Prabhupada 0939 - Nobody Will Marry the Husband who has Married Sixty-four Times



730427 - Lecture SB 01.08.35 - Los Angeles

Devotee: Translation: "And yet others say that You appeared to rejuvenate the devotional service of hearing, remembering, worshiping and so on in order that the conditioned souls suffering from material pangs might take advantage and gain liberation." (SB 1.8.35)

Prabhupāda: So, asmin bhave. Asmin means "this." Creation, bhave means creation. Bhava, bhava means "you become". "You become" means you vanish also. As soon as there is question of you become, you vanish also. Anything which is born must die. This is the law of nature. The so-called scientists are trying that they will stop death by their scientific research work, but they do not know that anything born must die. Janma-mṛtyu. This is relative. And anything which is not born, that will not die. The matter is born. Anything material, that is born. But spirit is not born. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācin (BG 2.20). The soul is never born, and therefore never dies.

Now, bhave 'smin. Bhava, this bhava means this material world, cosmic manifestation. Bhave 'smin kliśyamānānām. Anyone who is within this material world must work. This is material world. Just like in the prison house, it is not possible that he will sit down and he will be honored just like son-in-law. No. In the, in our country son-in-law is very much worshiped. Worshiped means flattered. Never divorce the daughter. Therefore, nobody should expect that we may speak something humorous about son-in-law in India. Formerly... It is still the system that the daughter must get married. That is the responsibility of the father. It is called kanyā-dāna. A father may not get his son married. That is not very great responsibility. But if there is a daughter, the father must see that she is married. Formerly it was ten years, twelve years, thirteen years. Not more than that. That is the system. That was the Vedic system. Kanyā. Kanyā means before attaining puberty. Kanyā. So kanyā-dāna. She must be given in charity to somebody. So, in the pulina brāhmaṇa, brāhmaṇa, very respectable community, so it was very difficult to find out a suitable son-in-law. Therefore, formerly one gentleman may become a businessman simply by marrying. In my boyhood, when I was a student, a school student, so I had one class friend, he took me to his home. So I saw one gentleman was smoking, and he told me, "Do you know this gentleman?" So I asked, "Oh, how can I know?" That "He is my aunt's husband, and my aunt is the sixty-fourth wife of this gentleman." Sixty-fourth. So, these pulina brāhmaṇas, they, their business was like that. Marry somewhere, stay there some days, again go to another wife, again go to another wife, again go to another. Simply going to the wife, that is business. This was a social system we have seen. Now these things are now gone. Nobody will marry the husband who has married sixty-four times. (laughter) But (laughing) it was there. So, son-in-law, in that case, is very much honored. There are many stories. We should not waste our time in that way. (laughter)