Page 87 - GOTIL (ENG) Sample

Appendix 1 309

who is going to marry. These are all auspicious activities in
family affairs… .We see that five hundred years ago, at the
birth of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, all these ceremonies
were performed rigidly, but at present such ritualistic
performances hardly ever take place. Generally a pregnant
mother is sent to the hospital, and as soon as her child is
born he is washed with an antiseptic, and this concludes
everything. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 13.110 Purport)

Cleanliness

You can see from this poor class of men how their utensils
are cleansed. In our school days there were sweepers who
cleaned the toilets; they lived in a different quarter. But
when you come to his living quarter, it is so clean that
you would like to sit down there — the bed, the room, the
utensils. And they also will take twice, thrice bath, then
they will eat. That is Hindu culture. Even the sweeper
class, lowest class. And I have seen one sweeper class, who
were in Allahabad, regularly worshiping the Deity — very
nice worship. They took initiation from the Vṛndāvana
Goswami and followed strictly the rules and regulations.
(Conversation, 24 August 1976)

Śrīla Prabhupāda remarked that even if Indians only have
one piece of cloth, they will not fail to wash it every day.
That is Vedic culture. (Transcendental Diary, by Hari Śauri
Dāsa, vol. 1, p. 259)

In India the rivers are very clean and people take pleasure
in taking bath in rivers. If there is a river nobody will take