← Canto 4
Canto 4 · Ch 31 · SB 4.31.1 · Para 1/2

Narada Instructs the Pracetas

SB 4.31.1
Text
maitreya uvāca
tata utpanna-vijṣānā
āśv adhokṣaja-bhāṣitam
smaranta ātmaje bhāryāṁ
visṛjya prāvrajan gṛhāt
Synonyms

maitreyaḥ uvāca-Maitreya said; tataḥ-thereafter; utpanna-developed; vijñānāḥ-possessing perfect knowledge; āśu-very soon; adhokṣaja-by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhāṣitam-what was enunciated; smarantaḥ-remembering; ātma-je-unto their son; bhāryām-their wife; visṛjya-after giving; prāvrajan-left; gṛhāt-from home.

Translation

The great saint Maitreya continued: After that, the Pracetās lived at home for thousands of years and developed perfect knowledge in spiritual consciousness. At last they remembered the blessings of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and left home, putting their wife in charge of a perfect son.

Purport

After the Pracetās had finished their penances, they were blessed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord blessed them by telling them that after finishing their family life they would return home, back to Godhead, in due course of time. After finishing their family life, which lasted thousands of years according to the calculations of the demigods, the Pracetās decided to leave home, putting their wife in the charge of a son named Dakṣa. This is the process of Vedic civilization. In the beginning of life, as a brahmacārī, one has to undergo severe penances and austerities in order to be educated in spiritual values. The brahmacārī, or student, is never allowed to mingle with women and learn from the beginning of life about sex enjoyment. The basic flaw in modern civilization is that boys and girls are given freedom during school and college to enjoy sex life. Most of the children are varṇa-saṅkara, meaning "born of undesirable fathers and mothers." Consequently, the whole world is in chaos. Actually, human civilization should be based on the Vedic principles. This means that in the beginning of life boys and girls should undergo penances and austerities. When they are grown, they should get married, live for some time at home and beget children. When the children are grown up, the man should leave home and search for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In this way one can make one's life perfect by going home to the kingdom of God. Unless one practices penances and austerities in his student life, he cannot understand the existence of God. Without realizing Kṛṣṇa, one cannot make