At home if one has no mother and if his wife is not very, I mean, what is called, apriya-vādinī, does not speak very well . . . Wife is meant for speaking very well to the husband. That is the husband and wife relationship. So Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says if the wife is not very attached and does not speak very well . . . Means does not like the husband on the whole. If such wife is at home and mother is not there . . . This is ideal Indian happy home. (laughter) But in your country it is very rare, you see. But this is the standard of happiness. So if there is no mother and there is no good wife, then araṇyaṁ tena gantavyam, immediately he should give up that home. Araṇyam: he should go to the forest. "Why forest? In the city, I have got very nice home, nice building." No. For a person who has no good wife, neither mother, for him, yathāraṇyaṁ tathā gṛham. For him either this home or the forest, it is same.
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu had these two greatest attachment at home. Very affectionate mother. You have read about Śacīmātā's . . . Because He was the only . . . Out of his ten children, only Caitanya Mahāprabhu was the living child of Śacīmā. So naturally she was very, very affection to his son, and this Viṣṇupriyā, wife, very, very affectionate, beautiful, young—but He gave up. This is called vairāgya-vidyā, no attachment. Although there is reason of attachment, but He had no attachment.
- tyaktvā sudustyaja-surepsita rājya-lakṣmīṁ
- dharmiṣṭha ārya-vacasā yad agād araṇyam
- māyā-mṛgaṁ dayitayepsitam anvadhāvad
- vande mahā-puruṣa te caraṇāravindam
- (SB 11.5.34)
He left home for the benefit of the whole human society. This is vairāgya-vidyā.
So similarly, the Gosvāmīs, they were ministers. They were not ordinary men, Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī. Practically they were governing the whole affairs of government at that time, a very exalted post. So about them also, it is written by Śrīnivāsācārya, tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīṁ sadā tuccha-vat (Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka 4). Aśeṣa-maṇḍala. Maṇḍala-pati means big, big leaders, big, big leaders of the society. He was minister, so he was associating with big, big men, not ordinary men. But he gave up. He's such a position, minister, drawing high salary, and association all the big, big men of the country or the society. But he gave them up—sadā tuccha-vat, that "What is the use of this?" This is called vairāgya. Tyaktvā tūrṇam, "very soon." Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīm. Not only one; many, many big men were flattering them. Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīṁ sadā tuccha-vat. Then what he became? Bhūtvā dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā kaupīna-kanthāśritau (Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka 4). They are so affectionate for the poor, suffering souls. Bhūtvā dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā. So Vaiṣṇava is very, very merciful. They are merciful to the fallen souls. Their only concern is how to deliver these fallen souls. They are under the clutches of māyā, suffering. So various means adopting, just try to save them. This is Vaiṣṇava business. Nānā-śāstra-vicā raṇaika-nipuṇau sad-dharma-saṁsthāpakau lokānāṁ hita-kāriṇau (Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka 2). These Gosvāmīs, they were studying so many books, Vedic literature, and found out the cream, how to establish . . . Nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau sad-dharma-saṁsthā . . . Sad-dharma, not cheating dharma. Dharma means religion. Real religion, sad-dharma. So the sad-dharma.
As soon as we become addicted to sinful activities, then our real, constitutional position we forget, and we become mad after it, and the disease increases. So here it is suggested that "According to the disease . . ." Diseases, there are different types of disease. Some disease is very acute; some disease is not very important. So he suggests that tasmāt purā eva ca iha pāpa-niṣkṛtau yateta mṛtyor avipadya ātmanā. You have to die. That is a fact. Nobody will live here. "As sure as death." So before death we must finish the atonement of our sinful activities. This is recommended. Purā. Tasmāt purā eva iha pāpa-niṣkṛtau. But nobody knows. At the present moment they do not know what is pāpa and how to get out of it; what is next birth. Everything is unknown at the present moment. This is the modern civilization.
Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu took one thing, that ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). They are in gross misunderstanding of life. So in order to cleanse their heart to understand what is the position, where they are going, where they are actually, how things are going on . . . It is due to ignorance. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. Ceto-da . . . Bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvā . . . Unless we cleanse our hearts of all the dirty things that you have accumulated, then we have to continue the sufferings of this material world. But if we cleanse, we understand what is our position.