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12-09-2008, 04:42 PM
SB3.14.26<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:" /><o:p></o:p>
Lord Çiva regards no one as his relative, yet there is no one who is not connected with him; he does not regard anyone as very favorable or abominable. We respectfully worship the remnants of his foodstuff, and we vow to accept what is rejected by him.<o:p></o:p>
PURPORT<o:p></o:p>
Kaçyapa informed his wife that just because Lord Çiva happened to be his brother-in-law, that should not encourage her in her offense towards him. Kaçyapa warned her that actually Lord Çiva is not connected with anyone, nor is anyone his enemy. Since he is one of the three controllers of the universal affairs, he is equal to everyone. <o:p></o:p>
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His greatness is incomparable because he is a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is said that among all the devotees of the Personality of Godhead, Lord Çiva is the greatest. Thus the remnants of foodstuff left by him are accepted by other devotees as mahä-prasäda, or great spiritual foodstuff. <o:p></o:p>
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The remnants of foodstuff offered to Lord Kåñëa are called prasäda, but when the same prasäda is eaten by a great devotee like Lord Çiva, it is called mahä-prasäda. Lord Çiva is so great that he does not care for the material prosperity for which every one of us is so eager. Pärvaté, who is the powerful material nature personified, is under his full control as his wife, yet he does not use her even to build a residential house. <o:p></o:p>
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He prefers to remain without shelter, and his great wife also agrees to live with him humbly. People in general worship goddess Durgä, the wife of Lord Çiva, for material prosperity, but Lord Çiva engages her in his service without material desire. He simply advises his great wife that of all kinds of worship, the worship of Viñëu is the highest, and greater than that is the worship of a great devotee or anything in relation with Viñëu.<o:p></o:p>
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SB3.14.20<o:p></o:p>
As a fort commander very easily conquers invading plunderers, by taking shelter of a wife one can conquer the senses, which are unconquerable in the other social orders.<o:p></o:p>
PURPORT<o:p></o:p>
Of the four orders of human society—the student, or brahmacäré order, the householder, or gåhastha order, the retired, or vänaprastha order, and the renounced, or sannyäsé order—the householder is on the safe side. The bodily senses are considered plunderers of the fort of the body. <o:p></o:p>
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The wife is supposed to be the commander of the fort, and therefore whenever there is an attack on the body by the senses, it is the wife who protects the body from being smashed. The sex demand is inevitable for everyone, but one who has a fixed wife is saved from the onslaught of the sense enemies. <o:p></o:p>
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A man who possesses a good wife does not create a disturbance in society by corrupting virgin girls. Without a fixed wife, a man becomes a debauchee of the first order and is a nuisance in society—unless he is a trained brahmacäré, vänaprastha or sannyäsé. <o:p></o:p>
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Unless there is rigid and systematic training of the brahmacäré by the expert spiritual master, and unless the student is obedient, it is sure that the so-called brahmacäré will fall prey to the attack of sex. There are so many instances of falldown, even for great yogés like Viçvämitra. A gåhastha is saved, however, because of his faithful wife. <o:p></o:p>
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Sex life is the cause of material bondage, and therefore it is prohibited in three äçramas and is allowed only in the gåhastha-äçrama. The gåhastha is responsible for producing first-quality brahmacärés, vänaprasthas and sannyäsés.<o:p></o:p>
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SB3.22.11<o:p></o:p>
Sväyambhuva Manu said, Therefore please accept her, O chief of the brähmaëas, for I offer her with faith and she is in every respect fit to be your wife and take charge of your household duties.<o:p></o:p>
PURPORT<o:p></o:p>
The words gåhamedhiñu karmasu mean “in household duties.” Another word is also used here: sarvätmanänurüpäm. The purport is that a wife should not only be equal to her husband in age, character and qualities, but must be helpful to him in his household duties. <o:p></o:p>
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The household duty of a man is not to satisfy his sense gratification, but to remain with a wife and children and at the same time attain advancement in spiritual life. One who does not do so is not a householder but a gåhamedhé. <o:p></o:p>
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Two words are used in Sanskrit literature; one is gåhastha, and the other is gåhamedhé. The difference between gåhamedhé and gåhastha is that gåhastha is also an äçrama, or spiritual order, but if one simply satisfies his senses as a householder, then he is a gåhamedhé. For a gåhamedhé, to accept a wife means to satisfy the senses, but for a gåhastha a qualified wife is an assistant in every respect for advancement in spiritual activities. <o:p></o:p>
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It is the duty of the wife to take charge of household affairs and not to compete with the husband. A wife is meant to help, but she cannot help her husband unless he is completely equal to her in age, character and quality.<o:p></o:p>
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SB4.21.46<o:p></o:p>
They all declared that the Vedic conclusion that one can conquer the heavenly planets by the action of a putra, or son, was fulfilled, for the most sinful Vena, who had been killed by the curse of the brähmaëas, was now delivered from the darkest region of hellish life by his son, Mahäräja Påthu.<o:p></o:p>
PURPORT<o:p></o:p>
According to the Vedic version, there is a hellish planet called Put, and one who delivers a person from there is called putra. <o:p></o:p>
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The purpose of marriage, therefore, is to have a putra, or son who is able to deliver his father, even if the father falls down to the hellish condition of put. Mahäräja Påthu’s father, Vena, was a most sinful person and was therefore cursed to death by the brähmaëas. <o:p></o:p>
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Now all the great saintly persons, sages and brähmaëas present in the meeting, after hearing from Mahäräja Påthu about his great mission in life, became convinced that the statement of the Vedas had been fully proved. <o:p></o:p>
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The purpose of accepting a wife in religious marriage, as sanctioned in the Vedas, is to have a putra, a son qualified to deliver his father from the darkest region of hellish life. Marriage is not intended for sense gratification but for getting a son fully qualified to deliver his father. But if a son is raised to become an unqualified demon, how can he deliver his father from hellish life? It is therefore the duty of a father to become a Vaiñëava and raise his children to become Vaiñëavas; then even if by chance the father falls into a hellish life in his next birth, such a son can deliver him, as Mahäräja Påthu delivered his father.<o:p></o:p>
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SB4.26.16<o:p></o:p>
King Puraïjana said: I do not understand why my household paraphernalia does not attract me as before. I think that if there is neither a mother nor devoted wife at home, the home is like a chariot without wheels. Where is the fool who will sit down on such an unworkable chariot?<o:p></o:p>
PURPORT<o:p></o:p>
The great politician Cäëakya Paëòita said:<o:p></o:p>
mätä yasya gåhe nästi<o:p></o:p>
bhäryä cäpriya-vädiné<o:p></o:p>
araëyaà tena gantavyaà<o:p></o:p>
yathäraëyaà tathä gåham<o:p></o:p>
“If a person has neither a mother nor a pleasing wife at home, he should leave home and go to the forest, because for him there is no difference between the forest and home.” The real mätä, or mother, is devotional service to the Lord, and the real patné, or devoted wife, is a wife who helps her husband execute religious principles in devotional service. These two things are required for a happy home.<o:p></o:p>
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Actually, a woman is supposed to be the energy of the man. Historically, in the background of every great man there is either a mother or a wife. One’s household life is very successful if he has both a good wife and mother. In such a case, everything about household affairs and all the paraphernalia in the house becomes very pleasing. <o:p></o:p>
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Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu had both a good mother and pleasing wife, and He was very happy at home. Nonetheless, for the benefit of the whole human race, He took sannyäsa and left both His mother and wife. <o:p></o:p>
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In other words, it is essential that one have both a good mother and wife in order to become perfectly happy at home. Otherwise home life has no meaning. Unless one is religiously guided by intelligence and renders devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his home can never become very pleasing to a saintly person. <o:p></o:p>
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In other words, if a man has a good mother or a good wife, there is no need of his taking sannyäsa—that is, unless it is absolutely necessary, as it was for Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu.<o:p></o:p>
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