Independent Woman Isn't Happy
Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.5
Bombay, November 5, 1974
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Nitai: "Maitreya said: When Kardama
left for the forest, Lord Kapila stayed on the strand of the Bindu-sarovara in
order to please His mother, Devahuti."
Prabhupada:
pitari prasthite 'ranyam
matuh priya-cikirsaya
tasmin bindusare 'vatsid
bhagavan kapilah kila
[SB 3.25.5]
So father... What is the name?
Nitai: Kardama Muni?
Prabhupada: Kardama Muni. Kardama Muni left home. So Kardama Muni was a great yogi. So he was not interested family life, but once he desired that "Let me marry." So Vaivasvata Manu, he brought his daughter Devahuti, and she was married with Kapila, er yes...
Devotee: Kardama.
Prabhupada: Hm?
Nitai: Kardama.
Prabhupada: Kardama Muni. So Kardama Muni, the wife, a king's daughter, but she was serving the husband, and... The yogi, in a cottage he was living, and she was king's daughter, princess. So working, working, she became very skinny. So Kardama Muni took (com)passion upon her that "This girl has come to me. She is not in a comfortable position." So by his yogic power, he created big palatial house, many servants, maidservants, garden, everything. Not only that. Kardama Muni created one airship. It was just like a small city. The modern airship -- they have prepared 747 -- can carry about five hundred passengers. Of course, very big. But Kardama Muni created an airship just like a small city. In that airship there was nice lake and palaces and garden, and not only that, the airship traveled all over the universe. They could not make any airship to go to the moon planet. But Kardama Muni, by his yogic power, he created an airship which could go to all the planets. This is yogic power. Anima laghima prapti. All kinds of siddhi, material siddhi. Whatever he likes, he can do. That is yoga-siddhi. Not simply pressing the nose and making some gymnastic. One must gain the yogic siddhi. By the, by the siddhi-yogi, he can do everything he likes. He can become smaller than the smallest and bigger than the biggest. Whatever he likes he can get immediately in hand. Wherever he likes, he can go. That is yoga-siddhi.
So this Kardama Muni was a siddhi-yogi, and his wife, Devahuti... So he had nine daughters, and they were all distributed to the Prajapatis. Just like Daksa Maharaja, Prajapati, and there were many others. And the only son was this Kapiladeva. He is incarnation of God, Krsna. And He is one of the mahajanas. Mahajana means authority. There are twelve authorities according to Vedic sastra. One of them is this Kapila.
svayambhur naradah sambhuh
kumarah kapilo manuh
prahlado janako bhismo
balir vaiyasakir vayam
[SB 6.3.20]
This is a statement of Yamaraja. Yamaraja is also one of the authorities. So Svayambhu. Svayambhu means Brahma. And svayambhur naradah. Narada Muni, he's also authority. And Sambhu, Lord Siva, he's authority. Similarly, Kapiladeva, He's also authority. These authorities should be followed. If we want to approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and if we want to understand what is the purpose of religious life, then we have to follow these mahajanas. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. Dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayam mahajano yena gatah sa panthah. Dharmasya tattvam.
So dharmasya tattvam is explained by the Dharmasetu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna; sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. That is actually dharma. And all these mahajanas -- svayambhur naradah sambhuh kapilah [SB 6.3.20] -- they also follow the same principle. Therefore we cannot understand very easily what is the truth of religious system, but if we follow these mahajanas, then we can understand. So that Kapila Muni is explaining to His mother the glories of devotional service. So if we follow Him, then we also get informed what is the truth of devotional service. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. Here another feature is that pitari prasthite aranyam. So it is the system of varnasrama-dharma, pancasordhvam vanam vrajet. One who has passed over fifty years of age, he must give, leave home, and go to the forest, and completely devote his life for spiritual realization. That is the system, varnasrama-dharma. The name "Hindu" is a foreign name, given by the Muslims on the other side of the ocean. They used to say the inhabitants of this part of the world as "Hindu." Actually, you won't find this word Hindu in any Vedic literature. The Vedic literature you'll find: varnasrama-dharma. Civilized human being means who are following strictly the varnasrama institution, four varnas and four asramas. So four varnas means brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, and four asrama means brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa. So for brahmanas, the four asramas should be followed. Brahmana should become a child born in brahmana family and trained up nicely as brahmacari. Then he becomes a grhastha. Then he gives up the home. That is called vanaprastha. And after that he takes sannyasa.
So this Kardama Muni did it. Because he was a yogi, he strictly followed the principle. So as soon as Kapiladeva was grown up, the mother, Devahuti, was given in His charge and Kardama Muni left home. Therefore it is said that pitari prasthite aranyam matuh priya-cikirsaya. Now it is the duty of the son. Women should be under the protection. In the Manu-samhita it is said that woman should not be given freedom. Na stri svatantryam arhati. They cannot properly utilize freedom. It is better to remain dependent. That is very good. Independent woman cannot be happy. That's a fact. We have seen in the Western countries, on, in the name of independence, so many women are unhappy. So that is not recommended in the Vedic civilization and on the varnasrama-dharma. So therefore the mother, Devahuti, was given under the charge of his (her) grown-up son, Kapiladeva. And Kapiladeva was fully cognizant that He has to take care of His mother. Therefore matuh priya-cikirsaya. It is the duty of the father to protect the girl very nicely. Women are very delicate. They should be given... So during childhood, until she attains, I mean to say, youthhood, puberty, the girl is under the protection of the father. Still, in India, the father takes care of the girl until she is married to a suitable boy, the father takes. And then the young husband takes care of the young girl, wife, and then some children are born, and then grown up. Suppose a man marries at the age of twenty... That is, I mean, the highest. A boy is married not later than twenty-five years. And the girl is not, married not later than sixteen years. That is the system. So a sixteen-year girl and twenty-five-year boy, if the child is born, then when the man if fifty years old, the child becomes twenty-five years old. So he can take charge.
So taking this calculation, even Kapiladeva was twenty-five years old, He was quite able to take charge of His mother Devahuti. So He knew that "Father left My mother in My charge, and therefore I must take charge of My mother and keep her always pleased." Matuh priya-cikirsaya. This... The boy is not irresponsible. He is always ready to please His mother. Here we have given these pictures in this Bhagavatam. Here Kapiladeva in a brahmacari dress, and mother is taking lesson from the son. Now, sometimes it is asked, "How the mother will take lesson from the son?" That is the prerogative of the male. Stri... In the Bhagavad-gita it is also said, mam hi partha vyapasritya ye 'pi syuh papa-yonayah [Bg. 9.32], striyah... Striyah sudras tatha vaisyah. A woman is considered in the level of sudra. Although a woman is married with a brahmana, the woman is not offered the sacred thread. And in the Bhagavad-gita it is also accepted like that by the Supreme Personality... Striyo vaisyas tatha sudrah. And another place it is said that Mahabharata was compiled by Vyasadeva because the direct Vedic knowledge is not understandable... Stri-sudra-dvija-bandhunam trayi na sruti-gocara [SB 1.4.25]. Trayi means Vedic literature. They cannot understand. Stri-sudra-dvija-bandhunam: women, and the sudras, and dvija-bandhu. Dvija-bandhu means born in a brahmana family, but not qualified as brahmana. They are called not brahmana. They are called dvija-bandhu.
So this Mahabharata was made by Vyasadeva for these stri-sudra-divja-bandhunam. Therefore Mahabharata is called "Fifth Vedas." There are four Vedas, Sama, Yajuh, Rk, Atharva, and Mahabharata is the fifth Veda. And the essence of Vedic knowledge is given within the Mahabharata, this Bhagavad-gita. So although woman is inferior than the man, still, the Vedic civilization is so perfect that the man, as father, as husband, or as son, takes care, full care of the woman. This is Vedic civilization. Therefore it is said that matuh priya-cikirsaya. The son was ready always to see that "Mother is not unhappy. My father has gone away. So she may not feel the absence of my father." This very word is very significant, matuh priya-cikirsaya. He was always ready to take care of the mother. And the best care is to give her knowledge. Because women are supposed to be less intelligent; therefore they should be given knowledge. And they should also follow. They should follow the father's instruction, they should follow the husband's instruction, they should follow grown-up, learned, scholar like Kapiladeva. Then their life is perfect. Dependent, remain dependent.
Tasmin bindu-sarovare avatsit. They lived there in the Bindu, on the bank of the Bindu-sarovara, lake. Avatsid bhagavan kapilah. Now, Kapiladeva is Bhagavan. There is another Kapiladeva, Kapila Rsi. He is atheist. But here, this Kapiladeva is authority and Bhagavan, incarnation of Krsna, Bhagavan. Most powerful. Bhagavan means most powerful, all-powerful.
aisvaryasya samagrasya
viryasya yasasah sriyah
jnana-vairagyayos caiva
sannam bhaga itingana
(Visnu Purana 6.5.47)
Bhagavan, all-powerful means that aisvaryasya, all opulence, all wealth, all reputation, all knowledge, all beauty, all renunciation. In this way, Bhagavan is opulent. Six opulences. And these six opulences is fully represented in Krsna. Therefore Krsna is accepted: krsnas tu bhagavan svayam [SB 1.3.28]. And others, they are expansion or incarnation. Visnu-tattva. In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, the Gosvamis, they have analyzed the characteristics of Bhagavan. The first Bhagavan is Lord Brahma. Lord... Not first... First Bhagavan is Krsna, but the Bhagavan realization, the opulences realization, begins from Lord Brahma. He is jiva-tattva. Jiva-tattva means he's ordinary living being like us. If you become powerful in spiritual strength, then you can also have the post of Lord Brahma. And better than Lord Brahma is Lord Siva. And better than Lord Siva is Visnu, or Lord Narayana. And the best of all of them is Krsna, krsnas tu bhagavan svayam [SB 1.3.28]. That is the analysis of the Vedic sastra. So all sastras accept... the Brahma-samhita and, I mean to say, other, all sastras... Krsnas tu... Even Sankaracarya accepts. Sa bhagavan svayam krsnah. Sankaracarya. He... These Mayavadi philosophers, impersonalists, he also accepts Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And all the acaryas-Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnu Svami, Nimbarka, and lately, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu -- all accept krsnas tu bhagavan svayam.
So Kapiladeva is incarnation, and He instructed His mother Devahuti. Therefore to distinguish two Kapilas... One Kapila is the atheist Kapila, and the other Kapila is Bhagavan Kapila. Therefore Bhagavan Kapila is known as Devahuti-putra Kapila. Both of them expounded the Sankhya philosophy, but the atheist Kapila expounded without understanding or without perception or realization of God, and here, Kapiladeva, He's expounding Sankhya philosophy to His mother personally. Just like Krsna personally expounded the knowledge of Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna, His friend, similarly, Kapiladeva, Bhagavan, He expounded the Sankhya philosophy to His mother, Devahuti, and that we are explaining.
So next verse is:
tam asinam akarmanam
tattva-margagra-darsanam
sva-sutam devahuty aha
dhatuh samsmarati vacah
[SB 3.25.6]
So this philosophy, we'll begin from the next verse, and we shall be... [break] ...of understanding Krsna. Because Krsna and Krsna's name is identical... [break] We should always remember this, that you cannot chant and dance with any material name. Because Krsna's name is spiritual, He's Krsna, therefore if you go on chanting for twenty-four hours, you'll never feel tired. That is the advancement. So, so here, Kapiladeva... This is tattva-jnana. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita,
manusyanam sahasresu
kascid yatati siddhaye
yatatam api siddhanam
kascin mam vetti tattvatah
[Bg. 7.3]
Just like these Mayavadis, they cannot understand that this chanting of Hare Krsna name is actually getting direct association with Krsna. Therefore Prakasananda Sarasvati in Benares, He considered Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as a crazy fellow. Crazy fellow. Why? Now, because He was sannyasi, and He was not reading Vedanta-sutra. He was simply chanting and dancing. So some devotee of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu very much praised Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu at the, in the presence of Prakasananda Sarasvati, and Prakasananda Sarasvati became very angry, "Ah, don't talk of this rascal sannyasi. He is a sannyasi, He does not read Vedanta-sutra, and in sentimental moods He chants and dances. Don't talk about Him. Better don't go there." So that devotee became very sorry, and he arranged a meeting between this Mayavadi sannyasi and Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Then, in the meeting... Caitanya Mahaprabhu was beautiful, very beautiful in His bodily features. So... It is summary I am speaking. So the Prakasananda Sarasvati inquired from Him that "You are a sannyasi. You do not engage Yourself in studying Vedanta-sutra, but in sentiment, with some foolish devotees, You some chant and dance. What is this?" So Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied, "My dear sir, My Guru Maharaja saw Me a great fool number one." Guru more murkha dekhi' karila sasana [Cc. Adi 7.71]. "Therefore He has chastised Me." "What is that?" " 'You don't read Vedanta-sutra. You chant Hare Krsna mantra.' He has ordered Me like that. Because I am a fool, I have no knowledge; therefore he has given Me this engagement, chanting Hare Krsna. So I am chanting this Hare Krsna mantra, and I do not know. I become mad after chanting. And I get, I feel transcendental pleasure. And sometimes I act like a madman. So My Guru Maharaja has said that 'You are very fortunate. You are very fortunate.' " Then Prakasananda Sarasvati very mildly said, "It is all right, You're chanting. What is the wrong if You study Vedanta-sutra?" Then Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that "Vedanta-sutra We know, but not like you. We know. If you don't mind, then I can explain Vedanta-sutra." So He explained Vedanta-sutra that Brahman, Brahman means "the biggest." So Brahman is sad-aisvarya-purna, biggest, means He's full of all opulences. That is biggest. He's the richest. He's the wisest. He's the most beautiful. He's most famous. And... In this way He explained that Brahman, the biggest, He cannot be impersonal. He's personal. He gave many instances from Vedic literature. In this way, He convinced that "The way you study Vedanta-sutra, that is not the proper way. Vedanta-sutra means to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna."
As Krsna says, vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah [Bg. 15.15]. By the study of Vedas, if you have attained perfection, then you should know what is Krsna. Krsna also said. Yatatam api siddhanam [Bg. 7.3]. Siddha means those who are liberated. Liberated means those who have no more the bodily concept of life. They are called liberated, brahma-bhuta [SB 4.30.20]. Prasannatma. So long one is in the bodily concept of life, he's conditioned. He's conditioned. He's conditioned; he's not liberated. And when one understands fully that he's not this body, he's pure soul, bhagavata, when he realizes, then that stage is called liberated. So liberated stage is not final. If you simply understand that you are not this body, you are a spirit soul, that is not sufficient. You must act as Brahman. You must act as Brahman. Then you will stay.
So,
brahma-bhutah prasannatma
na socati na kanksati
samah sarvesu bhutesu
mad-bhaktim labhate param
[Bg. 18.54]
So bhakti is attainable for the liberated person. Bhakti is not for the conditioned soul. Bhakti is for persons who are already liberated. How it is possible? Yes, it is possible. Krsna says,
mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate
[Bg. 14.26]
If you engage yourself in devotional service,
sravanam kirtanam visnoh
smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam
[SB 7.5.23]
Tan manye adhitam uttamam. One who is engaged in these nine different processes of devotional service... The first beginning is sravanam, hearing. So under the direction of the spiritual master and the sastras, immediately he is liberated person. He doesn't require to make separate endeavor for becoming liberated. Because immediately he engages himself in devotional... Mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena [Bg. 14.26]. Avyabhicarena, unfailing. Strictly. Drdha-vrata. Satatam kirtayanto mam yatantas ca drdha-vratah [Bg. 9.14]. Drdha-vrata, firm conviction that "I am engaged in Krsna's service. I am now free from all material contamination." Drdha-vrata.
So one has to do it. This is tattva-jnana. Tattva-jnana. Here it is said, tattva-marga-agra-darsanam. This is tattva-jnana. of course, as it is said in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate [SB 1.2.11]. The Absolute Truth are differently understood according to the different position of the student. The Absolute Truth... Some of them understand that Absolute Truth as impersonal Brahman. And some of them understand the Absolute Truth as localized Paramatma. And some of them understand the Absolute Truth as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, or Visnu. They are not different. Brahman, Paramatma and the Supreme Personality of Godhead -- they are one. They are simply different phases. It is simply angle of vision. Just like a mountain from a very distant place, you'll see just like hazy cloud. And if you come nearer, then you see something green, very high, raised, I mean to say, earth. That is one vision. But you are seeing the mountain. From the distant place you see it is hazy cloud. As you come nearer, you see something green. And if you actually enter the mountain you'll find there are so many houses, so many trees, so many animals. The vision is the same mountain. But on account of my different position, I see hazy cloud or something green or something animated. But the final stage is the varieties. A mountain, there are so many trees, so many animals, so many men, so many houses -- varieties.
So the Absolute Truth is not without varieties. That is spiritual variety. That is not material variety. But the Mayavadis, they think that... Because they are seeing the Absolute Truth from distant place, far away, they think that in the Absolute Truth there is no variety. As soon as there are varieties, it is material. That is their misunderstanding. No. The Absolute Truth is described in the Brahma-samhita:
cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-
laksavrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam
laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.29]
There are, in the spiritual world, there are Vaikunthalokas. There are inhabitants, the devotees. They're all liberated persons. They're aksara. They do not fall down. Ksara aksara. We are ksaras. We have fallen down in this material world. But there are devotees in the spiritual world, in the Vaikunthaloka, they never come down. Never come down in this material world, but they are also persons like us, but eternal persons, with full knowledge and life of blissfulness. That is the difference between them and us.
So that is tattva-jnana. Unless we understand the varieties of the Absolute Truth, if we simply stick to the indefinite, impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth, then there is chance of falling down. Generally, they fall down. Aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah patanty adhah anadrta-yusmad-anghrayah [SB 10.2.32]. Because they are not allowed to enter into the Vaikuntha planets, they simply remaining in the Brahman effulgence, and that does not stay. They fall down. Again they come down in these material varieties. We have seen many, many sannyasis. They first of all give up... Brahma satyam jagan mithya: "The jagat is mithya." And aham brahmasmi: "I have no more anything to do. I have become Narayana." Then he comes down again to feed the daridra-narayana. That's all. He becomes Narayana, but he comes to take activities in feeding... But why? It is mithya. You have already left. Why do you come here again? That means he hasn't got anything. The unnecessary labor... Aruhya krcchrena. They undergo severe penances and austerities, and they reach up to the impersonal Brahman, but because there is no pleasure... Suppose if I send you in a nice aeroplane in the sky... There is no varieties. Just like so many aeronautics. They, after flying in the impersonal sky, they become tired. And sometimes they pray to God, "Please let me go back to the land." And I have read in the paper, when the Sputnik was carrying the Russian aeronautics, he was simply seeing down, "Where is Moscow?" (laughter) "Where is Moscow?" Because this impersonal traveling was very much agitating, he was finding out, "Where is Moscow?" So this kind of realization of the Absolute Truth will not stay, will have, will have to fall down. Exactly like that. The Russian aeronautics, without getting any shelter in the sky, he was simply hankering after Moscow. That my book, that Easy Journey to Other Planets... One gentleman, he became very much enthusiastic, that "Oh, we can go to the other planet?" And "Yes, you can go. Read this book." "Then I shall come back again?" "And why you shall come back again? You shall remain there." "No, no, no. I don't want that. I don't want that. I shall go and come back."
So this is the, I mean, the mentality. Why this mentality? The mentality is that "Without varieties we cannot enjoy." Variety is the mother of enjoyment. So the impersonal Brahman realization, or Paramatma realization, does not give us steady ananda. We want ananda. Anandamayo 'bhyasat (Vedanta-sutra 1.1.12). The living entity, or Brahman, or Parabrahman... Just like our Krsna. He's Parabrahman. He's enjoying ananda. Similarly, we also, being part and parcel of Krsna, mamaivamso jiva... [Bg. 15.7], we want ananda. So ananda cannot be in impersonalism, or voidism. That is not possible. Ananda means varieties. When you get varieties of foodstuff, made of the same ingredient -- same, I mean to say, grains, or milk and sugar -- but we can prepare hundreds and thousands of preparations... At least, hundred preparations, and we enjoy: this is pera, this is baraphi, this is ksira, this is rabri, this is dahi, and so many things. So variety is required. Variety is required. So therefore the last word of tattva-jnana is to understand Krsna, who is full of variety.
So here Kapiladeva is tattva-marga, tattva-marga-agra-darsanam. So Kapiladeva is the incarnation of Supreme Personality of Godhead. He would explain to His mother. That we shall read from the next verse, what is tattva and how we can approach the tattva-jnana and how we can enjoy. Not that simply dry speculation. Dry speculation. One, that professor, who has said, that "This Bhaktivedanta's book is not dry speculation. Order all the books made by him." So our, this Krsna consciousness is not dry speculation. There are varieties, but they are spiritual varieties. People misunderstand that these varieties are material things. They want nirvisesa, nirakara, void. But our philosophy is not voidness. It is full of varieties and full of transcendental bliss.
Thank you very much. (end)
© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
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