Before a man can accept even one wife, he has to be responsible enough to care for her properly throughout life. If one is irresponsible and unqualified to look after a family then he is labeled an untouchable and he is identified by his dirty clothes. Thus women are able to recognize and avoid such low caste men. Or one may be more interested in spiritual life. Then he is called a brahmacari or sannyasi. His orange dress identifies him and women can recognize and avoid him also. Neither of these men are allowed to talk with or even look at any woman in society, especially unmarried women. If they break this unspoken law, they are immediately caught and dealt with severely. The monk, if he is actually a monk, may be told to marry a girl, and the outcast, if he has actually polluted a woman, will be imprisoned. In pure Vedic culture he would immediately be executed. If he is simply caught flirting with a woman, he is whipped. This is nature's way, which is synonymous with Vedic way or God's way, of preventing unwanted progeny. It is not cruel, but it is required for any society that wants to protect itself from unwanted progeny and degradation.