CC Antya-lila 06.236 gramya-katha na sunibe, gramya-varta na kahibe... cited

Expressions researched:
"You should not eat very palatable food" |"bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe" |"grama-katha na sunibe" |"gramya-katha na sunibe" |"gramya-varta na kahibe"

Notes from the compiler: VedaBase query: "antya 6.236" or "You should not eat very palatable food" or "bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe" or "gramya-katha na sunibe" or "gramya-varta na kahibe"

SB Canto 5

SB 5.12.13, Translation and Purport:

Who are the pure devotees mentioned here? In an assembly of pure devotees, there is no question of discussing material subjects like politics and sociology. In an assembly of pure devotees, there is discussion only of the qualities, forms and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is praised and worshiped with full attention. In the association of pure devotees, by constantly hearing such topics respectfully, even a person who wants to merge into the existence of the Absolute Truth abandons this idea and gradually becomes attached to the service of Vāsudeva.

The symptoms of pure devotees are described in this verse. The pure devotee is never interested in material topics. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has strictly prohibited His devotees to talk about worldly matters. Grāmya-vārtā nā kahibe: (CC Antya 6.236) one should not indulge in talking unnecessarily about news of the material world. One should not waste time in this way. This is a very important feature in the life of a devotee. A devotee has no other ambition than to serve Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement was started to engage people twenty-four hours daily in the service of the Lord and in His glorification. The students in this institution engage in the cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness from five in the morning to ten at night. They actually have no opportunity to waste their time unnecessarily by discussing politics, sociology and current events. These will go their own way. A devotee is concerned only with serving Kṛṣṇa positively and seriously.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 6.236, Translation:

“Do not talk like people in general or hear what they say. You should not eat very palatable food, nor should you dress very nicely.

Nectar of Instruction

Nectar of Instruction 1, Purport:

As stated before, the tongue, belly and genitals are all situated in a straight line, and they fall in the same category. Lord Caitanya has said, bhāla nā khāibe āra bhāla nā paribe: "Do not dress luxuriously and do not eat delicious foodstuffs." (CC Antya 6.236)

Those who suffer from diseases of the stomach must be unable to control the urges of the belly, at least according to this analysis. When we desire to eat more than necessary we automatically create many inconveniences in life. However, if we observe fasting days like Ekādaśī and Janmāṣṭamī, we can restrain the demands of the belly.

As far as the urges of the genitals are concerned, there are two—proper and improper, or legal and illicit sex. When a man is properly mature, he can marry according to the rules and regulations of the śāstras and use his genitals for begetting nice children. That is legal and religious. Otherwise, he may adopt many artificial means to satisfy the demands of the genitals, and he may not use any restraint. When one indulges in illicit sex life, as defined by the śāstras, either by thinking, planning, talking about or actually having sexual intercourse, or by satisfying the genitals by artificial means, he is caught in the clutches of māyā. These instructions apply not only to householders but also to tyāgīs, or those who are in the renounced order of life. In his book Prema-vivarta, Chapter Seven, Śrī Jagadānanda Paṇḍita says:

vairāgī bhāi grāmya-kathā nā śunibe kāne

grāmya-vārtā nā kahibe yabe milibe āne

svapane o nā kara bhāi strī-sambhāṣaṇa

gṛhe strī chāḍiyā bhāi āsiyācha vana

yadi cāha praṇaya rākhite gaurāṅgera sane

choṭa haridāsera kathā thāke yena mane

bhāla nā khāibe āra bhāla nā paribe

hṛdayete rādhā-kṛṣṇa sarvadā sevibe

"My dear brother, you are in the renounced order of life and should not listen to talk about ordinary worldly things, nor should you talk about worldly things when you meet with others. Do not think of women even in dreams. You have accepted the renounced order of life with a vow that forbids you to associate with women. If you wish to associate with Caitanya Mahāprabhu, you must always remember the incident of Choṭa Haridāsa and how he was rejected by the Lord. Do not eat luxurious dishes or dress in fine garments, but always remain humble and serve Their Lordships Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in your heart of hearts."

The conclusion is that one who can control these six items—speech, mind, anger, tongue, belly and genitals—is to be called a svāmī or gosvāmī. Svāmī means master, and gosvāmī means master of the go, or senses. When one accepts the renounced order of life, he automatically assumes the title of svāmī. This does not mean that he is the master of his family, community or society; he must be master of his senses. Unless one is master of his senses, he should not be called gosvāmī, but go-dāsa, servant of the senses. Following in the footsteps of the six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana, all svāmīs and gosvāmīs should fully engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. As opposed to this, the go-dāsas engage in the service of the senses or in the service of the material world. They have no other engagement. Prahlāda Mahārāja has further described the go-dāsa as adānta-go, which refers to one whose senses are not controlled.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 3.25.12 -- Bombay, November 12, 1974:

So na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo jagat-pavitraṁ pragṛṇīta karhicit, tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham uśanti mānasāḥ (SB 1.5.10). Mānasāḥ means those who live in the mānasa-sarovara. In Bombay I don't find any such place, but even in Western countries, especially in London, there are many nice parks, very clear water. And in America also. Wherever these Europeans have settled. In Sydney, Australia, there are many nice parks with water. Formerly, in India also, in old Dvārakā, Mathurā, the parks were there. Parks are necessary for cleansing the mind. So the fact is that as there are classes of birds which are called crows and there are classes of birds which are called swans, white swans... "Birds of the same feather flock together." That is an English proverb. The crows will mix with crows, and the swans will mix with swans. Therefore the devotees are swans, and the most advanced devotee is called haṁsa, paramahaṁsa. Paramahaṁsa. So those who are haṁsas, they are not interested in the matter for the crows. Therefore a haṁsa, a paramahaṁsa, when he hears a question from a person about transcendental, uttamam, śreya uttamam... Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21). A person who is interested to enquire about the transcendental subject matter, kṛṣṇa-kathā, then the person who is questioned, he becomes very glad.

Therefore Kapiladeva, when she..., when He heard from His mother so many nice questions, "How to be delivered from this material bondage, envelopment?"... Sammoha.

atha me deva sammoham

apākraṣṭuṁ tvam arhasi

yo 'vagraho 'haṁ mametīty

etasmin yojitas tvayā

This verse we have discussed. "I have taken shelter unto You..." This is the process. The mother is not ordering the son. It doesn't matter whether he is son or somebody else. When one is interested in uttamam... Tasmād jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. Śreya and preya, there are two things. Śreya and preya. Just like children, they like to play. That is called preya, preya. Very nice. But śreya means go to school and take education for future improvement of life. That is called śreya. So human being should be interested in śreya, not in preya. That is not human life. Preya means immediately gives me some sense pleasure: "Oh, it is very nice." No. That is human life. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna. We require these things. We require to eat something for maintaining the body. But not that we shall be accustomed to eat very palatable things. No. That is not good. Bhāla nā khāibe āra bhāla nā paribe. Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised His disciples, "Never eat very palatable foodstuff. Never talk these village talks." Ordinary novel, literature, newspaper, He forbade. Fortunately, in our Society there is no newspaper. You may be surprised that "How is that, in modern age, especially these Europeans and Americans, they do not take any interest in newspaper?" In their country, if one does not get newspaper, it is horrible. It is horrible. Newspaper is so popular in the Western countries. There are so many newspapers. And each newspaper is publishing three, four times editions. But they are selling. But you'll find that these boys, these Americans boys who have come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they have kicked out newspaper. No more newspaper. Because there is no kṛṣṇa-kathā, they don't like to read it. This is called bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt (SB 11.2.42). This is the test. We do not know what is the happening daily. It is, it does not matter, newspaper. It is a waste of time. Better that time read some literature like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā. You'll be benefited. Why you should waste the valuable time of your life?

Lecture on SB 6.1.64-65 -- Vrndavana, September 1, 1975:

So in this way the material world is very, very entangled. And if we become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then we become free from this entanglement. All these criticisms or the divisions are there for grāmyaiḥ. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has advised, grāma-kathā nā śunibe, bhāla nā khāibe nā bhāla nā paribe. This is vairāgya—"Don't indulge in grāmya-kathā." Therefore we always advise, "Don't read newspaper. Don't read any other book," because it is full of grāmya-kathā, grāmyaiḥ. So to avoid it as far as possible. There is no need. What is the news of a grāmya-kathā newspaper? The same thing repeated. "Here there is flood, where there is train disaster, where there is accident, and political, and one politician is giving speech, another politician is giving speech." These are the grāmya things. So we should save ourself. Grāmyair manoramaiḥ. These externally very attractive news, we should avoid it completely. We shall simply talk of Kṛṣṇa. That is the safest method. We shall simply talk kṛṣṇa-kathā. And kṛṣṇa-kathā means what Kṛṣṇa has said. That is kṛṣṇa-kathā. Or what is spoken about Kṛṣṇa. So Bhagavad-gītā means kṛṣṇa-kathā, what Kṛṣṇa has said. And Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is also kṛṣṇa-kathā because everything said about Kṛṣṇa. So we don't We should not indulge in grāmya-kathā. That will mislead us. And if we do not indulge in grāmya-kathā, but if we make advancement on Kṛṣṇa-kathā, then we are always situated on transcendental position. We are no more affected by the modes of material nature. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26). So we should stick to this principle. Then we shall be saved. Otherwise, either I become man or woman, we are all condemned because we are implicated with grāmya-kathā.

So grāmya-kathā should be avoided. The temple is specially meant for Kṛṣṇa-kathā. Here there is no other business than Kṛṣṇa. Therefore a temple is always transcendental, nirguṇa. Nirguṇa. If you live in the forest, that is sattva-guṇa. If you live in the city, that is rajo-guṇa. And if you live in the brothel or liquor house or gambling house, that is tamo-guṇa. But if you live in the temple, that is nirguṇa. Traiguṇya-viṣaya-vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna. This is advice of Kṛṣṇa. The whole world is complicated with the three modes of material nature, and you have to become above this material nature. Nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna. So nistraiguṇya, how you can become? Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26). Who... (end)