Devanagari
एवं विधो ब्रह्मचारी वानप्रस्थो यतिर्गृही ।
चरन्विदितविज्ञान: परं ब्रह्माधिगच्छति ॥ १६ ॥
Verse text
evaṁ vidho brahmacārī
vānaprastho yatir gṛhī
caran vidita-vijṣānaḥ
paraṁ brahmādhigacchati
Synonyms
evam vidhaḥ
—
in this way
;
brahmacārī
—
whether one is a brahmacārī
;
vānaprasthaḥ
—
or one is in the vānaprastha-āśrama
;
yatiḥ
—
or in the sannyāsa-āśrama
;
gṛhī
—
or in the gṛhastha-āśrama
;
caran
—
by practice of self-realization and understanding of the Absolute Truth
;
vidita
—
vijṣānaḥ — fully conversant with the science of the Absolute Truth
;
param
—
the Supreme
;
brahma
—
the Absolute Truth
;
adhigacchati
—
one can understand .
Translation
By practicing in this way, whether one be in the brahmacārī-āśrama, gṛhastha-āśrama, vānaprastha-āśrama or sannyāsa-āśrama, one must always realize the all-pervading presence of the Supreme Lord, for in this way it is possible to understand the Absolute Truth.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
By practicing in this way, whether one is in the brahmacārī-āśrama, gṛhastha-āśrama, vānaprastha-āśrama or sannyāsa-āśrama, attaining realization, attains the supreme Brahman.
Purport
This is the beginning of self-realization. One must first understand how Brahman is present everywhere and how He is acting. This education is called
brahma-jijṣāsā
and is the real concern of human life. Without such knowledge, one cannot claim to be a human being; rather, he remains in the animal kingdom. As it is said,
sa eva go-kharaḥ:
without such knowledge, one is no better than a cow or an ass.