Passing the test of old age, the hardest test of all

Old age can be a very difficult experience because it forces us to face our own mortality and the deterioration of the very tools we counted on to enjoy life. This can be the hardest test of all.

In the 4th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, we find the allegory of king Purañjana, which describes the journey of every conditioned soul, getting a body, becoming attached to this world, and eventually having to face old age and death.

Old age can be a very difficult experience because it forces us to face our own mortality and the deterioration of the very tools we counted on to enjoy life. When we are young, we have lots of energy and opportunities to enjoy our senses. It is very easy for a beautiful lady or a handsome young man to become attached to all the attention and appreciation they receive, thinking that this situation will be permanent. However, when the white hairs start to appear, and gravity takes it toll over what was once a young and attractive body, we are forced to acknowledge it is not. The story of Purañjana then shows us the two possible outcomes and their results.

After being attacked by the forces of Caṇḍavega for many years, the defenses of the city of Purañjana (the body) were already worn out. This illustrates the period preceding old age, where one sees a great diminution of energy, and the body starts to give trouble. This is the age the scriptures recommend one retire from active family life and focus on one’s self-realization. Purañjana, however, preferred to ignore the warnings.

Until the final attack of old age, the walls of the city were still unbleached, and Purañjana could still enjoy life unimpeded, despite the relentless attack of Caṇḍavega (time). However, when Kālakanyā (old age) attacked, the walls were finally breached, and her soldiers started giving trouble to all citizens. The serpent (the vital airs that maintain the body) was still fighting, but it was now old and weak, incapable of properly protecting the city. At this point, the body falls under the influence of old age, with all the difficulties connected with that. The eyes then can’t see properly, one becomes hard of hearing, there is difficulty sleeping, the teeth start to fall off, etc. One who remains interested only in sense gratification lives an increasingly desperate life after this point, seeing his body decaying in front of one’s eyes, and everything dear being gradually taken away. Basically, we have the choice of voluntarily renouncing everything at a certain point and dedicating ourselves to spiritual practice, or having everything taken forcefully by the combined forces of time and old age. This world is not our place, and they make sure to remind us of that.

On his purport to SB 4.28.3, Prabhupada summarizes the whole Vedic process of family planning, according to the Varnāśrama system:

“At the fag end of life, when the invalidity of old age attacks a man, his body becomes useless for all purposes. Therefore Vedic training dictates that when a man is in his boyhood he should be trained in the process of brahmacarya — that is, he should be completely engaged in the service of the Lord and should not in any way associate with women. When the boy becomes a young man, he marries between the ages of twenty and twenty-five. When he is married at the right age, he can immediately beget strong, healthy sons. Now female descendants are increasing because young men are very weak sexually. A male child will be born if the husband is sexually stronger than the wife, but if the female is stronger, a female child will be born. Thus it is essential to practice the system of brahmacarya if one wishes to beget a male child when one is married. When one reaches the age of fifty, he should give up family life. At that time one’s child should be grown up so that the father can leave the family responsibilities to him. The husband and wife may then go abroad to live a retired life and travel to different places of pilgrimage. When both the husband and wife lose their attachment for family and home, the wife returns home to live under the care of her grown-up children and to remain aloof from family affairs. The husband then takes sannyāsa to render some service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

The system puts emphasis on begetting male sons because later in life, when one retires from family life, one is supposed to have at least one grown-up son who can take charge of the family after the parents enter into retired life, and take care of the mother after the father finally takes sannyāsa. In this system, the daughters leave home to live with their husbands when they get married, while the sons stay. Another reason is that in societies that follow the Varnāśrama system, many men don’t get married at all, progressing directly from Brahmacārī life to the renounced order, and thus the male population should be greater, so all the girls can have the opportunity of getting married and constituting a family. In the Vedic system, polygamy is accepted when the female population is greater, but, as illustrated by the pastime of Lord Rama, it is not considered the best practice.

The next verses describe the deterioration of the situation of Purañjana, and how his life in the once attractive palace became gradually distasteful:

“When King Purañjana was embraced by Kālakanyā, he gradually lost all his beauty. Having been too much addicted to sex, he became very poor in intelligence and lost all his opulence. Being bereft of all possessions, he was conquered forcibly by the Gandharvas and the Yavanas. King Purañjana then saw that everything in his town was scattered and that his sons, grandsons, servants and ministers were all gradually opposing him. He also noted that his wife was becoming cold and indifferent. When King Purañjana saw that all his family members, relatives, followers, servants, secretaries and everyone else had turned against him, he certainly became very anxious. But he could not counteract the situation because he was thoroughly overwhelmed by Kālakanyā.” (SB 4.28.6-8)

In the allegory, the sons, grandsons, ministers, etc., describe the different senses and limbs of the body, as well as his different material desires. All of this turns against us when we come close to death. The senses and limbs not only cease to work properly, but start to give us trouble, and the different desires we cultivated during life now give us pain, since it becomes impossible to satisfy them. Externally, our family members may turn against us, becoming disrespectful and inconsiderate. While one is strong, one may maintain his authority based on maintaining the house, but in old age, we ourselves become dependent and can’t thus demand the same level of respect. Sometimes we may even be left in an asylum. All of this makes one anxious and pained.

Although in old age the body simply gives us trouble, a materialist remains attached to it until the last moment, and does everything to try to keep it in good condition, attached to the idea of somehow still enjoying one’s senses. It is not uncommon to see very old persons doing plastic surgeries, undergoing expensive health treatments, or paying for personal trainers, desperate to somehow regain some of their youth, instead of using their last days to understand Krsna. Nārada Muni prepared this allegory of King Purañjana not only for Prācīnabarhi but in fact for all of us, creating this strong impression in our memory, so we may avoid committing the same mistake as Purañjana.

One may rent an apartment for a certain period and live there happily for some time, but when the contract ends, or one has no more money to pay, one has to leave. Similarly, the material body is never ours. We are allowed to use it for some time, but we all know that at some point, we will have to leave. We should thus make plans for where to go next, instead of just becoming overly attached to a helpless condition. One who tries to remain in the body, however, clinging to whatever small illusory gratification may still be present at old age, has to be forcefully evicted through the process described here.

At the terminal stage, after being smashed by the forces of Kālakanyā, the body is attacked by Prajvāra, the strong fever that precedes death, which is compared to a fire that burns the city, together with all its inhabitants. All the senses and limbs burn into that fire, causing one great misery until the body finally dies.

The experience of a devotee, however, is different. Kālakanyā and Prajvāra have the mission of causing pain only to sinful persons, who are attached to their bodies and possessions. In the case of a devotee, they help one to remember Krsna and thus come closer to Him. A devotee is not attached to the body, nor is afraid of leaving it. A devotee lives in the eternal platform of service to Krsna, in one’s original eternal position. While living in the body, a devotee uses it to serve the Lord, and after leaving it, one assumes a transcendental body to continue serving the Lord eternally.

Back to the point of family life, as Prabhupada explains in his purport to SB 4.28.19, there is no problem in husband and wife being attached to each other if this attachment is based on their mutual service to Krsna. If a couple cooperate in making Krsna the center of their existence, both are benefited. However, if the attachment is just based on bodily affinity and common material plans, the result of this attachment is another material body for both, with the woman becoming a man and the man becoming a woman.

Apart from remembering his wife and family, Purañjana was also attached to his many material desires and plans. These are also stored in the subtle body and carry the soul to a new body, where one may have the opportunity of trying to satisfy them according to one’s karma. Purañjana was also very concerned about the maintenance of his wife and children after he passed away, just as a politician may worry about his country, or a businessman about his business, but this is also an illusion. The real maintainer of everyone is the Lord. We are empowered by Him to maintain a family or even a country for some time, and when it is time to go, the Lord will continue taking care of them by other means, according to their merits. The world was functioning before we were born, and similarly, after we go, it will continue as before. However, due to the influence of illusion, we think of ourselves as the maintainers, and become attached, and this attachment leads us to a new body. While we are still strong, we may perform the role of maintainers, but later in life, we need to relinquish this function back to the Lord and focus on our spiritual development. “Hariṁ vinā na mṛtiṁ taranti: one cannot conquer death without taking shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

After all of this, the time came for Purañjana to be arrested by the servants of Yamaraja and be brought for judgment. When the soul leaves the body, it does so with the subtle body, which includes the subtle senses, material desires, and the complete karmic stock of reactions for one’s previous activities, which in the allegory are described as the followers of Purañjana. As soon as they left, the city was completely dismantled.

Ajāmila pitifully called for Narāyana when he was being dragged by the Yamadūtas, and similarly, Gajendra worshiped the Lord when he was in acute distress, being attacked by the crocodile. The soul stays voluntarily in this material world, victimized by lust and material desires, but one can at any time surrender to the Lord and become free. The problem is that the more we commit sinful activities, the more we become covered by ignorance, and the less propense we become to surrender to the Lord.

In the case of Purañjana, he was not able to remember his eternal friend, even when being dragged by the Yamadūtas. As a result, he had to suffer the results of his sinful activities and later receive a new body to continue pursuing his material desires. Fortunately, however, due to his pious activities in his previous life, he was able to practice Krsna Consciousness in this new body, and this time find his way back to Godhead.

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