Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 6.1.24
Ūti· What drives us to actAccept Life’s Stages of Renunciation
“That old man Ajāmila had ten sons, of whom the youngest was a baby named Nārāyaṇa. Since Nārāyaṇa was the youngest of all the sons, he was naturally very dear to both his father and his mother.”
What the purport teaches
- Ajāmila had ten sons, and the youngest, Nārāyaṇa, was especially dear to both parents. Even in old age, Ajāmila had a very young child.
- The purport explains that Vedic culture calls for leaving household life by fifty, rather than continuing to produce children. One should enter vānaprastha and later properly accept sannyāsa.
- Through his association with a prostitute, Ajāmila had lost his brahminical culture. His continued sexual life in old age showed his departure from that discipline.
Try this today
Write down one attachment to household enjoyment that you would like to reduce as you grow older.
Ask yourself
Am I prepared to accept greater restraint as my life progresses?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.