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Ideal Family Life
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about Krṣṇa. Simply by hearing, by attending lectures in the different centers of the Krṣṇa consciousness movement, where topics of Krṣṇa from  Bhagavad-gītā  and  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  are discussed, they will be purified of their sinful inclination for constant indulgence in illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling, which have all become prominent in modern days. Thus they can be raised to the status of light.  Puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ . Simply by joining the  kīrtana —Hare Krṣṇa, Hare Krṣṇa, Krṣṇa Krṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—and by hearing about Krṣṇa from  Bhagavad-gītā , one must be purified, especially if he also takes  prasāda . This is all going on in the Krṣṇa consciousness movement.
Another specific description here is  śrṇvan bhagavato 'bhīkṣṇam avatāra-kathāmṛtam . It is not that because one has once finished  Bhagavad-gītā  he should not hear it again. The word  abhīkṣṇam  is very important. We should hear again and again. There is no question of stopping: even if one has read these topics many times, he should go on reading again and again because  bhagavat-kathā , the words spoken by Krṣṇa and spoken by Krṣṇa's devotees about Krṣṇa, are  amṛtam , nectar. The more one drinks this  amṛtam , the more he advances in his eternal life.
The human form of life is meant for liberation, but unfortunately, due to the influence of Kali-yuga, every day the  gṛhasthas  are working hard like asses. Early in the morning they rise and travel even a hundred miles away to earn bread. Especially in the Western countries, I have seen that people awaken at five o'clock to go to offices and factories to earn their livelihood. People in Calcutta and Bombay also do this every day. They work very hard in the office or factory, and again they spend three or four hours in transportation returning home. Then they retire at ten o'clock and again rise early in the morning to go to their offices and factories. This kind of hard labor is described in the  śāstras  as the life of pigs and stool-eaters.  Nāyam deho deha-bhājām nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujām ye : "Of all living entities who have accepted material bodies in this world, one who has been awarded this human form should not work hard day and night simply for sense gratification, which is available even for dogs and hogs that eat stool." ( Bhāg.  5.5.1) One must find some time for hearing  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  and  Bhagavad-gītā . This is Vedic culture. One should work eight hours at the most to earn his livelihood, and either in the afternoon or in the evening a householder should associate with devotees to hear about the incarnations of