FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.17.52

कुटुम्बेषु न सज्जेत न प्रमाद्येत् कुटुम्ब्यपि । विपश्चिन्नश्वरं पश्येदद‍ृष्टमपि द‍ृष्टवत् ॥ ५२ ॥
kuṭumbeṣu na sajjeta
[kutumbeshu na sajjeta]
na pramādyet kuṭumby api
[na pramaadyet kutumby api]
vipaścin naśvaraṁ paśyed
[vipashchin nashvaram pashyed]
adṛṣṭam api dṛṣṭa-vat
[adrishtam api drishta-vat]
kuṭumbeṣu — to the family members na — not sajjeta — one should be attached na — not pramādyet — should become crazy kuṭumbī — having many dependent family members api — although vipaścit — a wise person naśvaram — temporary paśyet — should see adṛṣṭam — future rewards such as residence in heaven api — indeed dṛṣṭa-vat — just like that which is already experienced.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kuṭumbeṣu na sajjeta
kuṭumbeṣu
to the family members
na
not
sajjeta
one should be attached
na pramādyet kuṭumby api
na
not
pramādyet
should become crazy
kuṭumbī
having many dependent family members
api
although
vipaścin naśvaraṁ paśyed
vipaścit
a wise person
naśvaram
temporary
paśyet
should see
adṛṣṭam api dṛṣṭa-vat
adṛṣṭam
future rewards such as residence in heaven
api
indeed
dṛṣṭa-vat
just like that which is already experienced.
A householder taking care of many dependent family members should not become materially attached to them, nor should he become mentally unbalanced, considering himself to be the lord. An intelligent householder should see that all possible future happiness, just like that which he has already experienced, is temporary.

A family man often acts like a lord, protecting his wife, ordering his children, maintaining servants, grandchildren, domestic animals, and so forth. The words na pramādyet kuṭumby api indicate that although one acts like a little lord, surrounded by his family, servants and friends, one should not, through false pride, become mentally unbalanced, considering oneself to be the actual lord. The word vipaścit indicates that one should remain sober and intelligent, never forgetting oneself to be the eternal servant of the Supreme Lord.

Householders of the upper, middle and lower classes become attached to different types of sense gratification. In any economic or social class, however, one should remember that all material enjoyment, either here or in the next life, is temporary and ultimately useless. A responsible householder should guide his family members and other dependents back home, back to Godhead, for an eternal life of bliss and knowledge. One should not become a false and puffed-up lord for a brief span of time, for then one will remain bound up, along with his family members, in the cycle of repeated birth and death.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
A householder taking care of many dependent family members should not become materially attached to them, nor should he become inattentive to worship of the Lord. An intelligent householder should see that all possible future happiness, just like that which he has already experienced, is temporary. Four verses describe the life of a householder who is a jñānī, unattached to his duties. Being unattached, he should not be inattentive to hearing and remembering the Lord. He should see that his family is perishable. He sees that future birth in heaven is as temporary as present life. He gives up desire for both.
Even with many dependents, a householder should not become attached or mentally unbalanced as if he were lord; future happiness, like past happiness, will pass. Care without identification is the householder's interior art.
Reflection Questions
  • Where does running my household tilt me into lord-mentality?
  • What practice keeps care without identification?
📝 My note

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