To Persons Undertaking the Rigors of a Holy Life

By HDG Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada.
"Persons undertaking the rigors of celibacy (brahmacarya), seclusion (vanaprastha), and renunciation (sannyasi) as their ways of living (asrama) and so staying in a secluded holy place such as a math, away from home for engrossing themselves in the devotional services to Lord Sri Hari, might also find themselves entangled in such a family' for the sake of the Bhagavad Gita, in case they become enchanted with the thoughts of daily wants and requirements, thus deceiving themselves in the name of favouring devotional services to Lord Sri Hari.


So, an honest person must be careful, he must not fall under the clutches of illusory energy (maya) while pretending to acquire favourable objects for devotional services to Sri Hari. The material senses are always thirsty for objects of sense gratification.


Pretending to attain perfection through carefully listening and adhering to myriads of injunctions from great liberated souls, our wicked, mischievous, uncontrollable, extroverted mind along with it's propensities, endeavors to acquire gratifying objects falsely ascribing them as favorable to devotional service to Sri Hari, while taking recourse in hypocritical diplomatic demeanors.


Many of us become highly attracted to material knowledge in the name of studying scriptures or learning erudition! We become much attached to physical comfort and to our dependant wife and children through self-deception of undergoing family life with a plea to observe yukta-vairagya' (proper renunciation) and offering devotional services to Lord Sri Hari simultaneously.


Even after becoming a sannyasi, a bramhacari, a Krsna conscious grihastha or a vanaprastha, many of us desire to attain material reputation and fame and we try to lord it over everything. This will cause us utter spiritual destruction.


It is therefore most essential to pray for the mercy of pure honest devotees, constantly keeping ourselves in their uncontaminated association with complete loyalty and allegiance and thus exposing before them all our misgivings so that we may be blessed with their inestimable guidance."