The people in general — especially the merchants, preachers, kings, and students — are advised not to leave home during the four months of the rainy season. These four months are known as  cāturmāsya , and for everyone there are specific rules for observing this period, partly for the sake of health and partly for spiritual realization. During this period, the merchants cannot do free business, dedicated souls like  sannyāsis  cannot freely preach the doctrines of the  Vedas , kings cannot go out to tour their states, and students cannot go to their schools, which are closed. But after the  cāturmāsya  period they all get the freedom to go out and perform their respective duties, and by doing so they can achieve the results they desire.
In the same way, one cannot achieve the desired results of one's penances until one attains freedom from the present body. There are various ways to practice the various kinds of  yoga  to attain various results in various spheres of life. It is not that everything is the same. There are varieties of life, varieties of planets, and varieties of success in spiritual realization. And all these can be achieved only when we have finished the  cāturmāsya -like period of life. It is a foolish imagina-
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