Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.25.25

vanaḿ tu sāttviko vāso

grāmo rājasa ucyate

tāmasaḿ dyūta-sadanaḿ

man-niketaḿ tu nirguṇam

SYNONYMS

vanam — the forest; tu — whereas; sāttvikaḥ — in the mode of goodness; vāsaḥ — residence; grāmaḥ — the village neighborhood; rājasaḥ — in the mode of passion; ucyate — is said; tāmasam — in the mode of ignorance; dyūta-sadanam — the gambling house; mat-niketam — My residence; tu — but; nirguṇam — transcendental.

TRANSLATION

Residence in the forest is in the mode of goodness, residence in a town is in the mode of passion, residence in a gambling house displays the quality of ignorance, and residence in a place where I reside is transcendental.

PURPORT

Many creatures in the forest, such as the trees, wild boars and insects, are actually in the modes of passion and ignorance. But residence in the forest is designated as being in the mode of goodness because there one may live a solitary life free from sinful activities, material opulence and passionate ambition. Throughout the history of India, many millions of persons from all walks of life have adopted the orders of vānaprastha and sannyāsa and have gone to sacred forests to practice austerity and perfect their self-realization. Even in America and other Western countries, persons such as Thoreau achieved fame by retiring to the forest to reduce the scope and opulence of material involvement.

The word grāma here indicates residence in the village of one's family. Family life is certainly full of false pride, false hopes, false affection, lamentation and illusion, since the family connection is squarely resting on the bodily concept of life, the very opposite of self-realization. The word dyūta-sadanam, "gambling house," refers to pool halls, racetracks, poker clubs, bars and other sinful places that maintain an abysmal level of consciousness in the mode of ignorance. Man-niketam refers to the Lord's own abode in the spiritual world as well as the Lord's temples within this world, wherein the Deity form of the Lord is appropriately worshiped. One who lives in the temple of Lord Kṛṣṇa, following the rules and regulations of temple life, is understood to be residing on the transcendental platform. In these verses the Lord clearly explains that all material phenomena may be divided into three divisions according to the modes of nature, and that ultimately there is the fourth, or transcendental, division — Kṛṣṇa consciousness — which elevates all aspects of human culture to the liberated platform.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
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Dravida dasa Brahmacari