Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.18.12
Mukti· LiberationDetachment Prepares One for Sannyāsa
“If the vānaprastha, understanding that even promotion to Brahmaloka is a miserable situation, develops complete detachment from all possible results of fruitive activities, then he may take the sannyāsa order of life.”
What the purport teaches
- Even promotion to Brahmaloka is described as a miserable situation. Such promotion does not provide a lasting goal for the vānaprastha.
- Readiness for sannyāsa requires complete detachment from all possible results of fruitive activities.
- The vānaprastha may accept sannyāsa when this detachment has developed. The change of order follows an inward change of desire.
Try this today
Identify one material reward you are seeking and reflect briefly on why attaining it cannot end all dissatisfaction.
Ask yourself
Which hoped-for material reward still seems essential to my happiness?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.