1. Goddesses of Fortune

    The beautiful girls are called goddess of fortune. Actually, woman is considered as goddess of fortune, representative of goddess of fortune. We are misusing for sense gratification. No. They should be respected as goddess of fortune. If one man has got nice wife, actually he has got goddess of fortune. That is astrological calculation. A man is considered to be fortunate in three ways. If he has got good wife then he is fortunate. If he has got good son then he is fortunate. And if he has got plenty money he is fortunate. So these three standards of fortune, out of which, one who has got good wife, he is the most fortunate. So our society will try to make good wives so that the boys, all boys, should, can think himself always fortunate. If one has got good wife, any place, doesn't matter. Just like Lord Siva, he was living underneath the tree. There is no shelter, but he had the good wife, Parvati, so he was happy. So whenever you like, we shall select any brahmacari. But don't have illicit sex. Marriage is allowed. I take personally care of marriage. I want this society must be cleansed. Without being cleansed, nobody can advance in spiritual consciousness.

    From Srila Prabhupada's lecture on the initiation of Rukmini Dasi — Montreal, August 15, 1968