One woman with whom I have got my bodily connection I take: "She is my wife. I have to give protection." This is all based on bodily connection. So long there was no bodily connection with that woman, you didn't care for her. But as soon as there is bodily connection, immediately the attachment is there. Tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ (SB 5.5.8). Generally, everyone has got attraction for woman. Woman has got attraction for man. That is general. But when they are united by marriage, the attraction becomes very acute, hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ. Hṛdaya-granthi means very hard knot. Hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ. So this is called family attraction. Then I get my attraction for my children, for my society, for my home. So Arjuna's description of this means bodily concept of life. The sum and substance of this whole passage described by Arjuna, kiṁ no rājyena govinda kiṁ bhogair jīvitena vā (BG 1.32). Everyone works so hard to acquire money. Why? The family attraction. We were student of economics and there was a book, Marshall's Economics. That Mr. Marshall is explaining that economic impetus begins from family affection, family affection. Unless one has got family, he will not try to earn. He will not try to earn money. He will be irresponsible. Therefore it is essential.
Economic development begins from family affection
Expressions researched:
"economic development"
|"economic impetus"
|"family affection"
|"marshall"
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
A pure and exclusive devotee of the Lord serves his family interest more dexterously than others, who are attached to illusory family affairs. Generally people are attached to family matters, and the whole economic impetus of human society is moving under the influence of family affection. Such deluded persons have no information that one can render better service to the family by becoming a devotee of the Lord. The Lord gives special protection to the family members and descendants of a devotee, even though such members are themselves nondevotees! Mahārāja Prahlāda was a great devotee of the Lord, but his father, Hiraṇyakaśipu, was a great atheist and declared enemy of the Lord. But despite all this, Hiraṇyakaśipu was awarded salvation due to his being the father of Mahārāja Prahlāda. The Lord is so kind that he gives all protection to the family members of His devotee, and thus the devotee has no need to bother about his family members, even if one leaves such family members aside to discharge devotional service.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Kalatra, kalatrādiṣu: "Beginning from wife." Wife produces so many children, and therefore ādi, the beginning is wife. So sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu. "The wife and my children, they are my kith and kin." Sva-dhīḥ kalatra, sva-dhīḥ. "They are my own." Everyone is working... Even a great economist, Mr. Marshall, he says that economic development begins from family affection. Family affection. So unless one thinks that he has to maintain his wife, children, family, there is no question of economic development. Impetus.
There is one Mr. Marshall, economist. Marshall's economics we read in our economic class. He said that "Family affection is the impetus for economic development." He said that. That is fact. Therefore, according to Vedic system, a boy is married with a girl, and the husband and wife, as soon as... This is psychological. As soon as they become husband and wife... Because the boy is searching after woman, and the girl is also searching after man. So they must be given. This is psychology. There is no question of so-called love. The, the former system of marriage, the father and mother selects one boy and one girl, and by force they are married. But the economic position becomes very nice. Family affection.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So here it is said, evaṁ nivasatas tasya lālayānasya tat-sutān. Everyone is tat-sutān, with children. Even one big economics professor, Professor Marshall, he says... I was student of economics, the Marshall book. He says that economic development begins out of family affection, family affection. That is the basis. That was his understanding, that nobody would work for livelihood unless he is attached in family. That is his proposition. So here he was attached to the family. Lālayānasya tat-sutān. Atha gṛhas kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair. Material bondage is that family affection. It is not that one has to give up this procedure. No. That is not. The Vedic civilization is so nice that you accept the platform which is suitable. The brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa... The spiritual... These are called āśrama. Āśrama means where spiritual culture is practiced. That is called āśrama. Perhaps you know this āśrama word. Āśrama means it is not a place for sense gratification; it is a place for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is āśrama.
So here it is said, evaṁ nivasatas tasya lālayānasya tat-sutān. Everyone is tat-sutān, his children. Even one big economic, economist professor, Prof. Marshall, he says... I was student of economics in the Marshall book. He says that economic development begins out of family affection. Family affection. That is the basis. That was his understanding, that nobody would work for livelihood unless he is attached in family. That is his proposition. So here he was attached to the family. Lālayānasya tat-sutān. Ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra sutāpta vittaiḥ (SB 5.5.8). Material bondage is that family affection. It is not that one has to give up this procedure. No, that is not. The Vedic civilization is so nice that you accept the platform which is suitable for you, brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa. The spiritual... These are called āśrama. Āśrama means where spiritual culture is practiced. That is called āśrama. Perhaps you know this āśrama word. Āśrama means... It is not a place for sense gratification. It is a place for advancing in Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is āśrama. So there are four āśramas for your spiritual cultivation: brahmacārī, gṛhastha... Gṛhastha is also āśrama, family. That is also āśrama. If the gṛhastha life is meant for cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it is all right. This is āśrama.
He has got family, wife, children, and he requires money because the economic development, economic impetus, begins from this family affection. It is fact. Nobody would earn money. Therefore, if one is not married, he does not like to earn money. This is natural. And if he has got family, wife and children, then he will try to earn money. So this man is a rogue, he is sinful, but because still he has got children and wife, therefore he has to earn money. But because he is sinful, he cannot earn money honestly. Yatas tataś ca upaninye. Yena tena prakāreṇa: "Bring money. Somehow or other, bring money." Yatas tataś ca upaninye nyāyataḥ anyāyataḥ. Nyāyataḥ means legally, lawfully. Nyāya means law. Anyāyataḥ, "without legal..." Just like we can earn money by stealing, but that is anyāyataḥ. You cannot touch others' property. Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthāḥ mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam (ISO 1). This is Vedic instruction. Whatever you are allotted you can "A brāhmaṇa, you can earn like this. A kṣatriya, you can earn like this. A vaiśya, you can earn like this." But don't encroach upon others' property. But he became sinful, yena tena prakāreṇa. Nyāyataḥ anyāyataḥ. Nyāyataḥ is finished because he was a brāhmaṇa. No more he is brāhmaṇa. So anyāyataḥ, simply unlawfully. Anyāya. Why? Babhāra, maintaining, asyāḥ kuṭumbinyāḥ, the family members, wife and children.
So here is one condemnation, that taskaraḥ, sevakaḥ and vaṇik. Similarly, there is another verse in Bhagavad-gītā, striyaḥ vaiśya tathā śūdra. So stri śūdra quality, vaṇik quality, they are very backwards. So here it is said, sneha-pāśair dṛḍhair baddham. Professor Marshall, he has given reason for economic development: the family affection. Unless one has got family affection, he is not interested in money. So therefore I sometimes say that these hippies, they are little advanced because they have no affection for family and they have no affection for money also. This is... In the other way, these are good qualification: no interest, no affection. Everyone is working on account of family affection, sneha-pāśair. He has got wife and children, and he requires money to make the family happy. So..., and for maintaining the family, he requires money. Ato gṛheṣu sutāpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam.
So thief knows he has heard it from lawbooks that stealing is not good, and from religious scripture also, that "It is sinful. Do not commit theft. Do not become criminal." But still he does, at the risk of ad At night he goes in the house of rich man and risk his life. Especially in Western countries, there is fire gun, and trespassers, even without permission, if anyone enters anyone's house, he can kill him. Is it not the law in your country? Trespassing? So there is risk of life, but he has entered the house for stealing. And why stealing? The family affection. That is the impetus for economic development. The Professor Marshall, the economist, he has given the definition, that "Wherefrom the economic development begins? By family affection." Or by sex attraction. So this earning money, there are so many smugglers, so many illicit businessmen, black market, they are risking their lives to get money. The purpose is when one becomes too much attached to family life and too much devoted to maintain it, he doesn't care. He has to earn money, some how or other, even risking life. Even risking life.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
So, people are misled. They are thinking that by material comfort they will be happy. And practically we are seeing, this competition of material comfort... The capitalist and the labor class, worker class, they are fighting—strike. Actually, the propensity is that... That is explained in Marshall's theory of economics. We were student of economics. So in that book Mr. Marshall explained that the family affection is the origin of economic impetus. That's a fact. These hippies, they have no family affection. They are not married, and therefore there is no economic impetus. They can live in any way, any wretched condition of life. And one who is married, responsible man, he has got some responsibility to see that..., provided he has got affection for the family. Otherwise, practically, so-called family life, there is no affection.
So this is a fact. The family affection... Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etat. There is a propensity of men, association with woman, mithunī-bhāvam etat. Everyone is trying to find out a man or woman. And when they unite, that attraction becomes tightly knot. Tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ (SB 5.5.8). Hṛdaya-granthim. And then the economic impetus starts. Ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittaiḥ. Gṛha, home; kṣetra, land, or the office for earning money; gṛha-kṣetra-suta, children; friends, āpta; and vitta, money—in this way one becomes entangled in the so-called economic development.
Philosophy Discussions
Śyāmasundara: One of their methods is to constantly whip the people with the idea that there may be war at any moment so the people are always thinking, "We must protect our country, we must protect our country," so they work.
Prabhupāda: But when they lose interest in the country on the basis of this basical idea, that I cannot make any profit, I have no proprietorship, then what interest I have got in this country?
Śyāmasundara: So only the negative, the negative stress forces them to work.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Śyāmasundara: Your home may be in danger, your family may be lost if you don't work.
Prabhupāda: But if I work, what do I get. I work or not work, I get the same thing. Where is my incentive? Marshall's theory is that economic development is based on family affection.
Śyāmasundara: Is it?
Prabhupāda: Yes. So if I cannot give good food, good dress to my family... The same thing, I am working so hard, another man is working as laborer, I am scientist so my wife and children with the same dress and he is this, so I am losing my interest. And that is the position (indistinct). They are all impractical.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: They will say... First of all you see. You try to understand that this rascal is working day and night twenty-four hours for getting his food, and we are simply chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and getting our food. So he is poverty-stricken or I am poverty-stricken?
Brahmānanda: That means we're the rich men.
Prabhupāda: I am rich man.
Brahmānanda: Rich man doesn't have to work, and everything comes.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is rich man. That is the explanation given by Marshall, a great economist. He says that unless one is obliged to work, nobody will work. That is his economic impetus. So the family affection gives impetus to work. He has to maintain the family. That is, he says, that is the beginning of economic development. Marshall theory. (break) ...kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yukta-vairāgyam ucyate. When there is attachment on account of Kṛṣṇa, that is detachment. Yukta-vairāgyam ucyate. He is attached to everything but not for his personal self. We are spending lakhs of rupees for constructing a temple, but we are not interested to construct a house or a skyscraper building. We are not interested. That is detachment.
Prabhupāda: I think I may remember. There is economist professor, Marshall? Marshall's economics?
Mr. Surface: Yes.
Prabhupāda: You know him? You must be knowing. I think he gives definition of economic impetus-family affection. I was also a student of economics in my student life, Scottish Churches' College. So we had to read this Marshall economics, I think. That definition, that what is the economic impetus, why people want to earn money? So the reason, he gives-due to some family affection. Am I right?
Mr. Surface: I didn't understand the last part.
Prabhupāda: Family affection.
Brahmānanda: Family affection is the impetus for economic...
Prabhupāda: Development.
Mr. Surface: Oh, yes.
Prabhupāda: Yes. So he is dependent on the family affection. Then economic impetus go on. And I think he has given another proposition that if man can easily live, then he will not work. That is the nature of man. Therefore a rich man's son, he does not work.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: These Englishmen were very much eager to know the man who is working, whether he's family man, because a family man will never become irresponsible. And this is very, very much visible fact in India. A very poor man, if he's family man, he'll work. It is the family affection. And in economics we have read Marshall's economics. He gives... The economic development takes place by family affection.
| Page Title: | Economic development begins from family affection |
| Compiler: | Labangalatika, Sahadeva |
| Created: | 06 of May, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=1, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=10, Con=3, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 14 |