We should be eager to become happy even in the cities and towns with the help of these things, auṣadhi-vīrudhaḥ, then forests, adri, nadī. Nadī means not dirty nadī. Very clear water, and waves are flowing. By the modern civilization I have seen so many rivers in Europe, in Paris, in Moscow and in Germany—all rivers are very, very dirty. Very, very dirty. You cannot take bath, what to speak of drinking water. So dirty due to this rascal industry. Even in our New York, the bays and the seas, they're also polluted. All dirty things are there. How long the water will be clear? No. The rivers, at least the rivers in the city, they should be kept very clean. But they cannot keep clean because they have got so many dirty activities, enterprises, mills and factories. So in Calcutta also, the . . . there are so many jute mills and factories on the riverside. All the night soil, they are thrown into the Ganges. So still the Ganges is so powerful that it keeps clear. Hundreds and thousands people, still they take bath in the Ganges, and they keep very good health, those who are taking bath regularly in the Ganges. And cities and town, there must be a river. In India you'll find, all the important cities in India, they are on the bank of the Ganges, on the bank of the Yamunā, on the bank of the Narmadā, Kṛṣṇā, Kāverī, like that, all the important cities. And Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says that "Don't go to a town and city where there is no river and where there is no friend and there is no temple. Don't go to that city. If there is no river, no friend and no temple, then that is . . . a great city is a great forest." So that is forbidden.
So we should be happy with these things. Cities and town does not mean big, big slaughterhouse, cinema, brothel, and factories and all dirty things. Here it is not mentioned. Here Kuntīdevī says, ime jana-padāḥ svṛddhāḥ supakvauṣadhi-vīrudhaḥ. He never . . . she never said that, "These towns and cities are flourishing on account of having so many industries, slaughterhouse, brothels, cinema, clubs, nightclubs." Not like that. There was no such thing in those days. These are modern invention to make the whole world hellish. Otherwise people would be . . . if you want to be rich, then you can get riches . . . wherefrom? Vanādri-nady-udanvantaḥ: from seas, from river, from hills. You can get valuable jewels, gems, pearls from these natural sources. So India's wealth, formerly, it was depending on these things: gold, silver, jewel, pearls, silk—not industry. And from the forest, from the herbs, from food grains—all natural product. So from the river . . . the saintly person, they depended mostly on the riverside. Anywhere they will put a cottage on the river. Still that is going on. A saintly person, if he wants to remain in a secluded place, so they select any place on the riverside, have a small cottage. Still you'll find in many places, especially on the bank of the Ganges, Narmadā, Godāvarī, Kāverī, there are many saintly persons, especially on the bank of Yamunā and Ganges. If you go to Allahabad, you'll find they are living very peacefully, a small cottage on the bank of the Ganges.