27 verses
Nārada said: A student, controlling his senses, living in the guru-kula, acting only for the benefit of the guru, should be submissive to the guru like a servant, with firm faint and friendship towards him.
In the early morning and in the evening at the sandhyas, silently, chanting the gāyatrī mantra with attention, he should worship the guru, fire, the sun-god and Lord Viṣṇu.
Brahma means gāyatrī.
Being called by the guru, the student should carefully study the Vedic mantras and at the beginning his studies and the end of his studies, the disciple should respectfully offer obeisances to the gurus feet with his head.
The brahmacārī should go out in the morning and evening to collect alms, and should offer all that he collects to the guru. He should eat only if ordered to take food by the guru; otherwise, if the spiritual master does not give this order, he should fast.
A brahmacārī should be well behaved, in control of his eating, industrious, faithful, in control of his senses, and should interact with women and men controlled by women only as much as necessary.
He may have to go to householders to beg, or go to the gurus house (assuming the guru is married) to do service. That much he can interact with women.
Anyone who has not accepted the gṛhastha-āśrama, must avoid talking with women or about women, for the senses are so powerful that they may agitate even the mind of a sannyāsī or brahmacārī for life.
Other than householders, all should avoid talk with women. Bṛhad-vrataḥ refers to a brahmacārī who vows to remain that way for life.
If the wife of the guru is young, a young brahmacārī should not allow her to dress his hair, massage his body with oil, or bathe him with affection like a mother.
If the wife of the guru sees the student as a son out of affection and wants to dress his hair or do other such services by her own will, it should not be allowed.
Woman is compared to fire, and man is compared to a butter pot. Therefore a man should avoid associating even with his own daughter in a secluded place. One should associate with women only for important business, even if one not alone.
The reason for the rule is given in this verse. Rahaḥ means alone. Anyadā means in other circumstances, even if not alone. Even if not alone one should associate with women only when necessary to fulfill certain goals, and only for that long.
Though one is capable of seeing the world as illusion, as long as a person remains with his mind, he cannot give up thinking of differences between men and women. From that, he reverts to saṁsāra.
Can the jñānī who has controlled the senses, and is completely detached be harmed by association with women? Even though one capable of knowledge (īśvaraḥ) sees the identity with body as illusion, in the manner of negating the reality of world on seeing the truth, and considers everything as insignificant (ābhāsam), as names only, by knowledge of the truth, as long as he remains with his mind (ātmanā), he cannot give up duality--thoughts of difference such as I am a man and this is a woman. She is attractive to me. Then he reverts to his previous state of saṁsāra (viparyayaḥ).
Or there is another meaning. What fear does a person who has conquered his senses and has given up relationships with sons, wife and friends have from those persons? Having given up material things, as long as he conceives to some degree (ābhāsam) by his mind that This is my wife, this is my mother, this is my son and becomes controlled (iśvaraḥ) by the happiness arising from such affection, to that degree he cannot give up difference (dvaitam). Since it is such a small amount of misconception, why worry? This still creates saṁsāra.
All these rules described apply equally to the householder and the sannyāsī. But the decision of the householder to maintain brahmacārī vows is according to his decision.
The rules from verse 6 apply to others as well. The person decides if he should or should not have children (vikalpena).
Those who takes a lifetime brahmacārī vow should not indulge in the following: oiling the body, oiling the head, massaging the body, associating with women, painting, eating meat, drinking wine, decorating the body with flower garlands, smearing sandalwood on the body, or decorating the body with ornaments. These they should give up.
Añjana is applying oil on the body and abhyañjana is applying oil on the head. Associating with women and painting are separate items. These items are by their nature forbidden. Even in emergencies these should not be done. This is the difference with the injunction in verse 8.
dattvā varam anujñāto guroḥ kāmaṁ yadīśvaraḥ gṛhaṁ vanaṁ vā praviśet pravrajet tatra vā vaset
According to the rules and regulations mentioned above, one who is twice-born, namely a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya, should reside in the guru-kula and study and learn all the Vedic literatures along with their supplements and the Upaniṣads, according to his ability and power to study. According to his means, the student should reward the guru with what he desires, and then, taking permission from the guru , the disciple should leave and accept one of the other āśramas, namely the gṛhastha-āśrama, vānaprastha-āśrama or sannyāsa-āśrama or remain there as a naiṣṭhika-brahmacārī.
As far as possible he should give a gift to the guru as desired by the guru and enter household life. Or he can stay there as a naiṣṭhika-brahmacārī.
One should see the Supreme Lord along with jīvas under his shelter in the fire, in the guru, in one's self and in all living entities, who enters as the controller, though he also remains outside.
One should see the Lord along with jīvas who have taken shelter of him in the fire, guru etc. The Lord enters as the controller.
By practicing in this way, whether one be in the brahmacārī-āśrama, gṛhastha-āśrama, vānaprastha-āśrama or sannyāsa-āśrama, attaining realization, attains the supreme Brahman.
O King! I shall now describe the rules for a vānaprastha, approved by the sages, by following which a sage can easily be elevated to Maharloka.
A person in vānaprastha life should not eat grains grown by tilling of the fields. He should also not eat grains that have grown without tilling of the field but are not fully ripe. Nor should he eat grains cooked by fire. Indeed, he should eat only fruit ripened by the sunshine.
Akālataḥ means unripe.
A vānaprastha should offer cakes and caru from what is grown at that time in the forest. When he obtains some new grains, he should give up his old stock of grains.
He should offer (nirvapet) cakes made of wild rice or other items from the forest (vanyaiḥ), provided at that time.
A vānaprastha should prepare a thatched cottage or take shelter of a cave in a mountain only to keep the sacred fire, while enduring snowfall, wind, fire, rain and the heat of the sun.
Tolerating (ṣāṭ) snow, wind, fire, rain, sunshine, he should take shelter of a cave.
The vānaprastha should wear matted locks of hair on his head, and his body hair, nails and moustache should remain unclean. He should keep a water pot, deerskin, rod, the bark of a tree as clothing, and sacrificial utensils.
He is unclean because of not brushing teeth etc.
The sage should remain in the forest for twelve years, eight years, four years, two years or at least one year, such that he will not be disturbed by too much austerity.
When, because of disease or old age, one is unable to perform his prescribed duties or practice jñāna, he should fast.
When he is incapable (akalpaḥ) of practicing jñāna (ānvīkṣikyām) during the twelve year or lesser austerity, he should fast.
He should properly place the fire element in his own self and in this way give up bodily affinity by which one thinks the body to be one's self or one's possession. He should gradually merge the material body into the five elements as far as possible.
The verses till the end of the chapter describe the actions before fasting. Yathārhataḥ means as far as suitable. He should merge the body (saṁghātam) into its causes such as ether.
He should merge the holes in the body into the ether, breathing into air, the heat of the body into fire, and semen, blood, mucus and urine into water. He should merge the remainder, such as skin, muscle and bone, into earth. They are merged into their sources.
The sentence is connected with the previous verse. He should merge the holes of the body into ether. Śeṣam means the hard substances like bone and flesh.
mṛtyau pāyuṁ visargaṁ ca yathā-sthānaṁ vinirdiśet dikṣu śrotraṁ sa-nādena sparśenādhyātmani tvacam
rūpāṇi cakṣuṣā rājan
jyotiṣy abhiniveśayet
apsu pracetasā jihvāṁ
ghreyair ghrāṇaṁ kṣitau nyaset
He should merge the object of speech, along with the voice, into fire and should merges craftsmanship and the two hands into Indra. He should merge the power of movement and the legs into Viṣṇu. He should merge sensual pleasure, along with the genitals, into Prajāpati. He should merge the rectum, with the power of evacuation, into Mṛtyu. He should merge the ear along with sound into the deities presiding over the directions. He should merge the skin along with the sense object called touch into Vāyu. He should merge the eye and form into the sun. He should merge the tongue, along with taste into Varuṇa, and the nose along with smell, into the Aśvinī-kumāras.
Having explained merging of the gross body, he explains merging of the subtle body (composed of sense objects, senses and devatās). The senses and the sense objects are merged into the devatās of the senses. Vayasi means into Viṣṇu. First voice is merged into Agni. The verb should merge is understood for all the sentences. Yathā-sthānam means each item will be listed in sequence without missing any of them. Sa nādena means the jñānī merges the ear along with sound into the deities of the directions. Touch and skin are merged into Vayu (adhyātmani). Eye and form are merged into the sun (jyotiṣi). He merges tastes such as sweetness (pracetasāwhere there is excellent consciousness) along with the tongue into Varuṇa (apsu). He merges the nose along with smell into the Āśvini-kumāras (kṣitau) who are the presiding deities of the earth.
apsu kṣitim apo jyotiṣy ado vāyau nabhasy amum kūṭasthe tac ca mahati tad avyakte 'kṣare ca tat
He should merge the mind along with all material desires into the moon god. He should merge intelligence along with its objects into Lord Brahmā. He should merge false ego along with material activities into Rudra, since actions are preceded by the false identity of me and mine. He should merge citta along with consciousness into Vāsudeva, the presiding deity of citta. He should merge the jīva along with the devatās (guṇaiḥ) into the Brahman (pare). He should merge earth into water, water into fire, fire into air, air into ether, and ether into ahaḍkāra. He should merge ahaḍkāra into mahat-tattva, mahat-tattva into pradhāna and pradhāna into Paramātmā.
He merges the mind, along with all material desires, into moon god. He merges intelligence, along with its objects into Lord Brahmā. He merges false ego, along with material activities, into Rudra, since actions are preceded by false identity me and mine. He should merge citta along with consciousness (sattvena) into Vāsudeva, the presiding deity of citta. He should merge the jīva (vaikārikam) along with the devatās (guṇaiḥ) into the Brahman (pare). The devatās, except for Vāsudeva, are products of the guṇas. Thus Vāsudeva does not merge into Brahman.
How does non-dual Brahman exist, since earth and other material elements still exist? These will also be merged. Thus earth merges into water, and water merges into fire. He merges fire (adaḥ) into air. He merges air (amum) into ether. He merges ether into ahaḍkāra (kūṭaṣthe), and merges ahaḍkāra into mahat-tattva. He merges mahat-tattva into pradhāna. He merges pradhāna into Paramātmā.
Understanding the ātmā, which is pure consciousness and which remains after merging all the elements, to be indestructible and beyond material duality, he gives up material existence, like fire whose wood has been burned away.
Thus ends the commentary on the Twelfth Chapter of the Seventh Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
In the Twelfth Chapter the normal duties of the āśramas for a person in a varṇa and the rules for giving up the body for the vanāprastha are described. The verb of the sentence upāsīta he should worship is in the next verse.