394
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 1, Ch. 8]
tions only, which are also beyond our control. The Lord is beyond the observation of sense perception. Queen Kuntī accepts this deficiency of the conditioned soul, especially of the woman class who are less intelligent. For less intelligent men there must be such things as temples, mosques or churches so that they may begin to recognize the authority of the Lord and hear about Him from authorities in such holy places. For less intelligent men, such beginning of spiritual life is essential, and only foolish men deery the establishment of such places of worship, which are required to raise the standard of spiritual attributes for the mass of people. For less intelligent persons, bowing down before the authority of the Lord, as is generally done in the temples, mosques or churches, is as beneficial as it is for the advanced devotees to meditate upon Him by active service.
TEXT 20
तथा परमहंसानां मुनीनाममलात्मनाम् । भक्तियोगविधानार्थं कथं पश्येम हि स्त्रियः ॥२०॥
tathā parama-haṁsānāṁ munīnām amalātmanām bhakti-yoga-vidhān-ārthaṁ kathaṁ paśyema hi striyaḥ
tathā—besides that; parama-haṁsānām—of the advanced transcendentalists; munīnām—of the great philosophers or mental speculators; amalātmanām—those whose minds are competent to discern between spirit and matter; bhakti-yoga—the science of devotional service; vidhāna-artham—for executing; katham—how; paśyema—can observe; hi—certainly; striyaḥ—women.
TRANSLATION
You Yourself descend to propagate the transcendental science of devotional service unto the hearts of the advanced transcendentalists and mental speculators who are purified by being able to discriminate between matter and spirit. How, then, can we women know You perfectly?
PURPORT
Even the greatest philosophical speculators cannot have access to the region of the Lord. It is said in the  Upaniṣads  that the Supreme Truth