Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 27
Vānaprastha-vidhi and Sannyāsa-dharma: Austerity, Detachment, and the Paramahaṁsa Ideal
यदेतदात्मनि जगन्मनोवाक्प्राणसंहतम् । सर्वं मायेति तर्केण स्वस्थस्त्यक्त्वा न तत् स्मरेत् ॥ २७ ॥
yad etad ātmani jagan mano-vāk-prāṇa-saṁhatam sarvaṁ māyeti tarkeṇa sva-sthas tyaktvā na tat smaret
Hãy suy xét bằng lý trí rằng vũ trụ vốn ở trong Thượng Đế, và thân vật chất của mình—kết hợp bởi tâm, lời nói và khí sinh mệnh—rốt ráo đều là sản phẩm của năng lực huyễn (māyā) của Ngài. An trú trong tự ngã, hãy từ bỏ niềm tin vào chúng và đừng bao giờ lấy chúng làm đối tượng thiền niệm nữa.
Every conditioned soul considers the material world to be the object of his personal sense gratification and therefore considers the material body to be his actual identity. The word tyaktvā indicates that one must give up one’s false identification with the material world and the material body, since both are merely products of the illusory potency of the Lord. One should never again meditate on the material world and body as objects of sense gratification but rather should become situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Looking at things from the eternal point of view, this world is simply illusory. The material energy of the Lord is devoid of consciousness and thus cannot be the basis of actual happiness. The Supreme Lord Himself is the only absolutely conscious entity. He is absolutely self-sufficient, standing alone as Viṣṇu, the Personality of Godhead. Only Viṣṇu, and not the insignificant workings of material nature, can give us the actual perfection of life.
FAQs
It teaches that the experienced world—appearing through mind, speech, and the life-airs—should be understood as māyā, and once renounced through discernment, one should not keep mentally revisiting it.
In the Uddhava Gītā section on renunciation, Krishna instructs Uddhava how a renunciant becomes steady: by seeing the psycho-physical experience as māyā and ceasing attachment and obsessive remembrance of it.
Practice inner detachment: observe thoughts, speech-impulses, and anxieties as passing constructions, act responsibly, but stop feeding repetitive rumination—returning the mind to the Self and to devotion.