Woman-hunting Is A Symptom of Material Degradation
Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently addresses the severe moral degradation of the modern age, specifically pointing out how society has normalized the sinful practice of woman-hunting. He explains that true peace and spiritual advancement are impossible as long as individuals remain trapped by such gross material desires. The ultimate mission of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to save people from this degraded state and correct the foolish misconception that the Supreme Lord's transcendental pastimes are anything like mundane material lust.
The Degradation of Modern Society
In modern civilization, activities that were once considered highly sinful are now accepted as standard behavior. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that because the world’s leaders, scientists, and politicians are often themselves addicted to illicit sex and intoxication, they cannot provide any real guidance for human society.
- Everyone is rascal, demons, rogue, everything. There is no ideal character. All politician, scientist, leader they are all drunkards and woman-hunters. So what they can lead? There is no ideal man in the society.
- The activities of such persons have now become common practices. It is no longer considered abominable to be a drunkard, woman-hunter, meat-eater, thief or rogue, for these elements have been assimilated by human society.
- The whole world is disturbed. Why? Because it is full of these sinful men: drunkards, woman hunters, gamblers, and intoxicants. The whole world. And they are expecting peace. Nonsense. Where is peace? First of all educate them to become sinless.
- If one is woman-hunter and drunkard and meat-eater, oh, his social position is very nice, up-to-date. This is modern civilization.
The Prototype of the Fallen Soul
The Vedic histories provide examples of those who fell from high social standing due to illicit desires. Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently cites Jagāi, Mādhāi, and Ajāmila, who, despite their respectable backgrounds, became notorious woman-hunters before being saved by the supreme mercy of the Lord.
- Ajamila, in his boyhood, practiced chanting the name of Narayana under the direction of his father, but later, in his youth, he fell down and became a drunkard, woman-hunter, rogue and thief.
- Jagai and Madhai were born in respectable brahmana families, but they adopted the professions of thieves and rogues and thus became implicated in all kinds of undesirable activities, especially woman-hunting, intoxication and gambling.
- The two brothers Jagai and Madhai epitomize the sinful population of this Age of Kali. They were most disturbing elements in society because they were meat-eaters, drunkards, woman-hunters, rogues and thieves.
- From the birth he is not a drunkard, from birth he is not a smoker, but by bad association, so-called civilized association, he becomes a drunkard, he becomes a smoker, he becomes a woman hunter, he becomes a gambler - sinful life.
The Real Magic of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness
The true test of a spiritual movement is its ability to change the character of its followers. Śrīla Prabhupāda asserts that the real magic of his preaching work is the transformation of fallen individuals, who were previously engaged in woman-hunting and meat-eating, into pure and dedicated Vaiṣṇavas.
- Instead of making them drunkard, woman-hunter, meat-eaters, we are making them Krsna conscious. That is the best help.
- The jugglery and magic is here present: all these meat-eaters, drunkards, woman-hunters, now Vaisnava. This is real magic.
- We had fallen into abominable lives as meat-eaters, drunkards and woman hunters who performed all kinds of sinful activities, but now we have been given the opportunity to chant the Hare Krsna mantra.
- The world is full of Jagais and Madhais; namely drunkards, women-hunters, meat eaters and gamblers, and we will have to approach them at the risk of insult, injury and similar other rewards.
Misunderstanding Kṛṣṇa's Pastimes
Because modern people are so absorbed in material lust, they often project their own degraded mentalities onto the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda strongly warns against the foolish misconception that Kṛṣṇa's pure, spiritual loving affairs with the gopīs are comparable to the mundane acts of a material woman-hunter.
- Without understanding Krsna, if one tries to understand the loving affairs of Krsna with gopis, they misunderstand. They think that "Krsna is woman-hunter, and Krsna is making love with other's wife and daughter."
- They have in this way presented Krsna to the Western world as a great woman-hunter, and therefore we sometimes have to deal with such misconceptions in preaching.
- People misunderstand this Krsna's behavior with Radharani and the gopis as ordinary woman-hunters.
- These professional Bhagavata means they immediately begin to recite rasa-lila. Bhagavata reading dissertation means rasa-lila. And people take in a different way, that Krsna was woman-hunter.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda exposes the stark reality that modern civilization, despite its technological advancements, is fundamentally a society degraded by unrestricted sense gratification, particularly the vice of woman-hunting. By abandoning spiritual principles, the general populace and their leaders have descended into a state of severe moral decay, reminiscent of the historical rogues Jagāi and Mādhāi. This fallen condition further blinds society to the Absolute Truth, leading them to foolishly misunderstand the Supreme Lord's pure, transcendental pastimes as mundane lust. However, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement offers the ultimate remedy. By accepting the mercy of Lord Caitanya and the process of chanting the holy names, anyone—no matter how habituated to sinful life—can be completely purified, transformed into an ideal Vaiṣṇava, and freed from the miseries of material existence.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Woman-hunting. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.