SB 1.13.53 (1965)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT No. 53
Snatwa anusavanam tasmin hutwa cha agnin yathavidhi Abbhakasha upasanta atma saaste vigata esanah.
ENGLISH SYNONYMS
Snatwa—by taking bath, anusavanam—regularly three times morning noon and evening, Yasmin—in that sevenly divided Ganges, Hutwa—by performing sacrifice of the name Agnihotra, Cha—also, Agnin—in the fire, Yathabidhi—just according to the tenets of the scripture, Abbhakasha—almost fasting by drinking water, Upasanta—completely controlled, Atma—the gross senses and the subtle mind, Sa—Dhritarastra, Aste—would be situated, Vigata—devoid of, Esanah—thoughts in relation with family welfare.
TRANSLATION
In that 'Saptasrota' bank of the sevenly divided Ganges, Dhritarastra would now be engaged in the beginning of Astanga Yoga practice by taking bath three times in the morning, noon and evening and performing Agnihotra sacrifice in the fire and fasting by drinking water only. This would help in controlling the mind and the senses being completely freed from thoughts of family affection.
PURPORT
The Yoga system is a mechanical way of controlling the senses and the mind for diverting them from matter to spirit. The preliminary processes are the sitting posture, meditation, spiritual thoughts, utilising the air passing within the body gradually be situated in trance by facing the Absolute Person Paramatma. Such mechanical ways of rising up to the spiritural platform prescribe some regulative principles of taking bath three times, fasting as far as possible, sitting with concentration of the mind on spiritual matter and thus gradually becoming free from Vishaya or material objectives. Material existence means to be absorbed in the material objective which is simply illusory. The house, country, family, society, children, property, business, these are some of the material coverings of the spirit Atma and the Yoga system helps one to be free from all these illusory thoughts of the mind and gradually turn it towards the Absolute Person Param-Atma. By material association and education we learn simply to concentrate on such flimsy things as above mentioned and Yoga means the process of forgetting them altogether. Modern socalled Yogis and Yoga system manifests some magical feats and ignorant persons are attracted by such false things or accept the Yoga system as an art of cheap healing process for diseases of the gross body. But factually the Yoga system is the process of learning to forget what we have acquired throughout the struggle for existence. Dhritarastra was all along engaged in the matter of improving the family affairs by raising the standard of living of his sons or by usurping the property of the Pandavas for the sake of his own sons. These things are common affairs for a man grossly materialistic without knowledge of the spiritual force how it can drag one from heaven to hell. By the grace of his younger brother Vidura, Dhritarastra was enlightened in the matter of his grossly illusory engagements and by such enlightenment only such grossly materially engaged man was able to leave home for good for spiritual realisation and Sri Naradadeva was just foretelling the way of his spiritual progress in a place which was sanctified by the flow of celestial Ganges. Drinking water only without any solid food is also accounted for as fasting which is very much necessary for advancement of spiritual knowledge. A foolish man wants to be a cheap Yogi without observing the regulative principles. A man who has no control over the tongue at first can hardly become a Yogi. Yogi and Bhogi are two opposite terms. The Bhogi or the merryman for eating and drinking cannot be Yogi and Yogi is never allowed to eat and drink unrestrictedly. We may note with profit how Dhritarastra had began his Yoga system by drinking water only and sitting calmly in a place of spiritual atmosphere deeply absorbed in the thoughts of the Lord Hari the Personality of Godhead.