The Latest

  • na sambhāṣet striyaṁ kāñcit pūrva-dṛṣṭāṁ ca na smaret |
    kathāṁ ca varjayet tāsāṁ na paśyel likhitām api ||
    etac catuṣṭayaṁ mohāt strīṇām ācarato yateḥ |
    cittaṁ vikriyate’vaśyaṁ tad-vikārāt praṇaśyati ||
    (Nārada Parivrājaka Upaniṣad: 4.3–4)

    “One should not converse with a woman, and one should not remember one who was seen previously. One should not speak of them, and one should not even look at a picture of them. The mind of an ascetic who engages in [any of] these four [activities] is certainly disturbed as a result of bewilderment [i.e., the bewilderment that arises as a result of these activities], and as a result of that agitation, he is ruined.”

    Read on →: na sambhāṣet striyaṁ kāñcit pūrva-dṛṣṭāṁ ca na smaret

  • prabhu kahe—vairāgī kare prakṛti sambhāṣaṇa |
    dekhite nā pāri āmi tāhāra vadana ||
    durvāra indriya kare viṣaya-grahaṇa |
    dāravī prakṛti hare muner api mana ||
    mātrā svasrā duhitrā vā nā viviktāsano bhavet |
    balavān indriya-grāmo vidvāṁsam api karṣati ||
    kṣudra jīva-saba markaṭa-vairāgya kariyā |
    indriya carāñā bule prakṛti sambhāṣiyā ||
    (Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.2.117–120; 119 is found in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.19.17 and Manu Smṛti: 2.215)

    [Śrīman Mahāprabhu explains why he refuses to meet with Choṭa Hari Dāsa:] “Prabhu said, ‘A vairāgī [who] converses with prakṛti [i.e., a woman]—I cannot [even] look at his face. The difficult to subdue senses seize their objects, and [even] a wooden figure of prakṛti captivates the mind of even a sage. “One should not have a seat that is unseparated from [even] one’s mother, sister, or daughter [i.e., let alone other women]. The powerful multitude of senses pulls upon even a knowledgable person.” Base living beings engage in monkey vairāgya and go about grazing the senses [i.e., letting their senses roam and partake of the sense objects without restraint] and conversing with prakṛti.‘”

    Read on →: prabhu kahe—vairāgī kare prakṛti sambhāṣaṇa

  • saṅgaṁ na kuryāt pramadāsu jātu
    yogasya pāraṁ param ārurukṣuḥ |
    mat-sevayā pratilabdhātma-lābho
    vadanti yā niraya-dvāram asya ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.31.39)

    “[Kapiladeva:] Neither one desirous of ascending to the highest pinnacle of yoga nor one who has reached realization of the ātma through service to me should become attached to [alt., associate with] women, who the wise say are the door to hell for any man.” 

    Read on →: saṅgaṁ na kuryāt pramadāsu jātu

  • satyaṁ śaucaṁ dayā maunaṁ buddhiḥ śrīr hrīr yaśaḥ kṣamā |
    śamo damo bhagaś ceti yat-saṅgād yāti saṅkṣayam ||
    teṣv aśānteṣu mūḍheṣu khaṇḍitātmasv asādhuṣu |
    saṅgaṁ na kuryāc chocyeṣu yoṣit-krīḍā-mṛgeṣu ca ||
    na tathāsya bhaven moho bandhaś cānya-prasaṅgataḥ |
    yoṣit-saṅgād yathā puṁso yathā tat-saṅgi-saṅgataḥ ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.31.33–35; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.88–90)

    “One should never associate with those by whose association truthfulness, cleanliness, grace, quietude, the intellect, wealth, modesty, honor, forgiveness, mental control, sense control, and good fortune are destroyed, and who are restless, foolish, self-destructive, impious, deplorable, and the pet animals of women. A man’s infatuation and bondage do not occur as a result of any other association the way they do as a result of association with women and association with those who associate with them.”

    Read on →: satyaṁ śaucaṁ dayā maunaṁ buddhiḥ śrīr hrīr yaśaḥ kṣamā

  • satām ayaṁ sāra-bhṛtāṁ nisargo
    yad-artha-vāṇī-śruti-cetasām api |
    prati-kṣaṇaṁ navyavad acyutasya yat
    striyā viṭānām iva sādhu vārtā ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.13.2)

    [Śukadeva Gosvāmī to Parīkṣit Mahārāja:] “This is the nature of sādhus who grasp the essence, they for whom discussion of Acyuta is truly as though ever-new at every moment even though it is [already and always] the object of their speech, hearing, and mind, just as discussion of women is [as though ever-new] for sensualists.”

    Read on →: satām ayaṁ sāra-bhṛtāṁ nisargo

  • vaiṣṇavera guṇa-grāhī, nā dekhaye doṣa |
    kāya-mano-vākye kare vaiṣṇava-santoṣa ||
    (Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.8.62)

    “He [i.e., Haridāsa Paṇḍita] appreciates the qualities of Vaiṣṇavas and overlooks their faults. With body, mind, and words he pleases the Vaiṣṇavas.”

    Read on →: vaiṣṇavera guṇa-grāhī, nā dekhaye doṣa

Scroll to Top