Texts 11-13
kathaṁ priyāyā anukampitāyāḥ
saṅgaṁ rahasyaṁ rucirāṁś ca mantrān
suhṛtsu tat-sneha-sitaḥ śiśūnāṁ
kalākṣarāṇām anurakta-cittaḥ
putrān smaraṁs tā duhitṝr hṛdayyā
bhrātṝn svasṝr vā pitarau ca dīnau
gṛhān manojñoru-paricchadāṁś ca
vṛttīś ca kulyāḥ paśu-bhṛtya-vargān
tyajeta kośas-kṛd ivehamānaḥ
karmāṇi lobhād avitṛpta-kāmaḥ
aupasthya-jaihvaṁ bahu-manyamānaḥ
kathaṁ virajyeta duranta-mohaḥ
katham — how; priyāyāḥ — of the dearmost wife; anukampitāyāḥ — always affectionate and compassionate; saṅgam — the association; rahasyam — solitary; rucirān — very pleasing and acceptable; ca — and; mantrān — instructions; suhṛtsu — to the wife and children; tat-sneha-sitaḥ — being bound by their affection; śiśūnām — to the small children; kala-akṣarāṇām — speaking in broken language; anurakta-cittaḥ — a person whose mind is attracted; putrān — the sons; smaran — thinking of; tāḥ — them; duhitṝḥ — the daughters (married and staying at the homes of their husbands); hṛdayyāḥ — always situated in the core of the heart; bhrātṝn — the brothers; svasṝḥ vā — or the sisters; pitarau — father and mother; ca — and; dīnau — who in old age are mostly invalids; gṛhān — household affairs; manojña — very attractive; uru — much; paricchadān — furniture; ca — and; vṛttīḥ — big sources of income (industry, business); ca — and; kulyāḥ — connected with the family; paśu — of animals (cows, elephants and other household animals); bhṛtya — servants and maidservants; vargān — groups; tyajeta — can give up; kośaḥ-kṛt — the silkworm; iva — like; īhamānaḥ — performing; karmāṇi — different activities; lobhāt — because of insatiable desires; avitṛpta-kāmaḥ — whose increasing desires are not satisfied; aupasthya — pleasure from the genitals; jaihvam — and the tongue; bahu-manyamānaḥ — considering as very important; katham — how; virajyeta — is able to give up; duranta-mohaḥ — being in great illusion.
How can a person who is most affectionate to his family, the core of his heart being always filled with their pictures, give up their association? Specifically, a wife is always very kind and sympathetic and always pleases her husband in a solitary place. Who could give up the association of such a dear and affectionate wife? Small children talk in broken language, very pleasing to hear, and their affectionate father always thinks of their sweet words. How could he give up their association? One’s elderly parents and one’s sons and daughters are also very dear. A daughter is especially dear to her father, and while living at her husband’s house she is always in his mind. Who could give up that association? Aside from this, in household affairs there are many decorated items of household furniture, and there are also animals and servants. Who could give up such comforts? The attached householder is like a silkworm, which weaves a cocoon in which it becomes imprisoned, unable to get out. Simply for the satisfaction of two important senses — the genitals and the tongue — one is bound by material conditions. How can one escape?
In household affairs the first attraction is the beautiful and pleasing wife, who increases household attraction more and more. One enjoys his wife with two prominent sense organs, namely the tongue and the genitals. The wife speaks very sweetly. This is certainly an attraction. Then she prepares very palatable foods to satisfy the tongue, and when the tongue is satisfied one gains strength in the other sense organs, especially the genitals. Thus the wife gives pleasure in sexual intercourse. Household life means sex life (yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham). This is encouraged by the tongue. Then there are children. A baby gives pleasure by speaking sweet words in broken language, and when the sons and daughters are grown up one becomes involved in their education and marriage. Then there are one’s own father and mother to be taken care of, and one also becomes concerned with the social atmosphere and with pleasing his brothers and sisters. A man becomes increasingly entangled in household affairs, so much so that leaving them becomes almost impossible. Thus the household becomes gṛham andha-kūpam, a dark well into which the man has fallen. For such a man to get out is extremely difficult unless he is helped by a strong person, the spiritual master, who helps the fallen person with the strong rope of spiritual instructions. A fallen person should take advantage of this rope, and then the spiritual master, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, will take him out of the dark well.