The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 11
It occurs to me (late) that I ought to provide a Table of Contents here to let you know what’s in The Vanaprastha Adventure. Here you go:
Introduction: What are your plans for your retirement?
What is the vānaprastha āśrama?
The importance of the vānaprastha āśrama
Do it at fifty
Historical examples
Pretentious or premature vānaprastha life
Planning early
The gṛhastha āśrama, for spiritual culture
Financial planning with retirement in mind
Thinking about health
Making the best use of family unhappiness
Why loosen attachment to a devotee family?
Six Methods (2 x 3)
Retire to a holy place
Come and go
Just travel
The overall theme: detachment, a change of consciousness
Flexibility
Practical steps
No-risk items
Put aside your image of yourself as a gṛhastha
Develop philosophically supported detachment from children, grandchildren, relatives, and so on
Change your focus: from ninety percent family to ninety percent Kṛṣṇa consciousness
Keep your impending death in view
Cultivate the mood of being satisfied with less, with whatever comes on its own
Sharpen your focus on reviving your identity as Kṛṣṇa’s eternal servant
No sex
Be strict about association with women
Simplify your eating
Simplify sleeping
Perform a ceremony to solidify your determination
Change your name
Trim your hair
Change the color of your cloth
Simplify your dress
Shun grāmya-kathā
Turn away from social occasions
Get rid of needless stuff
Switch to a simpler car
Consider a more modest dwelling
Cut your expenses
Accept austerity
Give up luxurious life
Serve Kṛṣṇa with enthusiasm
Steps with some risk
Retire early from your job
Sending our children to college
Travel and preach
Practical steps in summary
Up the sādhana
Up the sādhu-saṅga
Up the sevā
The role of women in vānaprastha life
Mothers and sons
The duty of the gṛhastha community to support the vānaprasthas
One āśrama supports three
Ways gṛhasthas can offer support
Who will take up this duty? On whom can we depend?
When the elderly do live in temples
Obstacles to accepting the vānaprastha āśrama
Attachment
Illusion
Concern for dependents
Unfinished duties
Inconvenience
Inertia
Bad advice from other householders
Service to ISKCON
Late starts
Invalidity
Fear of the unknown (insecurity)
Lack of a clear path forward
Benefits
Having a realistic picture of what the future has in store
Freedom from work
A fresh new life
Following in Śrīla Prabupāda’s footsteps
Helping reestablish daiva-varṇāśrama
Vānaprasthas for preaching and sevā
The end of vānaprastha life
Interviews
Afterword
Appendixes
The vānaprastha and pre-vānaprastha checklist
Further reading
One must leave home at fifty (quotes)
In the vānaprastha āśrama, no sex (quotes)
References
Verses quoted
Index
This is part of a draft
This is an excerpt from a new book I have in the works—The Vānaprastha Adventure, a guide to retirement in spiritual life. While I’m working on it, I’ll be posting my draft here, in installments. I invite your comments, questions, and suggestions.
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