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 caturmdasya, and for
everyone there are specific rules for observing this
period, partly for-the sake of health and partly for spir-
itual realization. During this period, the merchants can-
not do free business, dedicated souls like sannydasis
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
caturmasya 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 prac-
tice 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
caturmasya-like period of life. It is a foolish imagina-

129
