i
\ Foolish politicians are too attached to family life. A big
t politician means a big family man. An ordinary family man
is attached to his limited family of wife and children, but
f. big politicians extend the same family feeling to a wider
; circle and thus become encumbered by false prestige,
| honor, and self-interest. The politician never retires from
politics even if he has enjoyed many covetable posts, like
; that of minister or president. The older he is, the more he is
attached to his false prestige. Even at the fag end of his life
' he thinks that everything will be spoiled without him. He is so
; foolish that he does not see that many other politicians who
\ thought like him have come and gone, with no gain or loss.
€ for want of them. These family men, big and small, are like
} the small fish in the pools of water that gradually dry up in the
t autumn. They are foolish because they think that their
} attachment to their family, even at the end of their lives, will
4 be able to protect them from the cruel hands of death.
h As already mentioned, the human life must be divided into
\ four component parts: the student life, the householder life,
t the preparative life, and the life of dedication to the service of
! the Lord. One must retire from all sorts of family life, big or
: small, at the age of fifty, and thus prepare for the next life.
' That is the process of human culture. The householders are
allowed a pension from service so that they can live for a
i higher cultural life. But foolish men, reluctant even to accept
) this pension, want to artificially increase the duration of their
life. Such foolish men should take lessons from the drying
! pools of water and should know, in their own interests, that
: life is eternal, continuing even after death. Only the body
changes, whether spiritually or materially. An intelligent man
I should be careful to know what sort of body is going to be
awarded him, and thus he must prepare for a better life in
other planets, even if he is reluctant to go back to Godhead.m
‘ 94
