Text 5] Ideal Family Life 147

virakto raktavat tatra
nr-loke naratari nyaset

yavat-artham—as much endeavor for one’s livelihood as necessary;
upasinah—earning; dehe—in the body; gehe—in family matters; ca—
also; panditah—one who is learned; viraktah—not at all attached;
rakta-vat—as if very much attached; tatra—in this; nr-loke—human
society; naratam—the human form of life; nyaset—one should depict.

TRANSLATION

While working to earn his livelihood as much as necessary to
maintain body and soul together, one who is actually learned
should live in human society unattached to family affairs, although
externally appearing very much attached.

PURPORT

This is the picture of ideal family life. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
asked Ramananda Raya about the goal of life, Ramananda Raya described
it in different ways, according to the recommendations of the revealed
scriptures, and finally Sri Ramananda Raya explained that one may stay
in his own position, whether as a braéhmana, a Siidra, a sannydasi or what-
ever, but one must try to inquire about life’s goal (athato brahma-
jijdsa). This is the proper utilization of the human form of life. When
one misuses the gift of the human form by unnecessarily indulging in
the animal propensities of eating, sleeping, mating and defending and
does not try to get out of the clutches of maya, which subjects one to
repeated birth, death, old age and disease, one is again punished by being
forced to descend to the lower species and undergo evolution according to
the laws of nature. Prakrteh kriyamaénani gunaih karmani sarvasah.
Being completely under the grip of material nature, the living entity
must evolve again from the lower species to the higher species until he at
last returns to human life and gets the chance to be freed from the ma-
terial clutches. A wise man, however, learns from the sdstras and guru
that we living entities are all eternal but are put into troublesome condi-
tions because of associating with different modes under the laws of ma-
terial nature. He therefore concludes that in the human form of life he
