good business. You are bringing so many things without any labor." So out of affectionshe did not chastise the boy when he was stealing. Then he, at the end, became a murderer. So he committed a murder. Then when he was to be hanged, so the government men inquired, "What is your last wish?" "Now, I want to speak with my aunt through the ear." Then he was allowed. And the aunt was generally crying that "My nephew is going to be hanged." So he caught up her ear with the teeth and cut it. So he said, "My dear aunt, if you would have chastised me in the beginning, then today, this position, that you are crying and I am going to be hanged, this would not have happened. But you did not do that. Therefore you are uselessly crying now, and this is your punishment: I cut off your ear with the teeth." A very good instruction.So the so-called sneha, if it is not properly done thenNature's regulation is so strict that you cannot avoid the consequence. That is not possible. These are practical.

Affection: Another time, In front of our residence there was another neighbor. So the old man had his daughter-in-law. So she was beating her one child. So I inquired through my servant, "Why this young woman is beating her child?" Now, then the servant brought me the news that this boy gave parata to his elder brother who is suffering from typhoid. The typhoid... In typhoid fever, solid food is forbidden strictly, but the boy did not know. He asked his younger brother that "If you steal one parata and if you give me, I am very much hungry." So he became very sympathetic to his brother, and he gave the parata. And the boy was ill; he aggravated the illness. So as soon as the mother heard that he gave a parata to him, he (she) began to beat: "Why did you give?" Now, it was charity, it was affection and sympathetic, but the result was beating with shoes. So if we do not know where affection should be there, then we are under the laws of nature; we shall be punished if it is not properly done. There is punishment.

Therefore it is said, prakrtena atmana. By worldly relationship, Sneha, affection; moha, illusion are there. All these activities are simply moha andillusion. It has no value. Therefore devotional service means vairagya-vidya. People do not know what is devotional service. Devotional service means... Just like Kunti was praying, "My dear Krsna, kindly help me how can I give up this affection of my family, the Pandavas and the Vrsnis." This is required.

Actually, the perfection of life is no more affection for anything material: brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati [Bg. 18.54]. That is the beginning. We are not cruel; But we know, we should know, that this is not required. This is simply moha. This is simply moha. This is illusion. It has no meaning. It is simply entanglement. That one must know. That is called Vairagya-vidya.
Srila Prabhupada lecture (SB 1.8.7/ 27.10.1974)


As Queen Kunti said that "My affection may increase for you," Vairagya-vidya means not only simply give up affection of this material, but you increase your affection for Krsna.