Jayadvaita Swami

The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 35 Sometimes we know we ought to move forward and we want to but we don’t know how. The path ahead seems hazy, even murky. For brahmacārī life, gṛhastha life, or sannyāsa there’s a fairly clear pattern: step 1, step 2. . . But for vānaprastha life, what are the steps? What am I supposed to do? And where do I even begin? This book is meant to help answer such questions. And as more and more devotees take to vānaprastha life, we’ll have their examples to follow and their experience upon which to draw. Meanwhile, and above all, we have the … [Read more...] about Obstacles to accepting the vānaprastha āśrama: #12. Lack of a clear path forward

The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 34 What about my health? Medical emergencies? Where will I live? Who will take care of me? The joint-family system is broken. We have no children, or our children won’t be able or willing to take care of us. ISKCON won’t do anything for me. What do we do? Such are the questions that come up again and again. How shall we answer them? As I’ve mentioned before, one should earlier plan one’s life in such a way that, as far as possible, some arrangement will be in place. And our Society’s culture should develop in such a way that sons will feel … [Read more...] about Obstacles to accepting the vānaprastha āśrama:#11. Fear of the unknown (insecurity)

The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 33 Misgivings about boredom We might think, “Maybe some devotees can chant and hear and read all day. But I can’t. So if I became a vānaprastha, what would I do all day? I would be bored.” But although the vānaprastha āśrama affords an opportunity to do more hearing, chanting, and reading, for a vānaprastha these are not the only engagements. We see that Śrīla Prabhupāda, even as a sannyāsī, undertook a full range of active engagements—preaching, writing, raising funds, publishing, building temples, worshiping the Deities, developing projects, … [Read more...] about Obstacles to accepting the vānaprastha āśrama: #9 and #10. Boredom and invalidity

The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 32 Especially in ISKCON’s early years, many devotees put off marriage till later than thirty or forty. So although those devotees are now past fifty, they have young children. And, more recently, devotees who joined ISKCON after pursuing advanced degrees and building a career before marriage may similarly find themselves near fifty or past it but still have young children. Down the road in ISKCON’s history, our passage through the different āśramas may be more in sync with the varṇāśrama ideal. But that we’ve entered the gṛhastha āśrama late … [Read more...] about Obstacles to accepting the vānaprastha āśrama: #8. Late starts

The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 31 A devotee who is earning well may think that earning money and contributing to ISKCON represents a higher path than retiring. In this way, he thinks, his life as a householder is more favorable for devotional service. Fair enough. And one may continue this way for some time. But one should carefully weigh the value of the service one is able to render against the advisability of timely retiring. Just as one may think, “How will my wife live without me?” one may think, “How will these projects go on if I don’t give them money?” But one … [Read more...] about Obstacles to accepting the vānaprastha āśrama: #7. Service to ISKCON

The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 30 In one of my seminars a devotee related that when she mentioned to some of her devotee friends that at some point she and her husband intended to take up vānaprastha life, the friends right away assumed that this couple was having problems with their marriage. There was, of course, a problem with their marriage: Both husband and wife would die. And the friends too, though perhaps not mindful of it, had the same problem. We’re all going to die, and then our family life will be finished. And if we’re more attached to family life than to … [Read more...] about Obstacles to accepting the vānaprastha āśrama: #6. Bad advice from other householders

The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 29 Another obstacle is simply inertia. Once we’re in a pattern, whatever it is, we become accustomed to it and stay with it. We don’t like change. And māyā’s “covering energy” (āvaraṇātmikā-śakti) can strengthen the effect, helping us feel that whatever circumstance we’re used to, however humdrum, however miserable, is really quite all right—and will stay all right, as if forever. As we might recall, even when Indra was cursed to become a pig he felt the life of a pig to be just fine. ---------- Our discussion of obstacles will continue in … [Read more...] about Obstacles to accepting the vānaprastha āśrama: #5. Inertia

The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 28 Having a good, steady arrangement for life at home is helpful for health and sādhana. Ideally, everything is in its place, meals are on time and agreeable, our schedule is the same every day. In contrast, when we travel we have to put up with uncertainty and irregularity. Traveling can be troublesome and wearisome, especially in old age. And who wants weariness and trouble? But, first of all, our modern idea of travel is sometimes excessive. As vānaprasthas, we need not get on an airplane every few days and travel to a new place. Also, in … [Read more...] about Obstacles to accepting the vānaprastha āśrama: #4. Inconvenience

The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 27 Our wife, children, and other dependents are naturally objects of our care and concern. But once we age past the time for householder life, we are advised to awaken to the sense that they are ultimately dependent not upon us but upon Kṛṣṇa. Though I may think, “Without me, what will happen to them?” my duty now is to move towards detachment, understanding that ultimately everything is in Kṛṣṇa’s hands. The Bhāgavatam (11.17.56) speaks of the kind of man we don’t want to be—a man whose mind is attached to his home and household life, a man … [Read more...] about Obstacles to accepting the vānaprastha āśrama: #3. Concern for dependents

The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 26 Attachment and illusion go together. And they spill over into other categories. Still, we can analyze these items separately. The fundamental illusion, of course, is the bodily conception of life, in which one thinks, “I am this body, and this is mine.” As stated by Lord Ṛṣabhadeva (and often quoted by Śrīla Prabhupāda): puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁtayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittairjanasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti “The attraction between male and female is the basic principle of material existence. On the … [Read more...] about Obstacles to accepting the vānaprastha āśrama: #2. Illusion