Categories: Srila Prabhupada

How Husband and Wife can be Happy and Make Spiritual Progress

SB 7.11.28:
A chaste woman should not be greedy, but satisfied in all circumstances. She must be very expert in handling household affairs and should be fully conversant with religious principles. She should speak pleasingly and truthfully and should be very careful and always clean and pure. Thus a chaste woman should engage with affection in the service of a husband who is not fallen.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

According to the injunction of Yajnavalkya, an authority on religious principles, asuddheh sampratiksyo hi mahapataka-dusitah. One is considered contaminated by the reactions of great sinful activities when one has not been purified according to the methods of the dasa-vidha-samskara. In Bhagavad-gita, however, the Lord says, na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah: “Those miscreants who do not surrender unto Me are the lowest of mankind.” The word naradhama means “nondevotee.” Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu also said, yei bhaje sei bada, abhakta-hina, chara. Anyone who is a devotee is sinless. One who is not a devotee, however, is the most fallen and condemned. It is recommended, therefore, that a chaste wife not associate with a fallen husband. A fallen husband is one who is addicted to the four principles of sinful activity-namely illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling, and intoxication. Specifically, if one is not a soul surrendered to the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, he is understood to be contaminated. Thus a chaste woman is advised not to agree to serve such a husband. It is not that a chaste woman should be like a slave while her husband is naradhama, the lowest of men. Although the duties of a woman are different from those of a man, a chaste woman is not meant to serve a fallen husband. If her husband is fallen, it is recommended that she give up his association. Giving up the association of her husband does not mean, however, that a woman should marry again and thus indulge in prostitution. If a chaste woman unfortunately marries a husband who is fallen, she should live separately from him.
Similarly, a husband can separate himself from a woman who is not chaste according to the description of the sastra. The conclusion is that a husband should be a pure Vaisnava and that a woman should be a chaste wife with all the symptoms described in this regard. Then both of them will be happy and make spiritual progress in Krsna consciousness.

Share:

Follow us

Padmanayana Krsna Dasa

Recent Posts

The Jolly Swami – Wit and Wisdom from Sridhar Swami by Adbhuta Hari Dasa

New Release: The Jolly Swami – Wit and Wisdom from Sridhar SwamiWe are pleased to…

1 week ago

Autobiography of a Bhakti Yogi by John Berg Yogindravandana Dasa

New Release: Autobiography of a Bhakti YogiWe are pleased to announce the release of Autobiography…

1 week ago

Female Dīkṣā-Gurus: Ensuring the unity of ISKCON on doctrinal matters

Female Dīkṣā-Gurus: Ensuring the unity of ISKCON on doctrinal mattersBy Śrīdhara Śrīnivāsa dāsaḥAn important goal…

1 week ago

Is the SAC’s 2005 paper in line with guru, sādhu and śāstra?

Is the SAC’s 2005 paper in line with guru, sādhu and śāstra?By Kṛṣṇa Kīrti dāsaḥIn…

1 week ago

The Question of Female Dīkṣā-Gurus in ISKCON

The Question of Female Dīkṣā-Gurus in ISKCONBy Basu Ghoṣa dāsaḥ (ACBSP)How did the concept of…

1 week ago

Is not receiving the Brahma-gāyatrī the higher standard for women?

Is not receiving the Brahma-gāyatrī the higher standard for women?By Bhakta ŚobhitāṃśuDecember 29, 2025Posted inThe Scriptural…

1 week ago