The husband is called the enjoyer, and the wife is called the enjoyed. Husband is called the predominator, and the wife is called predominated. Of course, in our India, Hindu conception of life, that a woman, a woman, according to our Manu-saṁhitā scripture, woman is always protected. A woman is never given independence. She is protected during her childhood by the father, and she is protected in her youth by the husband, and she is protected in her old age by her sons. That is the conception.
And the woman, the cow, the brahmin, the children—they are meant for absolute protection. That is the Vedic conception. They should always be given full protection. The children, the women, the brahmin and the cows, they have no fault. In the laws of the state, a woman, a child, a brahmin and cow has no fault. They have no . . . I mean to say, in the criminal court they are never prosecuted. That is the Hindu law. Now, therefore the whole idea is that the . . . we are . . . we, the living entities—we are not enjoyer, we are enjoyed.
We . . . God . . . God has expanded in many, and out of the many, we are. Out of the many, we are also. We are, you are, I am, you are—every one of us—we are all expansions of the Supreme Lord. Eko bahu syām. The God willed that "I shall become many. I shall become many." Now, why He becomes many? God is one without second, but He, out of His own sweet will, He becomes many. Now, why He becomes many? He becomes many to enjoy, because without becoming many, nobody can enjoy. Just, for example, I am speaking here. Now, you are five gentleman and ladies present here. So we are enjoying these topics. But if there would have been five hundred here, people assembled, the enjoyment would have been more. And if there would have been no persons sitting here, simply myself speaking, there would have been no enjoyment.
So enjoyment means variety. Without variety, without many things, there is no question of enjoyment. That is the original idea of enjoyment. So God became many. God became many for His enjoyment, because He is the enjoyer. We are not enjoyer: we are enjoyed. So we must know our constitutional position, that we are not enjoyer: we are enjoyed. As soon as we are convinced to this particular . . . now, enjoyer and the enjoyed, both of them have got consciousness. Just like the husband and the wife: the husband is the enjoyer, the wife is the enjoyed, but both of them are conscious. But the consciousness of the enjoyed is the subordinate to the consciousness of the enjoyer.
So although the Supreme Consciousness is the supreme enjoyer, and we are enjoyed, but the enjoyment can be equally participated when there is actual enjoyment. So our enjoyment can be perfected, our enjoyment can be perfected when we participate the enjoyment of God. Because He is the enjoyer.