॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
***
This is a tough chapter. Perhaps no one today will be able to rise to the high demands of Vanaprastha and Sannyasa as instructed by Bhagavan Sri Krishna. As Adi Shankara says,
अग्रे वह्निः पृष्ठे भानू रात्रौ चिबुकसमर्पितजानुः । करतलभिक्षा तरुतलवासस्तदपि न मुञ्चत्याशापाशः ॥
T: A man may subject himself to great penance by sitting in front of the fire with the sun beating down on his back, he may sleep at night with knees tucked up to his chin, he may beg for food with bare palms and live under a tree in the forest, but his desires are such strong bonds that they won't leave him.
But here, in this chapter, Bhagavan is not hesitant to prescribe the tough conditions one should live under in the Ashramas called Vanaprastha and Sannyasa. Today it is safe to say that even 99.99% of the so-called Gurus and Sannyasis live a life of great comfort and security far from these ideals.
Sri Krishna's message:
श्रीभगवानुवाच
वनं विविक्षु: पुत्रेषु भार्यां न्यस्य सहैव वा । वन एव वसेच्छान्तस्तृतीयं भागमायुष: ॥
कन्दमूलफलैर्वन्यैर्मेध्यैर्वृत्तिं प्रकल्पयेत् । वसीत वल्कलं वासस्तृणपर्णाजिनानि वा ॥
T: Bhagavan said: One who desires to adopt the third order of life, Vanaprastha, should enter the forest with a peaceful mind, leaving his wife with his grown-up sons, or else taking her along with him.
Having adopted the Vanaprastha order of life, one should arrange one’s sustenance by eating uncontaminated bulbs, roots and fruits that grow in the forest. One may dress oneself with tree bark, grass, leaves or animal skins. There should be no activity at all to live in comfort. Food if obtained from begging should be eaten without any preferences. Ultimately, the seeker will give up his life in prayer and meditation, in an act like self-immolation! Those who do Tapas in the hope of heavenly life afterwards are the greatest idiots. All heavenly enjoyment only brings one down spiritually. The only valid joy is the immersion in the bliss of Atma.
यस्त्वसंयतषड्वर्ग: प्रचण्डेन्द्रियसारथि: । ज्ञानवैराग्यरहितस्त्रिदण्डमुपजीवति ॥
सुरानात्मानमात्मस्थं निह्नुते मां च धर्महा । अविपक्वकषायोऽस्मादमुष्माच्च विहीयते ॥
T: Anyone who has not controlled the six enemies within -lust, anger, greed, infatuation, ego and jealousy, whose Buddhi, instead of controlling his senses, is extremely attached to material things, who is bereft of Jnana and Vairagya, one who still adopts the Sannyasa order of life to make a living, who within himself betrays the gods, Atma and Paramatma, thus ruining all Dharma, and who is still infected by material contamination, is deviated and lost both in this life and the next.
Indeed, a Paramahamsa is in a state of such utter physical neglect and worldly indifference that he will easily pass off for a madman or a derelict from the wilderness. By holding up the example of Dattatreya Avatara first, Bhagavan has educated us on how we should not be misled by appearances.
So, for anyone like me who is incapable of true Vanaprastha and Sannyasa, is there any hope at all?
Bhagavan concludes this chapter most compassionately. He says:
भिक्षोर्धर्म: शमोऽहिंसा तप ईक्षा वनौकस: । गृहिणो भूतरक्षेज्या द्विजस्याचार्यसेवनम् ॥
ब्रह्मचर्यं तप: शौचं सन्तोषो भूतसौहृदम् । गृहस्थस्याप्यृतौ गन्तु: सर्वेषां मदुपासनम् ॥
T: The main religious duties of a Sannyasi are equanimity and nonviolence, whereas for the Vanaprastha, austerity and philosophical understanding of the difference between the body and soul are prominent. The Brahmachari is mainly engaged in serving the spiritual master. The householder should practise celibacy, austerity, cleanliness of mind and body, satisfaction in his natural position, and friendship toward all living entities. Worship of me is to be practised by all human beings, regardless of social or occupational divisions.
इति मां य: स्वधर्मेण भजेन्नित्यमनन्यभाक् । सर्वभूतेषु मद्भावो मद्भक्तिं विन्दते दृढाम् ॥
एतत्तेऽभिहितं साधो भवान् पृच्छति यच्च माम् । यथा स्वधर्मसंयुक्तो भक्तो मां समियात् परम् ॥
T: "One who worships me by his prescribed duty, Swadharma, having no other object of worship, and who remains conscious of me as present in all living entities, achieves unflinching Bhakti. My dear, saintly, Uddhava, I have now described to you, just as you inquired, the means by which my Bhakta, perfectly engaged in his prescribed duty, can come back to me, the Paramatma Ishwara."
***
