There are two words. Gṛhastha means one who remains within the apartment, but he is not compact; he is not bound up within the boundaries of the apartment. He has got other business. What is that business? That is ātma-tattvaṁ. Just like we are sitting here in this room, apartment. Others are sitting. We are trying to cultivate ātma-tattvaṁ, self-realization, and little chanting; but others, they cannot tolerate, because they are gṛhamedhī. They are compact within the boundaries of their apartment, and they think, "These people are creating disturbance." So therefore the Bhāgavata says, apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ. They have no idea. They have no respect, that "These people are cultivating spiritual knowledge, ātma-tattvaṁ. We should go and join with them and learn from them." No: "Stop it. Stop it." That is the difference between gṛhastha and gṛhamedhī.
Two words are there. Gṛhamedhī . . . the idea is coming. I do not know whether in your country you have got experience that a bull is blinded, and his, I mean to say, with the rope he is bound on the center of a bamboo, and he is made him to walking around the bamboo. Whole day and night he is, by traveling over some paddies or walking on the grinding mill of oil. So he is blind. He is thinking that he is going miles and miles away, but he is within the room or within the place and simply going round and round. That is called gṛhamedhī. They are thinking that they are making progress. But they are not making progress, because their ideas are compact within this room. They are called gṛhamedhīs. And gṛhastha , gṛhastha is an āśrama. Āśrama. Āśrama means where spiritual culture is made. That is called āśrama.
So according to Vedic civilization there are four varṇas and four āśramas— social order and spiritual order. Social order, as I was explaining last night, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra; and spiritual order, brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. So these eight principles of orderly life is human civilization. Unless the human civilization is within this institution of varṇa and āśrama, it is animal society. It is not perfectly human society. It is not that because we eat very nicely in a nice hotel or nice home in nice place that makes us advanced in civilization. No. That is not advancement of civilization. Because we sleep in nice apartment, that is not advancement of civilization. That because we have sexual intercourse in a very scientific way, contraceptive way, therefore we are civilized. No. Or we have discovered many weapons to defend ourselves; therefore we are civilized. No. This eating, sleeping, sex life and defending, they are in the animal life. So that is not progress from the animal life. Progress from animal life is when we are interested in this ātma-tattvaṁ. When we are interested with ātma-tattvaṁ.