S'rî
Uddhava said: 'O Lotus-eyed One, You previously described the
religious principles that are prescribed by bhakti and are
respected by all varnâs'rama
followers and even by those who do not follow this system. You
should explain to me that process by means of which human
beings executing their occupational duties by Your grace can
achieve devotional service.
S'rî
Uddhava said: My dear Lord, previously You described the
principles of devotional service that are to be practiced by
followers of the varnâs'rama system and even ordinary,
unregulated human beings. My dear lotus-eyed Lord, now
please explain to me how all human beings can achieve loving
service unto You by the execution of their prescribed
duties. (Vedabase)
Text
3-4
The religious
principles by which there is the supreme happiness and of which
You, as said [11.13],
previously, dear Mâdhava, o Mighty-armed One, in the form
of Lord Hamsa spoke to Brahmâ, will, the way they these
days have been taught by You, after having ruled for such a
very long time, o Subduer of the enemies, not be common any
longer in human society [see also 5.6:
10 and
11.5:
36 and
Kali-yuga].
My
dear Lord, O mighty-armed one, previously in Your form of
Lord Hamsa You spoke to Lord Brahmâ those religious
principles that bring supreme happiness to the practitioner.
My dear Mâdhava, now much time has passed, and that
which You previously instructed will soon practically cease
to exist, O subduer of the enemy. (Vedabase)
Text
5-6
Dear Acyuta,
there is no other speaker, creator and protector of dharma but
You; not on earth, nor even in the assembly of Brahmâ
where You're present in the form of a part of You [viz. the
Vedas, see also 10.87].
When the earth is abandoned by Your lordship, o
Madhusûdana, o Creator, Protector and Speaker, then who,
o Lord, will speak about the knowledge that was
lost?
My
dear Lord Acyuta, there is no speaker, creator and protector
of supreme religious principles other than Your Lordship,
either on the earth or even in the assembly of Lord
Brahmâ, where the personified Vedas reside. Thus, my
dear Lord Madhusûdana, when You, who are the very
creator, protector and speaker of spiritual knowledge,
abandon the earth, who will again speak this lost knowledge?
(Vedabase)
Text
7
Therefore,
while You are still among us, please describe to me o Master, o
Knower of All Dharma, who would be fit to execute the original
duties that characterize Your bhakti and how they should be
performed.'
Therefore,
my Lord, since You are the knower of all religious
principles, please describe to me the human beings who may
execute the path of loving service to You and how such
service is to be rendered. (Vedabase)
Text
8
S'rî
S'uka said: 'He, the Supreme Lord Hari, thus pleased to be
questioned by the best of His devotees, for the sake of the
highest welfare of all conditioned souls spoke about the
eternal duties of dharma.
S'rî
S'ukadeva Gosvâmî said: S'rî Uddhava, the
best of devotees, thus inquired from the Lord. Hearing his
question, the Personality of Godhead, S'rî Krishna,
was pleased and for the welfare of all conditioned souls
spoke those religious principles that are eternal.
(Vedabase)
Text
9
The Supreme
Lord said: 'This dharmic question of yours constitutes for
normal human beings the cause of the highest welfare. Please,
Uddhava, learn from Me about the duties, the way they are
executed by those who observe the varnâs'rama
system.
The
Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Uddhava, your
question is faithful to religious principles and thus gives
rise to the highest perfection in life, pure devotional
service, for both ordinary human beings and the followers of
the varnâs'rama system. Now please learn from
Me those supreme religious principles. (Vedabase)
Text
10
In the
beginning there is the age of Krita
wherein the human beings belong to one class that is called
hamsa. The citizens of that age are by birth well known
with the duties to be performed - hence do the learned know it
as Krita-yuga, the age of the fulfillment of
duty.
In
the beginning, in Satya-yuga, there is only one social
class, called hamsa, to which all human beings belong. In
that age all people are unalloyed devotees of the Lord from
birth, and thus learned scholars call this first age
Krita-yuga, or the age in which all religious duties are
perfectly fulfilled. (Vedabase)
Text
11
First of all is
the [undivided] Veda expressed with the
Pranava,
with which I am known as duty in the form of the bull of
religion [see 1.16:
18 and
1.17:
24]. With
that they, who fixed in austerity are free from sins, worship
Me as Lord Hamsa.
In
Satya-yuga the undivided Veda is expressed by the syllable
om, and I am the only object of mental activities. I become
manifest as the four-legged bull of religion, and thus the
inhabitants of Satya-yuga, fixed in austerity and free from
all sins, worship Me as Lord Hamsa. (Vedabase)
Text
12
At the
beginning of Tretâ-yuga, o greatly fortunate one,
originated from the prânâ in My heart the
threefold of knowing [the three Vedas Rig, Sâma and
Yajur] to the occasion of which I appeared in the three
forms of sacrifice [hence the name Tretâ, see
ritvik].
O
greatly fortunate one, at the beginning of Tretâ-yuga
Vedic knowledge appeared from My heart, which is the abode
of the air of life, in three divisions - as Rig, Sâma
and Yajur. Then from that knowledge I appeared as threefold
sacrifice. (Vedabase)
Text
13
Generated from
the Original Personality the learned, the warriors, the
merchants and the workers [the varnas]
were born and by their personal activities recognized as
[respectively] being from the mouth, the arms, the
thighs and legs of the universal form [compare
2.1:
37].
In
Tretâ-yuga the four social orders were manifested from
the universal form of the Personality of Godhead. The
brâhmanas appeared from the Lord's face, the
kshatriyas from the Lord's arms, the vais'yas
from the Lord's thighs and the s'ûdras from the
legs of that mighty form. Each social division was
recognized by its particular duties and behavior.
(Vedabase)
Text
14
The
householders are situated in My loins, the celibate students in
My heart, in My chest the ones dwelling in the forest are found
and the renounced order is situated in My head [see
âs'ramas].
The
married order of life appeared from the loins of My
universal form, and the celibate students came from My
heart. The forest-dwelling retired order of life appeared
from My chest, and the renounced order of life was situated
within the head of My universal form. (Vedabase)
Text
15
Depending the
superior or inferior position that one according to one's birth
occupies in My body, developed the higher and lower human
nature of the people belonging to the different societal
classes [varnas] and status groups
[âs'ramas].
The
various occupational and social divisions of human society
appeared according to inferior and superior natures manifest
in the situation of the individual's birth.
(Vedabase)
Text
16
Equanimity,
sense-control, austerity, cleanliness, contentment,
forgiveness, sincerity, devotion to Me, compassion and
truthfulness are the natural qualities of the brahmins
[compare 7.11:
21 and B.G.
18:
42].
Peacefulness,
self-control, austerity, cleanliness, satisfaction,
tolerance, simple straightforwardness, devotion to Me, mercy
and truthfulness are the natural qualities of the
brâhmanas. (Vedabase)
Text
17
Ardor, physical
strength, determination, heroism, tolerance, generosity,
endeavor, steadiness, being mindful of the brahminical and
leadership are the natural qualities of the kshatriyas
[compare 7.11:
22 and B.G.
18:
43].
Dynamic
power, bodily strength, determination, heroism, tolerance,
generosity, great endeavor, steadiness, devotion to the
brâhmanas and leadership are the natural qualities of
the kshatriyas. (Vedabase)
Text
18
Belief in God
and dedication to charity, straightforwardness, love for the
brahminical and always being busy accumulating money constitute
the natural qualities of the vais'yas [compare
7.11:
23 and B.G.
18:
44].
Faith
in Vedic civilization, dedication to charity, freedom from
hypocrisy, service to the brâhmanas and perpetually
desiring to accumulate more money are the natural qualities
of the vais'yas. (Vedabase)
Text
19
Free from
duplicity to be of service for the brahmins, the cows and the
godly and to be perfectly contented with the earnings are the
natural qualities of the s'ûdras [compare
7.11:
24 and B.G.
18:
44].
Service
without duplicity to the brâhmanas, cows, demigods and
other worshipable personalities, and complete satisfaction
with whatever income is obtained in such service, are the
natural qualities of s'ûdras. (Vedabase)
Text
20
To be unclean,
deceitful, thievish, faithless, quarrelsome, lusty, fiery and
of constant hankering constitutes the nature of those occupying
the lowest position [the outcastes].
Dirtiness,
dishonesty, thievery, faithlessness, useless quarrel, lust,
anger and hankering constitute the nature of those in the
lowest position outside the varnâs'rama system.
(Vedabase)
Text
21
For all the
members of society it is the duty to be of nonviolence,
truthfulness and honesty, to be free from lust, anger and greed
and to desire the welfare and happiness of all living
entities.
Nonviolence,
truthfulness, honesty, desire for the happiness and welfare
of all others and freedom from lust, anger and greed
constitute duties for all members of society.
(Vedabase)
Text
22
When he in due
order [with samskâras]
begins a new life with performing his duties [ends his
karma, sins no more and usually with initiation into the
Gâyatrî
receives the sacred thread], someone twice born should,
residing in the spiritual community of the guru, with his
senses under control follow the precept to study the scriptures
[see also B.G. 16:
24].
The
twice-born member of society achieves second birth through
the sequence of purificatory ceremonies culminating in
Gâyatrî initiation. Being summoned by the
spiritual master, he should reside within the guru's
âs'rama and with a self-controlled mind carefully
study the Vedic literature. (Vedabase)
Text
23
With a belt, a
deerskin [or these days: simple clothes], a staff
[or other means of transport], prayer beads, a brahmin
thread, a waterpot, matted hair [devotees these days are
shaven], with teeth well maintained and clothes properly
covering [*]
is he [the brahmacârî], carrying
kus'a [being of the prayer mat], not after the highest
seat.
The
brahmacârî should regularly dress with a belt of
straw and deerskin garments. He should wear matted hair,
carry a rod and waterpot and be decorated with aksha beads
and a sacred thread. Carrying pure kus'a grass in his hand,
he should never accept a luxurious or sensuous sitting
place. He should not unnecessarily polish his teeth, nor
should he bleach and iron his clothes. (Vedabase)
Text
24
Bathing
and eating, attending sacrifices and doing the rosary, passing
stool and urine, he does in silence [Vaishnavas do murmur
with
japa];
he should not [completely, these days] cut his nails or
hair, including the hair under his arms and in the pubic
area [see also
s'ikhâ].
A
brahmacârî should always remain silent while
bathing, eating, attending sacrificial performances,
chanting japa or passing stool and urine. He should not cut
his nails and hair, including the armpit and pubic hair.
(Vedabase)
Text
25
Someone
of the vow of celibacy should never spill his semen and, when
it flowed of its own, take a bath, control his breath and chant
the Gâyatrî
[see also ûrdhva-retah].
One
observing the vow of celibate brahmacârî life
should never pass semen. If the semen by chance spills out
by itself, the brahmacârî should
immediately take bath in water, control his breath by
prânâyâma and chant the
Gâyatrî mantra. (Vedabase)
Text
26
Purified with
the consciousness fixed in respect for the fire-god, the sun
[see cakra],
the cows, the learned, the spiritual master, the elderly and
the godfearing, should he, observing silence, do
japa at
the two junctions of time [morning and evening, compare:
11.14:
35].
Purified
and fixed in consciousness, the
brahmacârî should worship the fire-god,
sun, âcârya, cows,
brâhmanas, guru, elderly respectable persons
and demigods. He should perform such worship at sunrise and
sunset, without speaking but by silently chanting or
murmuring the appropriate mantras. (Vedabase)
Text
27
The teacher of
example [the âcârya] one should know
to be Me. The âcârya should never at any
time enviously be disrespected with the notion of him being a
mortal being, for the guru is the representative of all the
gods [see also rule
of thumb and
compare e.g. 7.14:
17,
10.81:
39,
10.45:
32 and
11.15:
27].
One
should know the âcârya as Myself and
never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him,
thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative
of all the demigods. (Vedabase)
Text
28
In the evening
and morning one should bring him the food that was collected
and offer it to him together with other articles. Being of
self-restraint one should be pleased to accept what is allotted
[by him].
In
the morning and evening one should collect foodstuffs and
other articles and deliver them to the spiritual master.
Then, being self-controlled, one should accept for oneself
that which is allotted by the âcârya.
(Vedabase)
Text
29
Always engaged
in serving the âcârya one should humbly at
not too great a distance with folded hands prove one's respect
for his path, his resting, his sitting and his
standing.
While
engaged in serving the spiritual master one should remain as
a humble servant, and thus when the guru is walking the
servant should humbly walk behind. When the guru lies down
to sleep, the servant should also lie down nearby, and when
the guru has awakened, the servant should sit near him,
massaging his lotus feet and rendering other, similar
services. When the guru is sitting down on his
âsana, the servant should stand nearby with
folded hands, awaiting the guru's order. In this way one
should always worship the spiritual master.
(Vedabase)
Text
30
Thus engaged he
should [the upakurvâna
brahmacârî],
free from [unregulated] sense gratification, carry on
unbroken in the vow [of celibacy], living in the school
of the guru until the education is completed [see also
Kumâras].
Until
the student has completed his Vedic education he should
remain engaged in the âs'rama of the spiritual
master, should remain completely free of material sense
gratification and should not break his vow of celibacy
[brahmacarya]. (Vedabase)
Text
31
If he
[naishthhika,
for life] desires to climb up to the world of the verses
[Maharloka]
in order to be engaged in the Absolute Truth he should for the
purpose studying the True Self offer his body to the guru with
respect for the great vow [see yama].
If
the brahmacârî student desires to ascend
to the Maharloka or Brahmaloka planets, then he should
completely surrender his activities to the spiritual master
and, observing the powerful vow of perpetual celibacy,
dedicate himself to superior Vedic studies.
(Vedabase)
Text
32
Vedically
enlightened and sinless one should worship Me in the fire, in
the spiritual master, in oneself and in all living beings as
the Supreme Non-dual Conception [see also B.G.
5:
18,
siddhânta
and advaita].
Thus
enlightened in Vedic knowledge by service to the spiritual
master, freed from all sins and duality, one should worship
Me as the Supersoul, as I appear within fire, the spiritual
master, one's own self and all living entities.
(Vedabase)
Text
33
With
[sexually receptive] women - or sex-minded living
beings - glancing, touching, conversing and joking and such is
the first thing that someone not running a household [who
is not married: the sannyâsî, the
vânaprastha and the
brahmacârî] should forsake
[see
11.14:
29 and
6.1:
56-68].
Those
who are not married - sannyâsîs,
vânaprasthas and brahmacârîs -
should never associate with women by glancing, touching,
conversing, joking or sporting. Neither should they ever
associate with any living entity engaged in sexual
activities. (Vedabase)
Text
34-35
Cleanliness,
washing one's hands, bathing, in the morning and evening, being
of religious service, worshiping Me, visiting holy places,
doing the rosary, avoiding things untouchable, things not fit
for consumption and things not to discuss - this all
constitutes the voluntary penance that with Me, I who reside
within all beings, in order to restrain the mind, the words and
the body is enjoined for all spiritual departments
[âs'ramas], o Uddhava.
My
dear Uddhava, general cleanliness, washing the hands,
bathing, performing religious services at sunrise, noon and
sunset, worshiping Me, visiting holy places, chanting
japa, avoiding that which is untouchable, uneatable
or not to be discussed, and remembering My existence within
all living entities as the Supersoul - these principles
should be followed by all members of society through
regulation of the mind, words and body. (Vedabase)
Text
36
A brahmin thus
observing the great vow becomes bright like fire My spotless
devotee of whom the karma was burned by the intensity of the
penance.
A
brâhmana observing the great vow of celibacy becomes
brilliant like fire and by serious austerity burns to ashes
the propensity to perform material activities. Free from the
contamination of material desire, he becomes My devotee.
(Vedabase)
Text
37
Thus properly
having studied the vedic literatures he should [as a
brahmacârî], care for what's next
[see next paragraph], offer the guru remuneration, tidy
himself and leave [**]
with his permission.
A
brahmacârî who has completed his Vedic education
and desires to enter household life should offer proper
remuneration to the spiritual master, bathe, cut his hair,
put on proper clothes, and so on. Then, taking permission
from the guru, he should go back to his home.
(Vedabase)
Text
38
He should found
a family or else live in the forest [becoming a
recluse] or, belonging to the best of the twice-born
[the brahmins], become a mendicant. For someone who
didn't surrender to Me there is no alternative but to move
systematically from one spiritual department to the next
âs'rama.
A
brahmacârî desiring to fulfill his material
desires should live at home with his family, and a
householder who is eager to purify his consciousness should
enter the forest, whereas a purified brâhmana should
accept the renounced order of life. One who is not
surrendered to Me should move progressively from one
âs'rama to another, never acting otherwise.
(Vedabase)
Text
39
Desiring a
household one should marry a wife with similar qualities who is
beyond reproach and younger in age. With the first wife of the
same vocation may follow another one [of a lower class or
caste].
One
who desires to establish family life should marry a wife of
his own caste, who is beyond reproach and younger in age. If
one desires to accept many wives he must marry them after
the first marriage, and each wife should be of a
successively lower caste. (Vedabase)
Text
40
Sacrifice,
vedic study and charity are the activities of all the
twice-born, but only the brahmins practice the acceptance of
charity, teaching vedic knowledge and officiating in sacrifices
[compare 7.11:
14].
All
twice-born men - brâhmanas, kshatriyas and
vais'yas - must perform sacrifice, study the Vedic
literature and give charity. Only the brâhmanas,
however, accept charity, teach the Vedic knowledge and
perform sacrifice on behalf of others. (Vedabase)
Text
41
When an
intellectual [a brahmin] considers the acceptance of
charity as detrimental to his penance, spiritual stature and
glory, he must subsist on the other two [of teaching and
sacrifice] or, when he considers these two as incompatible
with his spirituality, subsist on gathering ears of corn left
behind in the field ['of the stones', live on the dole, see
also 6.7:
36,
7.15:
30 and B.G.
9:
22].
A
brâhmana who considers that accepting charity
from others will destroy his austerity, spiritual influence
and fame should maintain himself by the other two
brahminical occupations, namely teaching Vedic knowledge and
performing sacrifice. If the brâhmana considers that
those two occupations also compromise his spiritual
position, then he should collect rejected grains in
agricultural fields and live without any dependence on
others. (Vedabase)
Text
42
Certain is that
the embodiment of a brahmin is meant for the hardship of
[voluntary] penances in this world to find unlimited
happiness in the hereafter and not for futile sense
gratification [and the consequent involuntary penances of
war, disease and incarceration, see also 11.6:
9 and B.G.
17:
14-19].
The
body of a brâhmana is not intended to enjoy
insignificant material sense gratification; rather, by
accepting difficult austerities in his life, a
brâhmana will enjoy unlimited happiness after death.
(Vedabase)
Text
43
Perfectly
contented in being occupied with gleaning grains and
magnanimously, free from passion cultivating dharma, can, even
staying at home, the one who turned his mind to Me - and is
thus not that attached - achieve liberation [compare B.G.
3:
22 and
10.69].
A
brâhmana householder should remain satisfied in mind
by gleaning rejected grains from agricultural fields and
marketplaces. Keeping himself free of personal desire, he
should practice magnanimous religious principles, with
consciousness absorbed in Me. In this way a brâhmana
may stay at home as a householder without very much
attachment and thus achieve liberation. (Vedabase)
Text
44
Those who
uplift the learned as well as the ones who having surrendered
to Me are suffering [poverty and disease], will by Me,
like with a boat in the ocean, very soon be delivered from all
miseries.
Just
as a ship rescues those who have fallen into the ocean,
similarly, I very quickly rescue from all calamities those
persons who uplift brâhmanas and devotees suffering in
a poverty-stricken condition. (Vedabase)
Text
45
Like a bull
elephant who fearlessly protects himself and other elephants,
protects the king himself by saving, just like a father, all
citizens from difficulties.
Just
as the chief bull elephant protects all other elephants in
his herd and defends himself as well, similarly, a fearless
king, just like a father, must save all of the citizens from
difficulty and also protect himself. (Vedabase)
Text
46
Thus the human
ruler, who on earth removes all sins, enjoys heaven, together
with Indra riding a heavenly vehicle as brilliant as the sun
[see also 4.20:
14].
An
earthly king who protects himself and all citizens by
removing all sins from his kingdom will certainly enjoy with
Lord Indra in airplanes as brilliant as the sun.
(Vedabase)
Text
47
When a learned
person is indebted the calamity must be overcome by doing
business in behaving like a merchant, or else, still afflicted
with misfortune, he must take up the sword [go in
politics]. In no case can he behave like a dog [follow
a lower master].
If
a brâhmana cannot support himself through his regular
duties and is thus suffering, he may adopt the occupation of
a merchant and overcome his destitute condition by buying
and selling material things. If he continues to suffer
extreme poverty even as a merchant, then he may adopt the
occupation of a kshatriya, taking sword in hand. But he
cannot in any circumstances become like a dog, accepting an
ordinary master. (Vedabase)
Text
48
A king
suffering want may maintain himself acting like a merchant, or
do so by means of hunting or by stepping forward as a man of
learning. Under no condition may he follow the course of a
dog.
A
king or other member of the royal order who cannot maintain
himself by his normal occupation may act as a
vais'ya, may live by hunting or may act as a
brâhmana by teaching others Vedic knowledge. But he
may not under any circumstances adopt the profession of a
s'ûdra. (Vedabase)
Text
49
A
vais'ya may adopt the business of a s'ûdra
and a s'ûdra may adopt the way of an artisan,
making baskets and mats to deal with an awkward situation, but
freed one must not desire the work of such an inferior
livelihood [see also 7.11:
17].
A
vais'ya, or mercantile man, who cannot maintain himself may
adopt the occupation of a s'ûdra, and a s'ûdra
who cannot find a master can engage in simple activities
like making baskets and mats of straw. However, all members
of society who have adopted inferior occupations in
emergency situations must give up those substitute
occupations when the difficulties have passed.
(Vedabase)
Text
50
According to
one's prosperity one should daily be of respect for the
manifestations of My potency - the gods, the sages, the
forefathers and all living entities - by vedic study and by
offerings of food and such accompanied by [the mantras]
svadhâ ['blessed be'] and
svâhâ ['hail to', this rule thus applies
to normal householders, see also 11.5:
41]
.
One
in the grihastha order of life should daily worship the
sages by Vedic study, the forefathers by offering the mantra
svadhâ, the demigods by chanting
svâhâ, all living entities by offering
shares of one's meals, and human beings by offering grains
and water. Thus considering the demigods, sages,
forefathers, living entities and human beings to be
manifestations of My potency, one should daily perform these
five sacrifices. (Vedabase)
Text
51
Unembarrassed
with one's dependents whether one is of money acquired without
endeavor or of money acquired by honest work, one should be of
proper respect with the help of vedic rituals.
A
householder should comfortably maintain his dependents
either with money that comes of its own accord or with that
gathered by honest execution of one's duties. According to
one's means, one should perform sacrifices and other
religious ceremonies. (Vedabase)
Text
52
One should not
be attached to family members, nor go crazy [in being the
controller]; nay, a wise person should see that things that
lay ahead are just as temporary as matters that have
happened.
A
householder taking care of many dependent family members
should not become materially attached to them, nor should he
become mentally unbalanced, considering himself to be the
lord. An intelligent householder should see that all
possible future happiness, just like that which he has
already experienced, is temporary. (Vedabase)
Text
53
The association
of children, a wife, relatives and friends is like the being
together with travelers; like a dream occurring in one's sleep
are they all separated with each change of body [see also
7.2:
21,
9.19:
27-28].
The
association of children, wife, relatives and friends is just
like the brief meeting of travelers. With each change of
body one is separated from all such associates, just as one
loses the objects one possesses in a dream when the dream is
over. (Vedabase)
Text
54
With that
conviction a liberated soul who doesn't identify with the body
and lives selflessly at home like a guest, will not get
entangled in the domestic situation.
Deeply
considering the actual situation, a liberated soul should
live at home just like a guest, without any sense of
proprietorship or false ego. In this way he will not be
bound or entangled by domestic affairs. (Vedabase)
Text
55
When one with
the activities of a family life worships Me, may one as a
devotee remain at home or enter the forest, or also, given
responsible offspring, take to the renounced
order.
A
householder devotee who worships Me by execution of his
family duties may remain at home, go to a holy place or, if
he has a responsible son, take sannyâsa.
(Vedabase)
Text
56
Someone fixed
on women however and whose consciousness is perturbed by the
desire for a home, children and money, is in his bondage
unintelligently with a miserly mentality thinking 'I am that
and this is mine'.
But
a householder whose mind is attached to his home and who is
thus disturbed by ardent desires to enjoy his money and
children, who is lusty after women, who is possessed of a
miserly mentality and who unintelligently thinks,
'Everything is mine and I am everything,' is certainly bound
in illusion. (Vedabase)
Text
57
'O my poor old
mom and dad, my wife with a baby in her arms and my young,
unprotected children! How in the world can they live when they
wretched have to suffer greatly, missing me?' [see e.g.
also 11.7:
52-57].
'O
my poor elderly parents, and my wife with a mere infant in
her arms, and my other young children! Without me they have
absolutely no one to protect them and will suffer
unbearably. How can my poor relatives possibly live without
me? (Vedabase)
Text
58
Thus will, with
his home as his retreat, such a one, with his heart overwhelmed
unsated ruminating about them, with a wrong point of view
blinded land in darkness when he dies.
Thus,
because of his foolish mentality, a householder whose heart
is overwhelmed by family attachment is never satisfied.
Constantly meditating on his relatives, he dies and enters
into the darkness of ignorance. (Vedabase)
*
The term adhauta used here means, according the Monier
Williams Dictionary, the negative of dhauta, which means
white, washed, and purified as well as removed and destroyed.
Concerning teeth and clothes this could mean as well unpolished
teeth and unwashed clothes as teeth not broken or rotting and
clothes properly covering the body. So it is to the context of
the other values of renunciation to decide which meaning would
apply. Since adhauta in the first sense would be in
conflict with the value of cleanliness, s'aucam [see
e.g. verse 20 of this chapter and 1.17:
24],
is here, contrary to previous interpretations chosen for the
second sense of teeth well-maintained and clothes properly
covering the body, which is more in line with the normal code
of conduct of vaishnava devotees in acceptance of a
spiritual master [see also pp. 11.17:
23].
**
This process of 'tidying' is called the
samâvartana-samskâra that marks the
completion of the studies and returning home from living with
the guru.