The Perfect Society: Four Spiritual Classes

Verse 1 (bhagavata.7.12.1)

श्रीनारद उवाच ब्रह्मचारी गुरुकुले वसन्दान्तो गुरोर्हितम् । आचरन्दासवन्नीचो गुरौ सुदृढसौहृदः ॥ १ ॥

śrī-nārada uvāca brahmacārī gurukule vasan dānto guror hitam ācaran dāsavan nīco gurau sudṛḍha-sauhṛdaḥ

Shri Narada said: Dwelling in the guru's household, self-controlled, humble as a servant, acting for the welfare of the guru, and bound to him by firm affection — thus should the brahmachari live.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.7.12.2)

सायं प्रातरुपासीत गुर्वग्न्यर्कसुरोत्तमान् । सन्ध्ये उभे च यतवाग्जपन्ब्रह्म समाहितः ॥ २ ॥

sāyaṁ prātar upāsīta gurv-agny-arka-surottamān sandhye ubhe ca yata-vāg japan brahma samāhitaḥ

Morning and evening he should worship the guru, the sacred fire, the sun, and the foremost of the gods; at both twilight junctions, restraining his speech, he should chant the Vedic mantra with a composed mind.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.7.12.3)

छन्दांस्यधीयीत गुरोराहूतश्चेत् सुयन्त्रितः । उपक्रमेऽवसाने च चरणौ शिरसा नमेत् ॥ ३ ॥

chandāṁsy adhīyīta guror āhūtaś cet suyantritaḥ upakrame ’vasāne ca caraṇau śirasā namet

When called by the guru, he should study the Vedic hymns with full discipline; at the beginning and at the end of his study, he should bow his head to the guru's feet.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.7.12.4)

मेखलाजिनवासांसि जटादण्डकमण्डलून् । बिभृयादुपवीतं च दर्भपाणिर्यथोदितम् ॥ ४ ॥

mekhalājina-vāsāṁsi jaṭā-daṇḍa-kamaṇḍalūn bibhṛyād upavītaṁ ca darbha-pāṇir yathoditam

He should wear the girdle of straw and a deerskin garment, keep matted hair, carry the staff and waterpot, wear the sacred thread, and hold kusha grass in his hand — exactly as prescribed.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.7.12.5)

सायं प्रातश्चरेद्भैक्ष्यं गुरवे तन्निवेदयेत् । भुञ्जीत यद्यनुज्ञातो नो चेदुपवसेत् क्वचित् ॥ ५ ॥

sāyaṁ prātaś cared bhaikṣyaṁ gurave tan nivedayet bhuñjīta yady anujñāto no ced upavaset kvacit

Morning and evening he should go out to beg alms, and offer whatever he receives to the guru. He should eat only when permitted by the guru; if not permitted, he should sometimes go without food.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.7.12.6)

सुशीलो मितभुग्दक्षः श्रद्दधानो जितेन्द्रियः । यावदर्थं व्यवहरेत् स्त्रीषु स्त्रीनिर्जितेषु च ॥ ६ ॥

suśīlo mita-bhug dakṣaḥ śraddadhāno jitendriyaḥ yāvad-arthaṁ vyavaharet strīṣu strī-nirjiteṣu ca

Of good conduct, moderate in eating, capable, full of faith, and with senses conquered, he should deal with women — and with men governed by women — only to the extent necessary.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.7.12.7)

वर्जयेत्प्रमदागाथामगृहस्थो बृहद्व्रतः । इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्त्यपि यतेर्मनः ॥ ७ ॥

varjayet pramadā-gāthām agṛhastho bṛhad-vrataḥ indriyāṇi pramāthīni haranty api yater manaḥ

One who has not entered household life, holding the great vow, should avoid all talk concerning women, for the turbulent senses can carry away the mind even of a sannyasi.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.7.12.8)

केशप्रसाधनोन्मर्दस्नपनाभ्यञ्जनादिकम् । गुरुस्त्रीभिर्युवतिभिः कारयेन्नात्मनो युवा ॥ ८ ॥

keśa-prasādhanonmarda- snapanābhyañjanādikam guru-strībhir yuvatibhiḥ kārayen nātmano yuvā

A young brahmachari should not let the guru's wife, if she is young, arrange his hair, massage his limbs, bathe him, or anoint him with oil.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.7.12.9)

नन्वग्निः प्रमदा नाम घृतकुम्भसमः पुमान् । सुतामपि रहो जह्यादन्यदा यावदर्थकृत् ॥ ९ ॥

nanv agniḥ pramadā nāma ghṛta-kumbha-samaḥ pumān sutām api raho jahyād anyadā yāvad-artha-kṛt

Woman, indeed, is like fire, and man like a pot of ghee; therefore one should avoid being alone even with one's own daughter, except when necessary, and deal with women in general only as much as required.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.7.12.10)

कल्पयित्वात्मना यावदाभासमिदमीश्वरः । द्वैतं तावन्न विरमेत्ततो ह्यस्य विपर्ययः ॥ १० ॥

kalpayitvātmanā yāvad ābhāsam idam īśvaraḥ dvaitaṁ tāvan na viramet tato hy asya viparyayaḥ

As long as the self, the controller, continues to fashion this reflected image [the body] as its own, so long the sense of duality will not cease — and from that duality comes one's downfall.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.7.12.11)

एतत्सर्वं गृहस्थस्य समाम्नातं यतेरपि । गुरुवृत्तिर्विकल्पेन गृहस्थस्यर्तुगामिनः ॥ ११ ॥

etat sarvaṁ gṛhasthasya samāmnātaṁ yater api guru-vṛttir vikalpena gṛhasthasyartu-gāminaḥ

All of this applies equally to the householder and to the renunciant; the householder, however, is given the further rule that he may approach his wife only during her fertile season.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.7.12.12)

अञ्जनाभ्यञ्जनोन्मर्दस्त्र्यवलेखामिषं मधु । स्रग्गन्धलेपालङ्कारांस्त्यजेयुर्ये बृहद्व्रताः ॥ १२ ॥

añjanābhyañjanonmarda- stry-avalekhāmiṣaṁ madhu srag-gandha-lepālaṅkārāṁs tyajeyur ye bṛhad-vratāḥ

Those who hold the great vow of celibacy should give up applying collyrium to the eyes, oiling and massaging the body, gazing at or drawing pictures of women, eating meat, drinking wine, and wearing garlands, perfume, unguents and ornaments.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.7.12.13)

उषित्वैवं गुरुकुले द्विजोऽधीत्यावबुध्य च । त्रयीं साङ्गोपनिषदं यावदर्थं यथाबलम् ॥ १३ ॥

uṣitvaivaṁ gurukule dvijo ’dhītyāvabudhya ca trayīṁ sāṅgopaniṣadaṁ yāvad-arthaṁ yathā-balam

Having thus dwelt in the guru's household, the twice-born should study and come to understand the three Vedas together with their supplementary limbs and the Upanishads, as far as his need and capacity allow.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.7.12.14)

दत्त्वा वरमनुज्ञातो गुरोः कामं यदीश्वरः । गृहं वनं वा प्रविशेत्प्रव्रजेत्तत्र वा वसेत् ॥ १४ ॥

dattvā varam anujñāto guroḥ kāmaṁ yadīśvaraḥ gṛhaṁ vanaṁ vā praviśet pravrajet tatra vā vaset

Having offered the guru's fee and received his permission, if he is capable, he may enter household life or the forest, may take up renunciation, or may continue to reside there in the gurukula.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.7.12.15)

अग्नौ गुरावात्मनि च सर्वभूतेष्वधोक्षजम् । भूतैः स्वधामभिः पश्येदप्रविष्टं प्रविष्टवत् ॥ १५ ॥

agnau gurāv ātmani ca sarva-bhūteṣv adhokṣajam bhūtaiḥ sva-dhāmabhiḥ paśyed apraviṣṭaṁ praviṣṭavat

One should see the transcendent Lord in fire, in the guru, in one's own self, and in all beings — present in each through their own elements, as though entered, though in truth beyond entry.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.7.12.16)

एवं विधो ब्रह्मचारी वानप्रस्थो यतिर्गृही । चरन्विदितविज्ञानः परं ब्रह्माधिगच्छति ॥ १६ ॥

evaṁ vidho brahmacārī vānaprastho yatir gṛhī caran vidita-vijñānaḥ paraṁ brahmādhigacchati

One who conducts himself in this way — whether as brahmachari, vanaprastha, sannyasi, or householder — attains realized knowledge and reaches the Supreme Brahman.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.7.12.17)

वानप्रस्थस्य वक्ष्यामि नियमान्मुनिसम्मतान् । यानास्थाय मुनिर्गच्छेदृषिलोकमुहाञ्जसा ॥ १७ ॥

vānaprasthasya vakṣyāmi niyamān muni-sammatān yān āsthāya munir gacched ṛṣi-lokam uhāñjasā

Now I shall speak the rules for the vanaprastha, approved by the sages, following which a sage swiftly and without difficulty attains the world of the rishis.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.7.12.18)

न कृष्टपच्यमश्नीयादकृष्टं चाप्यकालतः । अग्निपक्वमथामं वा अर्कपक्वमुताहरेत् ॥ १८ ॥

na kṛṣṭa-pacyam aśnīyād akṛṣṭaṁ cāpy akālataḥ agni-pakvam athāmaṁ vā arka-pakvam utāharet

He should not eat grain grown by ploughing, nor even unploughed grain out of its proper season; he should not eat food cooked on fire — rather, he should take only what is ripened by the sun.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.7.12.19)

वन्यैश्चरुपुरोडाशान् निर्वपेत् कालचोदितान् । लब्धे नवे नवेऽन्नाद्ये पुराणं च परित्यजेत् ॥ १९ ॥

vanyaiś caru-puroḍāśān nirvapet kāla-coditān labdhe nave nave ’nnādye purāṇaṁ ca parityajet

With forest produce he should offer the seasonal cooked oblations and cakes prescribed by time; whenever new grain becomes available, he should give up whatever old stock remains.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.7.12.20)

अग्न्यर्थमेव शरणमुटजं वाद्रिकन्दरम् । श्रयेत हिमवाय्वग्निवर्षार्कातपषाट्स्वयम् ॥ २० ॥

agny-artham eva śaraṇam uṭajaṁ vādri-kandaram śrayeta hima-vāyv-agni- varṣārkātapa-ṣāṭ svayam

He should build a thatched hut, or take shelter in a mountain cave, solely for the sake of keeping the sacred fire — while personally enduring snow, wind, fire, rain, and the sun's heat.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.7.12.21)

केशरोमनखश्मश्रुमलानि जटिलो दधत् । कमण्डल्वजिने दण्डवल्कलाग्निपरिच्छदान् ॥ २१ ॥

keśa-roma-nakha-śmaśru- malāni jaṭilo dadhat kamaṇḍalv-ajine daṇḍa- valkalāgni-paricchadān

Wearing matted hair, letting his body hair, nails, beard and bodily dirt grow, he should keep the waterpot, deerskin, staff, bark-garment, and the implements of the sacred fire.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.7.12.22)

चरेद्वने द्वादशाब्दानष्टौ वा चतुरो मुनिः । द्वावेकं वा यथा बुद्धिर्न विपद्येत कृच्छ्रतः ॥ २२ ॥

cared vane dvādaśābdān aṣṭau vā caturo muniḥ dvāv ekaṁ vā yathā buddhir na vipadyeta kṛcchrataḥ

The sage should dwell in the forest for twelve years, or eight, or four, or two, or even one — arranging his practice so that his intelligence is not overwhelmed by excessive austerity.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.7.12.23)

यदाकल्पः स्वक्रियायां व्याधिभिर्जरयाथवा । आन्वीक्षिक्यां वा विद्यायां कुर्यादनशनादिकम् ॥ २३ ॥

yadākalpaḥ sva-kriyāyāṁ vyādhibhir jarayāthavā ānvīkṣikyāṁ vā vidyāyāṁ kuryād anaśanādikam

When, through disease or old age, he becomes unable to perform his prescribed duties or to pursue the knowledge of the Self, he should undertake fasting and the like.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.7.12.24)

आत्मन्यग्नीन् समारोप्य सन्न्यस्याहं ममात्मताम् । कारणेषु न्यसेत् सम्यक्सङ्घातं तु यथार्हतः ॥ २४ ॥

ātmany agnīn samāropya sannyasyāhaṁ mamātmatām kāraṇeṣu nyaset samyak saṅghātaṁ tu yathārhataḥ

Having placed the sacrificial fires within himself, and giving up the false sense of 'I' and 'mine' regarding the self, he should properly merge the aggregate body into its constituent causes, each according to its own source.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.7.12.25)

खे खानि वायौ निश्वासांस्तेजःसूष्माणमात्मवान् । अप्स्वसृक्श्लेष्मपूयानि क्षितौ शेषं यथोद्भवम् ॥ २५ ॥

khe khāni vāyau niśvāsāṁs tejaḥsūṣmāṇam ātmavān apsv asṛk-śleṣma-pūyāni kṣitau śeṣaṁ yathodbhavam

The self-realized one merges the body's cavities into space, the breath into air, the bodily heat into fire, blood, mucus and pus into water, and whatever remains — flesh, bone and the rest — into earth, each according to its origin.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.7.12.26)

वाचमग्नौ सवक्तव्यामिन्द्रे शिल्पं करावपि । पदानि गत्या वयसि रत्योपस्थं प्रजापतौ ॥ २६ ॥

vācam agnau savaktavyām indre śilpaṁ karāv api padāni gatyā vayasi ratyopasthaṁ prajāpatau

Speech, together with the tongue, should be merged into fire; craftsmanship, together with the hands, into Indra; the power of movement, together with the feet, into the all-pervading Lord; and sexual pleasure, together with the genitals, into Prajapati.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.7.12.27)

मृत्यौ पायुं विसर्गं च यथास्थानं विनिर्दिशेत् । दिक्षु श्रोत्रं सनादेन स्पर्शेनाध्यात्मनि त्वचम् ॥ २७ ॥

mṛtyau pāyuṁ visargaṁ ca yathā-sthānaṁ vinirdiśet dikṣu śrotraṁ sa-nādena sparśenādhyātmani tvacam

The organ of evacuation, together with its function, should be assigned in its proper place to death; hearing, together with sound, into the directions; and the sense of touch, together with sensation, into the wind-god.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.7.12.28)

रूपाणि चक्षुषा राजन् ज्योतिष्यभिनिवेशयेत् । अप्सु प्रचेतसा जिह्वां घ्रेयैर्घ्राणं क्षितौ न्यसेत् ॥ २८ ॥

rūpāṇi cakṣuṣā rājan jyotiṣy abhiniveśayet apsu pracetasā jihvāṁ ghreyair ghrāṇaṁ kṣitau nyaset

O King, forms, together with the eye, should be merged into the sun's light; taste, together with the tongue, into the water-god; and smell, together with the nose, into the earth.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.7.12.29)

मनो मनोरथैश्चन्द्रे बुद्धिं बोध्यैः कवौ परे । कर्माण्यध्यात्मना रुद्रे यदहं ममताक्रिया । सत्त्वेन चित्तं क्षेत्रज्ञे गुणैर्वैकारिकं परे ॥ २९ ॥

mano manorathaiś candre buddhiṁ bodhyaiḥ kavau pare karmāṇy adhyātmanā rudre yad-aham mamatā-kriyā sattvena cittaṁ kṣetra-jñe guṇair vaikārikaṁ pare

The mind, together with its desires, into the moon; the intelligence, together with its objects of understanding, into Brahma, the supreme knower; action, together with the sense of doership, into Rudra; and the consciousness, together with its quality of goodness, into the knower of the field — the individual self — and the modes of nature into the Supreme.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.7.12.30)

अप्सु क्षितिमपो ज्योतिष्यदो वायौ नभस्यमुम् । कूटस्थे तच्च महति तदव्यक्तेऽक्षरे च तत् ॥ ३० ॥

apsu kṣitim apo jyotiṣy ado vāyau nabhasy amum kūṭasthe tac ca mahati tad avyakte ’kṣare ca tat

Then the earth should be merged into water, water into fire, fire into air, air into the sky, the sky into cosmic ego, that into cosmic intelligence, that into the unmanifest, and the unmanifest into the imperishable Purusha.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.7.12.31)

इत्यक्षरतयात्मानं चिन्मात्रमवशेषितम् । ज्ञात्वाद्वयोऽथ विरमेद् दग्धयोनिरिवानलः ॥ ३१ ॥

ity akṣaratayātmānaṁ cin-mātram avaśeṣitam jñātvādvayo ’tha viramed dagdha-yonir ivānalaḥ

Thus, having known the self — in its imperishable nature, as pure consciousness alone remaining — as non-dual, one should cease from further activity, like a fire that goes out when the fuel that gave it birth is consumed.