Question may be whether a mahātmā can be in the household life or not. That is being described: Yes. In household life also there can be mahātmā. Just like Advaita Mahāprabhu. Caitanya Mahāprabhu even, Nityānanda Mahāprabhu. They were all householders. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He was a householder. He married twice. His first wife died—He married for the second time. Regular householder, although He left household life very early. He was only twenty-four years old; therefore He had no children. But Nityānanda Prabhu had one child, Vīrabhadra, and Advaita Prabhu had two, three children, of which buddhi was very highly elevated. Similarly, Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, he had children. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu does not say that one has to become in the renounced order or sannyāsī, then he becomes a mahātmā. No. We also do not propagate such idea. At least, I am not doing that. I am creating householder, ideal householder. And my ideas are being fruitful. Here in London I sent six householders, and they are doing nice, sincerely they are working. Therefore I am very much proud of them.
So here is also the statement that even... It's not required that sannyāsī is only mahātmā, but a gṛhastha can be, is also mahātmā. So gṛhastha-mahātmā, his symptoms are described: ye vā mayīśe kṛta-sauhṛdārthāḥ. Their only business is to please Kṛṣṇa. That is the first qualification. They have no other business. Ye vā mayīśe kṛta-sauhṛdārthāḥ. Then how they deal with others? A gṛhastha has to live... A sannyāsī may live alone in forest or in Himalaya or in a secluded place in Vṛndāvana or somewhere, but a gṛhastha, he has to deal with ordinary persons, so many others, businessmen or ordinary people. So that is stated here, that a gṛhastha-mahātmā, his first symptom is that he has no other business than to please Kṛṣṇa. That is his first business. And so far dealing with others, that is janeṣu dehambhara-vārtikeṣu gṛheṣu jāyātmaja-rātimatsu na prīti-yuktā yāvad-arthāś ca loke. Very nice. What does he say? That people who are simply interested in maintaining this body and sense gratification, dehambhara-vārtikeṣu. Deha means this body, and bhara means maintaining, and vārtika means occupation.
Now you analyze everyone in this world. What is their business? Their business is how to maintain this body. That's all. If you ask somebody, "My dear sir, what you are doing?" "Oh, I am doing this business." "Why you are doing this business?" "Oh, I must get money. Otherwise how can I maintain myself?" This is called dehambhara-vārtikeṣu. Their only engagement is how to maintain this body. This is their business. So janeṣu dehambhara-vārtikeṣu. And gṛheṣu, a householder has got home. And jāyā, jāyā means wife. Ātmaja, ātmaja means children. Rāti, some money, bank balance or some wealth, rāti. Or persons who are engaged simply for the business of maintaining this body, their only business is how to maintain a home, how to maintain a wife, how to maintain children, how to have good bank balance. In this way their life is like that. But a householder who is mahātmā, whose only business is to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, for him, these things are not prīti-yuktāḥ, not very pleasing. Not very pleasing. Na prīti-yuktāḥ.