View source for Prastha means

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[[Category:Vaniquotes Sanskrit Dictionary A to Z]]
[[Category:Vaniquotes Sanskrit Dictionary P-Q-R]]
[[Category:Who Has|3]]
[[Category:Gone|3]]
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<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
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<div id="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="1" parent="Lectures" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures"><h3>Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures</h3>
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<div id="LectureonSB7614NewVrindabanJune281976_0" class="quote" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" book="Lec" index="768" link="Lecture on SB 7.6.14 -- New Vrindaban, June 28, 1976" link_text="Lecture on SB 7.6.14 -- New Vrindaban, June 28, 1976">
<div class="heading">Prastha means "who has gone."
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 7.6.14 -- New Vrindaban, June 28, 1976|Lecture on SB 7.6.14 -- New Vrindaban, June 28, 1976]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">So in the modern age, advancement of material civilization, they also do not care for these siddhis, material siddhis. Just like laghimā. Laghimā-siddhi, the yogis, they become so light that they can float in the air. So nowadays you have got airplane. The yogi can float alone in the air. Now five hundred passengers, they can float in the air. So there is no need of such yoga, yoga-siddhi. The science, the material science of craftsmanship, mechanical, they have done it. Or formerly these things were very magical. Still, the so-called yogis, they are trying to achieve such perfection. Sometimes they can float in the air, they can walk on the water, they can get anything they desire, prāpti. Prāpti, in my childhood there was my teacher. He said that he had his guru, a yogi. So he told me that his spiritual master, yogi, he inquired from his disciple, "What do you want to eat?" So he said that "We want to eat some pomegranate from Kabul." So he said, "Yes, you can get it. Go into the room and you'll find." So they found a bunch of pomegranate just fresh taken from the tree. This is called prāpti. The yogis, they can get all these facilities. Prāpti siddhi. Īśitā, they can keep anyone under his control. Īśitā, vaśitā... There are eight kinds of aṣṭa-siddhi. But that is not perfection of life. Caitanya-caritāmṛta kaja says, bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmi-sakali "aśānta" kṛṣṇa-bhakta-niṣkāma, ataeva "śānta" ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 19.149|CC Madhya 19.149]]). Bhukti means karmis, they are also wanting something, material success. Mukti, the jñānīs, they want liberation, to merge into the existence of Brahman. And siddhi, the yogis... So everyone wants something. Therefore they then you have to struggle for it. But kṛṣṇa-bhakta niṣkāma. Kṛṣṇa-bhakta does not want anything. They simply want to be en-gaged in the service of the Lord. That is their satisfaction. That is the aim of life. Unfortunately we are not educated, we are not given training. Prahlāda Mahārāja's subject matter is kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha ([[Vanisource:SB 7.6.1|SB 7.6.1]]). From the very beginning of life, the children should be educated in bhāgavata-dharma. That is the subject matter.</p>
<p>So he's explaining in different ways. Kuṭumba-poṣāya viyan nijāyur na budhyate 'rthaṁ vihataṁ pramattaḥ. So without fulfillment of our life's mission, generally we become involved in maintaining the family, and all of a sudden death appears, then finished all our attempts. According to karma, we have to accept another body, maybe human body or not human body. In this way we become entrapped, and sarvatra tāpa-traya-duḥkhitātmā. Tāpa-traya, traya means three and tāpa means tribulation, suffering. So tāpa-traya, three kinds of tribulations: adhyātmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika. Pertaining to the body, we feel so many troubles due to the body, due to the mind. Then adhibhautika, troubles offered by other living entities, and adhidaivika, troubles offered by nature or the demigods. In this way, sarvatra. It is not that in India there is tāpa-traya and in America there is no tāpa-traya. No, in America there is tāpa-traya. "All right, I shall go to the heavenly planets." No, there is also tāpa-traya. Anywhere you go within this material world, as soon as you get this material body, then tāpa-traya will be there.</p>
<p>So therefore our mission of life is how to get out of this tāpa-traya, and Prahlāda Mahārāja is giving description how we remain involved in tāpa-traya. Sarvatra tāpa-traya-duḥkhitātmā. Repeatedly, tāpa-traya, na nirvidyate sva-kuṭumba-rāmaḥ. Especially those who are family men, it is very difficult. Therefore according to Vedic civilization, after fiftieth year, one should give up the family responsibility, vānaprastha. From vana, vana means forest. And from vana the word vana has come. Prastha means "who has gone." Pañcaśordhvaṁ vanaṁ vrajet. Vanaṁ vrajet means to free from all family responsibility and prepare for going back to home, back to Godhead. But those who are too much attached to family life, na nirvidyate, being repeatedly frustrated, repeatedly they are put into trouble. Still. But if one wants regular advancement of spiritual life, he must retire at the age of fifty. That is Vedic civilization. Not that unless one is killed, he's not going to retire. Even great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, he was seventy-eight years, and still he would not retire from this... Political life means greater family life. A family man is interested with his family members, and a political leader is interested with the whole, a group of family. The principle is the same. Ordinary family man, he's looking after three, four members of the family, and a political leader is thinking that he's responsible for so many millions of men. The idea is the same: the extended family. But extended or diminished family, sva-kuṭumba-rāmaḥ, he's thinking, "I have to do something for them." But when death comes, you are unable to do anything, you have to immediately leave the scene, and according to the laws of nature you'll have to accept a body according to your karma. This is the law of nature.</p>
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