# SB 7.15.37 > यैः स्वदेहः स्मृतोऽनात्मा मर्त्यो विट्कृमिभस्मवत > त एनमात्मसात्कृत्वा श्लाघयन्ति ह्यसत्तमाः ॥३७॥ ## Text > yaiḥ sva-dehaḥ smṛto 'nātmā > martyo viṭ-kṛmi-bhasmavat > ta enam ātmasāt kṛtvā > ślāghayanti hy asattamāḥ ## Synonyms *yaiḥ*—by *sannyāsīs* who; *sva-dehaḥ*—own body; *smṛtaḥ*—consider; *anātmā*—different from the soul; *martyaḥ*—subjected to death; *viṭ*—becoming stool; *kṛmi*—worms; *bhasma-vat*—or ashes; *te*—such persons; *enam*—this body; *ātmasāt kṛtvā*—again identifying with the self; *ślāghayanti*—glorify as very important; *hi*—indeed; *asat-tamāḥ*—the greatest rascals. ## Translation **Sannyāsīs who first consider that the body is subject to death, when it will be transformed into stool, worms or ashes, but who again give importance to the body and glorify it as the self, are to be considered the greatest rascals.** ## Purport A *sannyāsī* is one who has clearly understood, through advancement in knowledge, that Brahman—he, the person himself—is the soul, not the body. One who has this understanding may take *sannyāsa,* for he is situated in the *"ahaṁ brahmāsmi*" position. *Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati* [[bg/18/54|[Bg. 18.54] ]]. Such a person, who no longer laments or hankers to maintain his body and who can accept all living entities as spirit souls, can then enter the devotional service of the Lord. If one does not enter the devotional service of the Lord but artificially considers himself Brahman or Nārāyaṇa, not perfectly understanding that the soul and body are different, one certainly falls down (*patanty adhaḥ*). Such a person again gives importance to the body. There are many *sannyāsīs* in India who stress the importance of the body. Some of them give special importance to the body of the poor man, accepting him as *daridra-nārāyaṇa,* as if Nārāyaṇa had a material body. Many other *sannyāsīs* stress the importance of the social position of the body as a *brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya* or *śūdra.* Such *sannyāsīs* are considered the greatest rascals (*asattamāḥ*). They are shameless because they have not yet understood the difference between the body and the soul and instead have accepted the body of a *brāhmaṇa* to be a *brāhmaṇa.* Brahmanism (*brāhmaṇya*) consists of the knowledge of Brahman. But actually the body of a *brāhmaṇa* is not Brahman. Similarly, the body is neither rich nor poor. If the body of a poor man were *daridra-nārāyaṇa,* this would mean that the body of a rich man, on the contrary, must be *dhanī-nārāyaṇa.* Therefore *sannyāsīs* who do not know the meaning of Nārāyaṇa, those who regard the body as Brahman or as Nārāyaṇa, are described here as *asattamāḥ,* the most abominable rascals. Following the bodily concept of life, such *sannyāsīs* make various programs to serve the body. They conduct farcical missions consisting of so-called religious activities meant to mislead all of human society. These *sannyāsīs* have been described herein as *apatrapaḥ* and *asattamāḥ*—shameless and fallen from spiritual life.