Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.64-65
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Vrndavana, September 1, 1975

Prabhupada:

tam eva tosayam asa pitryenarthena yavata gramyair manoramaih kamaih prasideta yatha tatha

So after seeing the woman, he was meditating always, twenty-four hours, about the subject, lusty desires. Kamais tais tair hrta-jnanah [Bg. 7.20] When one becomes lusty, then one becomes lost of all intelligence. The whole world is going on on the basis of these lusty desires. This is material world. And because I am lusty, you are lusty, every one of us, so as soon as my desires are not fulfilled, your desires are not fulfilled, then I become your enemy, you become my enemy. I cannot see you are making very good progress. You cannot see me making very good progress. This is material world, envious, lusty desires, kama, krodha, lobha, moha, matsarya. This is the basis of this material world.

So he became… The training was that he was training to become a brahmana, samo, dama, but the progress became checked on account of being attached to a woman. Therefore according to Vedic civilization, the woman is accepted as hindrance to spiritual advancement. The whole basic civilization is how to avoid… Woman… You do not think that only woman is woman. The man is also woman. Don’t think that the woman is condemned; man is not. Woman means enjoyed, and man means enjoyer. So this feeling, this feeling is condemned. If I see one woman for enjoyment, so I am man. And if woman also sees another man for enjoyment, she is also man. Woman means enjoyed and man means enjoyer. So anyone who has got feeling of enjoyment, he is considered to be man. So here both sexes meant for… Everyone is planning, “How I shall enjoy?” Therefore he is purusa, artificially. Otherwise, originally, we are all prakrti, jiva, either woman or man. This is outward dress.

In the Bhagavad-gita it is said,

apareyam itas tv (anyam) viddhi me prakrtim param jiva-bhutah maha-baho yayedam dharyate jagat

The prakrti… We are prakrti, nature, spiritual nature, para prakrti. The material nature is apara prakrti, and we living entities, we are trying to enjoy this prakrti. Therefore sometimes the living entity, either man or woman, he is described as purusa. Purusa means the one who keeps the feeling of becoming enjoyer. That is purusa. So this material world is prakrti and purusa. It is said in the Srimad Bhagavatam in the instruction of Rsabhadeva, pumsam striya mithuni-bhavam etat. The whole basic principle of materialistic civilization is the attachment between man and woman. Pumsam striya mithuni-bhava. Mithuni-bhavam is sex. And tayor mitho hrdaya-granthim ahuh. On account of this sex relationship, the man or woman is bound up. Hrdaya-granthi. Granthi means knot, and hrdaya means heart. So the man is thinking of the woman, and the woman is thinking of man. Hrdaya granthim ahuh. Then we require material possession. Atah grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittair janasya moho ’yam aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. This is our material, conditional life.

So this man, although he was being trained up as a brahmana, his attention was diverted all of a sudden by seeing one sudra and sudrani embracing, kissing, talking. So that became his meditation. Instead of meditating on Visnu, he began to meditate on that sudrani. Svayam eva tosayam asa. In the first verse, tan-nimitta-smara vyaja-graha-grasto vicetasah. He became mad, vicetasa, bewildered, as if haunted by ghost. Tam eva manasa dhyayan. Always meditating, “How shall I get that woman? How shall I please that woman so that she may satisfy my lusty desires?” Therefore tam eva tosayam asa: “His only business was how to please her.” Now they require money. So he was not earning money, but pitryena, whatever money he inherited from the father’s earning… The son generally inherits father’s property. He was the only son. So he was squandering the father’s money in that way just to please that sudrani—tam eva tosayam asa pitryenarthena yavata—as much as possible. If he could get more money, then he would have spent them only for that women. Gramyaih. Gramyair manoramaih. This word gramya is very significant. Gramya means external, material. Gramyair manoramaih. By the sense gratification, whatever we find very pleasing, that is called gramya manorama. Actually that is not pleasing. That is entangling. But he became entangled. So gramyair manoramaih kamaih. The basic principle is lust. Kamaih prasideta yah. Wanted to satisfy the woman here and there as soon as meets. We can see these examples very often. Then next step was,

vipram sva-bharyam apraudham kule mahati lambhitam visasarjacirat papah svairinyapanga-viddha-dhih

There are three kinds of women: kamini, svairini, and pumscali. Pumscali. Svairini means free, freedom. Nobody is controller. That is called svairini. And kamini means to attract, very much attract. And another, pumscali—living with woman, er, man for some time; giving up; again another; again another. That is exemplified by the lightning. You have seen the lightning—immediately, within a second, from this cloud to that cloud, that cloud to that cloud. So they are called svairini. So three divisions. Similarly, there are divisions of men also.

So in this way the material world is very, very entangled. And if we become Krsna conscious, then we become free from this entanglement. All these criticisms or the divisions are there for gramyaih. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu has advised, grama-katha na sunibe, bhala na khaibe na bhala na paribe. This is vairagya—“Don’t indulge in gramya-katha.” Therefore we always advise, “Don’t read newspaper. Don’t read any other book,” because it is full of gramya-katha, gramyaih. So to avoid it as far as possible. There is no need. What is the news of a gramya-katha newspaper? The same thing repeated. “Here there is flood, where there is train disaster, where there is accident, and political, and one politician is giving speech, another politician is giving speech.” These are the gramya things. So we should save ourself. Gramyair manoramaih. These externally very attractive news, we should avoid it completely. We shall simply talk of Krsna. That is the safest method. We shall simply talk krsna-katha. And krsna-katha means what Krsna has said. That is krsna-katha. Or what is spoken about Krsna. So Bhagavad-gita means krsna-katha, what Krsna has said. And Srimad Bhagavatam is also krsna-katha because everything said about Krsna. So we don’t We should not indulge in gramya-katha. That will mislead us. And if we do not indulge in gramya-katha, but if we make advancement on Krsna-katha, then we are always situated on transcendental position. We are no more affected by the modes of material nature. Sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate [Bg. 14.26] So we should stick to this principle. Then we shall be saved. Otherwise, either I become man or woman, we are all condemned because we are implicated with gramya-katha.

So gramya-katha should be avoided. The temple is specially meant for Krsna-katha. Here there is no other business than Krsna. Therefore a temple is always transcendental, nirguna. Nirguna. If you live in the forest, that is sattva-guna. If you live in the city, that is rajo-guna. And if you live in the brothel or liquor house or gambling house, that is tamo-guna. But if you live in the temple, that is nirguna. Traigunya-visaya-veda nistraigunyo bhavarjuna. This is advice of Krsna. The whole world is complicated with the three modes of material nature, and you have to become above this material nature. Nistraigunyo bhavarjuna. So nistraigunya, how you can become? Sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate [Bg. 14.26]. Who… (end)