Text 12
kiṁ vidyayā kiṁ tapasā
kiṁ tyāgena śrutena vā
kiṁ viviktena maunena
strībhir yasya mano hṛtam
kim — what is the use; vidyayā — of knowledge; kim — what; tapasā — of austerities; kim — what; tyāgena — of renunciation; śrutena — of having studied the scriptures; vā — or; kim — what; viviktena — of solitude; maunena — of silence; strībhiḥ — by women; yasya — whose; manaḥ — the mind; hṛtam — taken away.
What is the use of a big education or the practice of austerities and renunciation, and what is the use of studying religious scriptures, of living in solitude and silence, if, after all that, one’s mind is stolen by a woman?
All of the above-mentioned processes are useless if one’s heart and mind are stolen by an insignificant woman. One who hankers after a woman’s association certainly spoils his spiritual progress. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura states that if one worships the example of the liberated gopīs of Vṛndāvana, who accepted Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as their paramour, one can free one’s mental activities from the contamination of lust.