438 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 5, Ch. 13

there is actually no family life. There are many cases of divorce, and out
of dissatisfaction, the children leave the protection of their parents.
Especially in this age of Kali, family life is being reduced. Everyone is
becoming self-centered because that is the law of nature. Even if one has
sufficient money to maintain a family, the situation is such that no one is
happy in family life. Consequently according to the varndsrama institu-
tion, one has to retire from family life in middle age: paricasordhvarn
vanam vrajet. One should voluntarily retire from family life at the age of
fifty and go to Vrndavana or a forest. This is recommended by Srila

Prahlada Maharaja (Bhag. 7.5.5):

tat sadhu manye ’sura-varya dehinam
sada samudvigna-dhiydm asad-grahat

hitvatma-patam grham andha-kiipam
vanam gato yad dharim Gsrayeta

There is no benefit in transferring from one forest to another. One must
go to the Vrndavana forest and take shelter of Govinda. That will make
one happy. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is
therefore constructing a Krsna-Balarama temple to invite its members as
well as outsiders to come and live peacefully in a spiritual atmosphere.
That will help one become elevated to the transcendental world and
return home, back to Godhead. Another sentence in this verse is very
significant: kautumbikah krudhyati vai jandya. When one’s mind is dis-
turbed in so many ways, he satisfies himself by becoming angry with his
poor wife and children. The wife and children are naturally dependent
on the father, but the father, being unable to maintain the family
properly, becomes mentally distressed and therefore chastises the family
members unnecessarily. As stated in Srimad- Bhagavatam (12.2.9): dc-
chinna-dara-dravind ydsyanti giri-kdnanam. Being disgusted with
family life, one separates from the family by divorce or some other
means. If one has to separate, why not separate willingly? Systematic
separation is better than forced separation. Forced separation cannot
make anyone happy. but by mutual consent or by the Vedic arrangement
one must separate from his family affairs at a certain age and fully
depend on Krsna. This makes one’s life successful.
