Journalist: Do you have children?
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. I have got grown-up boys.
Journalist: You just left them?
Prabhupāda: Yes. I have got my wife, my grandchildren, everyone, but I have no connection with them. They are doing their own way. My wife is entrusted to the elderly boys. Yes.
Journalist: Well, is that a . . .? I mean, I find that sort of difficult to assimilate, to give up your family and just sort of say: "See you later."
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes, that is the Vedic regulation. Everyone should give up family connection at a certain age, after the age of fifty. One should not remain in family life. That is Vedic culture. Not that up to death one is in family-wise. No. That is not good.
Journalist: Can you explain that?
Prabhupāda: First of all, a boy is trained as brahmacārī, spiritual life. Then he is advised not to enter family life. But if he is unable to control his sex life, he is allowed, "All right. You get yourself married." Then he remains in family life. So he marries at the age of twenty-four or twenty-five. Twenty-five years, let him enjoy sex life. In the meantime, he gets some elderly children.
So at the age of fifty, the husband and wife goes away from the home and they travel in all places of pilgrimage, just to detach them from family affection. In this way, when the man is little more advanced, he asks his wife that, "You go and take care of the family, and your sons, grown-up, they'll take care of you. Let me take sannyāsa." So he becomes alone and preaches the knowledge which he has acquired.
This is Vedic civilization. Not that a man should remain in family life from birth to death. No. In Buddhism also there is compulsory regulative principle that a Buddhist must become a sannyāsī at least for ten years.
Journalist: Hmm. I didn't know that.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Because the whole idea is how to attain spiritual perfection. So if one remains in his family life, encumbered, he cannot make any spiritual advancement. But if the family also, whole family, is Kṛṣṇa conscious, then it is helpful. But that is very rare. Because the husband may be Kṛṣṇa conscious, the wife may not be. But the culture was so nice that everyone remained Kṛṣṇa conscious.