Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 41
Vānaprastha-vidhi and Sannyāsa-dharma: Austerity, Detachment, and the Paramahaṁsa Ideal
यस्त्वसंयतषड्वर्ग: प्रचण्डेन्द्रियसारथि: । ज्ञानवैराग्यरहितस्त्रिदण्डमुपजीवति ॥ ४० ॥ सुरानात्मानमात्मस्थं निह्नुते मां च धर्महा । अविपक्वकषायोऽस्मादमुष्माच्च विहीयते ॥ ४१ ॥
yas tv asaṁyata-ṣaḍ-vargaḥ pracaṇḍendriya-sārathiḥ jñāna-vairāgya-rahitas tridaṇḍam upajīvati
Тот, кто не обуздал шесть видов заблуждения — вожделение, гнев, жадность, возбуждение, ложную гордыню и опьянение; чья разумность, возничий чувств, яростно привязана к материи; кто лишён знания и отрешённости; кто принимает санньясу и носит триданду ради пропитания; кто отвергает достойных почитания девов, собственное «я» и Верховного Господа, пребывающего в нём (Меня), тем разрушая дхарму; и кто всё ещё заражён материальной скверной, — тот сбивается с пути и гибнет и в этой жизни, и в следующей.
Lord Kṛṣṇa here condemns bogus personalities who adopt the sannyāsa order of life for sense gratification while still maintaining all of the symptoms of gross illusion. A false show of sannyāsa is never accepted by intelligent followers of Vedic principles. So-called sannyāsīs who ruin all Vedic religious principles sometimes become famous among foolish persons, but they are simply cheating themselves and their followers. These charlatan sannyāsīs are never actually engaged in the loving devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
FAQs
This verse warns that one who denies the Lord situated within the self, and thus becomes a destroyer of dharma, loses both worldly stability and spiritual progress—becoming bereft of benefits in this life and the next.
In the Uddhava Gītā, Kṛṣṇa explains true varṇāśrama and genuine renunciation. Here He cautions Uddhava against hypocritical renunciants who lack self-control and inner purification, and who reject divine authority while living by religious symbols.
Cultivate inner integrity: practice self-control, humility, and purification rather than merely external religious identity. Respect the sacred presence of the Lord within all beings and live dharmically so that spiritual practice yields real transformation.