what about it?

[Guest guest]

Dear Vraja Kumara Prabhu,

 

Please accept my obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

 

> Although in many places in sastra grhasta life is denounced, for instance

> in Bhagavad-gita 13.10:

 

In this verse grhastha life is not denounced. Only excessive attachment

within grhastha life, or in other words grhamedhi life, is denounced. In

general grhastha life is not denounced anywhere in the scriptures, only

grhamedhi life, exessive attachment, illicit sex etc.

 

> asaktir anabhisvangah putra-dara-grhadisu

>

> (being) without attachment or association with wife,son, home etc.

 

Sridhara Svami writes in his subodhini commentary: Non attachment [asaktih]

- not delighting in sons and other objects; non-identification

[anabhisvangah] - not feeling happy or miserable at the happiness or misery

of one's son etc. arising through excessive identification.

 

In other words, it doesn't mean one is not supposed to associate/ interact

with one's wife, son or home.

 

> we see in the history of our siksa parampara many great personalities who

> were married with or without children.

 

Yet they were not materially attached to their wife, children or house.

 

> So taking for granted these personalities fully understood the conclusion

> of the Vedas, what arguments do we have for NOT following in their

> footsteps?

 

We have no argument for not following in their footsteps. We must endeavor

to not be attached to these things.

 

We don't have to follow in their footsteps as far as getting married is

concerned. That is up to us. Whether we want to follow this injunction of

the Gita in saffron or in white depends on our psychological condition, our

spiritual development, the cultural circumstances around us, etc.

 

Let us not forget:

 

One who wears saffron but whose mind dwells on sweets and brahmacarinis

certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender.

 

But one in married life who tries to control the active senses by the mind

and begins to perform karma-yoga [in Krsna consciousness] WITHOUT ATTACHMENT

[asaktah] is by far superior.

 

Your servant,

bhakta Ivar.