Answer
No.
That is why I first defined what I mean by context.
Within our mind there are many interconnected elements. One of them is our situational perception—how we perceive a particular situation before we respond to it.
For example, when you encounter a person of the opposite sex, what is your default situational perception?
Your responses arise from that perception.
The response itself is not the fundamental issue.
Behind every response lies a deeper context.
That is what you must understand and transform.
This context changes through submissive hearing.
Over time, your entire way of seeing the world changes.
Your understanding of karma, material life, Krishna consciousness, and relationships—all of these are changes in your contextual framework or paradigm.
Notice that devotees and materialists see the same world very differently.
Why?
Because transcendental sound (shabda) has entered the devotee's consciousness and transformed the way reality is perceived. The subconscious mind holds the context, but the context itself is more than the subconscious.
It is a complex cognitive network consisting of perceptions, emotions, memories, associations, and many interconnected elements.
Think of it as a compound.
Hydrogen and oxygen are both gases, but when they combine they become water, which has completely different properties.
Similarly, context is not just one isolated thought. It is an integrated network that gives meaning to whatever we perceive.
Consider a diamond.
If it is placed in a beautiful crown, it appears very different than if it is lying by itself.
The diamond has not changed.
Only its context has changed.
Likewise, the same sense object appears differently depending on the context in which your mind places it.
These contextual networks are deeply embedded within us.
They cannot simply be rearranged through intellectual reasoning.
They are gradually transformed through submissive hearing and spiritual practice.
When the proper context develops, your relationship with sense objects naturally becomes proper.
Until then, rules and regulations remain essential.
Even if you intellectually understand the philosophy, your old conditioning does not disappear immediately.
Therefore, be very careful in your dealings, especially with the opposite sex.
Sense control, restraint, and tapasya are all necessary because the old paradigm repeatedly tries to assert itself.
When those old impressions arise, you must consciously restrain them.
That restraint is tapasya.
You must exercise your free will in two ways:
Do not allow the old conditioning to manifest through your actions.
Do not allow yourself to become mentally influenced by those old patterns.
Both require the strength to tolerate discomfort.
That tolerance is called tapasya.
Without tapasya, spiritual advancement is impossible.
If a person cannot tolerate anything unpleasant and expects everything in spiritual life to be immediately enjoyable, then genuine progress will be very difficult.
Spiritual life certainly leads to ananda (spiritual happiness), but it also requires tapasya.
The principle of success is to voluntarily choose tapasya.
By your own free will, you should think:
"I accept this austerity because it will help me progress spiritually."
