Vānaprastha Adventure

The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 4 Śrīla Prabhupāda mentions throughout his books the importance of the vānaprastha āśrama. Once we reach a mature age, the vānaprastha life becomes important —and in fact, Śrīla Prabhupāda said, essential. Without a life of spiritual retirement, how is our social setup different from a materialistic one? Of course, we can have a family life that’s Kṛṣṇa conscious. But our social system is meant to be radically different from a system that tells us to just stay in the family circle till the end of our days. And of course we’re concerned not just … [Read more...] about The importance of the vānaprastha āśrama

The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 3 Śrīla Prabhupāda usually spoke of the vānaprastha āśrama as “retired life.” It is that stage of life in which we progressively detach ourselves from home and family, from “me” and “mine,” from the attachments and illusions that go with family life. As Śrīla Prabhupāda explains, the word vana means “forest,” and prastha means “having gone.”1 In former days, people would literally retire to the forest, there to free themselves from worldly life and get ready for the final journey back to Godhead. Today we no longer expect to go dwell in the … [Read more...] about What is the vanaprastha āśrama?

The Vānaprastha Adventure, Installment 2 I have a new book in the works—The Vanaprastha Adventure, a guide to retirement in spiritual life. While I’m working on it, I’ll be posting my draft here, in installments. I invite your comments, questions, and suggestions. Hari Bhakti Dāsa began Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the 1970’s, when he joined ISKCON as a brahmacārī in Chicago. He distributed books, gave lots of classes, traveled the country, started three ISKCON temples, and got several dozen people started in Kṛṣṇa conscious life (some still ISKCON leaders today). For a while he served as … [Read more...] about Introduction: What are your plans for your retirement?