Shloka 37
Nārada’s Instructions: Śrāddha, True Dharma, Contentment, Yoga, and Devotion-Centered Renunciation
यै: स्वदेह: स्मृतोऽनात्मा मर्त्यो विट्कृमिभस्मवत् । त एनमात्मसात्कृत्वा श्लाघयन्ति ह्यसत्तमा: ॥ ३७ ॥
yaiḥ sva-dehaḥ smṛto ’nātmā martyo viṭ-kṛmi-bhasmavat ta enam ātmasāt kṛtvā ślāghayanti hy asattamāḥ
Les sannyasis qui considèrent d'abord que le corps se transformera en selles, en vers ou en cendres, mais qui le glorifient ensuite comme le soi, sont les plus grands gredins.
A sannyāsī is one who has clearly understood, through advancement in knowledge, that Brahman — he, the person himself — is the soul, not the body. One who has this understanding may take sannyāsa, for he is situated in the “ahaṁ brahmāsmi ” position. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati . Such a person, who no longer laments or hankers to maintain his body and who can accept all living entities as spirit souls, can then enter the devotional service of the Lord. If one does not enter the devotional service of the Lord but artificially considers himself Brahman or Nārāyaṇa, not perfectly understanding that the soul and body are different, one certainly falls down ( patanty adhaḥ ). Such a person again gives importance to the body. There are many sannyāsīs in India who stress the importance of the body. Some of them give special importance to the body of the poor man, accepting him as daridra-nārāyaṇa, as if Nārāyaṇa had a material body. Many other sannyāsīs stress the importance of the social position of the body as a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra. Such sannyāsīs are considered the greatest rascals ( asattamāḥ ). They are shameless because they have not yet understood the difference between the body and the soul and instead have accepted the body of a brāhmaṇa to be a brāhmaṇa. Brahmanism ( brāhmaṇya ) consists of the knowledge of Brahman. But actually the body of a brāhmaṇa is not Brahman. Similarly, the body is neither rich nor poor. If the body of a poor man were daridra-nārāyaṇa, this would mean that the body of a rich man, on the contrary, must be dhanī-nārāyaṇa. Therefore sannyāsīs who do not know the meaning of Nārāyaṇa, those who regard the body as Brahman or as Nārāyaṇa, are described here as asattamāḥ, the most abominable rascals. Following the bodily concept of life, such sannyāsīs make various programs to serve the body. They conduct farcical missions consisting of so-called religious activities meant to mislead all of human society. These sannyāsīs have been described herein as apatrapaḥ and asattamāḥ — shameless and fallen from spiritual life.
FAQs
This verse condemns bodily identification as ignorance, reminding that the body is temporary and ends as stool, worms, or ashes, while the true self (ātman) is different.
Prahlada is instructing about civilized dharma and spiritual life, exposing the root illusion—false ego based on the body—so one can turn toward atma-tattva and devotion to the Lord.
Practice detachment by remembering the body’s impermanence, reduce pride based on appearance or status, and invest daily attention in bhakti and self-realization rather than bodily gratification.