Gṛham andha-kūpam. Gṛha means . . . there are so many meanings. Especially it is meant: home. Home. Homesick. Our Vedic civilization is that drive away from home. Go away from home: to take sannyāsa, to take vānaprastha. Not to remain up to the last point of death as family member, grandfather or great-grandfather. That is not our Vedic civilization.
As soon as one is little grown up, pañcāśordhvaṁ vanaṁ vrajet, he must get out from this gṛham andha-kūpam. Gṛham andha-kūpam, if we discuss threadbare, it may be very unpalatable. But we have to discuss from śāstra what is gṛha. Gṛha, it is . . . another word, it is called aṅganāśrayam. Aṅganā. Aṅganā means woman; to live under the protection of wife. Aṅganāśraya.
So śāstra recommends that you give up this aṅganāśrayam to go to the paramahaṁsa-āśrayam. Then your life will be saved. Otherwise, as Prahlāda Mahārāja says, gṛham andha-kūpam: "If you keep yourself always in this dark well of so-called family life, then you'll never be happy." Ātma-pātam.
Ātma-pātam means you'll never be able to understand spiritual life. Of course, not always, but generally. Generally, who are too much attached to family life or extended family life . . . extended . . . family life, then society life, then community life, then national life, then international life. They're all gṛham andha-kūpam. All gṛham andha-kūpam.
So the Prahlāda Mahārāja advising that, "You give up all this nonsense conception." Vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta (SB 7.5.5). Just vanaṁ gataḥ, means just become free from this conception, gṛham andha-kūpam conception of life. Take the broader life of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then you'll be happy. Hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham andha-kūpaṁ vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta (SB 7.5.5).
Harim āśrayeta. The real business is harim āśrayeta. Vanaṁ gataḥ. Vanaṁ gataḥ means go to the forest. Formerly, after gṛhastha life, vānaprastha life, sannyāsa life, they used to live in the forest. But going to the forest is not the main purpose of life. Because in the forest there are many animals. Does it mean they are advancing in spiritual life? That is called markaṭa-vairāgya. Markaṭa-vairāgya means "monkey renunciation." Monkey is naked. Nāga-bābā. Naked. And eats fruit, monkey, and lives underneath a tree or on the tree. But he has got at least three dozen wives.