Woman
is represantation of maya
Srimad-Bhagavatam
Canto
3: Chapter Thirty-one, Text 40
TEXT 40
yopayati sanair maya
yosid deva-vinirmita
tam iksetatmano mrtyum
trnaih kupam ivavrtam
ya--she who; upayati--approaches;
sanaih--slowly; maya--representation of maya; yosit--woman; deva--by the Lord;
vinirmita--created; tam--her; ikseta--one must regard; atmanah--of the soul;
mrtyum--death; trnaih--with grass; kupam--a well; iva--like; avrtam--covered.
TRANSLATION
The woman, created by the Lord, is the representation of maya, and one
who associates with such maya by accepting services must certainly know that
this is the way of death, just like a blind well covered with grass.
PURPORT
Sometimes it happens that a rejected well is covered by grass, and an
unwary traveler who does not know of the existence of the well falls down, and
his death is assured. Similarly, association with a woman begins when one
accepts service from her, because woman is especially created by the Lord to
give service to man. By accepting her service, a man is entrapped. If he is not
intelligent enough to know that she is the gateway to hellish life, he may
indulge in her association very liberally. This is restricted for those who
aspire to ascend to the transcendental platform. Even fifty years ago in Hindu
society, such association was restricted. A wife could not see her husband
during the daytime. Householders even had different residential quarters. The
internal quarters of a residential house were for the woman, and the external
quarters were for the man. Acceptance of service rendered by a woman may appear
very pleasing, but one should be very cautious in accepting such service
because it is clearly said that woman is the gateway to death, or forgetfulness
of one's self. She blocks the path of spiritual realization.
TEXT 41
yam manyate patim mohan
man-mayam rsabhayatim
stritvam stri-sangatah
prapto
vittapatya-grha-pradam
yam--which; manyate--she thinks;
patim--her husband; mohat--due to illusion; mat-mayam--My maya; rsabha--in the
form of a man; ayatim--coming; stritvam--the state of being a woman;
stri-sangatah--from attachment to a woman; praptah--obtained; vitta--wealth;
apatya--progeny; grha--house; pradam--bestowing.
TRANSLATION
A living entity who, as a result of attachment to a woman in his
previous life, has been endowed with the form of a woman, foolishly looks upon
maya in the form of a man, her husband, as the bestower of wealth, progeny,
house and other material assets.
PURPORT
From this verse it appears that a woman is also supposed to have been a
man in his (her) previous life, and due to his attachment to his wife, he now
has the body of a woman. Bhagavad-gita confirms this; a man gets his next
life's birth according to what he thinks of at the time of death. If someone is
too attached to his wife, naturally he thinks of his wife at the time of death,
and in his next life he takes the body of a woman. Similarly, if a woman thinks
of her husband at the time of death, naturally she gets the body of a man in
the next life. In the Hindu scriptures, therefore, woman's chastity and
devotion to man is greatly emphasized. A woman's attachment to her husband may
elevate her to the body of a man in her next life, but a man's attachment to a
woman will degrade him, and in his next life he will get the body of a woman.
We should always remember, as it is stated in Bhagavad-gita, that both the
gross and subtle material bodies are dresses; they are the shirt and coat of
the living entity. To be either a woman or a man only involves one's bodily
dress. The soul in nature is actually the marginal energy of the Supreme Lord.
Every living entity, being classified as energy, is supposed to be originally a
woman, or one who is enjoyed. In the body of a man there is a greater
opportunity to get out of the material clutches; there is less opportunity in
the body of a woman. In this verse it is indicated that the body of a man
should not be misused through forming an attachment to women and thus becoming
too entangled in material enjoyment, which will result in getting the body of a
woman in the next life. A woman is generally fond of household prosperity,
ornaments, furniture and dresses. She is satisfied when the husband supplies
all these things sufficiently. The relationship between man and woman is very
complicated, but the substance is that one who aspires to ascend to the
transcendental stage of spiritual realization should be very careful in
accepting the association of a woman. In the stage of Krsna consciousness,
however, such restriction of association may be slackened because if a man's
and woman's attachment is not to each other but to Krsna, then both of them are
equally eligible to get out of the material entanglement and reach the abode of
Krsna. As it is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, anyone who seriously takes to Krsna
consciousness--whether in the lowest species of life or a woman or of the less
intelligent classes, such as the mercantile or laborer class--will go back
home, back to Godhead, and reach the abode of Krsna. A man should not be
attached to a woman, nor should a woman be attached to a man. Both man and
woman should be attached to the service of the Lord. Then there is the
possibility of liberation from material entanglement for both of them.
TEXT 42
tam atmano vijaniyat
paty-apatya-grhatmakam
daivopasaditam mrtyum
mrgayor gayanam yatha
tam--the Lord's maya; atmanah--of
herself; vijaniyat--she should know; pati--husband; apatya--children;
grha--house; atmakam--consisting of; daiva--by the authority of the Lord;
upasaditam--brought about; mrtyum--death; mrgayoh--of the hunter; gayanam--the
singing; yatha--as.
TRANSLATION
A woman, therefore, should consider her husband, her house and her
children to be the arrangement of the external energy of the Lord for her
death, just as the sweet singing of the hunter is death for the deer.
PURPORT
In these instructions of Lord Kapiladeva it is explained that not only
is woman the gateway to hell for man, but man is also the gateway to hell for
woman. It is a question of attachment. A man becomes attached to a woman
because of her service, her beauty and many other assets, and similarly a woman
becomes attached to a man for his giving her a nice place to live, ornaments,
dress and children. It is a question of attachment for one another. As long as
either is attached to the other for such material enjoyment, the woman is
dangerous for the man, and the man is also dangerous for the woman. But if the
attachment is transferred to Krsna, both of them become Krsna conscious, and
then marriage is very nice. Srila Rupa Gosvami therefore recommends:
anasaktasya visayan
yatharham upayunjatah
nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe
yuktam vairagyam ucyate
(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu
1.2.255)
Man and woman should live together as
householders in relationship with Krsna, only for the purpose of discharging
duties in the service of Krsna. Engage the children, engage the wife and engage
the husband, all in Krsna conscious duties, and then all these bodily or
material attachments will disappear. Since the via medium is Krsna, the
consciousness is pure, and there is no possibility of degradation at any time.
TEXT 43
dehena jiva-bhutena
lokal lokam anuvrajan
bhunjana eva karmani
karoty aviratam puman
dehena--on account of the body;
jiva-bhutena--possessed by the living entity; lokat--from one planet; lokam--to
another planet; anuvrajan--wandering; bhunjanah--enjoying; eva--so;
karmani--fruitive activities; karoti--he does; aviratam--incessantly;
puman--the living entity.
TRANSLATION
Due to his particular type of body, the materialistic living entity
wanders from one planet to another, following fruitive activities. In this way,
he involves himself in fruitive activities and enjoys the result incessantly.