Text 35]
The Renunciation of Kardama Muni
985
PURPORT
Kardama Muni was to leave his family life to completely engage in the service of the Lord. But since he knew that the Lord Himself, as Kapila, had taken birth in his home as his own son, why was he preparing to leave home to search out self-realization or God realization? God Himself was present in his home—why should he leave home? Such a question may certainly arise. But here it is said that whatever is spoken in the  Vedas  and whatever is practiced in accordance with the injunctions of the  Vedas  is to be accepted as authoritative in society. Vedic authority says that a householder must leave home after his fiftieth year.  Pañcāśordhvam vanam vrajet : one must leave his family life and enter the forest after the age of fifty. This is an authoritative statement of the  Vedas , based on the division of social life into four departments of activity— brahmacarya ,  grhastha ,  vāna-prastha  and  sannyāsa .
Kardama Muni practiced  yoga  very rigidly as a  brahmacārī  before his marriage, and he became so powerful and attained so much mystic power that his father, Brahmā, ordered him to marry and beget children as a householder. Kardama did that also; he begot nine good daughters and one son, Kapila Muni, and thus his householder duty was also performed nicely, and now his duty was to leave. Even though he had the Supreme Personality of Godhead as his son, he had to respect the authority of the  Vedas . This is a very important lesson. Even if one has God in his home as his son, he should still follow the Vedic injunctions. It is stated,  mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ : one should traverse the path which is followed by great personalities.
Kardama Muni's example is very instructive, for in spite of having the Supreme Personality of Godhead as his son, he left home just to obey the authority of the Vedic injunction. Kardama Muni states here the main purpose of his leaving home: while traveling all over the world as a mendicant, he would always remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart and thereby be freed from all the anxieties of material existence. In this age of Kali-yuga  sannyāsa  is prohibited because persons in this age are all  śūdras  and cannot follow the rules and regulations of  sannyāsa  life. It is very commonly found that so-called  sannyāsīs  are addicted to nonsense—even to having private relationships with women. This is the abominable situation in this age. Although they dress themselves as  sannyāsīs , they still cannot free themselves from the four principles of sinful life, namely illicit sex life, meat eating, intoxication and gambling. Since they are not freed from these four principles, they are cheating the public by posing as  svāmīs .