Adultery is both a crime and an evil, a heavy penalty being inflicted in the realm of moral conduct and that of the country. As far as the law of karma or morality is concerned, it is as a rule differentiated by the three standards of object, volition and effort. On the basis of object, adultery is more serious when a person of great merit is involved in the misdeed.
With regard to volition, an action committed through sheer lust brings on more serious results than such an act, which is forced upon one. Concerning effort, the use of force entails heavy punishment on the user. Besides, an action that ends in intercourse is subject to severer penalty than one of minor degree. A married couple should be content with each other.
Those who want to marry should find a mate from among those who are not ‘forbidden’ to them. It is through a healthy union that both will be equal partners in society as well as in private, in times of sickness as well as in health. If such animals as birds can build a home of their own, enjoy an innocent life together and help each other happily in tending their young ones, why then should men, far nobler creatures, humiliate themselves in the guilt of such shameful misdeeds?