Text 8] The Perfect Society: Four Spiritual Classes 63

TRANSLATION

A brahmacari, or one who has not accepted the grhastha-asrama
[family life], must rigidly avoid talking with women or about
women, for the senses are so powerful that they may agitate even
the mind of a sannyasi, a member of the renounced order of life.

PURPORT

Brahmacarya essentially means the vow not to marry but to observe
strict celibacy (brhad-vrata). A brahmacari or sannyasi should avoid
talking with women or reading literature concerning talks between man
and woman. The injunction restricting association with women is the
basic principle of spiritual life. Associating or talking with women is
never advised in any of the Vedic literatures. The entire Vedic system
teaches one to avoid sex life so that one may gradually progress from
brahmacarya to grhastha, from grhastha to vdnaprastha, and from
vdnaprastha to sannydsa and thus give up material enjoyment, which is
the original cause of bondage to this material world. The word brhad-
vrata refers to one who has decided not to marry, or in other words, not
to indulge in sex life throughout his entire life.

TEXT 8
TUTTE
qeattdatata: atarert FAT U< Il

kesa-prasadhanonmarda-
snapanabhyanjanddikam

guru-stribhir yuvatibhih
kdrayen nadtmano yuva

kesa-prasddhana—brushing the hair; unmarda—massaging the
body; snapana—bathing; abhyanjana-ddikam—massaging the body
with oil and so on; guru-stribhih—by the wife of the spiritual master;
yuvatibhih—very young; kdrayet—should allow to do; na—never;
Gtmanah—for personal service; yuvd—if the student is a young man.
