Devotee (2): Pertaining to the varṇāśrama-dharma system, a mother is... the wife of a husband is usually put in charge of the oldest son. If the oldest... If, say, the husband is not present, then the oldest son is supposed to be in charge and he is a brahmacārī, in what way is the mother cared for?
Prabhupāda: Well, brahmacārī means he has gone out of home. Brahmacārī does not remain at home. He goes to the spiritual master's home. So there is no question of giving wife's charge to a brahmacārī. He is not at home. Do you follow? Yes. The elderly children mean those who are married also, those who are in gṛhastha life, for him, not for the brahmacārī or sannyāsī. Just try to understand. A brahmacārī and sannyāsī does not remain at home. The brahmacārī goes to the spiritual master's home and the sannyāsī, he is a traveler from one country to another, preaching. So they are not at home. So if they are not at home, who is taking charge? To give charge means the elderly son who is a married man, who is living at home, the charge is given of the mother to him. Is that all right?
Devotee (2): Yes, but I'm still wondering. Is it the nature of the Kali-yuga that mother and father always separate? Is it the nature of the Kali-yuga that this family separation is always happening?
Prabhupāda: (chuckles) Therefore I say, kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ: "In the Kali-yuga there are only śūdras." There is no brahmacārī system, no... Now we are introducing it, even collecting from the śūdras. But actually, these four divisions, scientific division of social order for spiritual uplift..., that is already gone. It is not existing. Do you follow? Kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ. In the Kali-yuga, amongst the śūdras, there is no āśrama, simply earn, earn, get some money and eat. That's all. That is śūdras life. There is no question of Vedic culture, there is no question of knowledge. Simply labor, get some money, and eat. Almost like animal. So at the present moment, as you say, in the Kali-yuga, it is accepted that everyone, almost everyone is a śūdra.