Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Antya 8.67-68
Regulate Eating, Duties, and Sleep
“[Lord Kṛṣṇa said:] ‘My dear Arjuna, one cannot perform mystic yoga if he eats more than necessary or needlessly fasts, sleeps and dreams too much or does not sleep enough. One should eat and enjoy his senses as much as necessary, one should properly endeavor to execute his duties, and one should regulate his sleep and wakefulness. Thus one can become freed from material pains by executing mystic yoga.’”
What the purport teaches
- Lord Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna that neither overeating nor needless fasting supports mystic yoga. Sleeping too much or too little also prevents its proper practice.
- One should eat and enjoy the senses only as much as necessary. Duties, sleep, and wakefulness should be properly regulated.
- Through such regulation, one can become freed from material pains by executing mystic yoga. The purport identifies this teaching as a quotation from the Bhagavad-gītā.
Try this today
Choose a reasonable bedtime for tonight that allows enough sleep without oversleeping.
Ask yourself
Which part of my daily routine most needs regulation: eating, duties, or sleep?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.